We explain what is the ductility of matter, how it manifests itself and examples of ductile materials. Also, what is malleability.
What is ductility?
Ductility is one of the properties mechanical matter, which consists of the ability to deform plastically without breaking. It is a common property of the alloys metallic or asphalt materials. If the material is subjected to the action of a force sustained that acts at opposite ends, its shape is modified forming threads, but the material does not break.
Materials that present this property are known as ductile, and are commonly classified as contrary to brittle, since their breakage occurs only after supporting large deformations. The stage in which the ductile material stretches and elongates before breaking is called the creep phase; once this point is passed, the deformations are irreversible and permanent.
Ductile materials are widely used in industry of the materials, since from them threads, wires and other presentations can be obtained. In addition, they are resilient, elastic materials, whose particles are easy to slide over each other.
Examples of ductile materials
Some examples of ductile materials are:
Ductility and malleability
Just as ductility exists in most of the metals, Malleability is also common in this type of materials. This other mechanical property consists of the ability to be rolled without breaking, that is, to be molded into thin sheets, through compression procedures.
These processes are very important in the steel industry, since certain sheet materials are much easier to transport and store.
Malleable materials, unlike ductile ones, do not form threads when stretched, although the same material can be ductile and malleable at the same time. They are cases of malleable materials: gold, aluminum, silver, copper, platinum and iron.