MEE 098: Materials Science and Engineering for ME

Student Activity Sheet #2

Name: Class number:

Section: Schedule: Date:

Lesson Title: Properties and Characteristics of Materials Materials:

Lesson Objectives: Module, Paper, Pen
At the end of this module you must be able to:
1. Select materials according to specific engineering purpose References:
2. Identify different properties and characteristics of engineering Material Science and Engineering (8th
materials edition) by William D. Callister Jr.

Productivity Tip:
”Do the hard jobs first. Easy jobs will take care of themselves.” (Dale Carnegie)

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction (2 mins)
The selection of a proper material, for engineering purposes, is one of the most difficult problem for the
designer. In order to do that, one must be familiar of the material's property and characteristic and make it suitable
for a certain engineering project. In this module, we will discuss about the different properties and characteristics
of engineering materials to help us in the selection process.

2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, part 1 (3 mins)

Before we start the topic answer the questions in column 2. Write your answers in the column 1. Leave
the third column blank (will be answered during Activity 4).

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1. What are the factors to be
considered in the selection of
engineering materials?

2. Name some of the important

properties of an engineering material.

B. MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins)

The knowledge of materials and their properties is of great significance for a design engineer. The machine
elements should be made of such a material which has properties suitable for the conditions of operation. In addition
to this, a design engineer must be familiar with the effects which the manufacturing processes and heat treatment
have on the properties of the materials. In this module, we shall discuss about the different properties and

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characteristics of engineering materials that may affect the selection process.

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Selection of Materials for Engineering Purposes

The selection of a proper material, for engineering purposes, is one of the most difficult problem for the
designer. The best material is one which serves the desired objective at the minimum cost. The following factors
should be considered while selecting the material:
1. Availability of the materials,
2. Suitability of the materials for the working conditions in service, and
3. The cost of the materials

Why do you think these three factors were important in material selection?

Properties and Characteristics of Materials

Materials have different properties depending on what they are used for. The basic classifications of
material properties are listed below:
1. Physical Properties of Materials
2. Chemical Properties of Materials
3. Thermal Properties of Materials
4. Electrical Properties of Materials
5. Magnetic Properties of Materials
6. Optical Properties of Materials
7. Mechanical Properties of Materials

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Figure 1: Classifications of Material Properties

Physical Properties of Materials

Physical properties of material are those which can be observed without change of identity of material.
Physical properties of metals are density, color, size and shape, specific gravity of material, porosity etc. Some of
these are defined as below.

Density of Materials
Density is one of most fundamental physical properties of any material. Density of material is defined as mass per
unit volume. It is defined as ratio of mass volume of material. It is denoted by “p”. Its unit in SI system is kg/m3.
Density is an important in many calculations because most designs are limited by either size or weight.

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Shape and Size

Dimension of any metal reflect shape and size of material, length, width, height, depth etc. Also, it determines
specific rectangular, circular, spherical, or any other section.

Specific Gravity of Materials

It is defined as ratio of density of material with respect to density of reference material or substance. It does not
have any units. Sometimes it is also called as relative density. For gravity calculation water is considered as
reference substance.

Porosity of Materials
When material is in melting condition, it contains some dissolved gases with in material. When material is solidifies
these gases get evaporate and leave behind voids. Porosity of materials represents quantity of voids in solid
materials.

Can you name some physical properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Chemical Properties of Materials

Chemical properties related to changes in chemical composition of material because it interacts with other
substances. Chemical properties of engineering materials are needed because most of materials, when they come
in contact with other substances can react to form new materials. Some of the chemical properties of engineering
materials are listed below.

Chemical Composition
The chemical composition of engineering material indicates the elements which are combined together to form that
material. Chemical composition of a material affects the properties of engineering materials very much. The
strength, hardness, ductility, brittleness, corrosion resistance, weldability etc. depends on chemical composition of
materials.

