MEX312 - Introduction Lesson 1-1 Properties of Engineering Materials

Materials Selection (MEX312) Lesson 1.
1 – Engineering Materials and Their Properties
INTRODUCTION TO SELECTION AND DESIGN
LESSON 1.1
ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND

THEIR PROPERTIES
INTRODUCTION
Materials are of paramount importance in every engineering
activity. Every item, artefact or naturally occurring object utilised
by man is made from one or more materials. No stage in the
development of civilisation has been possible without materials.
People first utilised naturally occurring materials, for example,

wood, skins, fibres, stone, flint and gold, more than 12 000 years
ago, making clothes, utensils, weapons and shelters. As time went
by they learned about materials processing, to shape ceramics and
density them by heat, to extract metals from ores and to
manufacture better domestic artefacts, building materials and
weapons. Hence there were periods of development which we
now know as the stone, bronze and iron ages. All through time
there has been a continual search for new materials - stronger,
lighter, more corrosion resistant, more aesthetically pleasing, with
better electrical properties or which can be manufactured more
conveniently and economically.
 In the last 50 years there has been a huge surge of interest in
polymers as more products have become available through the
efforts of materials scientists and chemists.
 Ceramics have progressed from clay-based products to high
performance engineering components manufactured from high
purity synthetic raw materials.
 Metallic alloys can now be obtained which are lighter and
stronger; some of them are capable of being used without
problems at temperatures well in excess of 1000 °C.
 Huge developments have taken place in composites, from very
early straw-reinforced bricks to high strength aerospace
materials.
 In the last twenty-five to thirty years the electronics industry
has been revolutionised by the advent of the semi-conductor
together with the availability of miniature ceramic
components. It is now hard to imagine a world without micro-
circuits.
 University of Sunderland Page 1

Materials Selection (MEX312) Lesson 1.1 – Engineering Materials and Their Properties
An excellent over-view of the evolution of materials is given in

Figure 1 which is presented here by courtesy of M. F. Ashby of
Cambridge University.
10000BC 5000BC 0 1000 1500 1800 1900 1940 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Gold Copper
Metals Metals
Bronze
Iron Glassy metals Development
Polymers Al-lithium alloys slow: mostly
Elastomers Dual phase steels quality control
Cast iron Microalloyed steels
Wood & processing
Steels New super alloys
Skins
Fibres Glues Alloy steels Polymers
Light alloys Elastomers
Composites High temperature
Titanium polymers
Straw-brick Paper Rubber Zirconium Alloys
etc High modulus
Stone polyesters Composites
Flint Bakelite Ceramic composites
Pottery Polyesters
Nylon Epoxies Metal
Glass -Matrix composites
Cement PE PMMA Acrylics Kevlar-FRP
Ceramics Refractories PC PS PP CFRP Ceramics
Glasses Portland GFRP Glasses
cement
Fused silica Pyro- Tough engineering ceramics
Cermets ceramics (Al O , Si N , PSZ etc.)
2 3 3 6
10000BC 5000BC 0 1000 1500 1800 1900 1940 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Date
Figure 1 The Evolution of Materials
Many discoveries and innovations have their roots in military and

aerospace requirements. Still the quest for new materials,
applications and greater reliability goes on. The engineering
industry and society in general are dependent on the supply of
metals, ceramics, glasses, polymers and composites for continued
growth and well-being.
It is the identification of the most appropriate materials for

particular applications which has led to the branch of engineering
known as materials selection.
Page 2  University of Sunderland

YOUR AIMS
On completion of this lesson you should be able to:
 identify properties which need to be considered when
materials are being selected for engineering applications.
STUDY ADVICE
This lesson begins by highlighting the problem encountered by the
engineer or designer who is trying to select the best materials from
the vast range available. A comprehensive review of relevant
properties is then presented.
In addition to becoming familiar with these properties you should

aim to understand why each is important when new products and
components are being developed. One way to tackle this is to
consider a typical product related to various properties, e.g. a
bicycle frame is required to have high stiffness, be lightweight and
corrosion resistant and be capable of being manufactured in
tubular sections, i.e. its material must have some ductility.
It will become apparent that mechanical properties in particular

are very important but, as you progress through this and
subsequent lessons, you will realise that successful engineering
design invariably requires a combination of properties.


