Background

Thermal spraying is by no means a new technique. It was invented in 1912 in Switzerland and is well established and widespread with coatings produced in this manner being used in all manner of industries. However, so varied are the possibilities afforded by the process that it is continually evolving and growing with new methods and applications. One such evolution is the Purecoat process. A little over three years ago a group of seven interested companies set up a Brite project to find a ways of improving the coating quality of existing techniques, without significantly raising the operating cost. The starting point for such an exercise is to analyze the problems with existing technologies and to do that one has to understand something of the structure of a metal-sprayed coating.
Coating Structure and Buildup via Thermal Spraying

All forms of thermal spraying involve the projection of small heated particles of material at a prepared substrate. Upon impact, the particles spread and freeze, adhering to asperities on the surface as they do so. As more and more particles follow, they land on each other and together form a continuous coating. Upon the properties of each of those particles depends the quality of the final coating. For instance a cold particle will not deform properly at the surface and will lead to porosity around it and a poor cohesive strength. On the other hand if the particle is too hot and exposed to oxygen it will oxidise and the coating will contain a large amount of oxides as well as the desired metal. How can we avoid these problems?
Ensuring Coating Materials are Molten

Arc spraying is a process that uses a wire feedstock melted by an arc. Because of this it is not possible to produce unmelted particles. This solves the first problem of ensuring that all the particles are melted. Now the question remains as to how to stop the oxidation.
Thermal Spraying in Inert Atmospheres

The obvious answer is to spray using an inert gas in an inert gas chamber. We have done this on various occasions since the 1950’s and it works. Even coatings of Titanium can be produced with almost no oxidation. However the use of a chamber means that the components are limited in size and fixed in location and one of the great benefits of thermal spraying may be lost. How much better would it be to be able to shroud the spray in inert gas so as to have a truly portable inert environment for spraying. This idea is also not new. Patents and papers for shrouding of plasma spray systems go back to the 1960’s and varying levels of success have been achieved because it is not as easy as it would at first appear
Thermal Spraying in a Localised Inert Atmospheres

If one just puts the spray head into a plain tube and use inert gas as the propellant then the divergence of the spray stream within the tube tends to coat the inside with molten material, which builds up and finally obstructs the spray. Furthermore, as the fast moving jet of gas exits the tube it creates a region of low pressure and the surrounding air is sucked into the inert gas diluting it to the point of uselessness within a short distance. How can these problems of spray divergence and oxygen entrainment be overcome?

The answers were found by modelling the spraying process by finite element techniques using a Cray Supercomputer.
Modelling

The computer model produced by ESIL in Dublin was able to predict the levels of oxygen in the gas stream at various distances downstream and radial distances from the spray centreline. At the laboratories of CISE in Milan these results were backed up by physical measurements of the oxygen concentrations and a remarkable consistency of results was shown. From these results and knowing from our measurements of divergence that almost all the spray fell within the low oxygen region we were able to predict that the coating material would not be heavily oxidised in flight.

In Figure 1 below, the top illustration is a representation of the concentrations of air and nitrogen in the tube of the shrouding system and immediately outside it. The upper diagram represents a plain tube above showing almost complete dilution with air. The optimised shroud below shows almost pure nitrogen over the particle spray zone.

Prototyping

In parallel with the results from the modelling, prototypes were built to test the divergence and the patterns of flow and even the initial results were very encouraging. We originally set out to beat the plasma specification of 8% oxide content in a Nickel Chromium alloy and actually achieved 3% spraying on tubes. With regard to porosity we aimed for 10% and achieved less than 1%.

What are the practical benefits of this new technology and what can we do that we could not before? To understand this we need to look at the problems involved in some real applications.
Wet Corrosion Resistance

Alloys such as Inconel 625 provide corrosion protection by providing a barrier layer resistant to a whole range of chemical attack. They offer protection by readily forming an adherent oxide film, usually of chromium oxide, on their surface, which inhibits further corrosion. However, this readiness to form oxides mean that normally sprayed coatings will contain oxidised particles, which are therefore depleted in chromium. If the material is depleted in chromium it is clearly not the intended material any longer and cannot be expected to perform as expected. The fact that a conventional coating comprises depleted and non-depleted zones means that it is no longer homogeneous and internal electrolytic cells can be set up causing dissimilar metal corrosion. Research has also shown that these oxide layers around the particles can act as a path for further oxidation and penetration of the oxidising medium to the substrate. Therefore the lower the oxides content of the coating the better. Coating density is also very important in reducing the paths along which the corrosive medium can migrate.
High Temperature Oxidation and Sulphidation.

