Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec.

Rasha Abdul-hassan

Physical Properties of Engineering Materials:

These properties concerned with such properties as melting, temperature, electrical
conductivity, thermal conductivity, density, corrosion resistance, magnetic properties.
1. Density:

Density is defined as mass per unit volume for a material. The derived unit usually

used by engineers is the kg/m3. Relative density is the density of the material
compared with the density of the water at 4°C.

The formulae of density and relative density are:

Density (p) = Mass (m)/volume (V)

2. Electrical Conductivity:

Figure (1) shows a piece of electrical cable. In this example copper wire has been
chosen for the conductor or core of the cable because copper has the property of very
good electrical conductivity. That is, it offers very little resistance to the flow of electrons
(electric current) through the wire. A plastic materials such as polymerized has been
chosen for the insulating sheathing surrounding the wire conductor.

Figure 1. Electrical Conductivity

1
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

This material has been chosen because it is such a bad conductor, where very few
electrons can pass through it. Because they are very bad conductors they are called as
insulators. There is no such thing as a perfect insulator, only very bad conductors. Pure
metal shows this effect more strongly than alloys.

3. Melting Temperature of Material:

The melting temperatures and the recrystallization temperatures have a great effect
on the materials and the alloys of the materials properties and as a result on its
applications.

4. Semiconductors:
In between conductors and insulators lies a range of materials known as
semiconductors. These can be good or bad conductors depending upon their
temperatures. The conductivity of semiconductor materials increases rapidly for
relatively small temperature increases. This enables them to be used as temperature
sensors in electronic thermometers.

4. Thermal Conductivity:
This is the ability of the material to transmit heat energy by conduction. Figure
shows a soldering iron. The bit is made from copper which is a good conductor of heat
and so will allow the heat energy stored in it to travel easily down to the tip and into
the work being soldered. The wooden handle remains cool as it has a low thermal
conductivity and resists the flow of heat energy.

Figure 2. Thermal Conductivity.

2
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

5. Temperature Stability:
Any changes in temperature can have very significant effects on the structure and
properties of materials. However, there are several effects can appear with changes in
temperature such as creep. For example, gas-turbine blades. The creep rate increases if
the temperature is raised, but becomes less if the temperature is lowered.

Creep:
The permanent deformation (strain) of a material under steady load as a function of
time is called creep. Length of our waist belt increases after some duration, is due to
creep effect. Thermally actuated process, and hence is influenced by temperature.

Mechanical Properties of Engineering Materials:

• Stress and Strain
- Tension.
- Shear.
- Torsion.
- Compression.
• Elastic deformation
• Plastic Deformation
- Yield Strength.
- Tensile Strength.
- Ductility.
- Toughness.
- Hardness.
Introduction
To understand and describe how materials deform (elongation, compress, twist) or
break. As a function of applied load, time, temperature, and other conditions we need
first to discuss standard test methods and standard language for mechanical properties
of materials.
3
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Types of Loading

Tensile
Compressive

Shear Torsion

Figure 3. Concepts of Stress and Strain (tension and compression).

To compare specimens of different sizes, the load is calculated per unit area.

Engineering stress: σ = F / A
o
4
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

F is load applied perpendicular to speciment cross- section; A0 is cross-sectional

area (perpendicular to the force) before application of the load.

Engineering strain: e =Δl / l (100 %)

o
Δl: is the change in length, lo is the original length.

These definitions of stress and strain allow one to compare test results for
specimens of different cross- sectional area A0 and of different length l0.

Figure 4. Schematic of Tensile Test (a, b), Stress-Strain Curve.

5
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Ultimate Tensile strength (UTS): As we keep increasing the load in the plastic range, at
some point, the material suddenly loses strength, and some cross section becomes very
narrow and elongates freely (necking). The maximum stress that it could withstand is the
UTS.

Elastic deformation: within the elastic deformation range, if the load is released, the
material will return back, like a spring, to its original size.

Linear elastic range: in the initial part of the graph, strain varies linearly with stress.
In the linear elastic range, we get Hooke’s law:

σ=Ee or E = σ/e
where E: is a constant called Young’s modulus of the material. E is large => material is
stiff; if it is small, the material is elastic.

Plastic region: when the material is stretched beyond the elastic range, the molecular
structure rearranges and it undergoes some permanent stretching; the stress at which the
deformation first becomes plastic is the Yield Stress.

Compression test
For metals (or any plastic solid) the strength measured in compression is the same
as that measured in tension, except that the force is compressive and the specimen
contracts along the direction of the stress. Equations below are utilized to compute
compressive stress and strain, respectively. By convention, a compressive force is taken
to be negative, which yields a negative stress. The stress strain curve shown in Figure (5)
for compression test is different in the plastic region of stress strain curve for tensile test
for same material. The reason of this variation is compression helps in increase in the
cross section. The load rises more quickly than the tensile test. In compression operation,
due to friction between the surfaces there is an increase in area of the middle of the
specimen than at the ends. This effect is called barreling effect in a compression test.

6
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Figure 5. The Compression Test (left), Stress-Strain Diagram for Compression Test (right).

7
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Stress-Strain Behavior

Elastic deformation
Elastic Plastic
Reversible: when the stress is
removed, the material returns to the
dimensions it had before the loading.

Usually strains are small (except for

Stress

the case of some plastics, e.g. rubber).

