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24
SECTION 1
20
Complete this chart, reporting the main ideas you have underlined. Then read the passage in detail and
complete the second column with the secondary information.
21
Explain how the development of new materials can lead both to new products and to improvements in
the performance of existing engineered products. Show how developments in materials have affected
an engineered product.
22
Describe the properties and typical uses of a range of composites. Look for further information on the
Web.
Main points (essential information)
Secondary information
graphene
grafene
honeycomb lattice
struttura a nido d’ape
manufacturers
produttori
TECHNICAL ENGLISH
Hundreds are developed every year. Today’s composite materials and smart
materials are particularly important.
Composites
2
have already found many applications, ranging from dental fillings
to high-performance aircraft parts.
Smart materials
3
have just started to
find their first commercial use. The number of applications for both types of
material is expected to increase significantly over the coming decade.
One example is
graphene
that, although still difficult to produce, may be the
material of choice for the next generation of electronic devices, because it
forms strong, bendable sheets – made from carbon atoms arranged in a
honeycomb
lattice
– and has exceptional electronic properties which make it a promising
starting point for flexible electronic applications.
Another important innovation in this field are
biomaterials
4
, that can generally
be produced either in nature or synthesized in the laboratory using a variety
of chemical processes which use metallic components or ceramics. Today these
are often used and adapted for medical applications, and may comprise all or
part of a living structure or biomedical device which performs, augments, or
replaces a natural function.
Increased competition worldwide in sports is demanding improved
sports
equipment
. The sports industries (equipment and clothing) are constantly
seeking to improve their products and there is a lot of interest in the new
lightweight materials and the response characteristics of these materials. A
number of research projects have been set up to assist industrial
manufacturers
of sports equipment, who successfully incorporate new materials into their
products, are able to make large profits. However, deciding which new materials
to use requires a thorough understanding of the science of sport and a detailed
knowledge of both physics and materials science.
1
constraint
: something that restricts, limits what you can do
2
composites
: materials that are made by combining two or more different types of material that are not chemically joined and
that remain physically distinct. One example is fibreglass, that uses thin fibres of ceramic glass stuck together with a polyester
or epoxy resin. If you looked at its structure under a microscope you would be able to see fibres of ceramic material, surrounded
by polymer
3
smart materials
: materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external
stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields. There are a number of types of smart material,
some of which are already common. One example is piezoelectric material that produces a voltage when stress is applied.
Since this effect also applies in the reverse manner, a voltage across the sample will produce stress within the sample. Suitably
designed structures made from these materials can therefore be made to bend, expand or contract when a voltage is applied
4
biomaterial
: a biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems
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Progetto FOR MECHANICALS_unit_1.indd 24
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