CHEMISTRY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES – are properties of
ENGINEERING MATERIALS
PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
1. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES – are properties of a
material that refer to the structure of a material
and its formation from our elements. The
following are chemical properties of a material.
a. Composition – is the elemental or chemical
components of the material and the relative
proportion of these components. In metals,
composition usually means the percentage of the
various elements that make up the metal.
b. Corrosion Resistance – is the ability of the material
to resists deterioration by chemical or electro-
chemical reaction with its environment.
c. Crystal Structure – is the ordered, repeating
arrangement of atoms and molecules in a material.
d. Microstructure – is the structure of polished and
etched materials as revealed by microscope
magnifications greater than ten diameters.
e. Stereospecificity – is the tendency for polymers and
molecular materials to form with an ordered,
spatial, three-dimensional arrangement of
monomer molecules.
2.
materials that refer to the interaction of
materials with various forms of energy and with
other form of matters.
a. Curie Point – is the temperature at which
ferromagnetic materials can no longer be
magnetized by outside forces.
b. Density – is the mass per unit volume
c. Dielectric Strength – is the maximum
potential difference that an insulating
material of given thickness can withstand
for a specified time without occurrence of
electrical breakdown through its bulk.
d. Electrical Resistivity – is the electrical
resistance of a material per unit length and
cross-sectional area or per unit length and
unit weight.
e. Heat distortion temperature – is the
temperature at which a polymer under a
specified load shows a specified amount of
deflection.
f. Melting Point – is the point at which a
material liquefies on heating and solidifies
on cooling.
g. Poisson’s Ratio – is the absolute value of
the ratio of the transverse strain to the
corresponding axial strain in a body
subjected to uniaxial stress.
h. Refractive Index – is the ratio of the
velocity of light in a vacuum to its velocity in
another material.
i. Specific Gravity – is the ratio of the mass or
weight of a solid or liquid to the mass or
weight of an equal volume of water.
Specific gravity of water is 1.000 at 4 C.
j. Thermal Conductivity – is the rate of heat
flow per unit time in a homogeneous
material under steady-state conditions, per
unit area, per unit temperature gradient in
a direction perpendicular to area.
k. Thermal Expansion – is the rate at which a
material elongates when heated.
3. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES – are properties of a
material that are displayed when a force is
applied to a material.
a. Compressive Strength – is the maximum
compressive stress that a material is
capable of withstanding.
b. Creep – is the permanent strain under
strain
c. Creep Strength – is the constant nominal
stress that will cause a specified quantity of
creep in a given time of constant
temperature.
d. Endurance Limit – the maximum stress
below which a material can theoretically
endure an infinite number of stress cycles.
e. Flexural Strength - is the outer fiber stress
developed when a material is loaded as a
simple supported beam and deflected to a
certain value of strain.
f. Hardness – is the resistance of a material to
plastic deformation
g. Modulus of elasticity – is the ratio of stress
to strain in a material loaded within its
elastic range. It is a measure of rigidity. It is
also known as Young’s Modulus. The
modulus of elasticity of steel is 200,000
MPa.
h. Percent Elongation – is the increase in the
gage length measured after the specimen
fractures within the gage length.
i. Percent Reduction in Area – is the
difference (expressed as a percentage of
original area) between the original cross-
sectional area of a tensile test specimen
and the minimum cross-sectional area
measured after fractures.
j. Shear Strength – is the stress required to
fracture a shape in a cross-sectional plane
that is parallel to the force application.
k. Yield Strength – is the stress at which a
material exhibits a specified deviation from
proportionality of stress and strain.
4. DIMENSIONAL PROPERTIES – are properties of a
material that deals with its available size, shape,
finish and tolerance.
a. Camber – is the deviation form edge
straightness. It is usually the maximum
deviation of an edge from a straight line of
given length.
b. Lay – is the direction of a predominating
surface pattern. It is usually after a machine
operation.
c. Out of Flat – is the deviation of a surface
from a flat plane, usually over a
macroscopic area.
d. Roughness – is relatively finely spaced
surface irregularities, the height, width and
direction of which establish a definite
surface pattern.
e. Surface Finish – is the microscopic and
macroscopic characteristics that describe a
surface.
f. Waviness – a wavelike variation from a
perfect surface.
POLYMERIC MATERIALS
- Polymer is a long chain of repeating molecules.
Mer or Monomer is the basic repeating unit.
Copolymer or Interpolymer refers to the large
molecule with alternating mers.
- Polymers are classified into two, namely,
natural polymers and synthetic polymers.
Rubber and asphalt are some of the example of
natural polymers. Synthetic polymers are
named by adding the prefix poly to the name of
 the basic mer. For example C2H3Cl is the form other ceramic materials. Cermets are composites
chemical formula for vinyl chloride. Chains of composed of ceramics and metals.
C2H3Cl are called polyvinyl chloride.
- The average of number of mers in the molecule Common Examples of Ceramics:
(from several hundreds to several thousands) is 1. Carbon Graphites
known as the degree of polymerization. 2. Abrasives
- Cross-linking refers to the strong primary 3. Single crystals
chemical bonds which forms some of the 4. Concrete Products
polymeric materials. The cross-linking of natural 5. Glass
rubber is called vulcanization. Vulcanization 6. Refractories
involves heating the blended starting material 7. Structural Shapes
to about 150 C with the crude in a steel mold of 8. Earthenwares
the desired shape. Sulfur is used to enhance 9. Limes
vulcanization. 10. Plasters
Basic Types of Polymeric Materials: Properties of Typical Ceramics:
1. Plastics 1. High Melting point
2. Elastomers 2. High hardness
3. Adhesives 3. High compressive strength
4. Coatings 4. High tensile strength
5. Fibers 5. Low ductility
6. Natural Polymers 6. High shear resistance
7. Biosystems 7. Low electrical conductivity
8. Low thermal conductivity
9. High corrosion (acid) resistance
10. Low coeff. Of thermal expansion

