Mechanical resilience: let’s understand together what it is and why it’s important
In engineering, mechanical resilience is a fundamental property of materials that defines their ability to absorb energy when subjected to dynamic loads, such as sudden impacts or shocks, before breaking..
Simply put, a resilient material is able to bend and deform without breaking when faced with an impact, dissipating the kinetic energy of the impact in an elastic and plastic way.
To better understand this concept, it is important to distinguish between two types of deformation:
- Elastic deformation: when the load is removed, the material returns to its original shape.
- Plastic deformation: the material maintains a permanent deformation even after the load is removed.
A resilient material is characterized by a high capacity to absorb energy during both the elastic and plastic deformation phases before reaching the breaking point..
Why is resilience important?
Resilience is a crucial property in several engineering applications, as it allows components and structures to:
- Resist shock and impact: Components such as golf clubs, tools and vehicle guards must withstand impacts without breaking.
- Absorb vibrations and cyclic loads: Engine, machinery and building structure components must withstand repeated loads without suffering cumulative damage.
- Prevent brittle failures: In some cases, brittle failures can have catastrophic consequences, such as in the case of aircraft components or nuclear power plants. Resilience helps prevent such sudden and unexpected failures..
How to measure resilience?
Mechanical impact strength is measured using specific tests, such as the Charpy impact test.
In this test, a sample of the material is subjected to a pendulum impact.
The energy absorbed by the sample during failure is measured and divided by its cross-sectional area, yielding an impact strength value expressed in Joules per square meter (J/m²).
Factors that influence resilience
Several factors can influence the resilience of a material, including:
- Chemical composition: The presence of certain chemical elements or alloys can increase the resilience of the material.
- Microstructure: Grain size, the presence of defects, and the distribution of phases within the material influence its ability to deform and absorb energy.
- Heat treatments: Treatments such as annealing or tempering can modify the microstructure of the material and improve its resilience.
- Temperature: In general, the resilience of materials decreases as the temperature increases.
Zarri srl, always attentive to customer needs, allows us to optimize the production process to the maximum and obtain the resilience desired by the customer through the use of the right materials.
Examples of highly resilient materials
Some examples of materials known for their high resilience include:
- High-strength steel: Used in structural components, vehicles, and machinery.
- Malleable cast iron: Used in pipes, fittings, and industrial components.
- Polymers: such as nylon and polycarbonate, used in sports components, protective gear, and electronics.
- Aluminum alloys: Used in aircraft, bicycle frames, and lightweight structural components.
Zarri srl, for its part, uses, at the customer’s request, special materials from stainless steel (302, 303, 304L, 316L and similar) to nickel and tungsten alloys.
In conclusion
Mechanical resilience is a fundamental property of materials that plays a crucial role in the design and use of engineering components and structures.
The customer must be clear about his resilience needs based on the end use of the part.
Its ability to absorb energy and resist impacts makes it an essential property to ensure the safety, reliability and longevity of a wide range of products and infrastructure.
Zarri srl will always be at your side both to obtain the required resilience values and to provide you with technical support that, thanks to its experience, will allow you to find the best engineering compromise for your products.
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