MAT E 361 Materials Engineering Laboratory I

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MAT E 361 Materials Engineering Laboratory I

• Dr. L. C. Mallory
• 9 September 2008 2 December 2008

2
Objectives

• To obtain practical illustration of concepts
  taught in other courses in the MAT E program.
• To get hands-on experience with techniques of
  materials engineering investigation.
• To do critical analyses of real data, with
  appropriate consideration of experimental
  uncertainties and theoretical predictions.
• To record and report engineering observations and
  analysis clearly and concisely, to specified
  professional formats.
• To reinforce other professional skills such as
  time management and teamwork.

3
Components of course

• Lectures and seminars, assignments
• Laboratory exercises, logbook record-keeping
• Analyzing data, formal reports
• Examination

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Exam

• Thursday 11 December, here, 200-500 pm
• Open resources
• Bring logbook, reports, manuals
• Bring calculator and ruler

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Exam

• Expect questions from all parts of the course
• Lectures, assignments, laboratory procedures,
  laboratory observations, analysis of laboratory
  data, background of lab exercises, uncertainty
  analysis, professional recordkeeping

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Some topics covered in labs

• Note this is NOT a complete list. There might
  still be exam questions on things not on this
  list.
• Sieve Analysis and Sampling
• Histograms.
• Plotting on log graphs.
• Techniques of measuring size distributions.
• Methods of sampling, and how to compare them.
• F-test for comparing variances.
• T-test for comparing means, for comparing sample
  mean to specification.

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Kinetics of Leaching

• Leaching process on lab scale
• AAS and other analytical techniques, advantages
  and limitations
• Kinetic equations, first order model, curve
  fitting
• Deciding on rate-limiting step

8
Solvent Extraction

• Extraction and stripping techniques
• Shifting of equilibrium in reactions
• Prediction of reaction equilibrium from pH
  measurements

9
Kinetics of Coal Flotation

• Techniques of solids separation and ash
  determination
• Parameter optimization in modelling of transient
  behaviour
• Influences of surface tension

10
Thermodynamics of Calcination

• Experimental techniques of vessel evacuation and
  partial-pressure measurement
• Experimental determination of thermodynamic
  quantities and comparison to published values

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Experimental statistics
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Experimental statistics

• Real data always has scatter
• - legitimate ways to minimize and still be
  meaningful
• A normally distributed finite sample
• - the t-statistic tells you whether things are
  farther apart than they would be by accident
• - compare two means, one point to a known mean,
  a sample to a population

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Experimental statistics

• Summing up uncertainties
• Always 95 (or other, but same)
• Always RSS
• Single or multiple-stage RSS okay
• Partial derivatives to make units and weighting
  work out
• Make it very clear to readers where your numbers
  come from