MECHANICAL

PROPERTIES

By:
PROF. M. SHEHATA

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Most applications of materials in
dentistry have a minimum
mechanical property requirement .

Certain materials should be

sufficiently strong to withstand biting
forces without fracture, others should
be rigid enough to maintain their
shape under load.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Stress: When an external force is applied to
a body or specimen of material under test, an
internal force, equal in magnitude but
opposite in direction, is set up in the body.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

 Stress = F/A

where F is the applied force

A the cross-sectional area

A stress resisting a compressive force is

referred to as a compressive stress and
that resisting a tensile force a tensile
stress.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Tensile and compressive
stresses, along with shear, are
the three simple examples of
stress

The unit of stress is the pascal

(Pa)
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
One test method commonly used for
dental materials is the three-point
bending test or transverse test.

Stress = 3FL
2bd²

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

When a cylinder of a
brittle material is
compressed across a
diameter, a tensile stress
is set up in the specimen,
the value of the stress
being given by

Stress = 2F at the axis of cylinder

π DT
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
A diametral compressive
tensile test is commonly used
when conventional tensile
testing is difficult to carry out
due to the brittle nature of the
test material.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Fracture stress – strength:

There is a limit to the value of applied

force which a body, or specimen of
material, can withstand without fracturing.

In a tensile test, the fracture stress is

referred to as the tensile strength of a
material whilst a compression test gives a
value of compressive strength.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Strain: The application of
an external force to a body
or test specimen results in
a change in dimension of
that body.

Strain = Change in length

Original length

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

The strain may be recoverable
or the material may remain
deformed. A third possibility is
that the strain may be partially
recoverable.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Stress-strain relationship:

Stress and strain are not independent

and unrelated properties, but are
closely related.

The application of an external force,

producing a stress within a material,
results in a change in dimension or
strain within the body.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
The relationship between stress and
strain is often used to characterize
the mechanical properties of
materials.
Such data are generally obtained
using a mechanical testing machine.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

It can be seen that in
this example there is a
linear relationship
between stress and
strain up to the point P.

Further increases in
stress cause
proportionally greater
increases in strain until
the material fractures
at point T.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
The stress corresponding to point T
is the fracture stress.

In a tensile test this gives a value of

tensile strength, whilst in a
compression test value of
compressive strength is obtained.
The value of stress which
corresponds to the limit of
proportionality P, is referred to as
the proportional limit.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Point E is the elastic
limit. This corresponds
to the stress beyond
which strains are not fully
recovered.

The proportional limit

is often used to give an
approximation to the
value of the elastic limit.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

The slope of the straight-line portion
of the stress-strain graph gives a
measure of the modulus of
elasticity:

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

 Stress
Modulus of elasticity =
Strain

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

It gives an indication of the rigidity of
a material and not its elasticity.

A steep slope giving a high modulus

value, indicates a flexible material.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

The value of strain recorded
between points E and T indicates the
degree of permanent deformation
which can be imparted to a material
up to the point of fracture.

For a tensile test this gives an

indication of ductility whilst for a
compressive test it indicates
malleability.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
A ductile material can be
bent or stretched by a
considerable amount
without fracture whereas
a malleable material can
be hammered into a thin
sheet.

A property often used to

give an indication of
ductility is the elongation
at fracture.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
The area beneath the curve up
to the elastic limit, gives a value
of resilience.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Resilience may be defined as the
energy absorbed by a material in
undergoing elastic deformation up to
the elastic limit.

The energy is stored and released

when the material springs back to its
original shape after removal of the
applied stress.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
The total area under the stress-strain
graph, gives an indication of
toughness and may be defined as
the total amount of energy which a
material can absorb up to the point
of fracture.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

A material capable of absorbing
large quantities of energy is
termed a tough material.

The opposite of toughness is

brittleness.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Notched specimens are generally
used to determine the property
known as fracture toughness.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Fracture toughness effectively gives a
value of the work of creating two new
surfaces when cracking occurs.

The equations used to calculate

fracture toughness should strictly only
be applied to materials which fail by a
purely brittle mechanism.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Materials are more likely to behave in
a more brittle fashion when stress or
strain are increased rapidly.

When the stress is increased very

rapidly it may termed an impact test
and the important practical property
obtained is the impact strength.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

The position reached by the
pendulum after fracturing the
specimen gives a measure of the
energy absorbed by the specimen
during fracture.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Impact strength is an important
property for acrylic denture base
materials which have a tendency to
fracture if accidentally dropped onto
a hard surface.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Fatigue properties:

Many materials which are used as

restoratives or dental prostheses are
subjected to intermittent stresses over
a long period of time.

