Victor Meyo - F17/30406/2015.

Mr. Akhusama
7 December 2016

Electrical Properties
The important properties of an engineering material determine the utility of the
material which influences quantitatively or quantitatively the response of a given material to
imposed stimuli and constraints. The various engineering properties are follows:-

1. Physical Properties.
a.) Density - This is the mass per unit volume. Its SI unit is Kg/mm3 .
b.) Colour - This is the quality of light reflected from the surface of metal.
c.) Size and Shape - These are the dimensions of any metal. Length, width, height, depth,
curvature, and diameter determine the size. Rectangular, square, circular determine the shape.
d.) Specific Gravity - This is the ratio of the mass of a given volume of the metal to the mass of
the same volume of water at a specified temperature.
e.) Porosity - A material is called as porous or permeable if it has pores within it.

2. Chemical Properties.
When most engineering materials come in contact with other substances with which
they can react , suffer from chemical deterioration of the surface of the metal. Some of the
corrosion properties of the metals are corrosion resistance, chemical composition and acidity
or alkalinity.

3. Thermal Properties.
These properties help to know the response of metal to thermal change i.e lowering or
raising of temperature. The different thermal properties are thermal conductivity, thermal
expansion, specific heat, melting point, thermal diffusivity,
Melting Point is the temperature at which a pure metal or compound changes its
shape from solid to liquid. They depend on the nature of the inter atomic and intermolecular

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bonds. Therefore, higher melting points are exhibited by those materials possessing stronger
bonds.

4. Electrical Properties.
These properties are as follows:a.) Conductivity - This is the ability of a material to pass electric current through it
easily i.e the material which is conductive will provide an easy path for the flow of electricity
through it.
b.) Temperature Co-efficient of Resistance - It is generally termed as to specify the
variation of resistivity with temperature.
c.) Dielectric Strength - This is the insulating capacity of a material at high voltage. A
material having high dielectric strength can withstand for longer time for high voltage across
it before it conducts the current through it.
d.) Resistivity - This is the property of a material by which it resists the flow of
electricity through it.
e.) Thermoelectricity - If two dissimilar metals are joined and then this junction is
heated, a small voltage ( in the milli-volt range ) is produced, and this is known as
thermoelectric effect. It is the base of thermocouple.

5. Magnetic Properties.
These properties arise from the spin of electrons and the orbital motion of electrons
around the atomic nuclei. They include:a.) Magnetic Hysteresis - This is the lagging of magnetisation or induction flux density
behind the magnetisation force.
b.) Coercive Force - The magnetising force which is essential to neutralise completely the
magnetism in the electromagnet.
c.) Absolute Permeability - The ratio of the flux density in a material to the magnetising
force producing that flux density.

6. Mechanical Properties.
a.) Elasticity - A materials ability to regain its original shape after deformation when the
external forces are removed.
b.) Proportional limit - The maximum stress under which a material will maintain a
perfectly uniform rate of strain to stress.

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c.) Elastic Limit - The greatest stress that a material can endure without taking up some
permanent set.
d.) Yield Point - The greatest stress that a material can endure to undergo plastic
deformation.
e.) Strength - Ability of a material to resist deformation under stress.
f.) Plasticity - A materials property to retain the deformation produced under load
permanently.
g.) Ductility - Ability of a material to be drawn into a wire with the application of tensile
load.
h.) Malleability - Ability of a material to be flattened into thin sheets under applications
of heavy compressive forces without cracking by hot or cold working means.
g.) Hardness - Ability of a metal to cut another metal.
h.) Brittleness - It is the property of breaking of a material with little permanent
distortion.
i.) Creep - Failure that occurs when a metal is subjected to high constant stress at high
temperatures for a long period of time.
j.) Formability - This property denoted the ease of forming in to various shapes and
sizes.
k.) Cast-ability - Ease with which it can be casted into different shapes and sizes.
j.) Weldability - Indicates the two similar or dissimilar metals are joined by fusion with
or without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler efficiently.

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