Mechanical Properties

Hardness
Hardness is the ability of a metal to resist abrasion, penetration, cutting action, or permanent
distortion.
Hardness may be increased by cold working the metal and, in the case of steel and certain
aluminum alloys, by heat treatment. Structural parts are often formed from metals in their soft state
and are then heat treated to harden them so that the finished shapes will he retained.
Hardness and strength are closely associated properties of metals.
Brittleness
Brittleness is the property of a metal to shatter under shock load without beonding or
deformation. Brittle metals allow vary small amount of bending or deformation without shattering.
A brittle metal is apt to break or crack without change of shape. Because structural metals
are often subjected to shock loads, brittleness is not a very desirable property. Cast iron, cast
aluminum, and very hard steel are examples of brittle metals.
Ductility
Ductility is the ability of a metal to be permanently drawn, bent, or twisted into various shapes
without breaking.
This property is essential for metals used in making wire. and tubing. Ductile metals are
greatly preferred for aircraft use because of their ease of forming and resistance to failure under
shock loads. For this reason, aluminum alloys are used for cowl rings, fuselage and wing skin, and
formed or extruded parts, such as ribs, spars, and bulkheads. Chrome molybdenum steel is also
easily formed into desired shapes. Ductility is similar to malleability.
Ductility is a solid material's ability to deform under tensile stress; this is often
characterized by the material's ability to be stretched into a wire.
Malleability
Malleability is the ability of a metal to be made into the shape of thin sheet by hammering or
rolling without breaking, cracking and rupture. A malleable material can be stamped, hammered,
forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets.
Malleability is a material's ability to deform under compressive stress; this is often
characterized by the material's ability to form a thin sheet by hammering or rolling. Both of these
mechanical properties are aspects of plasticity, the extent to which a solid material can be plastically
deformed without fracture. Also, these material properties are dependent on temperature and
pressure
Ductility and malleability are not always coextensive – for instance, while gold has high
ductility and malleability, lead has low ductility but high malleability
Elasticity
Elasticity is the ability of a metal to return to its original shape and size when the force of
deformation is removed.

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 This property is extremely desirable to the aircraft structural parts. This desirable property is
present in spring steel.
Toughness
Toughness is the ability of a metal to withstand tearing or shearing when stretched or
deformed without breaking. Toughness is a desirable property in aircraft metals.
Density
Density is the weight of a unit volume of a material. In aircraft work, the specified weight of a
material per cubic inch is preferred since this figure can be used in determining the weight of a part
before actual manufacture.
Density is an important consideration when choosing a material to be used in the design of
a part in order to maintain the proper weight and balance of the aircraft.
Fusibility
Fusibility is the ability of a metal to become liquid by the application of heat. Metals are fused
in welding.
Steels fuse around 2,600” F. and aluminum alloys at approximately 1,100” F.
Conductivity
Conductivity is the ability of a metal to carry heat or electricity. The heat conductivity of a
metal is especially important in welding because it governs the amount of heat that will be required
for proper fusion.
Conductivity of the metal, to a certain extent, determines the type of jig to be used to control
expansion and contraction.
In aircraft, electrical conductivity must also be considered in conjunction with bonding, to
eliminate radio interference.
Contraction and expansion are produced in metals as the result of heating or cooling. Heat
applied to a metal will cause it to expand or become larger. Cooling and heating affect the design of
welding jigs, castings, and tolerances necessary for hot-rolled material.
Stiffness
The stiffness is the ability of the material to resist bending.
When a board is bent, one surface stretches and the inside of the radius is compressed. The more
a material bends, the more the outer surface stretches and the internal surface contracts.
A stiff material is one that gives a relatively small change in length when subject to
tension or compression, in other words, a small value of strain/stress.
Young’s modulus is the ratio of stress/strain. So a stiff material has a high value of
Young’s modulus. However, this stiffness is accompanied by extreme brittleness. One of the features
of a metal is that it is unlikely to shatter, as would a piece of glass or ceramic, but it will show
permanent deformation when forces are applied .
Casting
Casting refers to the process of pouring melted metals into a mould and allowing it to cool to
produce a solid component. Casting properties refer to the degree to which a metal is suitable for
casting to produce good quality casts. By casting we produce items of irregular shapes easily.

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Forging
Forging refers to the process of heating a material to soften, and then shaping it by
compressing it by big mechanical hammer (forge). Forging properties refer to the degree to which a
metal is able to undergo change due to external force to produce a good quality product.
Welding
Welding refers to the process of heating or compressing materials in order to melt or join
them together. Welding properties refer to the degree to which the materials can be welded together
with a tight joint during the process of welding. For example, two steel plates can be tightly joined
together using an electric welder.
Metal
Metal is a material which is extracted from an ore, and has the properties such as sonorous
malleability, ductility etc for examples, gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminium, lead, tin, zinc, nickel,
chromium and potassium There are basically two types of metals: ferrous metal and non-ferrous
metal.
(a) Ferrous metal
Ferrous metal is mainly formed from iron atoms. These metals include iron and steel. They
are the most frequently used metals in modern society.
(b) Non-ferrous metal
Non-ferrous metals are metals or alloys that do not contain any iron. Many non-ferrous
metals are commonly used in engineering are, copper, lead, tin, zinc, silver and gold.
Strength
Strength is the property that enables a metal to resist deformation under load. The ultimate
strength is the maximum strain a material can withstand.
Tensile strength is a measurement of the resistance to being pulled apart when placed in a
tension load.
Fatigue strength is the ability of material to resist various kinds of rapidly changing stresses
and is expressed by the magnitude of alternating stress for a specified number of cycles.
Impact strength is the ability of a metal to resist suddenly applied loads and is measured in
foot-pounds of force.
Plasticity
Plasticity is the ability of a material to deform permanently without breaking or rupturing. This
property is the opposite of strength. By careful alloying of metals, the combination of plasticity
and strength is used to manufacture large structural members.
For example, should a member of a bridge structure become overloaded, plasticity allows
the overloaded member to flow allowing the distribution of the load to other parts of the bridge
structure.

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