MATERIALS SELECTION: THE PROBLEM

A huge range of materials, estimated to number up to 80 000, is
available for today's engineer. As part of the procedures leading to
the design of a new product it is necessary to review the range of
materials and their properties before using the systems which have
been developed for materials selection. One approach to materials
selection is that the predominant quality must be satisfactory but
there must also be certain back-up properties, for example:
 basic requirement of corrosion resistance but is strength
adequate?
 can material be welded and is cost of prime importance?
There are key properties of materials which are relevant for

engineering design involving mechanical, electrical, chemical or
other applications. The most important of these properties are:
Mechanical - Elastic behaviour, fracture stress, fracture strain,

yield stress, hardness, wear resistance, toughness
Physical - Specific gravity, melting point
Thermal - Expansion, conductivity, thermal shock

resistance, heat capacity
Electrical - Conductivity/resistivity, dielectric behaviour
Chemical - Oxidation and corrosion behaviour, degradation.
The need to know about properties when formulating a new

design is related to the following important questions.
 Can the component be manufactured in the material(s)

specified? Considerations are the size, shape, dimensional
accuracy, cost effectiveness and possibility of automated
manufacture.
 Is failure in service likely? Can such failures be avoided?

Failures to be considered are mechanical, (e.g. fracture, wear),
electrical, (e.g. resistance breakdown), corrosion, (e.g. strength
loss through chemical degradation).
 Do changes in ambient temperature significantly alter
properties?
In this lesson we will briefly consider these aspects and return to

them later.

IN TEXT QUESTION
Compare the relative importance of metals, polymers, composites and glasses/ceramics in 10
000 BC, 1960 AD and 2020 AD. Briefly account for the decline in the relative importance of
metals and alloys after about 1960,
ANSWER
The approximate relative importance values estimated from Figure 1 are shown in the table as
percentages.
10 000 BC 1960 AD 2020 AD
Metals 5 73 24
Composites 12 4 20
Polymers 36 12 29
Glasses / ceramics 47 11 27
The original polymers, composites and glasses/ceramics were mainly ones that occurred
naturally. The rather dramatic predicted decrease in the importance of metals and alloys is due
to increasing interest in the other three categories, as newer, high-performance, synthetic
materials are developed. (It is likely that the actual consumption of metals will not decrease,
just their relative importance.)

PROPERTIES AND MANUFACTURING

BEHAVIOUR
The properties of the materials used and the shapes to be formed
are the major influences on the choice of the processing route.
PROPERTIES
 A ductile material can be shaped into an engineering
component by mechanical working such as rolling, forging or
drawing.
 A brittle material must be fabricated into a component by a
process such as casting or via a powder technology route.
 Materials which melt at easily obtainable temperatures to

produce liquids with high fluidities can be cast. High melting
materials such as ceramics or refractory metals are not readily
shaped by casting.
SHAPE
 Long slender columns and wires are made not by casting but
by some mechanical working process such as extrusion or
drawing.
 Forging to produce high precision shapes would not be
feasible unless it was followed up by subsequent machining.
PROCESSING AND PROPERTIES

In addition to questions we must ask about properties and shape
there are other complications since most processing routes have
some effect on the properties of materials.
 Cold rolling hardens most metals, even those which are very
ductile. It is often necessary to use intermediate annealing to
produce the final shape or dimensions as the degree of
hardening may make further shaping impossible.
 Directional properties may develop during hot rolling because
of the development of a 'texture1 or preferred orientation of
grains in the material, generally related to the direction of
working.
 The shaping of fibre composites is carefully organised so that
the direction in which maximum strength is required is the one
in which the fibres are orientated.
It's clear that one of the first stages in any design and manufacture
operation must be a consideration of properties. This is where we
will now concentrate our attentions.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Mechanical properties are almost always quoted when a new
design is being considered even if the component's strength or
other mechanical behaviour is not the prime attribute/ e.g. an
electrical insulator. This is because of the way mechanical
properties affect forming characteristics and because even an
electrical unit needs to have sufficient strength to last for its
service period.
Definitions of important mechanical properties follow.
ELASTICITY
In a material showing elastic behaviour, stress is directly
proportional to strain. This can apply to three types of loading
system:
 uniaxial or tensile loading
 biaxial or shear loading
 triaxial or hydrostatic loading.
Uniaxial Or Tensile Loading


 

x 
where  = stress
E = Young's modulus of elasticity
 = strain, defined as the increase in length
divided by the original length
Biaxial or Shear Loading


=Gx
where  = stress
G = shear modulus
 = shear strain, defined in the following way