Components such as boiler firewalls, incinerators and the hot gas paths of gas turbines suffer corrosion at high temperature. The same quality factors arise in the protection of components against oxidation and sulphidation as for wet corrosion but with different materials. In this case high chromium alloys or alloys with chromium and aluminium such as Metallisation 78E and 88E are used. The chromium and aluminium form an adherent oxide scale, which inhibits further corrosion. Where the coating is already oxidised the corrosive species migrate along the boundaries and allow the coating to be corroded internally as well as from the surface.

All of these materials rely on providing a dense resistant barrier of an alloy, which is not degraded by the spraying process. Normal coatings fail due to degradation of the alloy and penetration through the coating. The Purecoat process minimises these deleterious effects leading to better performance and longer life.
Application Testing

Having made our device and seen that the microstructures were promising we wanted to test the coatings in realistic situations. Three application areas were chosen, high temperature sulphidation as is found in boilers burning low-grade coal and orimulsion, wet corrosion such as would be encountered in sea water valves or chemical plant and ductility such as is required in the manufacture of inking rolls.
High Temperature Sulphidation Testing

For the hot sulphidation tests coatings were made on cylindrical samples and subjected to hundreds of hours of testing under a controlled atmosphere in a specially designed furnace. The pieces were examined at 250hour intervals and weighed to discover the weight gain due to sulphide formation. The optimum coatings performed better than an HVOF coating costing 5 times as much to apply.

Thermal Fatigue can be a problem in coated materials and so tubes coated on one side only were thermally cycled for 1000 hours. There was no sign of lifting or spalling of the coating.
Wet Corrosion Testing

To assess the effects upon wet corrosion properties we took one of the most widely used corrosion resistant alloys, Inconel 625, and sprayed it onto carbon steel plates. These plates were tested in two ways. Firstly electro-potential tests were used to compare the sprayed material itself with wrought Inconel 625. Standard Inconel 625 readily passivates at a certain level. The closer to this level that the sprayed coating passivates the more like the wrought material will be its behaviour. Purecoat Inconel 625 behaves very much more like the true alloy than a conventionally sprayed sample.

The second test was a conventional salt spray test. This not only tests the resistance of the material itself but also its permeability. If the salt spray can penetrate the coating then the underlying steel will be preferentially corroded and rust staining will appear on the surface. Testing showed that the Purecoat sample significantly out performed standard spray.

Background

There are a number of reasons for making engineering components by powder metallurgy and these lead to the groupings below:

· Refractory Metals

· Composite Materials

· Porous Materials

· Structural (or Mechanical) Parts

· Special High-Duty Alloys
Refractory Metals

Certain metals, particularly those with very high melting points, i.e. the refractory metals, are very difficult to produce by melting and casting, and also are frequently very brittle in the cast state. Tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum and related metals come into this category. A sintered powder compact having a relative density of less than 90% can be mechanically deformed at a suitably elevated temperature, and gradually develops a microstructure with preferred orientation that gives the now dense material useful ductility even at ambient temperatures.
Composite Materials

These consist of two or more metals which are insoluble even in the liquid state, or of mixtures of metals with non-metallic substances such as oxides and other refractory materials. In this class appear:

· Electrical contact materials such as copper/tungsten, silver/cadmium oxide.

· Hardmetals, i.e. cemented carbides, used for cutting tools, wear parts such as, for example, wire-drawing dies, and tools for the hot forging of metals. Tungsten carbide bonded with cobalt was the first of this class of material and still has the lion’s share of the market, but other carbides and, more recently, nitrides, carbo-nitrides and borides are being used in increasing quantities, and substitutes for the relatively scarce and expensive cobalt are being tried. These include: Ni, Ni-Co, Ni-Cr, nickel-based superalloys, and complex steels.

