Overview

Kaixin Alloy Materials Co., Ltd., as a supplier specializing in the production and manufacturing of special alloys for 16 years, is committed to popularizing the knowledge of the metallurgical industry to practitioners around the world. We hope to do our best to promote the development of the industry.

In this article we have compiled common concepts that we can think of in the metallurgical industry. It serves as a quick reference as you learn about the industry.

We know that many terms are not easy to understand. Therefore, we try to give the simplest and understandable explanation of each concept. After you have a basic understanding, you can refer to our recommended articles to learn some industry knowledge in more detail.

At the beginning of the article, we would like to introduce our company. We are a Chinese supplier focusing on providing nickel alloy/high temperature alloy materials to global customers. If you visit our blog page, you will be amazed by our efforts to popularize industry knowledge. If you have any purchasing needs, you can refer to our product page. You can also contact us via the following email: anna.pei@kx-alloy.com or call 13776484780

Below is the content of this article. You can find concepts that interest you within a broad category.

Mechanical behavior

Mechanical properties refer to a series of characteristics exhibited by materials when subjected to external forces. It includes many indicators such as strength, plasticity, hardness, etc. Mechanical properties are important indicators that need to be referenced in practical applications.

Tensile properties

Tensile properties are one of the most important mechanical properties. It refers to the performance characteristics of materials under tension. Tensile properties generally include tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and shrinkage.

Strength

Strength refers to the ability of a material to resist deformation or fracture under the action of external forces. It determines the material's ability to work stably in high stress environments.

Tensile strength

Tensile strength is a tensile property. It is the ability of a material to resist breaking when stretched. The units are MPa, psi, ksi. This is the most important mechanical property in practical applications.

Yield Strength

Yield strength is a type of tensile property. It is the ability of a material to resist deformation when stretched. The units are MPa, psi, ksi. Since materials tend to deform first and then break, the yield strength of the same material is often lower than the tensile strength.

Plasticity

Plasticity refers to a material's ability to resist fracture when deformed. Therefore, the more a material deforms when it breaks, the more plastic it becomes. Materials with good plasticity can better resist impact.

Toughness

Toughness refers to a material's ability to resist bending. The less likely a material is to bend and break, the more tough it is. Generally speaking, the better the plasticity of the material, the better its toughness.

Ductility

Ductility is very similar to plasticity. They both measure the material's ability to deform. The difference is that ductility primarily reflects the material's ability to stretch. Plasticity reflects the ability of a material to withstand various deformations.

Elongation

Elongation is a tensile property. Unit is%. It refers to the multiple of the elongation of the material when it is stretched to break. It represents the plasticity of the material.

Area reduction

Area shrinkage is a type of tensile property. It is an indicator of the plasticity of the material. Unit is%. It refers to the cross-sectional shrinkage of the material when it is stretched to break.

Hardness

Hardness refers to the ability of a material surface to resist external damage. According to different testing methods, hardness has different expression methods. The most commonly used expressions are Brinell hardness, Rockwell hardness and Vickers hardness. For conversion between different representation methods, please refer to ASTM E140.

Fatigue strength (fatigue performance)

Fatigue refers to the phenomenon of material breaking under the action of alternating forces in different directions. You must have had the experience of bending a small piece of paper repeatedly in two directions and it breaks easily. This is fatigue. Fatigue strength refers to the ability of a material to resist fatigue.

Creep strength (creep performance)

Creep is the phenomenon in which a part of a material deforms after being subjected to stress for a long time. Creep strength is the ability of a material to resist creep.

Durable performance (lasting strength/lasting performance/durability/lasting performance/lasting strength)

Durability performance is also called durability strength and durability performance. It refers to the maximum stress that ensures that the material can work at high temperatures for a long time. Once the stress exceeds the enduring strength, the service life of the material is drastically reduced.

Instantaneous performance/instantaneous performance

Transient performance, also known as transient performance, refers to the performance of materials when subjected to transient stress. It tends to measure the impact resistance of a material.

Crispness

Brittleness refers to the phenomenon that a material breaks directly without deformation under the action of external force. Brittleness is a manifestation of unstable mechanical properties of materials and should be avoided as much as possible.

Physical properties

Physical properties are properties exhibited by materials under physical conditions.

Melting point

Melting point is the temperature at which a material changes from solid to liquid when heated. Units are °C, °F. The melting point is actually a temperature range because the melting of a material is a process. Its range is determined by the initial melting temperature and complete melting temperature.

Initial melting temperature

The initial melting temperature is the temperature at which a material begins to melt. At the initial melting temperature, part of the material begins to transform into a liquid state. It is the minimum value of the melting point range.

complete melting temperature

Complete melting temperature is the temperature required for a material to completely melt. It is the maximum value of the melting point range. Between the initial melting temperature and the complete melting temperature, the material is in a partially solid and partially liquid state.

Density

Density measures the weight of different materials within the same volume. The unit is g/cm3, lb/in3. It is a key physical quantity in calculating the weight of a material.

Curie point (Curie temperature)

As the temperature increases, the material changes from magnetic to non-magnetic. The temperature at which a material becomes non-magnetic is the Curie point. Units are °C, °F.

Thermal expansion coefficient

The volume of most materials expands as temperature increases. The coefficient of thermal expansion measures how much a material expands when heated.