MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

OF MATERIALS

Name: Mr. Burnett

Date: 17/03/14
Class: 6B

Density
It is often said that iron is heavier than wood but

how can this be true when a log is heavier than an iron

nail? The correct terminology is to say that iron is
more dense than wood.
The density, (rho) of a substance is defined as its

mass(m) per unit volume(V). Its SI Units are: kgm-3.

Example 1
Given that the Earth is a sphere of mean radius 6.4 x 106m and

of mass 6x1024kg, estimate the mean density of the Earth.

Volume of a sphere = 4/3 r3

= 4/3 x (6.4 x 106m )3

V = 9.05 x 1020 m3

Density, = m/V = 6x1024kg / 9.05 x 1020 m3

= 6629.8 kgm-3

Example 2
a) A cylindrical container of cross-sectional area 2.5cm2 is filled

with a liquid to a height of 50cm. It is then placed on a scale

and its weight was found to be 20N. Determine the density of
the liquid.
b) A pebble weighing 4N is placed in a measuring cylinder that
contains 20cm3 of water. Once fully immersed the volume of
water rose to 22cm3. What is the density of the pebble? (take g
= 10N/kg ).
Ans: a) 16,000kgm-3 ; b) 200,000kg/m

Pressure
Pressure, P, is defined as the force (F) per unit area,

where the magnitude of the force is perpendicular to

the surface area A as shown in the diagram below:
SI Units: Pascal (Pa) or N/m2

Example
The two feet of a 60kg person cover an area of 500cm 2 .
(a) Determine the pressure exerted by the two feet on the

ground.
(b) If the person stands on one foot, what will the pressure
be on that foot?

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESSURE IN A LIQUID

The pressure at a point in a liquid, at a particular

depth, acts equally in all directions.

The pressure in a liquid does not depend on the shape
or size(surface area).
The pressure in a liquid is affected by the force of
gravity.(g).

Characteristics cont
The pressure in a liquid increases with depth.
It depends on its vertical distance from the

surface of the liquid. A liquid with a higher density

exerts a higher pressure, if other factors remain
constant.

Pressure difference in Liquids

Volume of liquid column, V = Ah
Mass of liquid column, m = V
Weight of liquid column, W = mg = Agh
The force, F, acting on the surface area A is the weight of the

liquid column above it.

Therefore,
Pressure, P = F/A

P = Agh /A

P = gh

***Important derivation!

Applications of Pressure in liquids

Public water supply systems
- The reservoir is placed at an elevated location so that the

water will have enough pressure to flow to consumers at lower

grounds.
- Most homes have water tanks on the roofs as storage and in
order to have a constant water pressure.

Example
The surface of the water in a storage tank is 30m above

a water faucet in the kitchen of a house. Calculate the

difference in water pressure between the faucet and the
surface of the water in the tank. ( density of water =
1gcm-3; g = 9.8N/kg).
Ans: 294kPa or 294,000N/m2

PQ1
An air bubble is at a depth of 3 m below the surface of

lake. What is the pressure of water on the air bubble?

(take density of water = 1 gcm -3 )
Ans: 30kPa

PQ2
Calculate the water pressure at the bottom of the dam

below when the water is at maximum level.( take density

of water =1000 kgm-3 ; g = 10 N /kg)

25m

Ans: 250kPa

PQ3
A submarine has a surface area of 300m 2. The density of

sea water has 1050kgm-3.

a) At what depth under the sea will the additional pressure
on the submarine be 5x105Pa?
b) If the submarine is at that depth determined in part a),
calculate the force exerted by the sea water on the
surface of the submarine. (g = 10N/kg)
Ans: a) h = 47.62m

b) 1.5 x 108N

Tip to Note
The total pressure acting on a system that is open to air

is:
Total pressure = (Patm + Pliquid)

= ( 1.013 x 105 Pa + hg)

KINETIC MODEL FOR SOLIDS,

LIQUIDS AND GASES

Kinetic Model
In describing the kinetic Model, the three (3) states of

matter can be viewed from an atomic or molecular

perspective.

