Materials and their properties: Selection of materials is the most important step while designing a certain component.

Important considerations for selecting suitable material for a component are: 1. Requirement of the component in terms of suitability of the material of the component for working conditions during service. (For example function, loading, life, environment etc.) 2. The conditions of production like number of pieces, shape, and method of production which requires considering the amenability of the material to the process required in fabricating the component. 3. Cost of the material in relation to selling price of the component. 4. Properties of the material with which the component is to be made.

Typical properties of materials which is to be considered while designing a component are: 1. Mechanical properties like Strength, Elasticity, Plasticity, ductility, Malleability,
Toughness, Brittleness, Hardness, and Resilience etc. Behavior of materials under the action of external forces is referred to as Mechanical properties.

2. Electrical properties like Resistance and Resistivity, Conductance and conductivity,

Capacitance, dielectric properties etc.

3. Thermal properties like Specific heat, Thermal expansion, Resistance conductance,

diffusivity, thermal fatigue, Melting point, Latent heat etc.

4. Chemical properties like Acidity, Alkalinity, corrosion reaction, chemical composititon,

atomic properties like atomic number atomic weight etc.

5. Physical properties like Dimensions, density, shape, porosity atructure etc. 6. Technological properties like Machinability, Castability, resistance to corrosion, Wear
resistance, Weldability, forgeability etc.

7. Optical properties like colour, light transmission, light reflection, Refractive Index 8. Acoustical properties sound transmission, reflection etc. 9. Magnetic properties like Magneto motive force, reluctance, permeance, Magnetic
Hysterisis. Design engineers concerned with design of mechanical component are required to know in detail the Mechanical properties. The same has been described briefly as given below:

Mechanical Properties of engineering materials: Structural and machine members are generally designed to transfer certain types of loads during its service. These loads may influence the structure of a member under extreme conditions leading to failure.

The failure may be due to excessive deformation, stresses exceeding certain limits, surface abrasion, etc. above factors, to great extent are influenced by the material and its properties. Some of the important properties of engineering materials are:

1.

Strength: Ability of a member to resist loads with out failure due to excessive stresses is known as Strength. Strength of a member is dependent on the type of the load acting on it. Strength is several forms are: Elastic or Yield strength represented by elastic or yield point on stress - strain curve.
Yield Strength - A value determined through actual destructive testing that indicates the amount of resistance to permanent deformation (bending). A material that is stressed to a point below its yield strength will return to its original state when the stress is removed. A material that is stressed to a point beyond its yield strength will NOT return to its original state when the stress is removed. The higher the yield strength, the more resistance to bending a material exhibits.

Ultimate strength represented by the maximum ordinate on stress - strain curve.

Tensile Strength - This is another value determined through actual destructive testing. This value indicates the point at which a material will fail when under a tensile load (being pulled from each end of the material). This value should not be confused with yield strength.

Fracture strength represented by breaking stress.

Breaking Strength - This is another value determined through actual destructive testing. This value indicates the point at which a material will fracture under a tensile load (being pulled from each end of the material).

Fatigue strength represented by endurance limit stress under cyclic loading. Impact strength expressed as energy required to cause failure due to suddenly applied loads.

2.

Stiffness: Stiffness is the ability of a material to resist deformation. Stiffness is the property of the material which enables it to resist deformation induced due to loads. Degree of stiffness is measured by its modulus of elasticity in case of axially loaded members. Stiffness is also known as Rigidity. Hardness: Hardness is a measure of resistance to surface indentations and abrasion. It is the ability of a material to resist penetration and abrasion. Hardness is a relative quantity and is generally expressed as a number such as BHN, Rockwell Harness number, VHN etc. It is an important property involved in the design of parts such as gears, cams, chain sprockets, bearings etc. which are under constant rubbing action. Where metal surfaces have to withstand wear in use, Hardness becomes an important property. Baring materials are softer than journal (shaft) material. Ductility: Ductility is the property of a material which permits to be drawn out into a slender rod or wire. It is the ability of the material to be drawn out or elongated before rupture occurs. Ductile materials have a high degree of plasticity beyond the elastic limit. Metals like Aluminum alloys, alloys of Copper, Steel and Wrought Iron are ductile. Ductility is measured by the percentage of elongation and percentage of reduction in area. The later being more appropriate since it is independent of gauge length.

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Elasticity: Elasticity is the property of the material indicating its ability to regain its original shape and size after deformation. Steel is highly elastic material. Plasticity: Plasticity is the property of a material which enables the formation of permanent deformation in the material.

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Malleability: If the shape of a metal body can be altered by hammering or rolling the body without cracking or breaking the metal, the metal is said to be malleable. Gold, Silver, Copper, Aluminum and steel are examples. Malleability of a material is its property to undergo great change in shape under compressive force without rupture. These materials may be hammered or rolled into desired shape.

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Brittleness: Brittleness in a material is indicated by its ability to undergo only slight deformations before rupturing. A material is brittle if ductility and plasticity are nearly absent. Most of the cast metals are brittle immediately after casting. Brittle materials are much stronger in compression than in tension. Materials having less than 5% elongation are brittle. Cast Iron is most brittle material. Resilience: Resilience of a material is its ability to store energy and resist shock and impact. Thus Resilience of a material is its ability to absorb energy in the elastic range.

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Toughness: Toughness is a property which enables a material to be twisted, bent or stretched under high stress before rupture. Toughness of material is its ability to withstand, without fracture, large stresses accompanied with large deformations. The measure of toughness is the amount of work/energy absorbed per unit volume by the material before it fails.

Compiled by NSS