H82ENM-E1

Question 1: Material properties

a) What are the primary atomic bonds in polymer materials? [2 marks]

The primary bonds are covalent (2 marks)

b) What is the difference between metallic and ionic bonds? [2 marks]

Metallic atomic bonds have free valence electrons whereas ionic bonds transfer electrons (2
marks )

c) State two material properties you much consider when selecting a material of construction for a
heat exchanger. [2 marks]
One mark each for any of the following: Thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, cost, density,
yield strength

d) Name two material properties determined by the atomic structure of a material? [2 marks]
One mark each for any of the following: Thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, young’s
modulus

e) Name 2 mechanical properties of material properties. [2 marks]

One mark each for any of the following: density, yield strength, fracture toughness, ductility,
hardness

f) Why are metals better conductors of heat than ceramics? [2 marks]

Metals have free valence electrons which permit the flow of electricity. (2 marks)

g) What is the difference between ductility and malleability? [2 marks]

Ductility is the ability of a material to deform under tensile load (1 mark). Malleability is a
materials ability to deform under a compressive load (1 mark).

h) Which family of materials generally have a low fracture toughness? [2 marks]

Ceramic materials generally have a low fracture toughness (2 marks)

i) What are two advantages of using hybrid materials for storage vessels? [2 marks]
Hybrid materials can be designed to have low weight (1 mark) and high strength (1 mark)

j) What is the difference between hardness and toughness of a material? [2 marks]

Hardness is a measure of a material’s resistance to surface deformation from a compressive
force (1 mark). Fracture toughness is the ability of a material containing a crack to resist
fracture (1 mark).

2. Mechanical failure, wear and erosion

a) List four different types of stress a material can experience. [4 marks]
One mark each for any of the following: Tension, compression, shear, torsional, bending, bi
axial.
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b) Why is a material’s yield strength always lower than its ideal strength?
[2 marks]
The ideal strength of a material is related to the force required to break the inter-atomic
bonds (1 mark). Due to flaws or defects within the material structure materials always fail at
a lower strength than this which is why yield strength is lower. (1 mark)

c) A pressure vessel with a wall thickness of 8 mm contains a fluid and particle mixture which
exerts a maximum wall stress (𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) of 40 MPa. The solid particles are known to have a
Vickers Hardness between 100-300. The vessel is designed to leak before fracture and the
stress intensity (𝐾1 ) is given by: 𝐾1 = 0.9𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 √𝜋𝑐 , where c is crack length. Select the
most suitable material of construction from Table 1. [8 marks]

Table 1: Material properties for question 2

Material Fracture Vickers Density ρ Cost Embodied
toughness Hardness (kg/m3) (£/m3) Energy
𝐾1𝑐 HV (MJ/Kg)
(MPa.m1/2)
A 12 400 120 1000 77
B 5 350 8000 300 200
C 10 700 6000 220 220
D 22 250 7000 130 150
E 8 400 7000 300 200

Determining that the critical crack length for a material and stress must be larger than the pipe radius
for leak before burst condition. [1 mark]

Using the equation to determine the stress intensity when the crack length is 9 mm

𝐾1 = 0.9 × 40 × 106 √𝜋 × 0.008 = 5.7 MPa.m1/2 [1 marks]

Identifying that the material must have a fracture toughness above this value for leak before burst
materials A, C, D and E are suitable[1].

Identifying that materials D has a hardness below 300 so is not suitable [1 mark]

To select the most suitable material (A, C or E) the student has to make a judgement.
on cost B and E are identical but A is far too expensive (1 mark)

For embodied energy A is 9,240 C is 1320,000 and E is 1400,000 (1 mark)

The final 2 marks come down to the decision between A or C. The student must clearly articulate why
they believe one to be more suitable based on environmental or economic factors. The can also relate
back to other material properties.

d) A new cylindrical pressure vessel must be built to contain 400 litres of fluid. To fit in the current
plant its height must be 0.8 meters. The vessel must contain a fluid of pressure (p) 100 MPa, but is
not required to leak before burst. The wall thickness (t) is now a free variable. The maximum stress
𝑝𝑟
in the vessel (𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) is given by: 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝑡
Select the most cost effective material of construction from Table 2.