· Friction materials for brake linings and clutch facings in which abrasive and other non-metallic materials are embedded in a copper or other metallic matrix.

· Diamond cutting tools especially grinding wheels in which small diamonds are uniformly dispersed in a metal matrix.

· In recent years several wrought products containing finely dispersed non-metallic phases have been developed and put into service. These dispersion-strengthened materials, referred to as ODS materials if the strengthening particles are oxide, have strength especially at elevated temperatures superior to that of case and wrought metal of similar basic composition. As in the case of refractory metals it is difficult if not impossible to make these composite products except by powder metallurgical processes.
Porous Materials

Most forms of metal are porous to some extent, sintered metals more so than most, but here we are concerned with the production of parts having a significant carefully controlled porosity designed to serve a useful purpose. The chief products in the group are filters and oil-retaining bearings often referred to as self-lubricating bearings. The latter is one of the major powder metallurgical products. Again the above products cannot readily or satisfactorily be produced by alternative processes.
Structural or Mechanical Parts

By any reckoning, this is by far the largest group. The bulk consists of iron-based parts, but significant tonnages of copper, brass, bronze and aluminium parts are produced, as well as some rarer metals such as beryllium and titanium. In general such parts do not have mechanical properties superior to those of equivalent parts made by forging or machined from wrought bar, often the reverse, but they are entirely suitable for the required duty. They often have advantage over forgings in dimensional accuracy, but in a large number of cases, the main justification for their use is economic - i.e. Powder metallurgy is a cheaper production process. Recently, however, developments have taken place that will require revision of the foregoing. It is now possible to produce sintered parts with properties equal to and even superior to those of parts made by more traditional routes.
Special High-Duty Alloys

An area that is growing very rapidly is the production from powder of high strength materials - high speed steels and so-called superalloys based on nickel and (or cobalt) to give a product having superior properties to those achieved by casting and forging. In general the powder is compacted into a blank or billet which is then subject to forging, or extrusion followed by forming in traditional ways. The advantages of the powder route are higher yield or usable material, and a finer, more uniform microstructure that confers improved mechanical properties, and, in the case of cutting tools and wear parts, longer life. The powder metallurgy process has also allowed the development of new types of materials based on powders having micro-crystalline or even amorphous (glass like) structures produced by cooling droplets of molten metal at very high rates. The final consolidated product is characterised by very high strength, ductility, and thermal stability.

Background

Nickel alloys are used extensively because of their corrosion resistance, high temperature strength and their special magnetic and thermal expansion properties.

The major alloy types that are used are:

· Iron-Nickel-Chromium alloys

· Stainless Steels

· Copper-Nickel alloys and Nickel-Copper alloys

· Nickel-Chromium and Nickel-Chromium-Iron alloys

· Low Expansion Alloys

· Magnetic Alloys
Stainless steels

The majority of the stainless steels contain 8-10% nickel. In all cases it is the combination of chromium with the nickel that does the job. Stainless steels are also useful as fire retardant materials since they retain their strength to higher temperatures than structural steel.

The most common stainless steel is the 304 grade with 8% nickel and 18% chromium and the balance iron. This is used for such common items as spoons and forks, saucepans and kitchen sinks. Where extra corrosion resistance is required, such as for roofing in marine applications, type 316 is used. This has about the same amount of nickel and chromium as 304 but with 3% of molybdenum added. The balance is again iron.

There are many other stainless steels to cover the wide spectrum of demands of engineers and architects.
Nickel Copper Alloys

These alloys are sometimes referred to as MONEL or NICORROS and contain nickel with copper and small amounts of iron and manganese. A typical alloy is the 400 grade (UNS N04400). This contains 63% nickel minimum, 28-34% copper, and a maximum of 2% manganese and 2.5% iron. There are also a small number of impurities kept at limited values to ensure the metal’s properties are not harmed.

These alloys are used where a higher strength is required compared to pure nickel. They have a wider range of environments where they resist corrosion but in some specialised applications, such as strong alkali contaminant, nickel would be superior.

