ME 5223: Materials in Design Homework 3 Due in class on Sept.

30, 12:20 pm Page 1 of 2

Please record your Name on your homework!

1. Use the E−ρ chart shown in to identify materials with both E > 100 GPa and E1/3/ρ> 0.003
(GPa)1/3/(kg/m3). Remember that, on taking logs, the index M = E1/3/ρ becomes

Log  E   3Log     3Log  M 

and that this plots as a line of slope 3 on the chart, passing through the point E = 27 when ρ =
1000 in the units on the chart.

2. Aperture grills for cathode ray tubes Two types of cathode ray tube (CRT) dominate the
computer monitor and television marketplace. In the older technology, color separation is
achieved by using a shadow mask: a thin metal plate with a grid of holes that allow only the
correct beam to strike a red, green or blue phosphor. A shadow mask can heat up and distort at
high brightness levels (‘doming’), causing the beams to miss their targets, and giving a
blotchy image.

To avoid this, shadow masks are made of Invar, a nickel alloy with a near-zero expansion
coefficient between room temperature and 150°C. It is a consequence of shadow-mask
technology that the glass screen of the CRT curves inward on all four edges, increasing the
probability of reflected glare.

Sony’s ‘Trinitron’ technology overcame this problem and allowed greater brightness by
replacing the shadow mask by an aperture grill of fine vertical wires, each about 200 μm in
thickness, that allows the intended beam to strike either the red, the green or the blue
phosphor to create the image. The glass face of the Trinitron tube was curved in one plane
only, reducing glare.

The wires of the aperture grill are tightly stretched, so that they remain taut even when hot – it
is this tension that allows the greater brightness. What index guides the choice of material to
make them? The table summarizes the requirements.
ME 5223: Materials in Design Homework 3 Due in class on Sept. 30, 12:20 pm Page 2 of 2

Function • Aperture grill for CRT

Constraints • Wire thickness and spacing specified

• Must carry pre-tension without failure
• Electrically conducting to prevent charging
• Able to be drawn to wire
Objective
• Maximize permitted temperature rise without loss of tension
Free variables
• Choice of material

3. A glass or ceramic plate is heated to a temperature T and then dropped into water at room
temperature (i.e., quenched it ). Let the temperature difference be T . Let  r be the modulus
of rupture and  t the tensile strength {  r is always larger than the  t by a factor of about 1.3}.

a) Derive a quantitative measure (a mathematical expression for a material index M or a

performance index P ) for thermal shock resistance based on the plate quenching test.

b) What will the answer be if a small diameter rod is used for this quenching test instead
of a plate.

c) Properties of some glasses and ceramics are given below. Identify the material having the
highest thermal shock resistance and order the materials from the highest to lowest
thermal shock resistance. Plate quenching test is to be used.

Young's Compression Modulus Fracture Thermal Coft.

Modulus strength of rupture toughness of expansion
Material Gpa Mpa MPa MPa m1/2 μm/m K-1

Soda lime glass 74 1000 50 0.7 8.5

Borosilicate glass 65 1200 55 0.8 4.0
Porcelain 70 350 45 1.0 3.0
Alumina 380 3000 350 4.0 8.5