Table 2: Material properties for question 2D

Material Yield strength Density ρ Cost (£/kg)
𝜎𝑦 (MPa) (kg/m3)
A 400 7000 2
B 600 5000 5
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To solve this question the student must use an equation for the volume of a hollow cycling with closed
ends.

The student must use the equation for the volume of a cylinder 𝑉 = 𝜋𝑟 2 ℎ to calculate the internal radius
𝑉 0.4
of the vessel. 𝑟 = √ = √ = 0.4𝑚 (1 mark)
𝜋ℎ 0.8𝜋

Volume = 𝜋ℎ𝑡(2𝑟 + 𝑡) + 2𝜋𝑟 2 𝑡 or another suitable equation of a hollow cylinder (1 mark)

The stress equation must then be used to calculate the minimum wall thickness for the two materials.
A = 10 cm B = 0.067 cm (1 mark)

Volume of A = 0.327 m3 Volume of B = 0.2133 m3 (1 mark)

Mass of each material = volume * density A = 2289 Kg B = 1066.5 KG

Cost of Each material = mass * cost A = £4578 B = £5332 (1 mark)

Material A is the most cost effective option (1 mark)

3. Corrosion and polymer degradation

a) Describe the effects that corrosion and polymer degradation has on the mechanical failure of
materials. [4 marks]
2 marks for discussing that corrosion and degradation affects materials properties so that they
will perform differently. 2 marks for discussing that corrosion results in a loss in material. for
pipes and vessel the stress in the walls is inversely proportional to the wall thickness so thinner
vessels experience higher stresses and are more likely to fail.

b) Describe the Pilling-Bedworth ratio and discuss what values are most suitable to minimise dry
corrosion. [4 marks]
The Pilling-Bedworth ration is the relative volumes of the oxide and the metal (2 marks) values
between 1-2 are most suitable (1 mark) as this means the oxide film will remain on the surface
and be non-porous thus protecting from further corrosion (1 mark)

c) When designing a plant to minimise corrosion discuss the gas and fluid properties an engineer
must consider to minimise the effects of corrosion. Your answer should include how an engineer
can acquire the appropriate information on these properties. [6marks]
4 marks available for discussing the properties. 1 mark each for discussing: Chemical
composition, temperature, flow rate, pH, concentration, flow rate. volume fractions if a mixture.
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2 marks for discussing where these information can be required. 1 mark each for books, online
sources and chemical data sheets, relevant industry standards.

d) A section of steel pipe (Density 7800 kg/m3) has a length of 1 metre an internal radius of 20 cm
metre and an external radius of 22 cm. A corrosive fluid with a corrosion penetration rate of 200
um/yr flows in the bottom half of this pipe section. If the minimum safe operating thickness of this
pipe is half of its original thickness, how long before this pipe section should be replaced?
[6 marks]

calculating pipe wall thickness as 2 cm (1 mark)

calculating safe wall thickness as 1 cm (1 mark)

calculating that 200 um/year is 0.02 cm (2 marks)

calculating the time as 1/0.02 = 50 years (2 marks)

4. Thermal effects
a) Why are ceramic materials often used for linings in high temperature furnaces?
[2 marks]
Ceramic materials have extremely high strength and melting temperatures and do not easily
corrode or expand at high temperatures (2 marks)

b) Describe the glass transition temperature (Tg) of a material and discuss why it is more
important to consider for polymer materials. [4 marks]
The glass transition temperature is the temperature at which a material transitions from a hard
glassy material to a soft rubbery one (2 marks) For polymer materials this is especially
important as the glass transition temperature could be around ambient environmental
temperatures and/or operational temperatures (2 marks)

c) A pipe with wall thickness 1 cm transports a liquid polymer at 90 ℃ through a factory. The
melting temperature of this polymer is 40 ℃ so it must be kept above this temperature and the
rate of heat loss through a unit area of pipe should be no greater than 60 kW. Select the most
suitable material from Table 3 for this pipe. Your answer must include any calculations and
assumptions made. ( 8 marks)

