Unit 302: Engineering principles

Characteristics of Engineering
Materials
 Engineering Materials

• Engineering products are manufactured from a

wide range of materials.
• Selection of a suitable material for a component
depends on its characteristics.
• Selecting the most appropriate material depends
on a number of factors particularly a products
operating conditions.
 Material Characteristics

Typical characteristics
•Strength
•Rigidity
•Temperature stability
•Wear resistance
•Acoustic absorption
•Shock absorption
•Corrosion resistance
 Strength
• The strength of a material is determined by the application of a
tensile (stretching) load until the material fractures or yields.
• Standard test pieces are placed in a tensile testing machine and a
load applied until fracture.
• The maximum force applied to this test piece is measured and is
referred to as the ultimate tensile strength (UTS).
• Depending on the material the UTS may, or not, be the force at
breaking point.
• The UTS is divided by the original cross sectional area to determine
the materials tensile strength.
Strength
 Rigidity
• Rigidity is the ability to resist defection under the
application of a force.
• Rigidity is an important characteristic in the design of
buildings. For example, roof beams must be able to
resist the forces applied by heavy snowfalls.
• Whilst a material can demonstrate rigidity, the form can
improve its resistance to applied forces.
Flat bar supported in this form will
demonstrate poor rigidity

Rotating the flat improve the forms

rigidity
 Thermal Stability

• The ability to resist a change in shape or size as

its temperature changes.
• Most, but not all materials expand as their
temperature increases.
• Allowances during manufacture needs to be
made for expansion and contraction.
• There needs to be gaps between railway tracks
or they will buckle as they expand in the sun.
 Other Thermal Characteristics

• Thermal conductivity:

The ability of a material to allow heat to flow through it.

• Thermal resistance (insulation):

The ability of a material to resist the flow of heat.

 Electrical Characteristics

• Electrical conductivity:

The ability of a material to allow electricity to flow through

it.

• Electrical resistance (insulation):

The ability of a material to resist the flow of electricity.

 Wear Resistance
• Wear resistance is the ability of material to resist
being gradually worn away due to abrasion and
friction.
• Most applications with moving parts will be
subject to wear.
• A materials hardness is an indication of its
resistance to wear.
• The use of lubrication reduces the effect of wear
and friction (car engines).
 Acoustic Absorption

• In certain applications preventing the transfer of

sound is important.
• Also referred to as sound proofing.
• Houses built next to motorways would be
designed to limit road noise from entering.
• Ventilation ducting in a office could be externally
clad to limit unwanted noise.
 Shock Absorption
• Shock absorbent materials are used to
reduce the effect of sudden energy
shocks.
• Shock absorbent gloves are available for
workers who use vibrating equipment.
• Athletes wear running shoes that have
shock absorbent heels to reduce injuries.
 Corrosion Resistance

• Corrosion cost the British economy millions of

pounds per year.
• Corrosion can be controlled by a number of
post production methods including painting,
plastic coating and galvanising.
• Some material characteristics can be used to
control the effect of corrosion
 Steel
• Steel is the most commonly used engineering
material.
• However, its resistance to corrosion is poor.
• Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, reacts with
moisture and forms an iron oxide known as rust.
• Rust is porous and allows moisture to permeate
to the layer of steel below causing further iron
oxides.
• This process can continue until the steel is
‘rusted through’.
 Corrosion Resistant Materials

• Most metals corrode to some extent.

• However, the oxide layer produced on the
surface of these metals is not porous.
• This non-porous surface prevents further ingress
of moisture so retarding further oxidisation.
• Aluminium is a good example of this with the
oxide layer forming quickly.
 Material Effects on Processing
• Material characteristics previously outlined can
influence the cutting, forming and joining of
materials.
• Examples:
– The oxide layer formed on aluminium needs to be
removed before welding can take place
– Bolting of dissimilar materials can cause galvanic
corrosion
– Wear resistant materials tend to be hard which limits
their formability.
 Material Identification
• Materials can be identified by a range of
methods:
– Magnetic
– Colour
– Surface texture and appearance
– Density
– Spark test
 Material Identification
• Magnetic test
– Ferrous materials are magnetic
– Non-ferrous are non magnetic

• However, some types of stainless steels

(austenitic) are non-magnetic even though
they are a ferrous material.
 Material Identification
• Colour
– Copper is red
– Aluminium is grey
– Brass is yellow
• Visual comparisons of a metals colour can
give a good indication of its type.
• Further tests may be needed for some
materials.
 Material Identification

• Surface texture and appearance

– The surface colour of cast iron and steel can
be similar.
– Comparing the surface texture shows a
smooth surface of steel as opposed to the
rougher surface finish of a casting.
 Material Identification
• Spark Tests
– Ferrous metals produce different types of
sparks when they are ground
– Important characteristics of the sparks are:
• Colour
• Volume
• Nature of the spark
• Length
 Material Identification

• Density
– Initial visual inspection of polished aluminium
and machined steel can be very similar
– Comparing the weight of similar sized
components should identify the aluminium in
this comparison.