 
Body acted on by shear stress  = tan 
Triaxial or Hydrostatic Loading
V
h  K
Vo
where h = stress
K = bulk modulus
V
= volume strain
Vo
V = volume change
Vo = original volume
In all of these stress situations the same types of relationships

apply for tension and compression.
Another elasticity term of interest for tensile stress situations is

Poisson's ratio/ v, defined as
lateral strain
v
longitudin al strain
For most applications it is not necessary to measure every

modulus of elasticity as they can all be calculated from E, the
modulus in tension (or compression), using the following
relationships:
3G E E
E ; G ; K
1  G / 3K 21  v 3(1  2v)

For each of the main types of material Poisson's ratio has a fairly
limited range of values:
Metals v  0.28-0.33
Ceramics v  0.22-0.26
Polymers v  0.4-0.5
Hence G and K can be calculated with reasonable accuracy by

incorporating values of v.
STRENGTHS IN TENSION
We can obtain a range of mechanical properties of materials from
the results of stress-strain curves carried out on tensile test pieces
which are appropriate for the particular material.
For example, for metals:
for polymers:
A typical stress-strain curve of a metal is sketched in Figure 2
Ultimate tensile strength u

Yield
point
Stress
Yield stress
Fracture stress
y
 f
Slope, E =

Strain 
Figure 2 Typical Stress-Strain Curve for Metals
Notice how the yield stress  y , and ultimate tensile strength,

 u , are defined from the curve.

Sometimes if the yield point is not readily identifiable the proof

stress, PS, is used.
PS
x% strain
x% PS = proof stress for x% strain where x may be 0.05, 0.1 or 0.2
For a range of steels a discontinuous yield may be observed:
For polymers the forms of stress-strain curves are often quite

different from those for metals, as shown in Figure 3.
Brittle
Stress 
Limited plasticity
y
y Cold drawing
Viscous flow
~1% Strain 

Figure 3 Typical Stress-Strain Curves for Polymers

The properties of polymers are very dependent on temperature and
structures. The curves in Figure 3 can be explained on the basis of
temperature. There is a temperature known as the glass transition
temperature, T g , below which extensive deformation by the
mechanism of interatomic bond rotation is very difficult. The type
of stress-strain curve displayed by a material depends on the value
of its glass transition temperature relative to the temperature, T, at
which the curve is produced.
Brittle, T  Tg
Limited plasticity, T  0.8Tg
Cold drawing, T  Tg
Viscous flow, T  Tg
We can define stress during testing as follows.
force, P
Engineering stress,  
original cross - sectional area of test piece, A 0
Original
area Ao
However, during tensile testing the cross-sectional area of a test

piece decreases and it may be more appropriate (and accurate!) to
define true stress,  T , as
force, P
True stress,  T 
instantane ous cross - sectional area of test piece, A
Almost every engineering design involves stresses limited to the

elastic region, e.g. it would not be appropriate for the girders of a
bridge to deform plastically as traffic passed over. Hence strain,
 , is readily defined as fractional increase in length:

l
i.e. 
l0
where l is the change in length and l0 is the original length.
IN TEXT QUESTION
Distinguish between true stress and engineering stress. From your understanding of these two
parameters, sketch typical stress-strain curves for both types.
Stress
Strain

ANSWER
force force
Engineerin g stress  True stress 
original area actual area
'Area' refers to cross-sectional area. As specimens are tested, cross-sectional area changes,
decreasing for tensile tests. Hence for a given load the effective stress increases.
True
Engineering
Stress
Strain
OTHER MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

In defining the properties of materials it is often necessary to
characterise other terms which describe how a component
behaves.
Ductility
Ductility is the amount of deformation that a component will
sustain without fracture. It is normally defined as the increase in
length at fracture, A/ or 1Q - L, divided by the original length, lo
l
i.e. ductility 
l0
Alternatively, if a component is being significantly reduced in

cross-sectional area ductility can be expressed as
A
ductility 
A0
where A is the original cross-sectional area, A0 , minus the final

area, A f .

