Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Properties of material refer to those characteristics which describe matter. Chemical, physical, mechanical, and thermal properties are used to identify and describe a material. A mechanical property refers to matter which responds to force or strain. The response referenced to is how the material responds to force (push or a pull) or strain (force causing a distortion or deformation, force per area). Types of forces or stress used to investigate a material are tension (a pulling force that stretches a material), compression (a pushing force squashing an object), torsion (a twisting force), and shear force (opposing force or cutting force) (Fig. 6.1).

How can a force be applied to an object and what affect does the application of a force have on that object? From the basic definition of a force, a push, or a pull, we can expand this definition to stresses, strains, twisting, or cutting and how a particular material is affected by the force application.