Atomic Bonding
Atomic bonding represents how atoms are bounded to each other to form the material. Many properties, such as
melting point, boiling point, thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of materials are governed by atomic
bonding of materials. Hence, to understand the properties of materials, it is very important to study the atomic
bonding of materials. Atomic bonds in materials are of following types,
Ionic bond – forms by exchanging of valence electrons between atoms.
Covalent bonds – forms by sharing of electrons between atoms.
Metallic bonds – found in metals.

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Corrosion Resistance

Corrosion is a gradual chemical or electrochemical attack on a metal by its surrounding medium. Due to the
corrosion, metal starts getting converted into an oxide, salt or some other compound. Corrosion of metals is affected
by many factors such as air, industrial atmosphere, acid, bases, slat solutions and soils etc. Corrosion hasa very
adverse effect on materials. Due to corrosion, the strength and life of a material is reduced.
Corrosion resistance of a material is the ability of material to resist the oxidation in atmospheric condition. Generally
pure metals such as iron, copper, aluminum etc. gets corroded slowly in atmosphere. To avoid the corrosion of these
metals in pure form, we use these metals in the form of alloys such as stainless steel, brass, bronze, German silver,
Gunmetal etc.

Acidity or Alkalinity
Acidity or Alkalinity is an important chemical property of engineering materials. A material is acetic or alkane, it
is decided by the ph value of the material. Ph value of a material varies from 0 to 14. Ph value of 7 is considered
to be neutral. Ordinary water is having ph value of 7. The materials which are having ph value below 7 are called
Acetic and Materials which are having ph value greater than 7 are called alkane. Acidity of Alkalinity of material
indicates that how they react with other materials.

Can you name some chemical properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Thermal Properties of Materials

Engineering materials are important in everyday life because of their versatile structural properties. Thermal
properties of engineering materials are diverse and so their uses in different applications. Thermal properties are
those properties of material which is related to its conductivity of heat. In other words, these are properties which
are display by material when heat is passed through it. Thermal properties of material refer to characteristic
behaviors of material under thermal load.

Heat Capacity
Heat capacity of a material can be defined as the amount of heat required to change the temperature of the material
by one degree. The amount of heat is generally expressed in joules or calories and the temperature in Celsius or
Kelvin.

Thermal Expansion
When heat is passed through a material, its shape changes. Generally, a material expands when heated. This property
of a material is called thermal expansion. There can be a change in the area, volume and shape of the material.

Thermal Conductivity
It is the property of a material to conduct heat through itself. Materials with high thermal conductivity will conduct
more heat than the ones with low conductivity.

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Thermal Stress

The stress experienced by a body due to either thermal expansion or contraction is called thermal stress. It can be
potentially destructive in nature as it can make the material explode.

Can you name some thermal properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Electrical Properties of Materials

Electrical properties are their ability to conduct electrical current. Various electrical properties are
resistivity, Electrical conductivity, temperature coefficient of resistance, dielectric strength and thermoelectricity.
Some of electrical properties of engineering materials are below.

Electrical Resistivity
It is property of material which resists flow of electric current through material. It is give-and-take of conductivity.
Resistivity values are reported in micro ohm centimeters units. As mentioned above resistivity values are simple
give and take of conductivity.

Electrical Conductivity
It is property of material which allows flow of electric current through material. It is parameter which indicates that
how easily electric current can flow through material. Conductivity of material is give and take of resistivity.
Electrical conductivity measure of how well material accommodates movement of an electric charge. It is ration
of current density to electric field strength.
Electrical conductivity is very useful property since values are affected by such things. Therefore, electrical
conductivity information can be used for measuring purity of water, checking for proper heat treatment of metals
and inspecting for heat damage in some materials.

Dielectric Strength
It is property of material which indicates ability of material to withstand at high voltages. Usually, it is specified
for insulating material to represent their operating voltage. Which material having high dielectric strength can
withstand at high voltages.

