Materials are defined by their properties and their properties

determine their uses. We have lots of material properties to

define a material and those are listed below with their
category

1. Acoustical properties
2. Atomic properties
3. Chemical properties
4. Electrical properties
5. Environmental properties
6. Magnetic properties

7. Manufacturing properties
8. Mechanical properties
9. Optical properties
10. Radiological properties
11. Sensorial properties
12. Thermal properties

The above mentioned categories have their own set
of list which is studied in detail below..

Overview

Acoustical properties
Acoustical absorption
Speed of sound






Atomic properties

Atomic mass
Atomic number- applies to pure elements only
Atomic weight - applies to individual isotopes or
specific mixtures of isotopes of a given element.

Chemical properties
Corrosion resistance
Hygroscopy
pH
Reactivity
Specific internal surface area
Surface energy
Surface tension


Electrical properties
Conductivity
Dielectric constant
Dielectric strength
Electrical conductivity
Permeability
Permittivity
Piezoelectric constants
Seebeck coefficient
Environmental properties
Embodied energy
Embodied water
RoHS compliance
There are a variety of other properties to consider in an
environmental impact assessment that effect the ecological
or human environment that may be difficult to quantify
(unlike most of the properties listed on this page) including
pollution (extraction, transportation, manufacture),
scarcity/abundance, habitat destruction, renewability,
recyclability, wars fought over materials, labor exploitation,
etc. These can be subjective, dependent on context, or
inadequately measured
Magnetic properties
Curie Point
Diamagnetism
Hysteresis
Permeability
Manufacturing properties
Castability
Extruding temperature and pressure
Hardness
Machinability rating
Machining speeds and feeds

Mechanical properties

Compressive strength
Density
Ductility
Fatigue limit
Flexural modulus
Flexural strength
Fracture toughness
Hardness
Plasticity (physics)
Poisson's ratio
Shear modulus
Shear strain



Shear strength
Softness
Specific modulus
Specific weight
Tensile strength
Yield strength
Young's modulus
Coefficient of friction(also
depends on surface
finish)
Coefficient of restitution
Optical properties
Absorptivity
Color
Luminosity
Photosensitivity
Reflectivity
Refractive index
Scattering
Transmittance
Radiological properties
Neutron cross-section
Specific activity

Sensorial properties
Brightness
Smell
Softness
Warmth

Thermal properties

Auto ignition temperature
Binary phase diagram
Boiling point
Coefficient of thermal
expansion
Critical temperature
Curie point
Emissivity
Eutectic point
Flammability
Flash point
Glass transition temperature
Heat of fusion
Heat of vaporization

Inversion temperature
Melting point
Phase diagram
Pyrophoricity
Solidus
Specific heat
Thermal conductivity
Thermal diffusivity
Thermal expansion
Seebeck coefficient
Triple point
Vapor Pressure
Vicat softening point


Of that all, the most important properties that we
consider in our domain is mechanical and
manufacturing properties and, lets see each of
them in detail
Manufacturing Properties
Castability :
Its the casting property that defines how easy a
part can be casted.
The main attributes that control the quality of
casting is the part volume, surface area, and the
number of features.


The design that reduces the castability are:
Undercuts ,interior cavities due to tooling complexions.
Sudden changes in wall thickness because of
turbulence during filling, fillets are used to rectify it.
Non planar parting line which increases tooling
complexions.
Making highly accurate casting will also reduce the
castablity.
To increase the castablity we should have a very
good design intend. Here in casting we have to use
drafts, fillets, less complex features for a good
castablity
Hardness:
Its the measure of material resistance towards
different forces.
It also depends on lot other properties like ductility,
plasticity, etc
We have 3 types of hardness that is measured so
far, that is
Scratch:
It measures the fracture resistance due
to friction from a sharp object


Indentation:
It measures the fracture resistance due
to a constant compression load from a sharp object

Rebound:
Its also called as dynamic hardness
which is measured my dropping a diamond tipped
hammer on the sample to measure the bounce
height, this is related with the elasticity
Machinability rating :
Machinability is nothing but a property of a
material that defines how easy a metal can be
machined..
There is no standard way of quantifying the
machinablity but still there are few ways like
machinability rating which is determined by
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). It is
determined my running a turning test at
180sfpm(surface feet per minute) and comparing to
a constant and they are rated with percentage.
The constant is B112steel with 160brinell.
The rating is determined by considering tool life,
cutting speed and surface finish. The normal rating
for a material to have a good machinability property
is 100 % which is assigned to B112steel.

Mechanical properties:
Compressive strength:
The ability of a material to withstand compression
force.
Hard materials have higher compressive strength
whereas the soft material has lower compressive
strength.
Tensile strength(ultimate strength):
Its a opposite of compressive strength, in which the
material have to withstand the stress that is
produced when it is stretched.
It is measured by tensile test and the highest point
of the stress and strain curve is the ultimate tensile
strength.
The value does not depend on the size of the
sample material. And the unit of measurement is
Pascal.

Density(mass density):
It is defined as the mass per unit volume.
Sometimes the values of it changes according to the
materials temperature and pressure but mostly all
the materials are measured in standard
temperature pressure(STP).
The unit of density is kg/m
3

Specific weight:
This is same as density but here it is weight per unit
volume.
The unit is N/m
3






Fatigue limit:
Fatigue limit or fatigue strength or endurance limit
is the value of the stress at which the material tend
to break or fail.
Shear strength:
It is the Strength of the material against the failure
due to shear load.
Poissons ratio:
Whenever a material is compressed in one direction
it tends to expand in other two direction, this is
called poissons effect and the measure of this is
called poisson ratio.
Poisson effect is mainly helpful in pipe flow analysis.
Yield strength:
Yield strength or yield point of a material is the
value of stress above which the material deforms
plastically.
Below this yield point the material tends to be in
elastic form in which the material regains its
position if it is stressed and released, which is
termed as elasticity.
And plasticity is a permanent form after which the
material does not regain its position even after the
stress is release.

Ductility:
Its the property of the material which can able to
deform under a tensile stress.
Example of this is, ability of a material to form into
wire.
Malleability:
This is the property in which the material has the
ability to deform, in compressive stress.
Example of this is, ability of a material to form into
sheet by hammering or some other process.