Mechanical Properties

The ability of a metal to resist deformation and fracture when subjected to external forces under certain temperature conditions is called the mechanical properties of the metal material.

1. Strength

Strength represents the maximum ability of a material to resist deformation and damage under the action of external forces. It can be divided into:

   Tensile Strength: Measured by stretching the metal material into specimens of certain specifications on a tensile testing machine.
   Bending Strength
   Compressive Strength

Since metal materials follow certain rules from deformation to destruction, tensile testing is usually used for measurement.

2. Plasticity

Plasticity is the maximum ability of a metal material to produce permanent deformation without destruction under the action of external forces. It is usually expressed by the sample gauge length elongation (%) and the sample section shrinkage (%) during the tensile test.

3. Toughness

Toughness is the ability of a metallic material to resist damage under impact loads. The impact test is usually used, where a metal sample of a certain size and shape is broken under an impact load on a specified type of impact testing machine. The impact energy consumed per unit cross-sectional area on the fracture surface is used to characterize the toughness of the material.
Chemical Properties

The property of metals to engage in chemical reactions with other substances is called the chemical properties of metals. In practical applications, the main considerations are:

   Corrosion Resistance: The ability of metals to resist corrosion fatigue damage.
   Oxidation Resistance: Specifically refers to the stability of metals against oxidation at high temperatures.

The relationships between different metals and the compounds formed between them can also affect mechanical properties.

Physical Properties

1. Density (Specific Gravity)

Density is calculated as P=WVP=VW in grams per cubic centimeter or in cubic meters, where PP is the weight and VV is the volume. In practical applications, it is important to consider the relationship between strength and density, as well as the acoustic impedance in acoustic testing related to nondestructive testing. The product of density and sound speed (CC) plays a role in radiation detection, as materials with different densities have varying absorption capabilities for radiation energy.

2. Melting Point

The melting point is the temperature at which a metal changes from solid to liquid. It has a direct impact on the smelting and thermal processing of metal materials and is closely related to the high-temperature properties of the material.

3. Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion is the phenomenon where the volume of a material changes (expands or contracts) as the temperature changes. It is often measured by the linear expansion coefficient, which is the rate of increase or decrease in the length of the material when the temperature changes by 1°C compared to its length at 0°C.

4. Magnetism

The property that allows a material to interact with magnetic objects is called magnetism, which is reflected in parameters such as magnetic permeability, hysteresis loss, residual magnetic induction intensity, and coercive force. Thus, metal materials can be divided into paramagnetic, diamagnetic, soft magnetic, and hard magnetic materials.

5. Electrical Properties

Electrical properties mainly consider conductivity, which impacts resistivity and eddy current loss in electromagnetic nondestructive testing.
Processing Properties

The adaptability of metal to various processing methods is called processing properties, which mainly include the following four aspects:

1. Cutting Performance

Reflects the difficulty of cutting metal materials with cutting tools (such as turning, milling, planing, grinding, etc.).

2. Forgeability

Relates to the difficulty of forming metal materials during pressure processing, such as the plasticity of the material when it is heated to a certain temperature (shown as the magnitude of plastic deformation resistance), the temperature range that allows hot pressure processing, and the expansion and contraction characteristics, as well as the limits of plastic deformation related to microstructure and mechanical properties, metal fluidity, and thermal conductivity during thermal deformation.

3. Castability

Relates to the ability of metal materials to be cast into a desired shape, which is manifested by the fluidity, oxidation melting point in the molten state, the uniformity and density of the microstructure of the casting, and the cold shrinkage rate.

4. Weldability

Refers to the ability of metal materials to be welded together. Weldability is manifested by the melting point, gas generation during melting, oxidation, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion and contraction characteristics, plasticity, and the correlation with the microstructure of the joint and nearby materials, as well as the impact on mechanical properties.

The above briefly sums up the major properties of metal materials. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding this log, or if you are looking for suitable products for your business.