Remember the example of marbles in a tray as

a way to describe a simple kinetic model.

Table Comparing Solids, Liquids & Gases

Arrangement
of Particles

Density &
Spacing

Movement of
particles &
Energy

Solid

Liquid

takes the shape of the

has a regular fixed container. Has no definite
shape. Has a definite shape but has a definite
shape and volume
volume

very dense (closely

packed together)

Gas

takes the shape of the

container. Has no
definite shape and
volume

less dense than solids and most of gas is just an

less closely spaced than empty space (least
solids
dense). Spaced very
far apart

vibrates about a fixed

moves randomly at
position. Virtually
free to move around each high speeds and thus
Zero (0) KE.
other and vibrates with KE has greatest KE.
over small distances

Crystalline vs Non-crystalline Solids

Solids
HasCrystalline
a definite shape
Have definite melting

points
E.g most metals and
minerals
Obeys Hookes up to the
elastic limit.

Non-Crystalline
(Amorphous) Solids
Has no regular shape
do not have definite

melting points
E.g polymers (e.g
rubber and plastic),
glass
Does not obey Hookes
Law

Mechanical Properties of Materials

Mechanical Properties of Materials

There are certain properties of materials that engineers need to consider

in the construction of buildings, bridges etc. These include:

-Hardness- measure of the difficulty of marking or scratching a
material.
-Strength- a measure of the materials ability to withstand large forces
without breaking.
- Brittleness- Brittle materials are those that crack very easily. They are
very stiff but not very strong. Toughness is the opposite of brittleness.
Stiffness- a measure of the materials opposition to changes in shape
and size.
Ductility- a measure of the materials ability to be cut, drawn,
hammered or pressed without suffering permanent deformation without
fracture. A good example of such material is copper.

Stress
Common Symbol: (sigma)
SI Unit: Nm-2 or Pascal (Pa)
The stress, , on a material is the force (F) acting per unit

cross-sectional area (A) of the material.

Strain
Common Symbol:
SI Unit: NONE ( strain is a dimensionless quantity)
The strain () of a material is the extension produced (l)

per unit length (l). N.B the symbol e is sometimes used to

represent the extension of the material.

Stress-strain graph

Analysis of Graph
O-A Stress is directly proportional to extension and Hookes

law is obeyed. This region is called the limit of

Proportionality.
A-B Turning point where Hookes law is no longer obeyed
and point B is known as the yield point or Elastic limit.
B-C Still elastic but no longer linear. Point C is a upper yield
point. Exceeding point C, the material now enters the plastic
region where there is no turning back (regaining of original
shape) and necking starts to occur.
D- Materials limit is reached and fractures or breaks.

Ductile vs Brittle Materials

Which of the two materials have a

larger Young Modulus and why?

Tip to Note
The steeper the slope, the stiffer the material. So we say

that brittle is a much stiffer than ductile materials.

Ductile materials are able to absorb a lot more energy
than brittle materials before it fractures.
Brittle materials has a larger Young Modulus than Ductile
materials because of its small strain for an applied stress.
Recall: E = stress/strain

Force- extension graphs for polymeric materials (e.g

plastics, rubber)

Polymers
A polymer is a plastic that is made of many small

molecules that are chemically joined together. There are

many polymers that are employed at home and in industry
and because of the materials wide array of applications.
Examples of polymers include: paper plates, styrofoam
cups, plastic bags, PVC tubes and anything made from
plastic.

Necking in Materials
This is the instance reached in materials just before

fracture occurs.
Inserted specimen

Hounsfield Tensometer
F
Tension

Types of Stress

Young Modulus/ Modulus of Elasticity

Common Symbol: E or Y
SI Unit: Nm-2 or Pascal (Pa)
This is the measure of a materials resistance to changes in

length (i.e it measures elastic stiffness). It is constant for any

particular material which implies that the tensile stress () is
directly proportional to the tensile strain (e or ) of the
material.