Plastic deformation

Irreversible: when the stress is

removed, the material does not return
to its original dimensions.

Strain

8
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

engineering stress Stress-Strain Behavior: Plastic deformation

engineering strain
Plastic Deformation:
- stress and strain are not proportional to each other
- the deformation is not reversible
- deformation occurs by breaking and re-arrangement of atomic bonds (in crystalline
materials primarily by motion of dislocations.

9
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Tensile Properties: Yielding

Elastic Plastic

y
Yield strength σy - is chosen as

that causing a permanent strain

of 0.002
Stress

Yield point P - the strain deviates from

being proportional to the stress (the
proportional limit)

The yield stress is a measure of resistance

to plastic deformation

10
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Tensile Properties: Yielding

Stress

Strain

In some materials (e.g. low-carbon steel), the stress vs. strain curve includes
two yield points (upper and lower). The yield strength is defined in this case as the
average stress at the lower yield point.

11
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Tensile Strength

If stress = tensile strength is maintained,

then specimen will eventually break

fracture
strength

“Necking”

Tensile strength: maximum

stress (~ 100 - 1000 MPa)

Strain, 

For structural applications, the yield stress is usually a more important property
than the tensile strength, since once the yield stress has passed, the structure has
deformed beyond acceptable limits.

12
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Tensile properties: Ductility

Ductility is a measure of the deformation at fracture, defined by percent elongation.

13
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Typical mechanical properties of metals.

3. Shear test

For tests performed using a pure shear force as shown in Figure 9, the shear stress τ
is computed according to:

where F is the load or force imposed parallel to the upper and lower faces, each of
which has an area of A0. The shear strain is defined as the tangent of the strain angle, as
indicated in the figure 9. The units for shear stress and strain are the same as for their
tensile counterparts.

Figure 6. Shear test.

14
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Toughness:
It is the ability of the materials to withstand bending or it is the application of shear
stresses without fracture, so the rubbers and most plastic materials do not shatter, therefore
they are tough. For example, if a rod is made of high-carbon steel then it will be bend
without breaking under the impact of the hammer, while if a rod is made of glass then it
will be broken by impact loading.

Figure 7. Toughness Test.

Malleability:
It is the capacity of substance to withstand deformation under compression without
rupture or the malleable material allows a useful amount of plastic deformation to
occur under compressive loading before fracture occurs. Such a material is required for
manipulation by such processes as forging, rolling and rivet heading.

15
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Figure 8. malleability of materials.

Hardness:
Hardness is a measure of the material’s resistance to localized plastic
deformation (e.g. dent or scratch) or It is the ability of a material to withstand scratching
(abrasion) or indentation by another hard body.
Different types of quantitative hardness test have been designed (Rockwell,
Brinell, Vickers, etc.). Usually a small indenter (sphere, cone, or pyramid) is forced
into the surface of a material under conditions of controlled magnitude and rate
of loading. The depth or size of indentation is measured.
The tests somewhat approximate, but popular because they are easy and
non-destructive (except for the small dent).
This consists of loading a pointed diamond or a hardened steel ball and pressing it
into the surface of the material to be examined. The depth or size of the resulting
indentation is measured, which in turn is related to a hardness number; the softer the
material, the larger and deeper the indentation, and the lower the hardness index number.
Measured hardnesses are only relative (rather than absolute), and care should be exercised
when comparing values determined by different techniques.
Hardness tests are performed more frequently than any other mechanical test for several
reasons:
1. They are simple and inexpensive—ordinarily no special specimen need be prepared,

and the testing apparatus is relatively inexpensive.

16
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

2. The test is nondestructive—the specimen is neither fractured nor excessively

deformed; a small indentation is the only deformation.

3. Other mechanical properties often may be estimated from hardness data, such as

tensile strength.

Figure 9. Types of Hardness Test.

17
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Knoop and Vickers Microindentation Hardness Tests

Two other hardness-testing techniques are Knoop (pronounced and Vickers
(sometimes also called diamond pyramid). For each test a very small diamond indenter
having pyramidal geometry is forced into the surface of the specimen. Applied loads are
much smaller than for Rockwell and Brinell, ranging between 1 and 1000 g. The
resulting impression is observed under a microscope and measured; this measurement is
then converted into a hardness number.
Careful specimen surface preparation (grinding and polishing) may be necessary to
ensure a well-defined indentation that may be accurately measured. The hardness scales
for both techniques are approximately equivalent.
Knoop and Vickers are referred to as microindentation-testing methods on the
basis of indenter size. Both are well suited for measuring the hardness of small, selected
specimen regions; furthermore, Knoop is used for testing brittle materials such as
ceramics. The modern microindentation hardness-testing equipment has been automated
by coupling the indenter apparatus to an image analyzer that incorporates a computer and
software package. The software controls important system functions to include indent
location, indent spacing, computation of hardness values, and plotting of data.
Vickers test considered as the easier to use in comparison to other hardness tests
since the required calculations are independent of the size of the indenter, and the
indenter can be used for all materials irrespective of hardness. The unit of hardness given
by the test is known as the Vickers Pyramid Number (HV). In Vickers hardness test the
surface is subjected to a standard pressure for a standard length of time by means of a
pyramid-shaped diamond.

18
Principles of Materials Engineering Asst. Lec. Rasha Abdul-hassan

Figure 10. Hardness Test.

19