They find wide application in oil refining and marine applications where long corrosion-free life is required. Because of their good thermal conductivity they frequently are used for heat exchangers where sea water is one of the fluids concerned.
Nickel Chromium Base Alloys

These alloys are used extensively in applications where heat resistance and/or corrosion resistance is required. In some members of the group, where conditions are less demanding, some nickel is replaced by iron to decrease the overall cost

Metals fail at high temperatures by both oxidation (scaling) and through a loss in strength. Alloys in this class are designed to resist failure from both of these mechanisms. Nickel alloys are not suitable for high temperature sulphur rich environments.

Where corrosion resistance is significant, molybdenum is used as an alloying addition.

This group of alloys are frequently sold under trade name specifications but most are listed in the Unified Numbering System. Common trade names are HASTELLOY, INCOLOY, INCONEL, NICROFER, and NIMONIC,

The more recent alloys in these groups also have a wide range of ancillary elements added to give special properties - some of these can be quite complicated and require very close control over composition and heat treatment.

Table 1. Compositions of some common nickel alloys.

UNS No	Al	Cr	Co	Fe	Mo	Ni	Nb+Ta	Ti	W
N10276		15.5		5.5	16	57			3.8
N06600		15.5		8		76
N06625		21.5			9	61	3.6
N08800		21		46		32.5
N07718	0.5	19		18.5	3	52.5	5.1
N07090	1.5	19.5	16.5			60		2.5

Table 2. Typical properties of some common nickel alloys.

UNS No	Condition	UTS (MPa)	0.2 Proof Stress (MPa)	Elong. On 5cm (%)	Hardness (HB)	1000hr Ruptire Str. 750°C (MPa)
N10276	Annealed	790	415	50	184	N/a
N06600	Annealed	550-690	210-430	55-35	120-170	38
N06625	Annealed	930	520	45	180	160
N08800	Annealed	520-690	210-410	60-30	120-184	70 (700°C)
N07718	Age Hardened	1350	1180	17	382	170

This list is far from exhaustive and enquiries should be made for specialised high temperature or corrosive situations.

All metals ‘creep’ under stress at high temperature and in their manufactured form, components may deform. This deformation could cause failure. Nickel alloys have higher strength and longer life at elevated temperature than most alloys. This makes them ideal for such parts as blades and disks in gas turbine engines. The designer however, must determine the expected life of each component and use the appropriate creep and rupture strength in the design.


Low Expansion Alloys

There are a group of nickel-iron ‘controlled expansion’ alloys where the expansion coefficient is low and constant over a range of temperatures.

These alloys are used extensively where changes in mechanical properties with temperature could be a problem, such as in precision springs. The alloys are also used where a metal/glass seal is required.

One example is the alloy containing 48% nickel and the balance iron (UNS K94800). This alloy has the following expansion coefficients:

20-100°C: 8.5 x 10-6m/m.°C
20-400°C: 8.3-9.3 x 10-6m/m.°C

This alloy has an expansion co-efficient designed to match that of soda-lime and soft lead glasses and thus provides a sound glass/metal seal that will not crack because of differential expansion between the two materials.
Magnetic Alloys

There is a requirement for materials with high magnetic permeability to minimise the power requirements to generate a strong magnetic field, such as that required in tape recorder heads and for magnetic shielding around precision cathode ray display devices.

These high permeability materials are complex alloys based on nickel with a range of composition possibilities. A typical composition could be: 70-80% nickel with small amounts of molybdenum and/or copper and the balance iron. This alloy would be expected to have a maximum relative permeability of between 50,000 and 100,000. Common trade names of this group are MU-METAL and PERMALLOY.

There is also a requirement for materials with a constant permeability over a range of magnetic flux densities. This is required in telephone equipment and electrical fitters where a variation in permeability would result in distortion. These alloys are generally known as the PERMINVAR alloys and have compositions ranging around 45% nickel, 30% iron and 25% cobalt.

Background

Metal powders are produced by a variety of methods, each of which provide powders with different characteristics and properties.
Reduction of Oxides

The major world producer of iron powder manufactures powder by the reduction of iron oxide either in the form of a pure iron ore, or as pure mill-scale from a large rolling mill. In either case an irregular, spongy powder is produced, with a particle size of minus 100 mesh, that is the powder will go through a standard sieve of 100 mesh as defined in British Standards.
Atomisation

Metal powders are produced by disrupting a molten metal stream with a high-pressure water or gas jets. The relative volumes of the metal stream and the impinging fluid together with the pressure of the atomising medium, amongst other variables, are critical in determining the particle size distribution of the atomised powder.

