Outcome 1.

1 Detail the appropriate properties and criteria

MATERIALS, PROPERTIES AND SELECTION

 Detail the appropriate properties and criteria for the selection of Metallic,Ceramic,Polymer and Composite material

TYPES OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

• ) Metallic Materials
2) Polymeric Materials
3) Ceramics
4) Composites
5) Others (e.g. glass, wood,
semiconductors, ...)
There Is A Difference between the Mechanical
and Physical Properties Of An Alloy.
• Physical properties are things that are
measurable. Those are things like density,
melting point, conductivity, coefficient of
expansion, etc.
• Mechanical properties are how the metal
performs when different forces are applied to
them. That includes things like strength,
ductility, wear resistance, etc.   
• The mechanical and physical properties of
materials are determined by their chemical
composition and their internal structure, like
grain size or crystal structure.
• Mechanical properties may be greatly affected
by processing due to the rearrangement of the
internal structure.
• Metalworking processes or heat treatment
might play a role in affecting some physical
properties like density and electrical
conductivity, but those effects are usually
insignificant.
Mechanical and physical properties are a key
determinant for which alloy is considered suitable
for a given application when multiple alloys satisfy
the service conditions.
In almost every instance, the engineer designs the
part to perform within a given range of properties.
Many of the mechanical properties are
interdependent – high performance in one category
may be coupled with lower performance in
another. 
Higher-strength, as an example, maybe achieved at
the expense of lower ductility.
So a broad understanding of the product’s
environment will lead to the selection of the best
material for the application.
A description of some common mechanical and
physical properties will provide information that
product designers could consider in selecting
materials for a given application.
 Conductivity
 Corrosion Resistance
 Density
 Ductility / Malleability
 Elasticity / Stiffness
 Fracture Toughness
 Hardness
 Plasticity
 Strength,
 Fatigue Strength,
 Shear
 Strength, Tensile
 Strength, Yield
 Toughness
 Wear Resistance
• More recently the development of nuclear
energy has stimulated the need for entirely new
metals and alloys and new composite materials
exhibiting properties that could not be achieved
by ordinary metals.
• Furthermore, new plastic materials are finding
an ever increasing use in all branches of
industry.
• Materials make up the basic elements, which all
manufacturing processes have to work with.
• Manufacturing high quality products at a low
cost requires a detailed knowledge of complex
interactions among a large number of factors
including product design requirements, materials
and their properties and manufacturing
processes that convert these materials into
required forms.
• Today there is a wide range of materials and
processes available and the task of selecting
the best possible material while minimizing
the costs of manufacturing is a major
challenge.
• Meeting such a challenge requires a thorough
understanding of the characteristics of
materials and processes and the associated
manufacturing technology.
Metallic Materials
•  Since metals in pure forms have limited
mechanical properties (e.g. strength and
hardness) they are mostly used in alloy forms.
• An alloy consists of at least two metals, namely,
the parent metal and the alloying element.
However, many metallic alloys contain several
or many alloying elements in order to satisfy a
combination of properties.
• Metallic materials can be further subdivided
into two groups:
1) Ferrous metals and 
2) Non-ferrous metals.
Ferrous metals:
• The term ferrous metals is used for all those
alloys having iron as the major constituent.
Pure iron is a relatively soft material and is
hardly of any commercial use in pure state.
Alloys of iron with carbon are classified
according to their carbon content: Steels with
0.02 - 2 % carbon and Cast Irons with 2-4 %
carbon.
• Ferrous metals account for about three
quarters of the metal tonnage used throughout
the world. Steels can be further sub-divided
into a number of categories. The term carbon
• Typical alloying elements include manganese,
aluminium, copper, nickel, chromium, cobalt
and so on.
• Stainless steels are one form of alloy steels,
which have high percentages of chromium
and nickel in its chemical composition for
their high resistance to corrosion.
• Due to their good strength, and relatively low
cost, steels are widely used in many different
applications including construction, transport,
general engineering and consumer products.
Cast Irons as the name implies have been
developed for casting process and the terms refer
to a family of alloys including gray cast iron, ductile
iron, white and malleable iron.
Non-Ferrous alloys
• These are all the known metals other than
irons.
• These include alloys of aluminium, copper,
magnesium, zinc, titanium and nickel.
• They provide a wide range of favorable
properties including good strength, light
weight, resistance to corrosion, and ease of
fabrication.
• Application of these alloys range from basic
consumer goods to mechanically demanding
aerospace components and structures.
• Aluminium is the most important of the non-
ferrous alloys and ranks second to steel in
worldwide quantity used.
• It is increasingly used in both automotive and
aerospace industry for its low density, good
strength and excellent corrosion resistance as
well as its ease of manufacture.
• Both nickel and titanium alloys are extensively
used in jet engines and gas turbines because of
their advantageous high mechanical properties
and excellent corrosion resistance
characteristics particularly at high operating
temperatures.
Polymeric materials can be grouped into three
general categories:
1) Thermoplastics
2) Thermosets
3) Elastomers
Thermoplastics
• These materials can be softened and re-
hardened indefinitely, as often as they are
reheated providing the temperature is not high
enough as to cause decomposition.
 Thermoplastics have linear or branched
molecular chain structures with few links, if any
between chains.
• Typical examples include nylon, polyethylene,
polycarbonate, and PVC.
Polymeric Materials:
• Polymeric materials are conventionally referred
to as ‘plastics’. Polymers are formed by
combining together a large number of basic
chemical units (monomer molecules) to form
long chain molecules (polymers).
• Carbon is the main building block of polymer
materials but one or more other elements such
as hydrogen, nitrogen, chlorine and oxygen are
part of this building block.
• Polymers have unique and diverse properties
and are increasingly replacing metallic materials
in all types of applications including cars,
aircraft, general office and domestic equipment.
• They provide many advantages including good
strength to weight ratio, resistance to corrosion,
ease of shaping and low cost of manufacture.
However, compared with metals, they tend to
have low strength and stiffness and are limited
to relatively low temperature applications.
Thermosets
• These materials are rigid and not softened by
the application of heat.
• Such polymers have molecular structures
which are extensively cross-linked. Because of
this, when heat causes the bonds to break, the
effect is not reversible on cooling.
• Typical examples of thermosetting polymers
are phenolics, epoxies and resins.
Elastomers
These are polymers, which as a result of their
molecular structure allow considerable elastic
behaviour.
Such materials are lightly cross-linked polymers.
Between the cross-links the molecular chains are
fairly free to move.
These include rubber, silicone, and polyurethane.
Ceramics
• The term ceramic covers a wide range of
materials, e.g. brick, stone, glasses and
refractory materials. Ceramics are formed from
combinations of one or more metals with non
metallic elements, such as oxygen, nitrogen or
carbon.
• Ceramics are usually hard and brittle, good
electrical and thermal insulators, and have good
resistance to chemical attack. Because of their
low thermal conductivity, they tend to have a
low thermal shock resistance.
•
• Their high hardness and high temperature
strengths make engineering ceramics suitable
for wear resistant and high temperature
applications including, for example, gas turbine
engines, and cutting tools used in machining
processes. 
• They are of great potential interest to the aero-
engine industry where other materials require
intricate and costly manufacturing processes to
form cooling channels in many components to
allow the passage of cooling fluids. Ceramic
components are difficult to manufacture and
are generally formed from powders.
• Common engineering ceramics include
alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride,
titanium carbide, and tungsten carbide.
Common engineering ceramics include alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, titanium carbide, and tungsten carbide.

