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CES EduPack Databases

At the heart of CES EduPack is the CES EduPack software and at the heart of the software is a CES EduPack database containing materials property and processing information and supporting 'science notes'.

Every student or teacher of an engineering, materials, or design-related subject can benefit from the general property and process information available in CES EduPack's Standard Edition. A range of specialist property data provides extra support for specific subject areas, including polymers, aerospace, eco-properties, and architecture. Additionally, the Elements database supports engineering, materials, or physics courses with more materials depth, providing property information for all of the elements of the periodic table.

General property and process information

CES EduPack Standard Edition includes the Materials and Processes Database - a unique, comprehensive, browsable information resource covering engineering materials (ceramics, metals and alloys, composites, polymers and elastomers...) and processes (shaping, joining, surface treatment). For each material or process, the database contains descriptive text, explanatory images, and technical, economic, and eco properties.

Viewing the level one materials database. The tree view on the left displays all of the materials. The datasheet displays the record for Aluminum alloys - see sample datasheets below.

Three different 'levels' of the database are available to support learning needs at different points in the curriculum. Higher levels contain more material and process records (over 3,000 at level 3) with each record containing more information than its equivalent at a lower level. Every record contains text providing background on the material or process, its applications, and guidelines for its use in design and manufacturing. Material records contain images of products that use the material, helping the student to make an instant connection to real-world applications. Process records contain images illustrating the process. The database is thus much more than a simple source of quantitative property data. It is a unique resource for learning about materials and processes.

Of course, the database is also a comprehensive source of quantitative property data. And that data has one other valuable feature - there are no 'holes'. Missing values are estimated (and this fact is noted in the datasheet). This means that the database can be used to compare, analyze, and select materials and processes without the risk that studies will be incomplete due to missing data. Such materials analysis can be performed using the tools in the CES EduPack software.

As well as explaining materials and processes, the database helps students to explore the relationships between them. Every material record is linked to the processes that can be applied to it. Conversely, every process is linked to materials to which it can be applied.

The three levels of the Materials and Processes Database

Sample database content:

• Click here to see all 64 materials and 75 processes accessible at Level 1
  
  
• A typical material (aluminum) at each level: Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3
  
  
• A typical process (die casting) at each level: Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3
  

Science notes

The database also holds Science Notes - textbook-style explanations of the science that underlies the properties stored in the database. Clicking on any property name while exploring the database brings up the relevant science note. This allows students to 'drill down' from exercises based on the property data to explore fundamental principles.

View a typical science note (Young's modulus) >>>

CES EduPack software displays a record for butyl rubber, showing the property data in the database, together with a science note describing one of the properties - click for larger image

Specialist property and process information

The specialist editions of CES EduPack augment the core database with add-on data modules that provide extensive subject-specific data for areas including polymers, aerospace, eco-properties, and architecture. Many of these data modules are used in industry - where this is the case, a link is provided below to further product information in the industrial section of this website. The educational version contains the same data.

These data modules are available as components of CES EduPack editions that have been specially tailored for courses in Industrial and Product Design, Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Polymer Science, and Architecture and the Built Environment.

More on CES EduPack editions >>>

Elements database

The CES EduPack Elements database provides the fundamental crystallographic, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of elements across the Periodic Table. This is particularly helpful for materials science courses, physics courses, or engineering courses with more materials depth.

It contains 127 records for 111 elements (some have two or three allotropic forms requiring separate records). There are 56 fields listing position in the Periodic Table, crystallographic, structural, mechanical, thermal, electrical and magnetic properties, diffusion data and surface energies. The image (click for a larger version) shows one way in which this data can be used. A property – here, density at NTP – is plotted against atomic number, illustrating the periodic fluctuations across each row of the Periodic Table. Many other fundamental relationships can be explored in this way.

License options

You can choose an EduPack license to suit your own course and budget from a range of licensing options.

See a demonstration of CES EduPack software and databases...