Finer powders, of say 20 mm diameter, are produced by using higher gas or water pressures. These are more expensive, due to the lower yields, the large volumes of gas used (usually argon) and the cost of the high pressure pumping equipment.

Water atomised particles are usually irregular in shape, whereas gas atomised particles tend to be spherical.

Metallic alloys can also be atomised to give particles, each of which has the mean composition of the original melt.

Recent developments in the powder production process lead to rapid particle cooling rates, which lead to the retention in solid solution, of phases or elements that would normally precipitate within the structure of the particle as it cools. These metastable levels can vary significantly from the equilibrium concentrations that occur during normal cooling. When the powders are consolidated and heat-treated, very high strength materials may be obtained.
Production From Carbonyl Derivatives

Both iron and nickel are produced in large quantities by the decomposition of the metal carbonyl. Small, uniform spherical particles typically 5 microns in diameter are produced.
Electrolytic Production

Electro-deposition conditions can be arranged so that the metal is not plated out as a solid electrode layer, but as a powdery deposit, which does not adhere to the cathode and can be removed from the electrolyte bath as a fine sludge. The most common product is pure copper powder
Mechanical Alloying

If elemental powders, produced by the methods described above, are ball-milled together under the correct conditions the overall composition of each powder particle becomes that of the average composition of the powders in the ball mill. This is due to a cycle in which particles of different compositions adhere to each other, and then break away leaving traces of one particle on the other. If continued for a sufficiently long time, the particle compositions become uniform. Again, unusual compositions can be obtained that are not possible by conventional melting technology, such as high carbon aluminium alloys, and copper and nickel alloys which contain oxides.

Background

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Mechanism

Due to the electrical potential difference that develops when two dissimilar metals or alloys are connected together in an aqueous solution the base metal will become anodic and the more noble metal will act as a cathode. The noble metal is in effect, cathodically protected by the more reactive metal which is corroded.

Galvanic Series

A galvanic series of metals and alloys can be listed for given corrosive environments, for example seawater, to show which material is liable to corrode in a galvanic couple, table 1.

Table 1. Simplified galvanic series for metals and alloys. The relative position in the series will depend on the corrosive environment and on the passivity of the surface of the metal or alloy.

Noble (cathodic) Base (Anodic)

Platinum Gold Graphite Titanium Silver Stainless steels Nickel Monel Cupronickel Tin bronze Copper Cast iron Steel Aluminium Zinc Magnesium

Attack on the base metal will usually be more severe at the junction with the noble metal, but the extent of the damage will depend on the electrochemical differences between them, i.e. the wider their separation in the galvanic series, the greater is the attack on the base partner. The relative surface areas of the two metals exposed to the corrosive media and the nature of that media will also have an affect. When small surface areas of base metal are connected to much larger areas of noble material the attack on the base metal will be rapid.

This is illustrated by the first recorded example of the galvanic effect with the detachment of copper sheets from the hull of HMS Alarm in 1761. This was as a result from attack on the iron nails which had been use to attach the copper to the timbers.

Minimising the Effect of Galvanic Attack

Galvanic attack can be minimised, as can other forms of corrosion, by correct design. The use of galvanically compatible materials and the use of electrical insulation between dissimilar materials will help. Not coating the anodic surface in case of pinhole damage to it is also useful as this could give rapid local attack.

The galvanic effect is the reason why different phases and segregated regions in alloy microstructures will have varying resistance to corrosion. This effect is made good use of when polished specimens are selectively attacked by etching in order to reveal and study microstructural features under the microscope. In stainless steels Cr-depleted zones around Cr-rich second phases will be less noble and as such will be subject to highly localised attack leading to interdendritic and/or intergrannular forms of corrosion.

