Stiffness and hardness , strength and toughness

[Cosmossos]

Hello
can someone please tell me the difference between stiffness and hardness and between strength and toughness?

thanks

 

[tiny-tim]

Hello Cosmossos!

Hello
can someone please tell me the difference between stiffness and hardness

Sorry, don't know.

… and between strength and toughness?

Breaking strength (of a material) is force per area (stress) just before failure (in N/m²)

Toughness (of a material) is energy per volume just before failure (in J/m³).

But isn't energy = force times displacement, so energy per volume = force times displacement per volume = force times area? 1 J/m³ = 1 N/m² ?

Yeees, but energy is the integral of force times displacement, so the total energy (per volume) absorbed by the material before failure depends on the shape of the force-displacement (per volume) curve (more usually called the strain-stress curve)

(strain = ∫ displacement per thickness = ∫ displacement times area per volume,
and stress = force per area,
so strain-stress = ∫ force times displacement per volume = energy per volume)​

For good examples of stress-strain curves, see http://www.etomica.org/app/modules/sites/MaterialFracture/Images/SSPicture2.jpg"
on the page http://www.etomica.org/app/modules/sites/MaterialFracture/Background1.html" …

the linear part is the elastic region, where energy per volume is proportional to force per area, the non-linear (curved) part is the plastic region (the ductile region, if we're talking about tension), and it ends at failure …

the total energy absorbed by the material (the area under the graph) depends on the shape of that non-linear part.

(it curves down at the end because of the difference between apparent stress and actual stress … the actual stress-strain curve keeps going up … see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Stress_v_strain_A36_2.svg/300px-Stress_v_strain_A36_2.svg.png" )

Brittle materials are strong but not tough … they fail almost immediately after the end of the linear part.

Yield strength (of a material) is force per area at the top of the linear part.

If we bothered to define yield toughness (of a material), it would be energy per volume at the top of the linear part, but that would simply be proportional to yield strength, so we don't bother. ​

 

[Mapes]

Stiffness and hardness are resistance to elastic (temporary) and plastic (permanent) deformation, respectively.

 

[Cosmossos]

thank you very much !

 

[alphy]

for your question! Stiffness and hardness are related but different properties of a material. Stiffness refers to the resistance of a material to deformation or bending under a load. It is a measure of how much a material can be stretched or compressed before it permanently deforms. Hardness, on the other hand, refers to a material's ability to resist indentation or scratching. It is a measure of how easily a material can be scratched or dented by another material. So, while stiffness is a measure of a material's resistance to deformation, hardness is a measure of its resistance to surface damage.

Similarly, strength and toughness are also related but distinct properties. Strength refers to a material's ability to withstand a load or force without breaking or deforming. It is a measure of a material's ultimate resistance to failure. On the other hand, toughness refers to a material's ability to absorb energy before it breaks. It is a measure of a material's ability to resist fracture or crack propagation. So, while strength is a measure of a material's ability to withstand a load, toughness is a measure of its ability to resist fracture.

In summary, stiffness and hardness relate to a material's ability to resist deformation and surface damage, respectively, while strength and toughness relate to a material's ability to withstand load and resist fracture. These properties are important in understanding a material's behavior and performance in various applications, such as in engineering and manufacturing. I hope this helps clarify the differences between these terms.