Material structures

Cards (9)

What 2 broad categories are the structure of a material split into?
Crystalline
Amorphous
What is the difference between crystalline and amorphous structures?
Crystalline has a regular, organised structure
Amorphous has a random, disordered structure
What is a polycrystalline structure?
They have regular crystalline fragments, but they are arranged in a disordered way
What structures in a pure metal help them to be malleable and ductile?
Dislocations
What process can make metals less ductile?
Alloying
How does alloying reduce the ductility of a metal?
Produces a less regular structure due to different sized atoms, this can pin dislocations into position
What is the difference between the bonds in ceramics and metals?
Ceramic bonds are directional whereas metal bonds are non-directional
What do polymers consist of?
They are long repeating chains of monomers
What structure reduces the rotation and flexibility of monomer chains in a polymer?
Crosslinks