Abstract

A graduate program in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) was first established in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in 1993, mainly in response to the needs of the semiconductor and electronics industry which now accounts for 69% of the country’s exports. The University of the Philippines is currently the only university in the country offering this program in the graduate level (M.S. and Ph.D.). The Ph.D. MSE program has produced 4 graduates since its initial offering. In 1999, the undergraduate program in Materials Engineering was also pioneered at the University of the Philippines, eventually producing the first batch of graduates in 2002. Since its initial offering, Materials Engineering has seen a dramatic increase in enrollment and in fact there are more students taking this course now compared to the traditional course in Metallurgical Engineering. Considering the multidisciplinary nature of the program, both the College of Engineering and the College of Science are jointly involved in the teaching of the graduate program in Materials Science and Engineering. Key research facilities needed for high-level research in materials are shared in the two colleges at the University of the Philippines and major equipment for materials characterization and synthesis were acquired through the Department of Science and Technology-Engineering Science and Education Project (DOST-ESEP) with bulk of the funding coming from the World Bank. In the graduate level, most of the students actually come from the semiconductor and electronics industry sector, as well as other local universities trying to develop their own program in materials engineering. There is now an increasing active involvement of the private industry to further influence the curriculum and the quality of the program by offering assistance in terms of maintenance of facilities, scholarships, sharing of expertise, research funding, and collaborative projects in research involving students and faculty. The government continues to provide its traditional support in the funding of major research projects in materials science and engineering through key agencies such as the Philippine Council on Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCASTRD-DOST). The future of Materials Engineering research and education in the Philippines appears to be very bright at this point, especially with the prospects of more active collaboration in the ASEAN-Japan region.
Introduction

The study of materials is deemed to be very important for the advance of current technology considering that many technological breakthroughs in the past have usually been the outcome of the development of important materials. History will tell us that progress in civilization has been associated with the rise in the production and utilization of certain materials such as bronze, iron, steel, and of course, silicon. Even now, the term “nanotechnology” is already a major buzzword in the scientific community and its eventual maturation in the not so distant future is heralded to make available for our utilization materials with superior properties far exceeding our expectations. The discipline known as Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) must therefore be an important field of study which any country should give high priority. Expertise in materials will be very much needed for a country to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology.

This paper will present the status of Materials Engineering research and education in the Philippines in line with the objective of establishing a network for research and other types of collaboration activities with its Asian neighbors in the very important field of materials. For meaningful partnerships to be achieved, it is important that one be informed of what potential partners have to offer in terms of expertise, experience and facilities so that collaboration activities can be dovetailed to the specific needs of the parties involved.
Materials Engineering Education

Prior to the establishment of formal MS and PhD program offerings in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in 1993, certain courses were already being offered that provided fundamental education in materials, particularly in metals and ceramics. For instance, B.S. Metallurgical Engineering started to be offered at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus as early as the 50s. Later on, two other schools in the country would be offering the same degree, Mapua Institute of Technology (Mapua Tech) in Manila and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSu-IIT) in Iligan City of southern Philippines. The B.S. Ceramic Engineering program was also established later in MSU-IIT and Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Ilocos Norte province.

The metallurgical engineers and ceramic engineers were taught about the fundamental principles of materials science and engineering though their respective curricula focused only either in metals or ceramics. For example, metallurgical engineering education familiarized the students with important principles about crystal structures, defects like dislocations, and heat treatment which other engineering graduates may not even be aware of. The metallurgical and ceramic engineers could be considered then to be the most knowledgeable engineers in the country as far as materials, were concerned. However, the curriculum did not develop adequacy in areas such as polymer science and engineering or electronic materials such as semiconductors, magnetic materials and superconductors. Organic chemistry, critical to the study of polymeric materials, was for instance not even a required subject.

In the graduate level, there was also an established MS program in Metallurgical Engineering in UP Diliman. There were two areas of focus: one in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy and the other in Physical and Adaptive Metallurgy, with the latter actually leaning more to the Materials Science and Engineering aspect of the discipline. Enrollment figures in both the undergraduate and graduate program were low compared to other engineering disciplines and the then U.P. Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering was the smallest Department in the College of Engineering. Today, licensed metallurgical engineers in the country have a total number less than 600 engineers. Traditionally, the employment opportunities up to the 1980s for metallurgical engineers were mostly in the big mining companies which were then abundant in the country. However, in the 90s, the mining industry suffered a slump and an opportunity was instead created for metallurgical engineers to practice in the semiconductor and electronics industries of the Philippines. At present, the semiconductor and electronics sector already accounts for 69% of the country’s exports and can actually be considered to be the major employer of graduates in both Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering in the country.