It is necessary to know about ductilities so that the best forming

process can be chosen for a particular material-component
combination. For example, it would not be a good idea to try to
shape a brittle material into a wire or column by a mechanical
working process such as forging! Similarly, there would be
problems over using a very brittle material for components such
as automotive exhaust pipes which experience vibrations and
impacts from small projectiles thrown up by wheels.
Malleability
Malleability is the capability of a material to be deformed in all
directions without cracking, i.e. in the conditions likely to be
encountered under the compressive forces of forging.
Toughness
Toughness can be defined in several ways. Basically toughness is
the ability of a material to bend without fracturing, or to withstand
mechanical impact. Tough materials have a high energy of
fracture.
There are two terms, toughness, Gc and fracture toughness, Kc

or KIc which we can consider at this point. Both of these terms
measure the resistance of a material to the propagation of a crack.
The fracture toughness is obtained from an extension of the theory
which deals with the fracture of brittle solids. It is measured by
loading a sample containing an internal crack of length 2c or a
surface crack of length c. The stress  f to propagate the crack in
tension is measured. The specimen geometry and stress-strain
graph for a typical brittle solid are shown in Figure 4. The terms
Kc (or KIc) and Gc are defined as:
K c (orK Ic )   f (c) 0.5
K c2
and Gc 
E (1  v)
 is a geometric factor relating to specimen geometry; Kc refers

to thin samples (plane stress) and KIc is for thicker samples (plane
strain).


f
Stress
2c

Strain
Figure 4 Specimen Geometry and Typical Stress-Strain Curve for

Brittle Solids
Materials with low values of KIc such as glasses and ceramics are
referred to as ideal brittle. In contrast, the toughness of most
metallic materials is high due to there being a very limited amount
of localised deformation at a crack tip which greatly increases the
Gc values.
Hardness
Hardness is an approximate guide to a material's strength,
effectively a measure of its resistance to localised plastic
deformation when an indentor of known shape is forced into the
surface with a known load. A common measurement is the
Vickers hardness Hv in which a diamond indentor like the one
shown is forced into the surface with a load which is usually in the
range of 1 to 120 kg.
Angle at apex of diamond pyramid is 136° 2a
Hardness is computed from the load, P, divided by the contact

area between the indentor and the surface and it can be shown that
for the Vickers system:
1.854 P
Hv 
( 2a ) 2

There are other systems for measuring hardness, Rockwell,

Brinell, Knoop in particular, and all use the principle of an
indentor with a known load coupled with some method of
assessing how far into the surface the indentor penetrates.
Modulus of Rupture
For ideal brittle solids such as glasses and ceramics 'normal'
tensile testing is not usually carried out for several reasons
including:
 the difficulty of applying a true uniaxial stress and avoiding
errors from the introduction of bending forces
 the problem of machining a perfectly straight specimen to
avoid bending
 gripping samples without crushing, jaw slip or the introduction
of stress raisers
 measurement of very small strains which at fracture are
generally about 10-3.
A further complication is that there are many applications for

ceramics at elevated temperatures. As you may imagine, most of
the measurement difficulties are greatly exacerbated for high
temperature tensile testing. The usual solution to these problems is
to carry out 3 or 4 point bend tests to measure Modulus Of
Rupture, MOR, as shown.
Load P
Cross-section d
b
l
P is the load to break the bar.
3Pl
MOR =
2bd 2
For circular rods of diameter, d, tested in bending,
8Pl
MOR =
d 3

For a rectangular or square section bar tested in bending which

undergoes a central deflection Sunder a load P it is possible to
calculate Young's modulus of elasticity from the following
formula:
Deflection 
Pl 3
E
4bd 3
Anelasticity
All materials have an ability to absorb vibrations. When a material
is loaded elastically to a stress a, it stores energy - 'elastic energy' -
and if this load is removed, energy is recoverable. However, if a
material is loaded cyclically, i.e. from tension to compression, as
in the case when it is subjected to vibrations, not all of the energy
is recovered in each cycle, i.e. dissipation of energy, or damping,
occurs.
The origins of damping are in anelasticity.
For true elasticity: strain   f ( )
but for anelasticity: strain   f ( , t )
where  = stress
t = time.
Anelasticity results from time dependent processes occurring in

the material, such as the movement of atoms, deformation of
polymer molecules, etc.
A material's damping ability is defined by any of the following:

 specific damping capacity
 lag/loss angle
 logarithmic decrement.
U
Specific damping capacity, D =
U
Where U = energy under the maximum load

U = energy lost per stress cycle.
Energy is dissipated by internal friction when strain lags behind

stress. The phase or lag/loss angle, o , can be used to measure

internal friction:
 2II
o  I
1
Where  2II = non-elastic strain component 90° out of phase with

the stress
 1 = elastic strain in phase with the stress.
I
For free vibrations, the amplitude At at time t is given by;
At  A0 exp[t ]
where A0 = original amplitude

 = attenuation coefficient.
The damping capacity of a material is often defined by the

logarithmic decrement,  :
An
  log e
An1
where n and n + 1 refer to the n th and (n  1) th swings


THERMAL PROPERTIES
There are several very important thermal properties which we
should consider in many cases of materials selection as
components are often shaped hot or become hot in service. The
way in which they behave under these circumstances is of vital
importance.
Nearly all materials expand on heating, by amounts which are

defined by the thermal expansion coefficient often represented
by the symbol  which has the units K 1 . The thermal expansion
coefficient is important for predicting hot dimensions, matching
the dimensions of adjacent materials in an engineering unit and
giving a partial indication of a material's resistance to thermal
shock.
1 dL
 
L dT
where dL is a small increase in length L for an increase in

temperature dT .
Thermal conductivity, k , is another important thermal property.

