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Material Property Data For Engineering Materials
Material Property Data For Engineering Materials
engineering materials
Mike Ashby
This booklet lists the names and typical applications common engineering materials, together with data
for their properties.
Polymers Applications
Elastomers
Butyl Rubber Tires, seals, anti-vibration mountings, electrical insulation, tubing
Ethylene-vinyl-acetate EVA Bags, films, packaging, gloves, insulation, running shoes
Isoprene IR Tyres, inner tubes, insulation, tubing, shoes
Natural Rubber NR Gloves, tyres, electrical insulation, tubing
Polychloroprene (Neoprene) CR Wetsuits, O-rings and seals, footwear
Polyurethane Elastomers el-PU Packaging, hoses, adhesives, fabric coating
Silicone Elastomers Electrical insulation, electronic encapsulation, medical implants
Thermoplastics
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ABS Communication appliances, automotive interiors, luggage, toys,
boats
Cellulose Polymers CA Tool and cutlery handles, decorative trim, pens
Ionomer I Packaging, golf balls, blister packs, bottles
Polyamides (Nylons) PA Gears, bearings; plumbing, packaging, bottles, fabrics, textiles, ropes
Polycarbonate PC Safety goggles, shields, helmets; light fittings, medical components
Polyetheretherketone PEEK Electrical connectors, racing car parts, fiber composites
Polyethylene PE Packaging, bags, squeeze tubes, toys, artificial joints
Polyethylene terephthalate PET Blow molded bottles, film, audio/video tape, sails
Polymethyl methacrylate PMMA Aircraft windows, lenses, reflectors, lights, compact discs
Polyoxymethylene (Acetal) POM Zips, domestic and appliance parts, handles
Polypropylene PP Ropes, garden furniture, pipes, kettles, electrical insulation, Astroturf
Polystyrene PS Toys, packaging, cutlery, audio cassette/CD cases
Polyurethane Thermoplastics tp-PU Cushioning, seating, shoe soles, hoses, car bumpers, insulation
Polyvinylchloride PVC Pipes, gutters, window frames, packaging
Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) PTFE Non-stick coatings, bearings, skis, electrical insulation, tape
Thermosets
Epoxies EP Adhesives, fiber composites, electronic encapsulation
Phenolics PHEN Electrical plugs, sockets, cookware, handles, adhesives
Polyester PEST Furniture, boats, sports goods
Polymer Foams
Flexible Polymer Foam Packaging, buoyancy, cushioning, sponges, sleeping mats
Rigid Polymer Foam Thermal insulation, sandwich panels, packaging, buoyancy
High Carbon Steels Cutting tools, springs, bearings, cranks, shafts, railway track
Medium Carbon Steels General mechanical engineering (tools, bearings, gears, shafts, bearings)
Low Carbon Steels Steel structures (“mild steel”) – bridges, oil rigs, ships; reinforcement for concrete;
automotive parts, car body panels; galvanized sheet; packaging (cans, drums)
Low Alloy Steels Springs, tools, ball bearings, automotive parts (gears connecting rods etc)
Stainless Steels Transport, chemical and food processing plant, nuclear plant, domestic ware (cutlery,
washing machines, stoves), surgical implements, pipes, pressure vessels, liquid gas
containers
Non-ferrous metals
Aluminum alloys
Casting alloys Automotive parts (cylinder blocks), domestic appliances (irons)
Non-heat-treatable alloys Electrical conductors, heat exchangers, foil, tubes, saucepans, beverage cans,
lightweight ships, architectural panels
Heat-treatable alloys Aerospace engineering, automotive bodies and panels, lightweight structures and ships
Copper alloys Electrical conductors and wire, electronic circuit boards, heat exchangers, boilers,
cookware, coinage, sculptures
Lead alloys Roof and wall cladding, solder, X-ray shielding, battery electrodes
Magnesium alloys Automotive castings, wheels, general lightweight castings for transport, nuclear fuel
containers; principal alloying addition to aluminum alloys
Nickel alloys Gas turbines and jet engines, thermocouples, coinage; alloying addition to austenitic
stainless steels
Titanium alloys Aircraft turbine blades; general structural aerospace applications; biomedical implants.
Zinc alloys Die castings (automotive, domestic appliances, toys, handles); coating on galvanized
steel
Composites Applications
Aluminum/Silicon Carbide Automotive parts, sports goods
CFRP Lightweight structural parts (aerospace, bike frames, sports goods, boat hulls and oars,
springs)
GFRP Boat hulls, automotive parts, chemical plant
Technical
Alumina Cutting tools, spark plugs, microcircuit substrates, valves
Silicon Carbide High temperature equipment, abrasive polishing grits, bearings, armor
Non-technical
Brick Buildings
Concrete General civil engineering construction
Foams Flexible Polymer Foam (LD) 100 x1018 - 100 x1021 1.1 - 1.2
Flexible Polymer Foam (MD) 100 x1018 - 100 x1021 1.2 - 1.3
Rigid Polymer Foam (HD) 10 x1015 - 100 x1018 1.2 - 1.5
Rigid Polymer Foam (LD) 100 x1015 - 1 x1021 1 - 1.1
Saturation
Magnetostrictive
magnetostriction Coercive force (A/m) Curie temperature (C)
materials
(µstrain)
Galfenol 200 - 300 720 - 880 620
Foams Flexible Polymer Foam (LD) 100 - 110 4.3 - 4.7 220 - 240
Flexible Polymer Foam (MD) 100 - 110 3.4 - 3.8 170 - 180
Rigid Polymer Foam (HD) 97 - 110 3.7 - 4.1 440 - 480
Rigid Polymer Foam (LD) 97 - 110 3.7 - 4.1 440 - 480
The value of a database of material properties depends on its precision and its completeness – in short,
on its quality. One way of maintaining or enhancing its quality is to subject its contents to validating
procedures. The property range-checks and dimensionless correlations described below provide powerful
tools for doing this. The same procedures fill a second function: that of providing estimates for missing
data, essential when no direct measurements are available.