During the term of President Fidel V. Ramos, what spurred the creation of the graduate program in Materials Science and Engineering in the Philippines was the project known as DOST-ESEP, which stands for the Department of Science and Technology-Engineering and Science Education Project. Prior to this, expertise in Materials Science and Engineering had been identified to be critical to the industrialization efforts of the country by the Science and Technology Coordinating Council of the Republic of the Philippines. A program in Materials Science and Engineering was needed to support the efforts in other technology sectors such as energy, information, equipment and medical technologies. The creation of the MSE program was then a key component of the Engineering and Science Education Project, with most of the funding coming from loans from the World Bank.

DOST-ESEP made possible acquisition of fundamental equipment for education and research in Materials Science and Engineering education. This included for instance major materials characterization equipment such as a 200 kV transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope with wavelength dispersive system, x-ray diffractometer and thermal analyzers. The ESEP equipment were concentrated in the three leading universities in the Philippines (University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University and De la Salle University). These universities were to become the centers of education in engineering and science in the country and envisioned to provide graduate training to faculty from the other local schools and universities. In line with the objective to set up doctorate programs in science and engineering in these identified centers of education, full foreign scholarships were also awarded to faculty members of the key colleges and institutes as early as 1992. This was to ensure that the critical mass of experts be available to make the graduate programs viable. Local full scholarships were also provided to faculty from other local universities and the doctorate students in the local PhD MSE program were given the opportunity to conduct their thesis in foreign universities under a sandwich program, prior to the delivery of critical MSE equipment in the country for research.

To further ensure successful implementation of the graduate program in Materials Science and Engineering, a Virtual Center in Materials Science and Engineering was created in UP Diliman. This would allow sharing of laboratory facilities for research or education by the College of Science and College of Engineering. Considering the multidisciplinary nature of Materials Science and Engineering, the graduate MSE program at UP Diliman campus was offered as a joint program offering of the College of Engineering and the College of Science. The Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (DMMME) of the College of Engineering and the National Institute of Physic (NIP) of the College of Science were designated as the key department/institute to implement the MSE program. Faculty from other departments or institutes who had the proper expertise to teach MSE courses could be tapped to serve as lecturers or thesis advisers.

In the present MSE graduate program in UP Diliman, students come from BS Engineering or BS Science graduates. B.S. graduates of Metallurgical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Civil Engineering have enrolled in the program. The BS Science graduates are usually graduates in Physics or Chemistry. Undergraduate remedial courses on fundamental materials science courses are prescribed for those entering with no materials background. The MS MSE students take the same core courses in MSE whether from engineering or science background. Aside from 18 units of lecture courses under the MS MSE Thesis Option, six units of laboratory courses are required to be taken to develop their skills in experimental research in materials, especially if they have plans of pursuing the Ph.D MSE later. The MS MSE Non-Thesis Option is available for those who are working full-time in the industry. Only faculty members who are PhD holders are deemed qualified to teach in the graduate MSE program. In a typical semester, there are about 12-14 full-time faculty members with PhD degrees actively involved in teaching graduate MSE subjects and/or serving as thesis advisers under the MS MSE program.

There are also students who are faculty members from other schools and they usually enter under scholarships from their sending institutions. Though the UP Diliman campus is the only one that currently offers the MSE graduate program in the country, other academic institutions in the country have also plans to set up their own programs in materials in the not so distant future. Taking the lead is Mapua Institute of Technology which has recently started offering its undergraduate program in Materials Science and Engineering. They have replaced their traditional program in Metallurgical Engineering by something more oriented towards MSE in hope of increasing enrollment figures.

The enrollment statistics in the MSE graduate program at the College of Engineering alone as of academic year 2002-2003 in all year levels total to 72 for the MS MSE and 8 for the PhD MSE program. This is a comparatively high figure compared to the other engineering graduate programs in UP. This does not yet include enrollment figures in the MS MSE program at the College of Science which is comparatively much lower. Every semester, not less than ten students are accepted into the program at the College of Engineering. However, most of these students enter only on a part-time basis and take only one to two subjects per semester since they are usually working in industry.