Table 3 Material properties for question 4c

Material Thermal Maximum Density ρ Cost Embodied

Conductivity service (kg/m3) (£/kg) Energy
k (W/m.K) temperature (GJ/m3)
(℃)
A 8 150 4000 7 200
B 10 180 3000 6 300
C 15 200 5000 3 500
D 7 92 2000 2 600
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𝑎𝑘∆𝜃
rate of heat transfer 𝑞 = where a is the area 1. x is wall thickness k is thermal conductivity
∆𝑥
and ∆𝜃 is the temperature change.
Stating the above equation [1 marks]
Rearranging the equation to find the conductivity 𝑘 = 𝑞∆𝑥/∆𝜃 [1 mark]
Calculating what the maximum thermal conductivity must be to give the desired rate of heat
transfer k= 60,000×0.01/(90-40) = 12 (W/m.K) [1 marks]
Stating that material A, B and D all have acceptable thermal conductivity. [1 mark].
Material D is not suitable as its maximum service temperature is to close to the operating
temperature. (1 mark)
Two marks are for selecting the most suitable material between A and B. For embodied energy
A is much better for cost B is better so the student should show calculations and justify their
decision. The final mark is to state that they are assuming only steady state conductive heat
transfer.

d) A vessel constructed from Type 304 stainless steel has a radius of 3 cm and contains a fluid at a
temperature of 800 ℃ and pressure of 10 MPa. The stress (σ) is given by σ = pr/t where p is
the internal pressure, r is the radius and t is the pipe wall thickness. Figure 1 below displays the
creep data for the material used for this vessel. If the vessel is designed to operate for 1000
hours before being replaced, what is the minimum wall thickness that can be used? [6 Marks]

Figure 1: Material creep data for question 4

Looking at the figure for a temperature of 800 and time of 1000 hours the allowable stress is 35
MPa (2 marks)

𝑝𝑟 10×106 ×0.03
Rearranging the equation for stress (1 mark) gives 𝑡 = = = 8.5 mm (3 marks)
𝜎 35×106
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5. Processing, economics and environmental considerations

a) Discuss why the cost of raw materials are not constant. [4 marks]
There are numerous reasons why raw materials change. They are a traded commodity so
therefore fluctuate (1 marks) there are supply and demand issues (1 mark) they are derived
from diminishing natural resources ( 1 mark) If they are only produced in specific locations they
can be affected by political or environmental issues (e.g. wars or extreme weather).

b) Discuss why it is important for a chemical engineer to consider environmental factors when
designing new processing facilities [4 marks]
The discussion should include the following points. It is important for engineers to consider the
effects of the decisions they make especially if a facility will operate for several years and
regulations may change. (1) It could be bad for their companies image if they make un
environmentally unfriendly decisions (1) Some materials come from diminishing natural
resources (1). We have to consider sustainable engineering solutions (1)

c) Describe, with the aid of a diagram, how the strength of a polymers can be modified. Your
discussion should include any other effects this process has on the material properties of the
polymer. [6 marks]

There are numerous methods to modify the strength naming the method (e.g blending,
drawing, cross-linking and reinforcement) (1 mark) For a suitable diagram showing how the
method changes the structure (2 marks). Description of how the process is performed (2
marks) Stating how it effects other material properties (e.g. young’s modulus) (1 mark)

d) Describe two joining processes which can be used on a metal material. [6 marks]
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3 marks available for each process, 1 mark for the name and 2 for the description. Suitable
methods include welding. Adhesives or fasteners. The description should include how the
fastening method is performed (1 mark) and the key features (1 mark)