PQ1- Young Modulus

A 1.60m-long steel piano wire has a diameter of 0.20cm.

How great is the tension in the wire if it stretches 0.25cm

when tightened?
Ans: F = 980N

PQ2- Young Modulus

A nylon string of diameter 0.40mm and length 2.5m is

suspended vertically from a fixed point and its free end is

loaded with a mass of 0.5kg. Given that the Young
modulus for the nylon is 3x109Pa, calculate the amount by
which the string extends. (take g= 10N/kg)
Ans: l = 0.03m

PQ3
A steel bar 6.00 m long and with rectangular cross section

of 5.00 cm x 2.50 cm supports a mass of 2000 kg. How

much is the bar stretched? (Y or E for steel = 20.0 x
1010N/m2 ).
Ans: 0.47mm

PQ4
A nylon guitar string of length 0.7m and cross-sectional

area 0.2mm2 requires a force of 4.0N to increase its

length by 1.0%. Calculate
(a) the Young Modulus for nylon
(b) the energy stored in the string when stretched by this
amount.

PQ5
A steel bar is of length 0.5m and has a rectangular cross-

section of 15mm x 30mm. If a tensile force of 36kN

produces an extension of 0.2mm, calculate Youngs
modulus for steel. Assume that the limit of proportionality
is not exceeded.
Ans: E = 2.0 x 1011 N/m2

Elastic (Strain) Energy (PE)

This is the energy stored in the material (e.g wire or

spring) as a result of stretching it. It can determined from

the area under a force-extension graph The resilience of
such a material is the maximum energy stored in the body
up to the elastic limit (where Hookes law is obeyed).
Units: Joule (J)

Elastic (Strain) Energy

A

Energy stored is the area under OAB = Work done in stretching material
= OB x AB
= FL, but from Hookes Law, F = kL
Elastic Strain energy,
E= k(L)2 or E= FL

Tip to note
For the strain energy per unit volume, where the volume

is,
Volume (V) = cross-sectional area (A) x length (l)
Strain Energy per unit volume, E = ( Fl) / Al
E = x F/A x l/l
But sir!!
= F/A & = e/l or l/l , therefore,

E =

PQ- Strain Energy

A spring is stretched by applying a force to it. The table

below shows the extension produced for an applied force.

a) Draw a force-extension graph and determine the force constant of

the spring.
b) Calculate the work done to stretch the spring
i) initially by 5mm
ii) from an initial extension of 10mm to a final extension of 15mm.

PQ2- Strain Energy

100
50
0.004

0.008

The graph shows the variation of extension with applied load

for a wire of length 4m and radius 0.25mm.
(a) What is the stress value when the load is 100N?
(b) What is the elastic energy stored when the load is 100N?
(c) What is the decrease in gravitational potential energy of
the mass which gives the 100N load?
(d) Calculate the Young Modulus for the material.

Deformations in Materials
Deformation is the phenomenon in which a material

undergoes changes in dimensions in response to

mechanical forces. The deformation is said to be elastic
if the material returns to its original size and shape upon
removal of the applied load. On the other hand, it is
referred to as inelastic deformation if the application of
the mechanical load results in a permanent change in the
dimensions of the material, i.e., it doesn't return to its
original size and shape even if the mechanical load is no
longer being applied to it.

Elasticity in Structures
Elasticity is that property present in materials that allows

the material to regain its original structure after being

deformed.
Engineers need to consider the type of material to be
used in the construction of tall buildings and structures.
They do this applying stress-strain experiments on various
materials to determine their modulus of elasticity. Steel
rods for example, are often used in construction in order
to withstand large mechanical loads due to its elastic
properties.

Steel Rods

Elasticity in Structures
Similarly, in bones, it is the fibrous protein called collagen
composed with the inorganic mineral, hydroxyapatite
(Calcium phosphate), that gives the bone its elastic
strength and allows it to withstand large forces. However, if
the elastic limit is exceeded, the bone eventually fractures.