Property ranges. Each property of a given class of materials has a characteristic range. A convenient way
of presenting the information is as a table in which a low (L) and a high (H) value are stored, identified by
the material family and class. An example listing Young’s modulus, E, is shown in Table A11, in which EL
is the lower limit and EH the upper one.
All properties have characteristic ranges like these. The range becomes narrower if the classes
are made more restrictive. For purposes of checking and estimation, described in a moment, it is helpful
to break down the family of metals into classes of cast irons, steels, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys,
titanium alloys, copper alloys and so on. Similar subdivisions for polymers (thermoplastics, thermosets,
elastomers) and for ceramics and glasses (engineering ceramics, whiteware, silicate glasses, minerals)
increases resolution here also.
Table A11. Ranges of Young’s modulus E for broad material classes
*Technical ceramics are dense, monolithic ceramics such as SiC, Al2O3, ZrO2, etc.
A1
Or
A2
(or larger groupings) where P1, P2, P3 are material properties, n and m are powers (usually -1, -1/2, +1/2 or
+1), and CL and CH are dimensionless constants – the lower and upper limits between which the values
of the property-group lies. The correlations exert tight constraints on the data, giving the “patterns” of
property envelopes that appear on the material selection charts. An example is the relationship between
expansion coefficient, α (units: K-1), and the melting point, Tm (units: K) or, for amorphous materials, the
glass temperature Tg:
A3a
A3b
a correlation with the form of equation (A1). Values for the dimensionless limits CL and CH for this group
are listed in Table A1 for a number of material classes. The values span a factor to 2 to 10 rather than
the factor 10 to 100 of the property ranges. There are many such correlations. They form the basis
of a hierarchical data-checking and estimating scheme (one used in preparing the charts in this book),
described next.
Table A12. Limits for the group αTm and αTg for broad material classes*
Data estimation. The relationships have another, equally useful, function. There remain gaps in our
knowledge of material properties. The fracture toughness of many materials has not yet been measured,
nor has the electric breakdown potential; even moduli are not always known. The absence of a datum
for a material would falsely eliminate it from a screening exercise that used that property, even though
the material might be a viable candidate. This difficulty is avoided by using the correlation and range
limits to estimate a value for the missing datum, adding a flag to alert the user that it is an estimate.
In estimating property values, the procedure used for checking is reversed: the dimensionless
groups are used first because they are the more accurate. They can be surprisingly good. As an example,
consider estimating the expansion coefficient, α, of polycarbonate from its glass temperature Tg. Inverting
equation (A3b) gives the estimation rule:
A4
Inserting values of CL and CH from Table A12, and the value Tg= 420 K for a particular sample of polycarbonate
gives the mean estimate
A5
Ashby M.F., (1998) “Checks and estimates for material properties” Cambridge University Engineering
Department, Proc Roy Soc A 454, 1301 – 1321. (This and the next reference detail the data-checking and
estimation methods, listing the correlations.)
Bassetti, D. Brechet, Y. and Ashby, M.F. (1998) “Estimates for material properties: the method of multiple
correlations” Proc Roy Soc A 454, 13023 – 1336. (This and the previous reference detail the data-checking
and estimation methods, with examples.)
lb/in2 6.89 x 10-3 6.89 x 104 1 7.03 x 10-4 6.89 x 10-2 4.46 x 10-4
kgf/mm2 9.81 9.81 x 107 1.42 x 103 1 98.1 63.5 x 10-2
bar 0.10 106 14.48 1.02 x 10-2 1 6.48 x 10-3
long ton/in2 15.44 1.54 x 108 2.24 x 103 1.54 1.54 x 102 1
kcal 4.18 x 10-3 1.16 x 10-3 1 3.97 3.09 x 103 99.5 x 10-9
Btu 1.06 x 10-3 0.293 x 10-3 0.252 1 0.778 x 103 25.2 x 10-9
ft lbf 1.36 x 10-6 0.378 x 10-6 0.324 x 10-3 1.29 x 10-3 1 32.4 x 10-12
toe 41.9 x 103 11.6 x 103 10 x 106 39.7 x 106 30.8 x 109 1
*MJ = megajoules; kWhr = kilowatt hour; kcal = kilocalorie; Btu = British thermal unit; ft lbf = foot-pound force; toe = tonnes oil equivalent.
Document Information
This white paper is part of a set of teaching resources to help introduce students to
materials, processes and rational selections.
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