Malleability

Malleability is a property of materials having a relatively large plastic region that can be deformed, worked and reworked many times before it is likely to fail or become brittle. It is defined by the degree to which a material can sustain plastic deformation specifically under compressive stress before it fails.

A malleable material has the capacity to be pounded or beaten into a flat elements or sheets without fracturing or tearing. Many metals are malleable, such as zinc, iron, aluminium, copper, gold, and silver. It is a different characteristic to ductility, where a materials has the capacity to be drawn into a wire without fracturing, such as aluminium, copper and magnesium alloys.

Strong metals such as tungsten and high-carbon steel tend not to be malleable or ductile because they fail through brittleness, as does cast iron.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Bending moment.
• Compression.
• Compressive strength.
• Construction materials.
• Deflection.
• Elasticity
• Hardness
• Force.
• Ductility.
• Point of contraflexure.
• Plasticity
• Stiffness.
• Strength
• Toughness
• Types of structural load.
• Types of structure.

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