MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING| MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

▪ WHAT DOES MECHANICAL PROPERTIES MEAN?

The mechanical properties of a material are defined as those properties that influence the material’s
reaction to applied loads. Mechanical properties are used to determine how a material would behave in
a given application and are helpful during the material selection and coating specification process.

▪ IMPORTANCE OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Mechanical properties are those which affect the mechanical strength and ability of a material to be
molded in a suitable shape. Some of the typical mechanical properties show huge applications in space
and automobile industries. These properties are associated with the capability of the materials to resist
mechanical forces and load and they are measured in terms of the behavior of the material when
subjected to a force. Mechanical properties may be determined to provide either design data for the
engineer or as a check on the standard of raw materials

Mechanical properties are also useful for helping to specify and identify metals. And the most common
properties considered are;

A. strength
B. hardness
C. ductility
D. brittleness
E. toughness
F. stiffness
G. impact resistance

STRESS

Stress is the result of internal forces, or forces that result

when internal particles react to each other. Force is the
measure of the amount of energy that's applied to an object.
These internal forces are caused when a load is applied to an
object. The most common loading types include
longitudinally loaded objects, axially-loaded objects, and
torsional-loaded, or twisted, objects.
STRAIN

strain refers to the degree of deformation that a material withstands in the direction of applied forces in
relation to its original length. Engineering
strain is directly proportional to the amount
of elongation experienced by an object.

ELASTIC PROPERTIES

Elastic properties of solids are determined by interatomic forces acting on atoms when they are
displaced from the equilibrium positions. At small deformations, these forces are proportional to the
displacements of atoms.

Young’s modulus - measures the resistance of a solid to a change in its length. (Longitudinal
strain)

Shear modulus - measures the resistance to motion of the planes within a solid parallel to each
other (Shear strain)

Bulk modulus - measures the resistance of solids to changes in their volume. (Volumetric
strain)

Poisson’s ratio – ratio of the lateral strain to the longitudinal strain when the element is loaded
with a longitudinal tensile force

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELASTIC CONSTANTS

Young’s modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus and Poisson’s ratio are not independent to each
other,

They are related ONLY VALID ON ISOTROPIC MATERIALS

𝐸 = 2𝐺(1 + 𝜇) 𝐸 = 3𝐾(1 − 2𝜇)

Robert Hooke

According to Hooke’s law, stress is directly proportional to

strain within the proportional limit

as stress increases, strain also increases within proportional

limit