It measures the rate at which heat is conducted through a solid
under steady state conditions, k is determined from the following
relationship:
dT (T1  T2)
q  k k
dx x
where q is the heat flux, (Wm2 ) , flowing through a solid from a

surface at a temperature T1 to one at a temperature T2 as shown.
q
T1
x Specimen, thermal conductivity, k
T2
Heat Insulation
sink

When conditions are not steady state, i.e. when we have transient
heat flow, the flux depends on the thermal diffusivity,  defined
by:
k

cp 
where  = density
c p = specific heat capacity at constant pressure
measured as kJ(kgK ) 1
Thermal diffusivity can be calculated from this equation or can be

measured by observing the decay of a temperature pulse when a
heat source at a sample surface is switched off. For solid materials
there is virtually no difference between the value of c p and the
specific heat capacity at constant volume cV and both of these
quantities are obtained by calorimetry.
For many materials, particularly those which are brittle, we need

to consider the property of thermal shock resistance, TSR. For
most practical situations this is defined as the maximum
temperature difference, T f , over which a sample can be
quenched without being damaged.
 f (1  v).k
T f 
E
where f = fracture stress

v = Poisson's ratio
k = thermal conductivity
E = Young's modulus of elasticity
 = thermal expansion coefficient.
One of the problems with brittle solids is that they often have low
thermal conductivities - hence TSR values are low and many
glasses and ceramics are particularly prone to damage caused by
sudden heating or cooling.
One property which we have not yet considered is the melting

point, Tm , at which a solid changes to a liquid state. However,
this value may not always be a very good guide to the maximum
temperature to which a material can be used. Significant
weakening as well as environmental degradation generally occurs
below Tm and a more useful figure is Tmax , the maximum service
temperature. As we have already seen, for polymers and other

non-crystalline solids which have no definite melting point there

is a temperature known as the glass transition temperature, T g .
At this temperature the material is considered to have cooled to
become a rigid, elastic solid. For such a material another
temperature, the softening temperature, Ts , is also quoted as the
temperature required for the material to flow easily enough for
shaping processes to be effective, e.g. for shaping of glasses and
thermoplastics by drawing or moulding.
One mechanical property which is dependent on both stress level

and temperature (and on some microstructural features) is creep
resistance. Creep is slow, time-dependent plastic or permanent
deformation which occurs when materials are loaded above about
.
0.33 Tm or 0.67 T g . Creep rate,  , is described by the equation
.
  A n exp[Q / RT ]
where  = stress
T = temperature
Q = activation energy for creep
A = empirical constant (value depends on the
material)
n = exponent of stress (value depends on the
creep mechanism).
IN TEXT QUESTION
What is meant by the thermal shock resistance, TSR, of a material? Give an expression
showing how the TSR is defined numerically. Compare the thermal shock resistances of the
following two ceramics:
Ceramic A Ceramic B
MOR, MPa 200 450
Young's modulus of elasticity, GPa 180 375
Thermal conductivity, Wm^K'1 20 8
Thermal expansion coefficient x 10"6 K-1 2.5 12
Poisson's ratio 0.2 0.22

IN TEXT QUESTION CONTINUED
ANSWER
Thermal shock resistance is defined as the maximum temperature difference, T f , over which
a sample can be quenched without being damaged. Mathematically:
 f (1  v)k
t f 
E
Substituting properties for materials A and B in this equation gives the following:
T f (A)  7.02 10 3 Wm1
and T f (B)  7.02 10 3 Wm1
T f (A)
i.e. relative values  11.25
T f (B)

