Tallinn University of Technology

EKP0612 – Technology of Plastic Industry 2

“MECHANICAL PROPERTIES RELATED CRITERIA IN

MATERIAL SELECTION”

Referative Work 02

Student Name: Farzan Yahya Habib

Student ID: 194228 KVEM
E-mail: farzan.habib10@yahoo.com
Program: MSc.Plastics
*Introduction: The mechanical properties, among all the properties of plastic materials, are often
the most important properties because virtually all service conditions and most end-use
applications involve some degree of mechanical loading. Nevertheless, these properties are the
least understood by most design engineers. The material selection for a variety of applications is
quite often based on mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus, elongation, and
impact strength. These values are normally derived from the technical literature provided by
material suppliers. A thorough understanding of mechanical properties, tests employed to
determine such properties, and the effect of adverse conditions on mechanical properties over a
long period is extremely important.
Mechanical Properties In Selection of Materials: Tensile properties, Tensile elongation and tensile
modulus measurements are among the most important indications of strength in a material and are the
most widely specified properties of plastic materials. Tensile test, in a broad sense, is a measurement of
the ability of a material to withstand forces that tend to pull it apart and to determine to what extent the
material stretches before breaking. Tensile modulus, an indication of the relative stiffness of a material,
can be determined from a stress–strain diagram. Different types of plastic materials are often compared
based on tensile strength, elongation, and tensile modulus data. Flexural properties, Flexural strength is
the ability of the material to withstand bending forces applied perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. The
stresses induced due to the flexural load are a combination of compressive and tensile stresses. Modulus
of elasticity (Flexural Modulus), The flexural modulus is used to measure of the stiffness during the first
or initial part of the bending process during plastic material selection. This value of the flexural modulus
is, in many cases, equal to the tensile modulus. Creep, When a plastic material is subjected to a constant
load, it deforms quickly to a strain roughly predicted by its stress–strain modulus, and then continues to
deform slowly with time indefinitely or until rupture or yielding causes failure. This phenomenon of
deformation under load with time is called creep. Ductility, Ductility is the solid material's ability to
deform under Tensile stress; this is often characterized by the material's ability to be stretched into a wire.
Stress relaxation, Stress relaxation is defined as a gradual decrease in stress with time, under a constant
deformation (strain). This characteristic behavior of the polymers is studied by applying a fixed amount
of deformation to a specimen and measuring the load required to maintain it as a function of time. Impact
properties, The impact properties of the polymeric materials are directly related to the overall toughness
of the material. Toughness is defined as the ability of the polymer to absorb applied energy. Impact
strength is a measure of toughness. The higher the impact strength of a material, the higher the toughness
and vice versa. Impact resistance is the ability of a material to resist breaking under a shock loading or the
ability to resist the fracture under stress applied at high speed. Abrasion resistance, The material’s ability
to resist abrasion is most often measured by its loss in weight when abraded with an abraser. The most
widely accepted abraser in the industry is called the Taber abraser. Fatigue resistance, The behavior of
materials subjected to repeated cyclic loading in terms of flexing, stretching, compressing, or twisting is
generally described as fatigue. Hardness, Hardness is defined as the resistance of a material to
deformation, particularly permanent deformation, indentation, or scratching.
*Summary: Polymers are long chain molecules with properties dominated by their chain behaviour and
the nature of their chemical make-up or constitution. They include high performance polymers which are
more resistant to high temperatures, possess greater moduli or strengths, and can be combined with
additives to enhance their intrinsic properties yet further. So, in order to select correct material for better
product, one must research thoroughly on mechanical properties of selected material to get best property
product with lower cost as per application requirement.

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 Some examples of properties comparison from random supplier

Tensile Strength

Flexural Modules (Bending stiffness)

Izod Impact Strength

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 Some examples of mechanical properties & tests

Tensile Properties via graph & test

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 Tensile modulus graph for plastic materials

Flexural Test for plastic materials Impact test for plastic materials

References

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 1. https://techcenter.lanxess.com/scp/americas/en/docguard/Material_Selection_Guide.pdf?
docId=77017
2. https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/6807/pe-plastics-materials-selection-narrowing-
options/
3. file:///C:/Users/farza/Downloads/an_overview_of_the_plastic_material_selection_process
_for_medical_devices.pdf
4. https://www.coursehero.com/file/p318hgg/Conclusion-Plastic-is-a-great-material-to-
work-with-due-to-its-mechanical/
5. Handbook of materials selection-Chapter 20.1-Mechanical Properties
6. Material Selection for Thermoplastic Parts - Practical and Advanced Information for
Plastics Engineers- Chapter 07-Mechanical Properties
7. Plastic Injection Moulding, Volume II - Material Selection and Product Design
Fundamentals-Chapter 5.1.2-Mechanical Properties