Tungsten Carbide cutting teeth on a drill used in in geotechnical soil investigation

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Tungsten Carbide cutting teeth on a drill used in in

geotechnical soil investigation

A cermaic gas turbine engine blade

Composites
• A composite material is a mixture of at least two
separate phases which are mixed or bonded
together to obtain superior mechanical
properties compared to those of its
constituents. Each phase in the composite
structure retains its identity and maintains its
properties, however as a joint unit, the
composite material provides better mechanical
properties including stiffness, strength and
hardness.
• Composites are generally classified according to
the matrix material (i.e. the main phase),
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
• When selecting a material for a given
application the material properties must
satisfy the function and the operating
conditions of the component or the structure
being designed.
• The properties, which directly influence the
choice of material, can be summarized under
the following categories:
• Mechanical Properties: e.g. stiffness, strength,
ductility, hardness, toughness, etc.
• Physical Properties: e.g. density, electrical
conductivity, thermal conductivity, etc.
• Chemical Properties: e.g. corrosion resistance in
various environments.
• Manufacturing Properties: e.g. formability,
machinability, ease of joining, etc.
• The functional requirements of a product are
directly determined by the mechanical,
physical, chemical properties.
• However, for the product to be technically
manufacturable, the material must have the
right manufacturing properties.
• For example, a forged component requires a
material with sufficient flowability without
cracking during forging, a cast component
requires a material that flows readily in the
molten state and fills the mould and on
solidification does not produce undesirable
pores and cracks.
Some Important Mechanical
Properties
•  Mechanical properties
including elasticity, yield
strength, ultimate tensile
strength and ductility are
usually part of material
specifications and are
obtained by tensile testing.
These properties are
described in more detail
below as well as being
shown on the diagram.
 
