HOW DO MATERIALS RESPOND ?

Post 453 -by Gautam Shah

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Materials respond to

Other Materials,

Environment,

User.

OTHER MATERIALS:

Materials respond to other materials within their realm. The reactions occur both, in the presence or absence, of the environment and the user. A material of a higher phase reacts more readily to a material of the lower phase, e.g. solid to a liquid. Material with an ion charge reacts to a material with opposite ion charge. A material with lower latent energy becomes recipient.

Materials respond to not only weather and on quality of the constituents, but their positional exposure. So design can aggravate a response mechanism or restrict it. The positional exposure is acutely governed by the joints and the materials, if any.

The response of a material, occurs through the surface, more emphatically, than anywhere else. Materials with their own surface systems (inherent finish) respond in the same manner as their body would. However, applied surface systems of the same or of foreign materials show different behaviour. In such reactions, the important factors are, surface preparation, application method, and bonding techniques.

ENVIRONMENT:

Materials are affected by many aspects of the environment. The effects are local, if environment effects are directional (through specific orientation), or occur comprehensively. The various constituents of the object also respond differently. Single, or mono material systems are often inadequate for such multilateral environmental demands. Multi-material objects or composites are conceived to serve such demands, separately as well as unitedly.

An applied surface material system, covering an entity, forms its own environment. Here the situation can also be equated to material to environment response.

Effects of the environment substantially relate to the movement of earth-sun, and so have a time dimension. The time dimension makes such environmental effects to be temporary, permanent, recurrent, or variable. One perhaps cannot terminate the processes of nature, however, the effects of environment can be temporarily delayed or quickened and spatially diffused, or intensified, to programme the functioning of an object.

The effects of environment are structurally causative (capable of causing structural changes in a material), and also sensually attributive (capable of providing the sensorial experiences).

USER:

A user perceives a material-object in different terms like: Engineering attributes, Dimensional features, Surface properties and for Other considerations. A surface is the most proximate and tangible part of an object. A surface, is often the reason, why an object continues to survive in a particular setting. A user perceives the surface of a material-object through factors such as:

• proximity (closeness, intimacy, distance)
• duration (of encounter)
• frequency and extent (area) of contact
• mode of handling
• our past experiences
• our sensory capabilities
• our physiological state
• atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity)
• light (direction and level of illumination)
• orientation, or point of observation.

● There are more than 20 mathematical parameters applied to surface description, and some of the terms are: roughness, irregular features of wave, height, width, lay, and direction on the surface; camber, deviation from straightness; out of flat, measure of macroscopic deviations from flatness of a surface.

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