Material Properties

Flashcards defining mechanical and physical material properties and specific mechanical strength and deformation characteristics.

Mechanical properties

Properties associated with how a material reacts to an external force.

Physical properties

Properties associated with the actual make-up or structure of the material.

Compressive strength

The ability to withstand being crushed or shortened by pushing forces (compression).

Tensile strength

The ability to resist stretching or pulling forces (tension).

Bending strength

The ability to resist forces that may bend the material.

Shear strength

The ability to resist sliding forces on a parallel plane.

Torsional strength

The ability to withstand twisting forces from applied torque or torsion.

Hardness

The ability to resist abrasive wear such as scratching, surface indentation or cutting.

Toughness

The ability to absorb impact force without fracture.

Plasticity

The ability to be permanently deformed (shaped) and retain the deformed shape.

Ductility

The ability to be drawn out under tension, reducing the cross-sectional area without cracking, for example stretching a material into a wire.

Malleability

The ability to withstand deformation by compression without cracking. Malleability increases with a rise in temperature.