Engineering Materials and the Environment

Engineering materials react with a large number of environmental conditions. Such reactions affect their properties and in some cases mar the appearance. At times, these impair the materials properties making them unsuitable for their intended use or failing before the design life, such environmental conditions are said to be unfavorable or hostile, on the other hand the reactions improve the properties of the materials, such environment is described as being favorable. This study reviews literature on how some materials are affected by environmental conditions i.e., the atmospheric conditions, rainfall, temperature, humidity etc. The major classes reviewed are metals, organic materials (Polymer) and ceramic materials i.e., glass, concrete etc.