List of materials properties
This is a list of materials properties. A materials property is an intensive, often quantitative property of a material, usually with a unit that may be used as a metric of value to compare the benefits of one material versus another to aid in materials selection.
A material property may be a constant or may be a function of one or more independent variables, such as temperature. Materials properties often vary to some degree according to the direction in the material in which they are measured; a condition referred to as anisotropy. Materials properties that relate two different physical phenomena often behave linearly or approximately so in a given operating range and may then be modelled as a constant for that range. This linearization can significantly simplify the differential constitutive equations that the property describes.
Some materials properties are used in relevant equations to determine the attributes of a system a priori. For example, if a material of a known specific heat gains or loses a known amount of heat, the temperature change of that material can be determined. Materials properties may be determined by standardized test methods. Many such test methods have been documented by their respective user communities and published through ASTM International.
Additional recommended knowledge
Correct Test Weight Handling Guide: 12 Practical Tips
Recognize and detect the effects of electrostatic charges on your balance
Daily Sensitivity Test
Contents
- 1 Mechanical properties
- 2 Electrical properties
- 3 Thermal properties
- 4 Chemical properties
- 5 Magnetic properties
- 6 Optical properties
- 7 Acoustical properties
- 8 Radiological properties
- 9 Biological properties
- 10 Environmental properties
- 11 Atomic properties
- 12 Manufacturing properties
- 13 See also
Mechanical properties
- Young's modulus
- Specific modulus
- Tensile strength
- Compressive strength
- Shear strength
- Yield strength
- Ductility
- Malleability
- Strain at failure
- Strain hardening index
- Hardness
- Toughness
- Impact toughness
- Poisson's ratio
- Hardenability (of metals)
- Weldability (of metals and thermoplastics)
- Fatigue limit
- Density
- Viscosity
- Permeability (of fluid in a solid)
- Porosity
- Explosive velocity
- Melt flow index
- Piezoelectric constants
Electrical properties
- Electrical conductivity
- Permittivity
- Dielectric constant
- Dielectric strength
- Piezoelectric constants
- Seebeck coefficient
Thermal properties
- Thermal conductivity
- Thermal diffusivity
- Emissivity
- Coefficient of thermal expansion
- Specific heat
- Heat of vaporization
- Heat of fusion
- Pyrophoricity
- Flammability
- Phase diagram
- Vapor Pressure
- Autoignition temperature
- Critical temperature
- Glass transition temperature
- Melting point
- Boiling point
- Triple point
- Flash point
- Binary phase diagram
- Eutectic point
- Seebeck coefficient
- Curie Point
Chemical properties
- pH
- Hydrophobicity
- Hygroscopy
- Surface energy
- Specific internal surface area
- Reactivity
- Corrosion resistance
- Concentration
Magnetic properties
Optical properties
- Absorptivity
- Reflectivity
- Refractive index
- Color
- Photosensitivity
- Transmittance
- Luminosity
Acoustical properties
- Acoustical absorption
- Speed of sound
Radiological properties
- Neutron cross-section
- Specific activity
Biological properties
Environmental properties
- Embodied energy
- Embodied CO2 (or other global warming gases)
- Embodied water
- RoHS compliance
There are a variety of other properties to consider in an environmental impact assessment that effect the ecological or human environment that may be difficult to quantify (unlike most of the properties listed on this page) including pollution (extraction, transportation, manufacture), scarcity/abundance, habitat destruction, renewability, recycleability, wars fought over materials, labor exploitation, etc. These can be subjective, dependent on context, or inadequately measured.
Atomic properties
Applies to pure elements only
Manufacturing properties
- Machining speeds and feeds
- Machinability rating
- Hardness
- Extruding temperature and pressure
See also
- Chemical property
- Physical property
- Thermodynamic properties
- Supervenience
