ENGINEERING MATERIALS

 Materials of Engineering refers to selecting the

correct materials for the application in which the
engineered part is being used.
Materials can be divided into a number of
groups such as;
 Metallic Materials
 Iron
 Copper
 Aluminum
 Magnesium
 Nickel
 Titanium
 Lead
 Tin
 Zinc
 *Alloys of these Metals;
 Steel
 Brass
 Bronze
Non-Metallic Materials

 Wood
 Ceramics
 Concrete
 Glass
 Rubber
 Plastics
Non-metallic materials are developing

 Advanced ceramics
 Composite materials-carbon fiber
 Engineered plastics-usually very strong and tough
 When selecting a material for an engineering application, a primary
concern is to assure that its properties will be adequate for the
anticipated operating conditions
 • These may include:
 – Mechanical characteristics
 – Physical characteristics
 • Ability to operate under extremes of temperature
 • Resist corrosion
Mechanical Characteristics

 Strength-is the ability to withstand stress without

breaking
 • Rigidity- is a quality found in objects that don’t
bend
 • Resistance to fracture
 • Ability to withstand vibrations or impacts
 Elasticity – is the ability of a stressed material return to its original
shape when the load is removed.
 Plasticity – is the reverse of elasticity and is the property of a
material to retain any deformation produced by loads after the load
has been removed.
 Ductility –is the ability in a material to be drawn out by tensile
forces beyond its elastic limit without breaking.
 Malleability – is a similar property to ductility except that the
material is deformed beyond elastic limit by compressive forces,
such as rolling or hammering
 Brittleness – a material is brittle where fractures occur with little or
no deformation.
 Toughness –is the ability to withstand shock loads.
 Hardness – is the ability of a material to resist penetration, abrasion,
indentation and wear.
 Softness – obviously , is the opposite property to hardness.
Physical Characteristics

 Weight (density)
 Electrical properties –electrical
conductivity
 appearance
Physical Properties

 Density (weight)
 • Melting point- the temperature at which a given solid will melt
 • Optical properties
 – Transparency
 – Opaqueness- not transparent
 – Color
 • Thermal properties (specific heat)
 • Thermal conductivity
 • Electrical conductivity
 • Magnetic properties
The Choice
 In many cases, metals and nonmetals are viewed as
competing materials
 • The selection is being based on how well each is
capable of providing the required properties
 • When both perform adequately, total cost often becomes
 the deciding factor:
 – The cost of material
 – Plus the cost of fabricating the desired component
Material Selection
 Based on a comparison of the established design
requirements and the tabulated record results that
describe how common materials respond to various
standard test
 • It is important to know:
 – Which properties are significant?
 – How the test values were determined?
 – What restrictions or limitations should be placed on their use?
 – Various test procedures, their capabilities and their limitations