Mechanical Properties
The mechanical properties of a material are those properties that involve a reaction to an applied load . The mechanical properties of metals determine the range of usefulness of a material and establish the service life that can be expected. Mechanical properties are also used to help classify and identify material. The most common properties considered are strength, ductility, hardness, impact resistance, and fracture toughness. Most structural materials are anisotropic , which means that their material properties vary with orientation . The variation in properties can be due to directionality in the microstructure (texture) from forming or cold working operation, the controlled alignment of fiber reinforcement and a variety of other causes. Mechanical properties are generally specific to product form such as sheet, plate, extrusion, casting, forging, and etc. Additionally, it is common to see mechanical property listed by the directional grain structure of t...