PROPERTIES OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

The fields of application of a particular engineering material are governed by the characteristics
and various properties of that engineering material. Such properties may be classified into
various categories as follows:
1. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
 these suggest the tendency of the material to combine with other substances.
 reactivity and solubility
Effects of Chemical Properties
a. corrosion
b. chemical composition
c. acidity
d. alkalinity
Factors of Corrosion
a. air
b. industrial atmosphere
c. soils
d. acids
e. bases
f. salt solutions
2. ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
- ability of a material to conduct electricity e.g electrical conductivity and dielectric constant.
Basis of Electrical Properties
a. RESISTIVITY
 characteristics of the material of which the conductor is made.
𝑹. 𝑨
𝝆=
𝒍
where,
𝜌= resistivity
R= resistance of a conductor (ohms)
A= area of the conductor section (𝑐𝑚2 )
l = length of the conductor (𝑐𝑚)
b. CONDUCTIVITY
 reciprocal of resistivity
𝒍 𝒍
𝝈= = ; 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝝈 = 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲
𝝆 𝑹. 𝑨
c. DIELECTRIC STRENGTH
 it means that the insulating capacity of a material against high voltages.
3. MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
- response of a material to the application of a magnetic field
- is vital when it is to be used for generators and transformation through the study of its
permeability, hysteresis, and coercive force.
Most Important Magnetic Properties
a. ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY
 ratio of the flux density in a material to the magnetizing force producing that flux
density.
b. COERCIVE FORCE
 the magnetizing force w/c is necessary to neutralize completely the magnetism.
c. MAGNETIC HYSTERESIS
 it is the rising temperature at w/c the given material ceases to be ferro-magnetic, or
the falling temperature w/c ceases to be magnetic.
4. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
 relate to deformation of a material due to an applied load or force, example include
elasticity, hardness, strength.
Terms in connection with Mechanical Properties:
a. STRENGTH
 ability of a material to resist failure under the action of stresses caused by a load.
 tensile strength, compressive strength, proof stress, shear strength
b. ELASTICITY
 proportionality constant between stress and strain.
𝑷
𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑨 𝑷𝑳
𝑬= = =
𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝜹 𝑨𝜹
𝑳
c. PLASTICITY
 property that enables the formation of permanent deformation in a material w/out
cracking.
Examples of Plastic Materials
 Gold
 Lead
 Steel
 Copper
 Hot bitumen
d. DUCTILITY
 ability of a metal to withstand elongation/bending.

e. MALLEABILITY
 ability of a material to be hammered or rolled into thin sheets w/out rupture.
f. BRITTLENESS
 when a body breaks easily when subjected to shocks.
 lack of ductility
g. HARDNESS
 ability of a material to resist penetration by a harder body.
h. FATIGUE
 is the phenomenon that leads to fracture under such conditions.
 Effects of Fatigue
 increased uncertainty in strength and service life
 loss of ductility
 loss of strength
i. CREEP
 slow plastic deformation of metals under constant stress or under prolonged loading
usually at high temperature.

5. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
 these are required to evaluate the condition of the material without any external force
acting on it.
a. BULK DENSITY
 used to mean the mass of unit volume of material in its natural state.
b. POROSITY
 used to indicate the degree by which the volume of a material is occupied by pores.
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔
𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏
c. HYGROSCOPICITY
 property of a material to absorb water vapor from air.
Factors of Hygroscopicity
 nature of substance involved
 number of pores
 air temperature
 relative humidity
d. WATER ABSORPTION
 ability of a material to absorb and retain water.
Factors of Absorption
 volume of materials
 size of materials
 shape of pores
e. WATER PERMEABILITY
 capacity of a material to allow water to pass through it under pressure.
 quantity of water that will pass through the material in 1 hour at constant pressure.
Water-proof Materials
 glass
 steel
f. WEATHER RESISTANCE
 used to express the ability of a material to resist alternating wet and dry conditions
without seriously affecting its shape and mechanical strength.
g. COEFFICIENT OF SOFTENING (COS)
 ratio of compressive strength (CS) of material saturated with water to that in dry state.
 𝑪𝑺𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅
𝑪. 𝑶. 𝑺. =
𝑪𝑺𝒅𝒓𝒚
h. FIRE RESISTANCE
 ability of a material to resist the action of high temperature without losing its load-
bearing capacity.
i. FROST RESISTANCE
 ability of a water-saturated material to resist repeated freezing.
j. CHEMICAL RESISTANCE
 ability of material to withstand the action of acids, alkalies, gases, and salt solutions
Important Materials to have Chemical Resistance
 sewer pipes
 hydraulic engineering installation
 sanitary facilities
k. REFRACTORIES
 ability of a material to withstand prolonged action of high temperature without melting or
loosing shape.
l. DURABILITY
 ability to resist the combined action of atmospheric and other factors.
6. OPTICAL PROPERTIES
 refers to color, light, transmission, refractive index, and reflectivity.
 Optics
- study of light in material and how to use this behavior to control the various light
effects.
Common Materials Having Optical Property
 fiber glass
 mirror
7. THERMAL PROPERTIES
 measure for the behavior of a material in response to temperature such as heat capacity
and thermal conductivity
 knowledge of thermal properties of the material like specific heat, thermal expansion, and
conductivity is helpful in knowing the response of the material to the thermal changes.
a. SPECIFIC HEAT (SH)
 quantity of heat, expressed in kilocalories, required to heat 1N of material by 1℃.
𝐽
𝑆𝐻𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 0.046 × 103 ⁄𝑁℃
𝐽
𝑆𝐻𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.075 × 103 ⁄𝑁℃
𝐽
𝑆𝐻𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 0.239 𝑡𝑜 0.27 × 103 ⁄𝑁℃
REFENCES
1) Engineering Metallurgy, Applied Physical Metallurgy 6th ed. by R.A. Higgins.
2) Materials Science and Engineering 8th ed. By Callister
3) Introduction to Engineering Materials lecture note 152311150152550 by Cynthia Villasor
4) The internet