Alright materials science geniuses, design a High School level metallurgy class!

[neutrino_cannon]

One of the things that strikes me about the society we live in, even in this age of synthetics, is how many things are made out of metal. I recall one writer who marveled on the stupendous number of inventions that require springs, and how fortunate it is, therefore, that springs are some of the more predictable, versatile and reliable machines in the world. Cars, another ubiquitous invention, are made of metal. Large buildings are made of metal-reinforced concrete. Products are advertised with the names of metals (gold-level cards, titanium-edition razors). Clearly, some understanding of metals is more than a passing academic curiosity.

In addition to blighting a complete understanding of the world, I feel also that the current high-school level of understanding of metallurgy and materials science is sufficiently poor that it also keeps many otherwise promising students out of trade schools. There will be plenty of demand for welders in the foreseeable future, and I certainly think it preferable that someone who could become a welder rather than a burger flipper. If they haven't the foggiest notion of how all that sort of thing works, why would they pursue it?

I, of course, have a stellar understanding of materials science. There several types of strength, like tensile strength, and also all those other kinds. Also, alloying two different metals doesn't average their properties. It's sort of weird and random, like how you can add a little bit of carbon to iron and get steel, and how you can put a little bit of copper in aluminum and make duralumin. Also, oh hell, I hardly know anything about this! See how poorly our educational system has prepared me for life in an iron society?

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to design a high-school level metallurgy class. What lessons will be taught? How will you keep the lesson accessible to less educated students who probably won't be going to college? How will you integrate the lessons into the school system? Part of shop classes or sciences? How do you pitch the idea to administrators so that someone else gets axed when the budget fluctuates?

 

[Michelle Lyon]

Question. Does the high school have an ROP program? Can the class be taught through this program, rather than through shop?

 

[X]

Start with the basics: material properties.

Stress
Strain
Strength
Stiffness
Hardness
Elasticity
Tension
Compression
Hooke's Law
Deformation


Some apply to stress analysis as well, but all are fundamental to material science.
Then, once the basics are understood, you can progress to things like strain hardening, ductility, brittleness, temperature effects, and the like.

 

[AgeGap]

When I was at school the class was taken out to a local technical college. We were taken to a material sciences lab where we watched metal bars and rods get tested for things like hardness. Also watched bars under strain getting puled apart. Every time the broken bars showed a classic cup and cone fracture. This was over twenty years ago so it has obviously left an impression. In part due to Uri Gellers claim that the fracture obtained when he bends spoon is unlike others seen in the real world.

 

[Sunstealer]

What age group are you aiming it at within "high school"? 11-16, 16-18? I ask this because they do need to understand some basic chemistry and physics (which also means mathematics) before they start. You can start with the basics as suggested by [X]. I'd probably chuck in a bit of crystallography too and certainly do some metallography/property testing within the context of material properties, because it's practical and all children like looking down microscopes. Arrange for them to go to a lab/university to see how it's done.

Personally I think that a huge part of the theoretical side of things is far too complex for pre 16/18 so going for a broad and practical approach is best. You can't teach the subject only give them a flavour for what it's about. So perhaps take the manufacture of steel and some of it's uses as the example. From ore to finished product say a kitchen knife. (My favourite would be the katana - samurai sword). This will give a good opportunity to explore extraction, blast furnace, basic oxygen furnace/oxygen blowing, casting, forging, heat-treatment and what alloying can do even in very small quantities to give all the required properties as shown by [X]. Even a trip to a blacksmiths can be used to teach the science. A good way to get children involved in making something.

 

[GreyICE]

One of the things that strikes me about the society we live in, even in this age of synthetics, is how many things are made out of metal. I recall one writer who marveled on the stupendous number of inventions that require springs, and how fortunate it is, therefore, that springs are some of the more predictable, versatile and reliable machines in the world. Cars, another ubiquitous invention, are made of metal. Large buildings are made of metal-reinforced concrete. Products are advertised with the names of metals (gold-level cards, titanium-edition razors). Clearly, some understanding of metals is more than a passing academic curiosity.

I just feel I have to comment on this.

Springs are used because they are predictable, versatile, and reliable. If they weren't, we'd use something else (for instance piston-cylinders full of air replicate many/most of the properties of springs very easily).

It is not fortunate that springs have those properties. The inventions use springs because they have those properties. It's the good ol' puddle marveling at the hole that exactly fits it.

 

[The Man]

I was taking a mechanical technology AAS curriculum in the1980’s, with the intent of becoming a mechanical designer and engineer. The curriculum included a two semester course on metallurgy, the primary reason I was taking that curriculum. After completing the first semester of core courses (applicable to the other two AAS technical degree programs as well) they discontinued the mechanical technology curriculum. As a result I went on to obtain both of the other AAS technical degrees, Electro-mechanical Technology and Electrical Technology. Ironically, I worked the next 18 years in mechanical design and engineering, finally working my way up to an engineering position (as well as Project Engineer and Production Engineer). It is only now that I am working as an Electro-mechanical technical consultant (and making more money). Even collage based metallurgy courses were starting to fade away back in the 80’s

;3736587]

Start with the basics: material properties.

Stress
Strain
Strength
Stiffness
Hardness
Elasticity
Tension
Compression
Hooke's Law
Deformation


Some apply to stress analysis as well, but all are fundamental to material science.
Then, once the basics are understood, you can progress to things like strain hardening, ductility, brittleness, temperature effects, and the like.