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
So far we have considered mechanical and thermal properties but
we should also have some knowledge of the electrical behaviour
of materials.
The importance of electrical behaviour lies in the following:

 transference of current over long distances - needs high
electrical conductivity with low ohmic heating
 electrical insulation - dielectric properties to prevent
breakdown and arcing between conductors
 semi-conductors - numerous devices.
Electrical behaviour is influenced by the structure of materials, by

processing and by environmental conditions. For electrical
applications mechanical properties are often also important, e.g. in
heavy power lines which stretch quite long distances between
pylons.
RESISTANCE
When a voltage, V, is applied across a resistance R ohm to give a
current I amp,
V = IR (Ohm's law)
l A
R or   R
A l
where  = resistivity (ohm m)

l = length of resistor (m)
A = cross-sectional area of resistor (m2).
For most materials, R has a finite value (except for

superconductors).
1
Electrical conductivity,   ohm1m 1

Typical values of resistivity are:

 metals - good conductors,   10 7 (.m) 1
 ceramics - good insulators,   10 10 to 10 20 (.m) 1
 semiconductors - intermediate values,   10 6 to 10 4 (.m) 1

The difference in resistance of these materials is due to the

different types of valency bonding or, more precisely, to the
availability of electrons or some other means of transferring
charge.
For many materials, conductivity is affected by:

 temperature
 impurity level
 composition (particularly for alloys)
 the amount of deformation or cold work previously carried out
on the material (obviously more important for metallic
materials).
DIELECTRIC BEHAVIOUR
A dielectric material is one that is electrically insulating (non-
metallic) and shows or can be made to show an electric dipole
structure, i.e. there is a separation of positive and negative charged
entities on a molecular or atomic level.
e.g. typical dipole
+ –
Because of the way dipoles interact with electric fields, dielectric

materials are used in capacitors.
Capacitance
When a voltage is applied across a capacitor one plate becomes
positively charged and the other negatively charged, with the
corresponding electric field directed from the positive to the
negative. The capacitance C is related to the quantity of charge Q
stored on either plate by:
C = Q/V
where V is the applied voltage across the capacitor. The units of

capacitance are coulombs per volt or farads, F.
For a parallel-plate capacitor with a vacuum in the region between

the plates, capacitance can be calculated from:
A
C  0
l

where A = area of plates

l = distance between plates
0 = permittivity of vacuum.
 0 is a constant with the value of 8.85  10 12 Fm1
If a dielectric is introduced into the space between the plates of a

capacitor then:
A
C 
l
where  = permittivity of the medium.
The permittivity of the medium,  , will be greater than that of a

vacuum,  0 .
The relative permittivity  r , often called the dielectric constant,

is equal to the ratio:

r 
0
The dielectric constant is greater than unity and represents the

increase in charge-storing capacity due to the insertion of the
dielectric medium between the plates. The dielectric constant is an
important property for capacitor design.
IN TEXT QUESTION
A parallel plate capacitor has dimensions of 50 mm by 50 mm with a plate separation of 3 mm.
The space between the plates is filled by soda-lime-silica glass with a dielectric constant of
6.9. What is the capacitance of this condenser? (Permittivity of a vacuum,
 0  8.85  10 12 Fm1 . )

IN TEXT QUESTION CONTINUED
ANSWER
From  r   /  0 we can calculate  , the permittivity of the soda-lime-silica glass as
  8.85  1012  6.9
 61.065  1012 Fm 1
Find the capacitance, C, by substituting the known values in the equation
A
C 
l
61.065 10 12  0.0025


3 10 3
 5.09  10 11 F

OTHER PROPERTIES
In the previous sections we have considered what are arguably the
most important properties for a wide range of situations requiring
the selection of engineering materials. However, there are some
circumstances in which material behaviour is affected by
additional characteristics. The remaining sections briefly describe
some of these properties.
WEAR
In many types of machine, two surfaces in contact move relative
to each other, giving rise to material loss from one or both
surfaces. This is wear.
P
P2
P1 P2 > P1
Wear
volume W= V Note more wear for
S higher pressure
V
Area, A
Sliding distance, S
P is the pressure pushing the surfaces into contact over an area A.
Wear can be represented by defining the Archard wear constant,

K A , and using the wear rate, W, which is the volume of material
lost from one surface per unit sliding distance
W
where  K A .P
A
The units of K A are MPa 1 .
Note that any assessment of wear, whether through KA or some

other means, is based on the properties of the two surfaces
involved, i.e. as a sliding couple.
OXIDATION OR CORROSION RESISTANCE

