Properties of Metal

STRENGTH

Ability of a material to withstand forces which tend to deform the metal in any direction, or the ability of a material to resist stress without breaking.

SHEAR STRENGTH

describes a metal's ability to resist opposing forces

BEARING STRENGTH

ability of a joint to withstand any form of crushing or excessive compressive distortion.

HARDNESS

ability to resist cutting, penetration, or abrasion.

MALLEABILITY

characteristic of material that allows it to be stretched or shaped by beating with the hammer or passing through rollers without breaking.

DUCTILITY

The property which allows metal to be drawn into thinner sections without breaking

BRITTLENESS

property of a metal to break when deformed or hammered. It is the resistance to change in the relative position of the molecules within the material.

CONDUCTIVITY

property which enables a metal to carry heat or electricity.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

is the measure of a material's ability to allow electron flow

COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION (alpha) - in formula of deformation due to thermal stress

rate at which a material expands with increase in temperature.

ELASTICITY

The ability of an object or material to be stretched and recover its size and shape after deformation

ELASTIC LIMIT

is the point beyond which the metal does not return to its original shape after a deforming force is removed.

TOUGHNESS

The property of a metal which allows it to be deformed without breaking.

FUSIBILITY

ability of metal to be joined by heating and melting. Ability of metal to become liquid by the application of heat. The correct term is called fusion joining or welding.

STIFFNESS

resistance to elastic deformation

PLASTICITY

The property of a metal which allows it to be reshaped