Temperature Coefficient of Resistance

Temperature coefficient of resistance of material indicates change in resistance of material with change in
temperature. Resistance of conductor changes with change of temperature. As noted above, electrical conductivity
values are reported at 20 degree centigrade. This is done because conductivity and resistivity of material is
depending on temperature. Thus conductivity of materials decreases as temperature increases.

Thermoelectricity
If link formed by joining to two metals is heated, a small voltage of millivolt is produced. This effect is called
thermoelectricity or thermoelectric effect. This effect forms basis of operation of thermocouples and some
temperature based transducers. This can be used to generate electricity, to measure temperature and to measure
change is temperature of objects.

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Can you name some electrical properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Magnetic Properties of Materials

Origin of magnetism lies in orbital and spin motions of electrons and how electrons interact with one
another. Magnetic properties of material are those which determine ability of material for particular magnetic
application.

Permeability
It is property of magnetic material which indicates that how easily magnetic flux is build up in material. It is
determined by ratio of magnetic flux density to magnetizing force producing this magnetic flux density.

Hysteresis
Magnetic Hysteresis is an important material by which is firstly becomes magnetized and then de-magnetization
process. Lack of retrace ability of magnetization curve is called hysteresis and is related to existence of magnetic
domains in material. Magnetic hysteresis is rising temperature at which given material ceases to be ferromagnetic,
or falling temperature at which it becomes magnetic.

Coercive Force
This force defined as magnetizing force which is essential to neutralize completely magnetism in an
electromagnet after value of magnetizing force become zero.

Can you name some magnetic properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Optical Properties of Materials

Optical property deals with the response of a material against exposure to electromagnetic radiations,
especially to visible light. When light falls on a material, several processes such as reflection, refraction, absorption,
scattering etc.

Reflection
When a beam of photons strikes a material, some of the light is scattered at the interface between that we media
even if both are transparent. Reflectivity, R, is a measure of fraction of incident light which is reflected at the
interface.

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Refraction

When light photons are transmitted through a material, they causes polarization of the electrons in the material and
by interacting with the polarized materials, photons lose some of their energy. As a result of this, the speed of light
is reduced and the beam of light changes direction.

Absorption
When a light beam is strike on a material surface, portion of the incident beam that is not reflected by the material
is either absorbed or transmitted through the material. The fraction of beam that is absorbed is related to the
thickness of the materials and the manner in which the photons interact with the material’s structure.

Rayleigh scattering
Here photon interacts with the electron orbiting around an atom and is deflected without any change in photon
energy. This is more vital for high atomic number atoms and low photon energies.

Transmission
The fraction of beam that is not reflected or absorbed is transmitted through the material. Thus the fraction of
light that is transmitted through a transparent material depends on the losses incurred by absorption and reflection.

Can you name some optical properties of material that weren’t mention above?

Mechanical Properties of Materials

The mechanical properties of the metals are those which are associated with the ability of the material to
resist mechanical forces and load. These mechanical properties of the metal include strength, stiffness, elasticity,
plasticity, ductility, brittleness, malleability, toughness, resilience, creep and hardness. We shall now discuss these
properties as follows:

Strength
It is the ability of a material to resist the externally applied forces without breaking or yielding. The internal
resistance offered by a part to an externally applied force is called stress.

Stiffness
It is the ability of a material to resist deformation under stress. The modulus of elasticity is the measure of
stiffness.

Elasticity
It is the property of a material to regain its original shape after deformation when the external forces are removed.
This property is desirable for materials used in tools and machines. It may be noted that steel is more elastic than
rubber.

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Plasticity

It is property of a material which retains the deformation produced under load permanently. This property of the
material is necessary for forgings, in stamping images on coins and in ornamental work.

Ductility
It is the property of a material enabling it to be drawn into wire with the application of a tensile force. A ductile
material must be both strong and plastic. The ductility is usually measured by the terms, percentage elongation and
percentage reduction in area. The ductile material commonly used in engineering practice (in order of diminishing
ductility) are mild steel, copper, aluminium, nickel, zinc, tin and lead.