The stresses encountered may be far

too small to cause fracture of a
material.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Failure may occur by a fatigue
process.

This involves the formation of a

microcrack, this crack slowly
propagates until fracture occurs.

Final fracture often occurs at quite a

low level of stress.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
As the applied cyclic stress increases, the
number of cycles to failure decreases.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Fatigue properties may be studied in one
of two ways:
1. It is possible to apply cyclic stress at a
given magnitude and frequency and to
observe the number of cycles required
for failure. The result is often referred to
as the “fatigue life” of a material.

2. Selection of given number of the cyclic

stress which is required to cause fracture
within this number of cycles. The result in
this case is referred to as the “fatigue
limit”. Prof. Mohamed Shehata
One of the most important factors
involved in such tests is the quality of the
specimen used in the test.

Stress concentrations within materials

can occur to an extent where cracks can
propagate to cause failure within the
normal lifetime of the material.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Abrasion resistance:

Wear can occur by one or more of a

number of mechanisms.

Wear caused by indenting and

scratching of the surface by abrasive
wear .

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Wear due to intermittent stresses is
termed fatigue wear.

Wear of certain materials can often

be attributed to chemical degradation.
Such processes are often referred to
as erosion processes.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Hardness: The hardness of a material gives
an indication of the resistance to penetration
when indented by a hard asperity.

The value of hardness, often referred to as

the hardness number.

Generally, low values of hardness number

indicate a soft material and vice versa.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Common methods used for hardness
evaluation include Vickers, Knoop,
Brinell and Rockwell.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Vickers and Knoop both involve the
use of diamond pyramid indentors.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

 In the case of Vickers hardness,
the diamond pyramid has a square base,
whilst for Knoop hardness, one axis of the
diamond pyramid is much larger than the
other.

The brinell hardness test involves the

use of a steel ball indentor producing an
indentation of circular cross-section.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

The hardness is a function of the diameter
of the circle for Brinell hardness and the
distance across the diagonal axes from
Vickers and Knoop hardness.

Measurements are normally made using a

microscope.

The case of Rockwell hardness, a direct

measurement of the depth of penetration
of a conical diamond indentor is made.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Hardness is often used to give an
indication of the ability to resist
scratching.

Hardness is also used to give an

indication of the abrasion resistance
of a material.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Elasticity and viscoelasticity:
The elastic limit is the value of stress
beyond which the material becomes
permanently distorted.

Although elastic limit is an important

property it does not fully characterize the
elastic properties of a material.

Elastic properties are often defined in

terms of the ability of a material to undergo
elastic recovery. Prof. Mohamed Shehata
When a material undergoes full elastic
recovery immediately after removal of an
applied load it is elastic.

If the recovery takes place slowly, or if a

degree of permanent deformation
remains, the material is said to be
viscoelastic.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Models involving the use of springs and
dashpots can be used to explain the
elastic and viscoelastic behavior of
materials.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
This type of behavior has important
practical significance for many dental
materials.

Elastic materials become distorted when

being removed over undercuts.

The permanent deformation depends on

the applied load and the time for which
that force is applied.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Creep and stress relaxation are
two other phenomena which can be
explained using the viscoelasticity
models.

Creep involves a gradual increase in

strain under the influence of a
constant applied load similar to that
which takes place in the Maxwell
model.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Stress relaxation involves the
application of a constant strain.

Stress relaxation is a measure of

decreasing stress at constant strain.

Under such conditions the stress

decreases as a function of time for
Maxwell-type viscoelastic materials.

Creep tests have more practical

significance for dental materials.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

A constant load is applied to a test
specimen in either compression or
tension.

The strain or creep is measured as a

function of time.

Dynamic creep tests are also carried out.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Rheological properties
Rheology is the study of the flow or
deformation of materials.

A study of the rheological properties of

liquids and pastes normally involves the
measurement of viscosity.

Viscosity (ŋ) is given by the equation:

ŋ= Shear stress (ơ)
Shear rate (E)
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Further characterization of the
rheological properties of materials is
obtained by reference to the
equation:

Shear stress = K (Shear rate)

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

 Viscosity values of materials are
temperature-dependent.

Time-dependence of viscosity
(working times and setting times):

Manipulation becomes impossible

when viscosity has increased beyond
a certain point.
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
The time taken to reach that point is
the working time of the material.

The setting time is to the time taken

for the material to reach its final set
state or to develop properties which
are considered adequate for that
application.

Prof. Mohamed Shehata

Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Prof. Mohamed Shehata
Prof. Mohamed Shehata