Elasticity/Stiffness
• This is a measure of elastic deformation of a
body under stress which is recovered when the
stress is released.
• The ratio of stress to strain in the elastic region
is known as stiffness or modulus of elasticity
(Young’s Modulus).
• When the stress goes beyond the elastic limit
the material will no longer return completely to
its original dimension.
 Yield (or Proof Strength)

Stress needed to produce a

specified amount of plastic or
permanent deformation.
Typical Tensile Testing Set Up
(Usually a 0.2 % change in
length)
Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS)
The maximum stress a material
can withstand before fracture.
Ductility
The amount of plastic
deformation that a material can
withstand without fracture.
The relastionship between stress and strain (load and elongation)
• The diagram shows the output from a tensile
test. These tests are widely used for
determining mechanical properties of materials.
• A standard test specimen is axially loaded.
The load is increased at a uniform rate and the
specimen elongates and finally fractures.
• The load is recorded as well as the elongation.
• The results are usually plotted as a stress/strain
graph where stress = load/original cross
sectional area
strain = increase in length under load / original
length Properties such as yield, UTS and
ductility as well as the stiffness are obtained
Hardness
• The resistance to abrasion, deformation,
scratching or to indentation by another hard
body.
• This property is important for wear resistant
applications.
Toughness
• This is commonly associated with impact
loading. It is defined as the energy required to
fracture a unit volume of material.
• Generally, the combination of a high UTS and a
high ductility results in a higher toughness.
• Fatigue Strength and Endurance Limit
Fatigue failure results from a repeated cyclic
application of stress which may be below the yield
strength of the material.
• This is known to be the most common form of
mechanical failure of all engineering
components.
• The number of stress cycles needed to cause
fatigue failure depends on the magnitude of
the stress. Below a certain stress level material
does not fail regardless to the number of cycles.
• This is known as endurance limit and is an
important parameter in many design
Creep Resistance
• The plastic deformation of a material which
occurs as a function of time when the material
is subjected to constant stress below its yield
strength.
• For metals this is associated with high
temperature applications but polymers may
exhibit creep at low temperatures.
MATERIAL SELECTION
• No two materials have the same properties and
the choice is usually decided by the best
possible combination of material properties
and economical factors which necessitates an
optimum solution.
• Material selection task requires a through and
scientific approach and the following major
aspects need to be satisfied:
a) Functional properties: The correct combination
of mechanical, physical and chemical properties
to meet the function and operating conditions of
the component.
b) Manufacturing properties: Processing or
fabrication properties of the material for the
conversion processes needed to convert the
material into required shape, such as ease of
casting, forming, joining, and machining.
c) Economics: Cost of the material as well as cost
of processing the material into required shape. As
part of overall economics, both availability and
recycling aspect should also be taken into
• A table containing Relative cost data for
common materials is given here.
• Material selection involves a complex
interaction between component function,
material, process, component shape and costs.
• Those who select materials should at least have
a broad and basic understanding of properties
of materials and their processing
characteristics.
• The function of the component must be clearly
defined in order that the required mechanical
properties may be identified
• An ideal list of requirements may be easy to
arrive at, but a material and process to satisfy all
of these requirements is unlikely to exist and an
appropriate compromise must be found.
• It is, therefore, important to distinguish essential
properties from desirable properties, those that
can be compromised in order to achieve the
essential properties.
Material properties are often quoted independent
of shape but in some circumstances geometry can
influence the response of a component with respect
to stiffness and strength, to a considerable degree.
• An additional factor in selecting a material for a
particular component is consideration of the
manufacturing process.
• A process must be found that is capable of
making the component shape, with the correct
accuracy, and with an acceptable cost. In
reality, both material and process selection
must be considered simultaneously since not all
materials are compatible with every process.
• For example, steel, nickel and titanium cannot
be die cast, ceramic materials cannot be
machined using conventional techniques and
the complexity of component shape limits the
• It is also important that both the material and
processes used must be controlled during
manufacture.
• For example, an incoming stock of raw
material, which shows variations in composition
and microstructure, cannot be heat treated and
machined easily.
• A sheet metal showing variations in its cold
worked condition will exhibit differences in
‘spring back’ characteristics during forming.
• A cast component may show inclusions and
porosity unless melting operation, mould filling
and solidification of the casting are controlled.
• The final functional or mechanical properties of
a component, to a large extent, depend on the
degree of control it receives during its
processing.
• Material property data is widely available in
various published form including material
handbooks, reference books, publications of
many technical societies, etc., however, a
speedy access to right information may not
always be possible. Tools have been developed
to assist in identifying the best material choice
for a given set of requirements.
• These include for example, material
comparison charts, which contain plots of one
property against another