Academics

Courses Detail Information

MSE3650J – Materials Lab II

Instructors:

Credits: 3 credits

Pre-requisites: MSE2500J Obtained Credit

Description:

This course provides laboratory experiences to enhance the understandings of the principles of engineering materials, including the analysis of microstructures and crystalline structures, the investigation of thermal, mechanical, and electrochemical properties. It also provides a broad perspective in identifying and understanding the role of engineering in solving critical issues facing today’s society, such as plastic pollution and energy, and it provides hands-on experiences to design and execute experiments in addressing these critical issues facing humanity. The key feature of this course is the use of the combination of experiments, simulations, and theory to study on a specific topic in projects.

Course Topics:

General lab safety and regulations.

1. Polymer recycling:

1.1Thermal properties and microstructures of common industrial polymers.

1.2 Analysis of thermal properties and microstructures using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

1.3 Modeling thermal transport using COMSOL.

1.4 Life cycle analysis of industrial polymers

2. Analysis of salt crystal:

2.1 Crystal structures

2.2 Analysis of crystal structures using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and calculation of diffraction patterns using simulation software.

2.3 Analysis of elements using X-ray fluorescence and SEM-EDS.

2.4 Basics of density functional theory.

3. Electrochemical batteries

3.1 Basics of batteries, in particular electrochemical batteries

3.2 Construction of simple electrochemical batteries and analysis of their characteristics

3.3 Electroanalysis of battery cells using COMSOL