14 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | OCTOBER 2023 shoulder” transfer between design and manufacturing, and enables a better understanding of service life, durability, and damage tolerance. In the case of composite materials—my specialty— that background enabled a much better ability to understand and tailor failure modes, develop optimized load paths through configuration tailoring, and develop better processes, taking into account aspects of flow and cure at the micro and macro levels. This has allowed for design to be considered simultaneously at the materials and structural levels, especially in the development of ceramics through pre- ceramic polymer methods. What are the challenges mechanical engineers encounter that can be overcome by an increased knowledge of materials? Karbhari: Mechanical engineers are required to analyze structural response and design components that will withstand a range of thermo- mechanical loads and vibrations. A thorough understanding of materials leads to not just better, more effective, and cost-efficient materials selection, but also tailoring of the materials and configuration to best handle loads over material. We should aim to link the material behavior we observe on the macroscale (say in mechanical testing of laboratory sized specimens) to the phenomena we observe on the microscale. Improvements in material processing can be recommended and executed based on such observations. Todd: Mechanical engineers place a very strong emphasis on design of components and their integration into large systems—power plants, automobiles, electronics, medical devices, among many others. It is essential to know how all the parts fit together and how designs can be tuned to optimize the performance of the system. Mechanical engineers rely heavily on materials property data, codes, and standards to select appropriate materials compositions, component dimensions, and manufacturing processes that they expect suppliers to meet. It is essential for materials scientists and engineers to supply the highest quality materials information to ensure the integrity of our safety-critical and humanitarian infrastructures. Jodoin: Being primarily involved with surface and coatings technologies, the goal is always to produce the perfect coating that can withstand the specific environment it is exposed to as well as the various stresses. However, the production of these coatings usually involves complex equipment as well as complex interactions of the various process parameters. My training in mechanical engineering has been extremely beneficial to understanding the intricate interactions and various complexities of the processes to allow going beyond “turning knobs and seeing what happens.” Most coating technologies, especially thermal spray processes, involve heat transfer, fluid mechanics, gas dynamics, solid mechanics, and many other topics that are covered in mechanical engineering. As such, it has helped me understand the process fundamentals and be able to foresee the effect of various spray parameters ahead of time. Karbhari: The fundamentals of solid mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and analysis have helped me develop a better understanding of materials, configuration, and process interactions, and tailor materials for specific response modes using anisotropy to optimize design and failure modes at levels not possible with isotropic materials. Mechanical engineering helps in the appropriate selection and use of materials, obviating the “over the Many engineers point to Mechanical Metallurgy by George Dieter, a seminal text from their undergraduate education. Its third printing is still used today. Tensile testing is an essential tool in determining material properties related to strength.
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