Material loss by corrosion can greatly affect the behaviour of a
component and hence in a study of materials selection we should

consider degradation behaviour.
The extent of attack on metals by wet corrosion is difficult to

quantify. It is dependent on several factors such as microstructure,
stress condition, temperature and whether there are other metals in
contact, as well as on the type of environment. There are two
common ways of tackling this problem. Either the resistance of a
material can be simply rated as being good to poor, or a table of
reactivity in a particular environment can be given. An example is
the galvanic series for the behaviour of metals and alloys in sea
water shown in Table 1.
Galvanic Series
Reactive Magnesium
Zinc
Aluminium
Cadmium
Cast iron
Plain steels
18/8 Cr/Ni stainless steel
Lead
Tin
Nickel
Brasses
Copper
Bronzes (Cu-Sn)
Cupro-nickels
Silver
Titanium
Platinum
Noble Gold
Table 1
So far we have concentrated on the behaviour of metals but the

behaviour of other materials, particularly polymers, can be
classified in the same way, e.g. resistance to certain environments,
strong acids, alkalis, organic solvents can be rated as excellent
(A) to poor (D).
When a material degrades in a dry environment, e.g. oxygen, the

process is often referred to as dry corrosion. If deterioration
results from the formation of an oxide layer the process is referred
to as oxidation. For a metal, M, reacting with oxygen to give an
oxide layer, MO2
M + O2 = MO2

The behaviour in oxygen depends very much on the nature of the

oxide film, e.g. is it continuous, adherent or does it flake off? For
a continuous, adherent film of thickness x at a time t , the rate of
oxidation is given by
dx k p

dt x
where k p is the rate constant for oxidation - in this case leading to

the buildup of an oxide film by parabolic kinetics, as shown in the
diagram.
Temperature T2
T2 > T1
Temperature T1
Thickness x
Time t
The rate constant k p used to define oxidation behaviour has the

units of m 2 s 1
DENSITY
Although density is the last property in this current review, it is by
no means unimportant as it features in a large number of materials
selection activities.
Density or specific gravity is simply defined as the mass per unit

volume of a material. Values are generally determined by methods
based on Archimedes' principle.
In selection procedures it may be necessary to choose lightweight

materials, particularly by employing specific stiffness or strength
values, e.g. Young's modulus, E, divided by density, 
E

There are other cases when a 'property per unit weight' approach
is required.


SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1
Why is a knowledge of materials properties essential for an engineer who is developing new or
modified equipment for industrial or domestic use?
QUESTION 2
Choose four major components from a motor car and give with brief reasons two properties
which give essential characteristics for each. Materials actually used in the automotive industry
need not be mentioned.

QUESTION 3
A component in a boiler unit operates at 700 °C. The choice of materials for this application is
between ceramics and metals. Describe the relevant properties needed for this component and
hence identify the better class of material for this application.

ANSWERS TO SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
ANSWER 1
Your answers should include the following points:
 vast range of materials from which an engineer can choose, possibly up to 80 000
 generally some prime materials requirement, e.g. strength, but other factors such as density
and corrosion resistance may need consideration
 properties affect choice of fabrication route (include examples) "
 properties often change during fabrication, e.g. cold-working
 properties change for different service conditions, an obvious example being the effect of
temperature
 engineers should design against in-service failures which can be predicted from a knowledge
of properties,
ANSWER 2
Obviously with a complex machine such as a car there are many possible components which
might be mentioned. In this particular answer four possible suggestions are made. Two properties
are given for each but these are not prescriptive and it is necessary only to show why you have
mentioned particular features.
 Body shell
This is required to be strong enough for structural integrity and impact resistance and hence
the most suitable property here is yield stress.
The body shell operates in environmentally difficult conditions and so corrosion resistance
is a vital characteristic.
 Exhaust system
Several suggestions for properties could be made but two likely ones are:
ductility for forming into a tubular system
oxidation/corrosion resistance for combating elevated temperature use in the presence of

corrosive gases and external exposure to water/salty conditions.
 Cylinder block
Most cylinder blocks are cast, so one property of importance here is melting point which
must be low enough for convenient casting processes.
Pistons, or more precisely piston rings, are in contact with cylinder bores and move relative to
them. Hence wear resistance is an important property. Strength, hardness, damping capacity,
(to absorb vibrations from the combustion process) might also be quoted.