I think [X] has pretty well covered the basics here and that in it self might even be a bit much for a High school Material Science curriculum, before even getting to the specifics of metallurgy. In the machining part of the Electro-mechanical curriculum we did touch a bit on metallurgy, but I learned far more by actually working in the field of mechanical design and engineering (as well as doing the machining and welding, often required, myself).

I think the best way to get High School students interested in such things would be through the metal shop and auto shop courses that one might tie in with popular shows like “Orange County Choppers” and “Monster Garage”. As far as dedicated metallurgy courses, I just do not think you could sell that in this day and age at a pre collage level (and might have some difficulty even at a collage level). It is just a sad aspect of our times. Just about every high school kid wants to own the custom cars and bikes they see on TV and might even want to build them, but few want to learn the real engineering and design that we need to build everything (including custom cars and bikes).

 

[jj]

The problem is having access to equipment, and being able to ensure "safety" in this day and age of fear-of-everything.

What comes to my mind when you say "metalurgy" are things like:

Giant machines that exert pressure.

Hot crucibles with molten metal in them.

Hot furnaces from which you plunge hot iron into cold oil, making short-term flames.

etc.

Heck, I'm an old guy and I'd want to take the class just for the (*&*( of it.

 

[The Man]

The problem is having access to equipment, and being able to ensure "safety" in this day and age of fear-of-everything. .

Exactly, exposure is the key element, more to the limited available equipment then the lack of safety (or perhaps as you remark, both).

What comes to my mind when you say "metalurgy" are things like:

Giant machines that exert pressure.

Hot crucibles with molten metal in them.

Hot furnaces from which you plunge hot iron into cold oil, making short-term flames.

etc. .

Three sentences (less the ect..) resulting in an accurate production and testing description of metallurgy.

Heck, I'm an old guy and I'd want to take the class just for the (*&*( of it.

Heck, I am probably a “not so old as you guy”, having been in the field of metal material engineering and I would take the class, if I could find and afford it. The problem is how do we convince the “much less older then us guys or girls” that it is something worthwhile.

 

[JoeEllison]

It could be a good time. If you could get mounted samples of steel at various stages of hardening and tempering, that could be fun. You know, show the kids austenite and martensite, carburization and decarburization.

 

[Terry]

Could you have a teacher cast a bunch of small zinc ingots, cut them in half, and have the students polish and etch them to see the grain pattern? I guess having the students cast them is out of the question in this day and age...

 

[jj]

I think we ought to have a high-school class on swordmaking. From casting the blank to working it (with modern hammers, etc), to sharpening it.

What say?

You could choose, modern vanadium tool steel or do your own Damascus.

 

[X]

I think we ought to have a high-school class on swordmaking. From casting the blank to working it (with modern hammers, etc), to sharpening it.

What say?

You could choose, modern vanadium tool steel or do your own Damascus.

I'll take plain old carbon steel. Tool steel is too brittle.

PS: Damascus is the finished product. The raw form is Wootz steel.



Edit: NOVA recently aired a good program on making the Katana, covering the topic from the forging of steel to the polishing of the blade.
The show is called Secrets of the Samurai Sword, and although it leans towards over-hyping the Katana as the bestes, most coolest sword ever made, it covers the metallurgey quite well. Subjects touched upon include hardness/toughness, testing of such, crystallography (at different temperatures), impurities and imperfections, heat treating, and the effect of carbon.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/samurai/. Hopefully the link works for you (it tdidn't for me).

 

[X]

double post

 

[jj]

I'll take plain old carbon steel. Tool steel is too brittle.

I thought there was some pretty springy stuff out there. I could certainly be wrong.

PS: Damascus is the finished product. The raw form is Wootz steel.

Of course, that's why I said "make your own Damascus". Fold, treat, fold, treat, fold, treat, use a modern triphammer, not a 3lb hammer, too.

 

[The Man]

I think we ought to have a high-school class on swordmaking. From casting the blank to working it (with modern hammers, etc), to sharpening it.

What say?

You could choose, modern vanadium tool steel or do your own Damascus.

Well it would certainly interest me, but the aspect of making specifically a weapon might not go over that well with the local board of education. Although it does present the practical application of most of the aspects of metallurgy and I can not think of a less “offensive” example that would do that.

 

[JoeEllison]

I thought there was some pretty springy stuff out there. I could certainly be wrong.

Yes, there is... I have a katana made from spring steel. A little silicon goes a long way.

 

[X]

Leaf spring knives are a very popular beginner project for smithing.
Blades made from steel cable are also popular, but more complicated due to the need to fuse the individual strands.


Ultimately, I'd say keep it simple. Do some basic theory (very brief, very simple) on the subjects I mentioned, and if the school has a metal shop, take advantage of it.
Some experiments are extremely easy to do, if the shop has some basic tools.


And I apologize to jj.
I misunderstood his comment about damascus.

 

[jj]

Well it would certainly interest me, but the aspect of making specifically a weapon might not go over that well with the local board of education.

Ok, make sodcutter plows?

 

[jj]

And I apologize to jj.
I misunderstood his comment about damascus.

Not an issue, I steel myself for these things, even with no WalMart in sight.

(p.s. 3 points to any non-metalurgy types for finding the second pun in that sentence)