Instrumentation for an Integrated Laboratory Course on PhaseAnalysis in Materials Engineering

材料科学与工程系推出了一门新的材料相分析综合实验课程。为了实施这门课程，项目负责人正在获得一个能量色散x射线光谱学系统，以及用于现有台式学生扫描电子显微镜的相关NIST桌面光谱分析仪软件，以及用于本科生飞利浦x射线粉末衍射仪的自动化和分析软件包。这些仪器可以与自动化机械测试（Instron）和热分析（DTA/DSC/TGA）系统结合使用，在许多实验中提供一个集成的程序，同样适用于金属，陶瓷，聚合物和复合材料。该仪器使该部门能够创新和经济有效地利用现有资源进行更新和更广泛的实验，对实验数据进行更精细的分析，增强该部门的能力，为学生提供使用最先进方法的实际相分析经验，并为学生为现代工业环境做好更好的准备。它还可以扩大正在进行的与地区高中教师、学生和未被充分代表的少数民族的外展计划。综合解决材料问题的方法对材料工程教育来说是新颖的，也是至关重要的。通过这种方法，学生可以很容易地理解在材料现象和微观结构差异方面易于加工和性能之间的权衡，这对材料程序的设计组件有很大的帮助。拟议的阶段分析实验室序列为课程增加了一个重要的新维度，并极大地影响了学生/研究生工程师在合作/工作环境中的表现，这将导致工业产出的整体提高。本课程可作为全国其他材料工程课程的示范。

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is introducing a new integrated laboratory course sequence on Phase Analysis in Materials. To implement this course, project leaders are obtaining an energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy system, with the associated NIST desktop spectrum analyzer software for an existing desktop student scanning electron microscope, and an automation and analysis package for the undergraduate Philips x-ray powder diffractometer. These instruments can be used in conjunction with automated mechanical testing (Instron) and thermal analysis (DTA/DSC/TGA) systems in a number of experiments to provide an integrated program that applies equally to metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites. The instrumentation enables the department to make innovative and cost-effective use of existing resources to perform newer and more extensive experiments, conduct more refined analysis of experimental data, enhance the department's capacity to provide students hands-on phase analysis experience using state-of-the-art methods, and better prepare those students for the modern industrial environment. It can also augment the ongoing outreach program with area high school teachers, students, and underrepresented minorities. The integrated approach to materials problem solving is both novel and crucial to materials engineering education. With this approach, students can readily understand the trade-offs between ease of processing and performance in terms of materials phenomena and differences in microstructure, which contributes substantially to the design component of a materials program. The proposed laboratory sequence on phase analysis adds a significant new dimension to the curriculum and substantially affects student/graduate engineer performance in the co-op/work environment, which should lead to overall enhancement in industrial output. The course may serve as a model for other materials engineering programs in the Nation.