The main goal of the course is to give the fundamentals of the materials used in engineering electrical applications; in particular, the course will focus on the three functional classes of materials classified in terms of their final applications: electronic conductors, electrical insulators and magnetic materials.

When the student has successfully passed the exam, he has a good knowledge of the following topics (DdD1):

• Knows the fundamentals properties of the three main classes of electrical materials, i.e. electrical conductors, electrical insulators, and magnetic materials;
• Knows to which traditional class of materials they belong to, i.e. polymers, ceramics, metals, and composites;
• Knows the typical ranges of values of the qualifying electrical properties for each class of materials.

A consistent and continuous part of the course will be devoted to solve numerical and practical problems encountered in the application of electrical materials, then the student will be able to solve specific problems, and to select the optimal materials for any case (DdD2).

During the course students will be assigned projects to be developed in small teams so that they can learn team working and develop autonomous and critical skills toward real engineering problems. The outcomes of each working group will be presented to the class to help students strengthen their communication skills (DdD4).

1. Industrial and technological relevance of electrical materials and their classification.

2. Microstructure and bonding in electrical materials.

3. Electrical conductivity in metals: properties and applications.

4. Dielectric materials: main properties; applications and uses. Cables and wires.

5. Magnetic materials: magnetic dipole; magnetic permeability and susceptibility; classification of magnetic materials; magnetization and hysteresis loop; eddy currents losses; domain theory; soft and hard magnetic materials: types and applications.

It is required only a basic knowledge of chemistry and physics, in particular in terms of

- simple stoichiometric calculations,

- international system of units of measure

- physical phenomena

The final exam will consist of a written test organized in three sections:

• Part A: multiple choice questions that are meant to test the level of knowledge of the fundamental properties of the three main classes of materials;
• Part B: numerical elaboration of data to test the ability of manipulate electrical properties
• Part C: data sheet comprehension to recognize the class one material belongs to

The test will last two hours; no supporting materials are allowed during the exam; there are no limits to the number of tests the student can attend to.

The final score will be determined by summing up the evaluation reached in the classroom project presentation (up to a maximum of 3 points out of 33) to the outcome of the written test (up to 30).