In 1999, the UP Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering pioneered the BS Materials Engineering program. This addressed certain deficiencies in the traditional BS Metallurgical Engineering program which did not provide adequate education to deal with a wider range of materials, especially those encountered in the semiconductor and electronics industry such as molding compounds, die-attach materials, semiconductors, ceramic substrates, and the like. By removing the Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy part of the Metallurgical Engineering curriculum and replacing these with courses such as Electrical and Magnetic Materials, Polymer Materials, Ceramic Materials, Composite Materials, IC Packaging Technology, Failure Analysis and Materials Testing, etc., the BS Materials Engineering curriculum would now produce graduates who will be more suited to the needs of the semiconductor and electronics industry.

Unlike the graduate program in MSE which is a joint offering with the College of Science, the BS Materials Engineering program is solely under the DMMME. There are a total of 13 faculty members, majority of which have either PhD or MS, involved in the teaching of Materials Engineering courses.

Many of the students enrolled in the MS MSE program are working students who are usually employed in the semiconductor and electronics industries. There is a high demand now for materials expertise in industry especially in the area of failure analysis and new packaging materials.

In 1999, the program accepted a pilot batch of incoming third year engineering students who shifted from the other disciplines to this new program. Majority of the students of this pilot section graduated in April, 2002 after three years of their acceptance in the program. If we look at the enrollment figures in Table 1, the incoming freshmen for AY 2002-2003 have practically reached the set quota of 75 Materials Engineering freshmen students per year (or two sections per year). Considering also the batch of students from first to third year level, there are now more Materials Engineering students compared to Metallurgical Engineering students. The positive feedback from the earlier graduates has certainly played a role in enticing the high school graduates to take a career in Materials Engineering.

Background

Bodycote Testing Group provide the most comprehensive range of mechanical testing service available today. All Bodycote laboratories incorporate dedicated machine shops to provide specimen preparation.
Laboratory Accreditations

All our laboratories are accredited to National, International and in-house standards; as well as client specifications, in a bid to provide complete assurance.
Specimen Preparation

Specimen preparation is often the slowest part of the mechanical testing process and to counter this we are continuously investing in new CNC controlled equipment to improve efficiency and reduce turnaround times.
Typical Testing Procedures

The Group is able to meet all routine mechanical testing requirements such as: -

· Tensile Test

· High Temperature Tensile Testing

· Impact Test

· Hardness Tests

· Weld Procedure Qualification & Welder Qualification
Tensile Testing

Bodycote routinely perform tensile tests on a vast array of metallic and non-metallic materials. Our inventory allows testing to be performed between the load ranges of 20N to 2000kN.

Bodycote can also offer tensile testing services at a range of test temperatures, to a range of international standards.
High Temperature Tensile Testing

High temperature environmental chambers are available at most sites to undertake elevated temperature tensile testing. Testing temperatures range from 50°C to 850°C and beyond for particularly high temperature applications.
Impact Tests

Bodycote Testing Group can perform a range of impact tests, including Izod and Charpy tests. Testing can be performed to both European and American standards. Testing is routinely performed from 100°C to -273°C.
Hardness Testing

Vickers, Rockwell and Brinell tests can be performed across the Group at a range of loads. The Group are routinely requested to perform Hardness Testing on a production basis.
Welder Qualification and Weld Procedure Testing

The Bodycote Testing Group has vast experience of welder qualification and weld procedure testing, to a range of specifications, including BS EN 287/8 and ASME IX. Bodycote can also provide welding engineering consultancy.
Non-Routine Tests

Due to the unique Bodycote Testing Group structure, a major benefit to clients is the performance of non-routine tests, which include: -

· Drop Weight Tear Tests

· Flexural Strength Measurements

· US FQA Bolt Testing

· Impact Tests to 660J

· Fracture Mechanics
Typical Materials Tested

Bodycote Testing Group also possess unrivalled experience in testing a wide range of materials including: -

· Nickel Alloys

· Aluminium Alloys

· Copper Alloys

· Stainless Steels, including Duplex and Austenitics.

Bodycote Testing Group provides the definitive mechanical testing service to facilitate early product release or production start.