Brittleness
It is the property of a material opposite to ductility. It is the property of breaking of a material with little permanent
distortion. Brittle materials when subjected to tensile loads, snap off without giving any sensible elongation. Cast
iron is a brittle material.

Malleability
It is a special case of ductility which permits materials to be rolled or hammered into thin sheets. A malleable
material should be plastic but it is not essential to be so strong. The malleable materials commonly used in
engineering practice (in order of diminishing malleability) are lead, soft steel, wrought iron, copper and aluminium.

Toughness
It is the property of a material to resist fracture due to high impact loads like hammer blows. The toughness of the
material decreases when it is heated. It is measured by the amount of energy that a unit volume of the material has
absorbed after being stressed up to the point of fracture. This property is desirable in parts subjected to shock and
impact loads.

Machinability
It is the property of a material which refers to a relative case with which a material can be cut. The machinability
of a material can be measured in a number of ways such as comparing the tool life for cutting different materials
or thrust required to remove the material at some given rate or the energy required to remove a unit volume of the
material. It may be noted that brass can be easily machined than steel.

Resilience
It is the property of a material to absorb energy and to resist shock and impact loads. It is measured by the amount
of energy absorbed per unit volume within elastic limit. This property is essential for spring materials.

Creep
When a part is subjected to a constant stress at high temperature for a long period of time, it will undergo a slow
and permanent deformation called creep. This property is considered in designing internal combustion engines,
boilers and turbines.

Fatigue
When a material is subjected to repeated stresses, it fails at stresses below the yield point stresses. Such type of
failure of a material is known as fatigue. The failure is caused by means of a progressive crack formation which

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are usually fine and of microscopic size. This property is considered in designing shafts, connecting rods, springs,
gears, etc.

Hardness
It is a very important property of the metals and has a wide variety of meanings. It embraces many different
properties such as resistance to wear, scratching, deformation and machinability etc. It also means the ability of a
metal to cut another metal. The hardness is usually expressed in numbers which are dependent on the method of
making the test. The hardness of a metal may be determined by the following tests :
(a) Brinell hardness test,
(b) Rockwell hardness test,
(c) Vickers hardness (also called Diamond Pyramid) test, and
(d) Shore scleroscope

Can you name some mechanical properties of material that weren’t mention above?

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (with answer key) (18 mins + 2 mins checking)

LET'S DO THIS!!!
Answer the following activities. Write your answers on the space provided.
“For the following activities, check your answers against the Key to
Corrections found at the end of this module. Write your score on your paper.”

A2-1: State what classification of material property is given. Write you answers before the number.
1. Birefringence
2. Alkalinity
3. Malleability
4. Specific Heat
5. Photoluminescence
6. Density
7. Coercive Force
8. Dielectric Strength
9. Fatigue
10. Reluctance
11. Fluidity
12. Thermal Diffusivity
13. Porosity
14. Creep
15. Electrical Resistivity
16. Dichroism
17. Corrosion Resistance
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18. Melting Point

19. Photosensitivity
20. Resilience

A2-2: Enumerate what is asked. Write your answer in the space provided.
1. Three (3) factors to be considered while selecting the material

2. Seven (7) classification of material properties

2) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

After the lesson, answer the questions on column 2 based on your learning. Write your answers on the
third column.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1. What are the factors to be

considered in the selection of
engineering materials?

2. Name some of the important

properties of an engineering material.

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3) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

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LET ME HEAR FROM YOU…

In your opinion, why do studying the properties and characteristics of
materials important for us as engineers? Write your opinion on the space
provided below.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

How is your learning experience? Which part of the lessons do you find to be difficult?

FAQs
Why is it important to understand material properties?
The knowledge of these properties would provide information on the extent of how these materials
could be use and the effectiveness of these materials on different engineering applications.

Do different material properties are actually related to each other?

Yes, most of material properties are actually related to other material property. For example, properties
such as conductivity, density and strength are actually affected by the chemical composition of the material. A
change in its chemical composition will certainly alter these properties of the material.

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