CERAMICS

- Ceramics are solids composed of compounds

that contain metallic and non-metallic
elements, and the atoms in the compound or
compounds are held together with strong
atomic forces(covalent or ionic bond)
Sintering is the process where a physical mixture of
carbide and powered metal is heated in order to solidify
the powder into a single piece. Vitrification is the
process of gluing the powders together with glasses to
GLASS
- Glass is defined as supercooled liquids. The
basic ingredient for most glasses is sand or
silicon dioxide. Silica or quartz glass is pure
silicon dioxide. Ordinary window glass is usually
made from mixture of sand, limestone and soda
ash.
Properties of Glasses: steel according to the definition of the Steel Product
Manual.
1. Low ductility
2. Brittle Classification of Alloy Steels:
3. Harder than many metals (400 to 600 kg/mm2)
4. Tensile strength from 27 MPa to 69 MPa 1. Low-alloy steels – are those with less than 8.0%
5. Low coefficient of thermal expansion total alloying ingredients
6. Low thermal conductivity 2. High-alloy steels – are those with more than
7. Amorphous glasses have a modulus of elasticity 8.0% total alloying ingredients.
from 62 to 76 GPa
8. Good electrical insulators
9. Good resistant to many acids, solvents and
chemicals
10. Can be used at high temperature
11. Slowly attacked by water and some alkaline
solutions

CARBON AND ALLOY STEELS

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with the carbon

being restricted within certain concentration limit. It is
the most prevalent metal used in engineering
application due to the abundance of iron ore.

Carbon Steels are simply alloys of iron and carbon, with

carbon being the major strengthening agent.

Classification of Carbon Steels:

1. Plain carbon steels are the non-sulfurized

carbon steels.

a. Low-carbon steel – is the steel having less

than 0.30% carbon. This type of steel is
used for structural shapes, wires, screw
machine parts, etc.
b. Medium-carbon steel – is the steel having
0.30 to 0.70% carbon. This type of steel is
used for gears, axles, etc.
c. High-carbon steel – is the steel having 0.70
to 1.40% carbon. This type of steel is used
for cutting tools, knives, drills, etc.
2. Free machining steel – resulfurized carbon steel
3. Resulfurized and rephosporized carbon steel

Alloy steels are steels that have significant addition of

any element other than carbon. A steel that exceeds
one or more of the following limits: manganese, 1.65%,
silicon 0.60% , copper0.60% is also considered as alloy
 Martensitic Stainless Steels contain chromium in the
range of 12% to 18%. It has carbon content as high as
1.2%.

Austenitic Stainless Steels have at least four major

alloying ellements, namely iron, chromium, carbon and
nickel. The chromium content ranges from 16% to 26%.

IRONS

Cast iron refers to the family of iron, carbon and silicon

alloys with the carbon content greater than can be
accommodated in a solid solution, a graphite or iron
carbide phase is usually present.

Types of cast iron:

TOOL STEELS
U.S Steel produces defined tool steels as carbon or alloy
steels capable of being hardened and tempered.
The three main performance criteria of tool steels are:
1. Wear resistance
2. Hot hardness
3. Toughness
Hot hardness refers to the ability of a steel to resist
softening at high performance. Another term for hot
hardness is red hardness.
1. Gray Iron – is a high-carbon, iron-carbon-silicon
alloy. It is the most common type of cast iron.
This iron has a gray color appearance.
2. White Iron – is a type of cast iron that has a
hard as-cast structure and difficult to machine.
This iron has a white color appearance.
3. Malleable Iron – is a type of cast iron with its
structure altered by thermal treatments to give
it measurable ductility and increased tensile
strength.
4. Ductile Iron – is similar to malleable iron in
ductility but this ductility is achieved by ladle
additions. This type of cast iron contains
nodular or spheroidal graphite. This is
sometimes called nodular cast iron.
5. Mottled Iron – contains both cementite and
graphite and is between the gray and white
irons in composition and performance.

STAINLESS STEEL

Stainless steels are alloy of iron, chromium and other

elements that resist corrosion from many environment.
For steel to qualify the stainless prefix, it must have at
least 10% chromium.

