2030 – 11 – Summary

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A metal’s mechanical properties describe how a metal will react to outside forces trying to alter it. These properties help engineers pick the best metal for a job. Safety factors help make sure that the metal won’t fail. Here are a few essential points from our lesson:
A metal’s crystal structure will determine its mechanical properties.
Stress is how much force is applied to a material and strain is how much change a material can undergo under stress.
Yield strength is the amount of stress that a material can withstand before it is deformed permanently and tensile strength is the amount of stress that it can undergo before it breaks. These types of strength can be determined using stress / strain graphs.
Ductility lets manufacturers know how a metal can be stretched without breaking.
Toughness expresses how a metal can absorb energy before breaking and impact toughness is how much it can withstand a sudden sharp blow.