 Cooling radiator core

The radiator is concerned with heat transfer from the engine coolant to an air flow. Hence
high thermal conductivity is essential for the core materials.
In addition, the engine coolant normally operates at between 70 and 95 °C and is exposed to
road water. Corrosion resistance is required for both internal and external surfaces.
ANSWER 3
Boiler unit components are likely to require the following properties:
i. strength, stiffness and yield strength, at 700 °C for structural support
ii. thermal expansion coefficient for dimensional changes on heating / cooling
iii. thermal shock resistance to withstand heating/cooling during boiler start-up/shutdown
iv. oxidation/corrosion resistance to avoid degradation at 700 °C.
One possible way to tackle this is to formulate a table and assign values for particular
properties for both classes of materials. Assume 5 is excellent and 1 is poor.
Property Metal Ceramic

(i) 2 5
(ii) 2 3
(iii) 4 2
(iv) 2* 5
*Obviously this property depends very much on the composition of the metallic material but
700 °C is a difficult temperature for all but the most oxidation resistant alloys.
On the basis of this assessment, ceramic materials are better for this application.

SUMMARY
During this lesson we have considered a range of properties which
should be considered by anyone wishing to select materials for
engineering design. It is not appropriate at this stage to produce a
comprehensive table listing details of the relevant properties for
many different materials but we can classify the main groups in
terms of particular properties in the following way:
Metals Polymers Ceramics
Stiffness E Low-high Low Medium-high
Strength  f Medium-high Low Medium-high
Ductility Low-high Low-high Very low
Max. service temp. Low-medium Low High
Thermal conductivity Medium-high Low Low
Electrical conductivity Medium-high Low Low
Specific gravity Low-high Low Low-high
Obviously a listing like this does not provide us with the detail
which we require for selection but it does enable us to identify
broad classifications. In addition, there are frequently exceptions
in these groups, e.g. there is a ceramic - beryllium oxide - which
has a thermal conductivity of about 200 Wrrr1 K"1, better
conduction than most metals!
In later lessons we will become involved in actual selection

processes. Then a knowledge of the properties identified in this
lesson will prove to be invaluable.


MEX312 - Introduction Lesson 1-1 Properties of Engineering Materials

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Materials Selection (MEX312) Lesson 1.

1 – Engineering Materials and Their Properties

INTRODUCTION TO SELECTION AND DESIGN

ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND

People first utilised naturally occurring materials, for example,

 University of Sunderland Page 1

An excellent over-view of the evolution of materials is given in

Figure 1 The Evolution of Materials

Many discoveries and innovations have their roots in military and

It is the identification of the most appropriate materials for

Page 2  University of Sunderland

In addition to becoming familiar with these properties you should

It will become apparent that mechanical properties in particular

 University of Sunderland Page 3

Page 4  University of Sunderland

MATERIALS SELECTION: THE PROBLEM

There are key properties of materials which are relevant for

Mechanical - Elastic behaviour, fracture stress, fracture strain,

Physical - Specific gravity, melting point

Thermal - Expansion, conductivity, thermal shock

Electrical - Conductivity/resistivity, dielectric behaviour

Chemical - Oxidation and corrosion behaviour, degradation.

The need to know about properties when formulating a new

 Can the component be manufactured in the material(s)

 Is failure in service likely? Can such failures be avoided?

In this lesson we will briefly consider these aspects and return to

 University of Sunderland Page 5

10 000 BC 1960 AD 2020 AD

Page 6  University of Sunderland

PROPERTIES AND MANUFACTURING

 Materials which melt at easily obtainable temperatures to

PROCESSING AND PROPERTIES

 University of Sunderland Page 7

Definitions of important mechanical properties follow.

Uniaxial Or Tensile Loading

Biaxial or Shear Loading

Page 8  University of Sunderland

Body acted on by shear stress  = tan 

Triaxial or Hydrostatic Loading

In all of these stress situations the same types of relationships

Another elasticity term of interest for tensile stress situations is

For most applications it is not necessary to measure every

 University of Sunderland Page 9

Hence G and K can be calculated with reasonable accuracy by

For example, for metals:

A typical stress-strain curve of a metal is sketched in Figure 2

Ultimate tensile strength u

Figure 2 Typical Stress-Strain Curve for Metals

Notice how the yield stress  y , and ultimate tensile strength,

Page 10  University of Sunderland

Sometimes if the yield point is not readily identifiable the proof

For a range of steels a discontinuous yield may be observed:

For polymers the forms of stress-strain curves are often quite

 University of Sunderland Page 11

Figure 3 Typical Stress-Strain Curves for Polymers

We can define stress during testing as follows.

However, during tensile testing the cross-sectional area of a test

Almost every engineering design involves stresses limited to the

Page 12  University of Sunderland

where l is the change in length and l0 is the original length.

 University of Sunderland Page 13

OTHER MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Alternatively, if a component is being significantly reduced in

where A is the original cross-sectional area, A0 , minus the final