Classes of Stainless Steels:

Ferritic Stainless Steels contain chromium in the range

of 16% to 20%. It has low carbon content which is less
than 0.2%.
Atmosphere of the Earth Five Main Layers:

• The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases,

commonly known as air, that surrounds the
planet Earth and is retained by Earth's gravity.

• The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth

by creating pressure allowing for liquid water to
exist on the Earth's surface,
absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming
the surface through heat retention (greenhouse
effect), and reducing temperature extremes
between day and night (the diurnal
temperature variation).
Exosphere
• By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen,
20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon
dioxide, and small amounts of other gases.
• The atmosphere has a mass of about
5.15×1018 kg,the quarters of which is within
about 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface.
• The study of Earth's atmosphere and its
processes is called atmospheric
science (aerology). Early pioneers in the field
include Léon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard
Assmann.
Stratification
Thermosphere
• Earth's atmosphere can be divided (called
atmospheric stratification) into five main layers.
Excluding the exosphere, the atmosphere has
four primary layers, which are the troposphere,
stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
From highest to lowest, the five main layers are:
• Exosphere: 700 to 10,000 km (440 to 6,200
miles)
• Thermosphere: 80 to 700 km (50 to 440 miles)
• Mesosphere: 50 to 80 km (31 to 50 miles)
• Stratosphere: 12 to 50 km (7 to 31 miles)
• Troposphere: 0 to 12 km (0 to 7 miles)
• The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's
atmosphere (i.e. the upper limit of the
atmosphere). It extends from the exobase,
which is located at the top of the thermosphere
at an altitude of about 700 km above sea level,
to about 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 33,000,000 ft)
where it merges into the solar wind.
• However, the aurora borealis and aurora
australis sometimes occur in the lower part of
the exosphere, where they overlap into the
thermosphere. The exosphere contains most of
the satellites orbiting Earth.
• The thermosphere is the second-highest layer
of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the
mesopause (which separates it from the
mesosphere) at an altitude of about 80 km
(50 mi; 260,000 ft) up to the thermopause at an
altitude range of 500–1000 km (310–620 mi;
1,600,000–3,300,000 ft).
• This layer is completely cloudless and free of
water vapor. However, non-
hydrometeorological phenomena such as
the aurora borealis and aurora australis are
occasionally seen in the thermosphere.
The International Space Station orbits in this
layer, between 350 and 420 km (220 and
260 mi).
Mesosphere
• The mesosphere is the third highest layer of
Earth's atmosphere, occupying the region above
the stratosphere and below the thermosphere.
It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of
about 50 km (31 mi; 160,000 ft) to the
mesopause at 80–85 km (50–53 mi; 260,000–
280,000 ft) above sea level.
• The mesosphere is also the layer where
most meteors burn up upon atmospheric
entrance. It is too high above Earth to be
accessible to jet-powered aircraft and balloons,
and too low to permit orbital spacecraft. The
mesosphere is mainly accessed by sounding
rockets and rocket-powered aircraft.
Stratosphere
• The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of
Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the
troposphere and is separated from it by
the tropopause. This layer extends from the top
of the troposphere at roughly 12 km (7.5 mi;
39,000 ft) above Earth's surface to
the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 to
55 km (31 to 34 mi; 164,000 to 180,000 ft).
• However, polar stratospheric or nacreous
clouds are occasionally seen in the lower part of
this layer of the atmosphere where the air is
coldest. The stratosphere is the highest layer
that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft.
Troposphere
relatively warm air above a colder one), and in
others by a zone which is isothermal with
height.
• This promotes vertical mixing (hence, the origin
of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, tropos,
meaning "turn"). The troposphere contains
roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere.
• Most conventional aviation activity takes place
in the troposphere, and it is the only layer that
can be accessed by propeller-driven aircraft.
Other Layers
• The ozone layer is contained within the
stratosphere. In this layer ozone concentrations
are about 2 to 8 parts per million, which is much
higher than in the lower atmosphere but still
very small compared to the main components
of the atmosphere.
• The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere
that is ionized by solar radiation. It is
responsible for auroras. During daytime hours,
it stretches from 50 to 1,000 km (31 to 621 mi;
160,000 to 3,280,000 ft) and includes the
mesosphere, thermosphere, and parts of the
exosphere.

• The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's Ionosphere

atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to
an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi;
39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from
about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the geographic
poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at
the Equator, with some variation due to
weather.

• The troposphere is bounded above by

the tropopause, a boundary marked in most
places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of
 • The homosphere and heterosphere are defined
by whether the atmospheric gases are well
mixed. The surface-based homosphere includes
the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,
and the lowest part of the thermosphere,
where the chemical composition of the
atmosphere does not depend on molecular
weight because the gases are mixed by
turbulence.

Homosphere and Heterosphere

• The planetary boundary layer is the part of the

troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface
and is directly affected by it, mainly
through turbulent diffusion. During the day the
planetary boundary layer usually is well-mixed,
whereas at night it becomes stably stratified
with weak or intermittent mixing.

Planetary Boundary Label