ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the values of some of the important mechanical properties of materials. It shows typical values or ranges of values of density, elastic modulus, strength (or ultimate stress), toughness and fracture toughness for some of the individual and groups of materials. The chapter then describes the densities of structural materials, elastic moduli (stiffness) of structural materials, strength (ultimate stress) of structural materials, and toughness of structural materials. It also shows values of stiffness/density and strength/density, known as specific stiffness and specific strength, respectively. The specific stiffnesses of the most common structural materials – metal alloys, concrete and timber – all turn out to be remarkably similar, somewhere between 1 × 106 and 3 × 106 m. These strength-specific strength values show much greater variation, which is not surprising as it is governed by a far greater number of factors than stiffness, from nano- to macrostructural scales, such as atomic and molecular bond strengths and defects, cracks and flaws.
