Historical evolution
of Materials
Jayant Jain
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics
IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016
Materials in Design
What do we mean by designing?
Design is the process of translating a new idea or a
market need into the detailed information from which a
product can be manufactured
Each of its stages requires decisions about the materials
of which the product is to be made and the process for
making it
Series of steps about materials and process selection
Market need --------------------------------- product
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Important to note:
Entire age of human
was named based on the
material that he had used
Stone, bronze and iron
were of such importance that
the era of their dominance is
named after them
A very significant increase
in available materials
choices had occurred
only in last 60-70 years
Figure 1.1
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Why do we have many choices available today?
Material development is driven by the desire
for ever greater performance
Today, over 2,00,000 materials are available to
engineers
We are living in the age of advanced materials
Ask yourself can you do materials selection
simply based on experience
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
materials and processes to
shape them are
developing faster now than
at any previous time in
history; the challenges and
opportunities they present
are greater than ever
before Ashby
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Timeline of Material Development
Colored zones indicate man-made materials
Materials: engineering, science, processing and design, 2nd edition Copyright (c)2010 Michael Ashby, Hugh Shercliff, David Cebon
The development of
materials to meet
demands on strength
and density is
illustrated by these
material property
charts
Similar time plots show
this progressive filling
for all materials
properties
This is not the age of
one material; it is the
age of immense
materials
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Figure
1.2
Evolution of Materials in Products
Figure 1.3
Early kettles, heated directly over a fire, were
made of materials that could conduct heat well
and withstand exposure to an open flame
Today almost all kettles are made of plastic,
allowing economic manufacture with great
freedom of form and color
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
The development of vacuum cleaners has been rapid and driven
by the use of new materials
Hand-powered cleaners made mostly of natural materials have
been replaced with high powered motors and centrifugal
filtration
Natural materials to metals to polymers
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Early cameras were made of wood and constructed
with the care and finish of a cabinetmaker; they had
well-ground glass lenses manufactured by
techniques developed for watch and clock making
Figure 1.5
High-end cameras are now manufactured with the
precision and electronic sophistication of scientific
instruments; lower-end models are made with
molded polypropylene or ABS bodies
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
Early planes were made of low-density
woods, steel wire, and silk
Figure 1.6
The aluminum airframe provided high stiffness
and strength to allow planes to be bigger and
fly further
The future of airframes is exemplified by
Boeings 787 Dreamliner (80% carbon-fiber
reinforced plastic, claims to be 30% lighter per
seat than competing aircraft
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby
