UAE University 2010 - ERU
 
 
COMTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENGINEERING MATERIALS
   
1
 Description
2
 Guidelines
3
 Topics

4

 Sample Project
Description :
 
The project described here is part of the course work and is worth 15% of the final grade. The objectives of the project includes:
 
1. Bringing the students attention to the various important and interesting subjects related to the course material but are not part of the catalogue description.
2. Enriching the student’s knowledge in the field of Engineering Materials through class discussion of topics selected and presented by the students.
3. Improving the student’s skills in searching for useful information related to selected topics using the various resources such as Internet pages, references, and scientific journal articles.
4. Teaching the student how to organize the various information cited from the different references in a homogenous and meaningful dialogue, and presenting it in a technically sound summary report.
5. Teaching the students the ethics of using illustrations and the work of others as well as copyright issues.
The project is conducted in teamwork through the search for information related to a selected topic, review of achieved progress in the search, and the presentation of a final report. The details and regulations governing the different aspect of the project are as follows:
 
» Each project is to be conducted by a team of 3 to 5 students.
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» Project topics will be assigned from the attached “List of Topics” by the end of the third week of classes. The title of each topic will be written on a folded piece of paper and a team member will pick one from the pile.
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» Three review sessions will be scheduled to monitor the progress of each team through oral and written presentations.
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» Each team should prepare a final technical report that is about 5 - 10 pages in length including references and a bibliography. Limited number of figures and illustrations where appropriate may be necessary.
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» The final version of the report may be submitted as a Web-Paper, i.e. a set of HTML files with links to other sites of appropriate interest.
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» Grade Assignment: 50% Progress Reviews and 50% Final Report
 
Guidelines to Writing the Project Final Report:
 
Remember that one of the important objectives of the project is to educate yourself and your colleagues about a subject not discussed by the course instructor. You and your team members will be the ones to conduct the education process. Thus, you have to be organized, clear, and coherent when presenting your findings whether during the progress review presentation or the final presentation and report.
 
It is a good practice if the team decides on a set of questions prior to your search for information. Preset questions lead to a focused search and organize the selection of useful information from the non-useful ones. You can discuss with the instructor a possible set of questions to answer while pursuing your search. Information that you and your team members should be looking for, and may be related to your selected topic, includes:
 
» Definition / meaning of the title.
» Why is the selected topic important?
» How did it start? (Historical background)
» Examples of materials / cases in the selected topic. (Where do we see it?)
» Important properties of selected material and it’s impact on applications.
» Processing techniques.
» Typical applications of selected material.
» Advanced applications of selected material.
» Current status of selected material / treatment.
» Future / research issues related to the topic.
Before writing the final report, each team members should discuss the important findings that they have learnt and concluded from their search. Definitions and meanings of technical terms should be clear to the team while writing the report. A good coherent report is that prepared and written by the team members as a result of their understanding to the subject. Copying sections from cited references is not allowed, and usually results in poor, fragmented, and a scattered writing of the report.
 
 
List of Topics:
 
1. Role of Interfaces in Controlling Durability of Fiber-Reinforced Cements.
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2. Effect of Cracking on Water and Chloride Permeability of Concrete.
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3. Factors Affecting Resistance of Concrete to Freezing and Thawing Damage.
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4. Accelerated Corrosion and Embrittlement of High-Strength Bridge Wire.
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5. Cathodic Protection Applied to Reinforced Concrete.
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6. Steel micro-fiber reinforced cement pastes and mortars.
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7. Biogenic and Chemical Sulfuric Acid Corrosion of Mortars.
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8. Ethylene Vinyl Acetate modified bitumen binder for paving mixes.
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9. Oxide materials and electrolytes for advanced Lithium batteries.
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10. High performance solid oxide thin film fuel cells.
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11. Epitaxial growth of metals and ceramics for semiconductor heterostructures.
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12. Technologies based on shape-memory alloys.
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13. Phase transformation toughening of ceramics.
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14. Ceramic materials for thin film solar cells.
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15. Polymer Bonding Materials for Chip Packaging.
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16. Thin-film Opto-electronic Materials.
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17. Measurement techniques of residual stress.
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18. Standard methods for measurement of the strength of adhesives.
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19. Advances in Laminated Composites.
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20. Computer microchips
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21. Digital video camera lenses
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22. Sport car body
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23. Polymers in enhanced oil recovery
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24. Cathodic protection for oil pipelines
 
Sample Project :
 
You can download a sample project which will guide you through the sections that your report should contain
 
 
 
 
 
UAE University 2010
Engineering Materials - ERU
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