Material Science Formula Sheet

piezoelectri
2024 - 2025

Equation
R Used to Calculate
E = F dr Potential energy between two atoms or ions
F = dE
dr Force between two atoms or ions
EA = − Ar Attractive energy between two atoms
B
ER =
 rn  Repulsive energy between two atoms
1 Z1 |e|Z2 |e|
FA = 4πε0 r2 Force of attraction between two isolated ions
  2

%IC = 1 − exp −0.25(X √ A − XB ) × 100 Percent ionic character
a = 2R 2 Unit cell edge length for FCC
APF = nA VC Atomic packing factor
4R
a= √ 3
Unit cell edge length for BCC
q = xa Planar intercept on x-axis
a
dhkl = √h2 +k 2 +l2
Interplanar spacing for crystallographic planes
nλ = 2d sin θ Order of reflection for X-ray diffraction
ρ = VCnA NA Theoretical density of a metal
LD = number oflength
atoms centered on direction vector
of direction vector Linear density
PD = number ofarea
atoms centered on a plane
of the plane Planar density
nλ = 2dhkl sin θ Bragg’s law

Table 1: Atomic Structure and Crystallinity Formulas

Symbol Meaning
E Potential energy
F Force
EA Attractive energy
ER Repulsive energy
FA Force of attraction
XA , XB Electronegativity values
Z1 , Z2 Valence values for ions 1 and 2
a Unit cell edge length
R Atomic radius
APF Atomic packing factor
q Planar intercept on x-axis
dhkl Interplanar spacing for crystallographic planes
λ X-ray wavelength
ρ Density
NA Avogadro’s number
LD Linear density
PD Planar density

Table 2: Atomic Structure and Crystallinity Symbols

1
 Equation Used to Calculate / Meaning
C1 = m1m+m
1
2
× 100 Composition in weight percent
n1
C1 = n1 +n2 × 100 Composition in atom percent
C1
C1 = A2 × 100 Conversion from weight percent to atom percent
C1 + A C2
1
C1 = C +Cρ12 C × 100 Conversion from atom percent to weight percent
 1 ρ1 2 
C1 = C +Cρ12 C × 100 Conversion from weight percent to mass per unit volume
1 ρ 2
 1 −1
ρave = Cρ11 + Cρ22 Average density of a two-component alloy
Aave = C 1 100 1 Average atomic weight of a two-component alloy
1 A +C2 A
1 2
¯l = LT Mean intercept length (measure of average grain diameter)
PM
G−1
n=2 Number of grains per square inch at a magnification of 100x
M 2



nT,M = 2G−1 100 Number of grains per square inch at a magnification other than 100x

Table 3: Weight Percent, Atom Percent, and Grain Size Formulas

Symbol Meaning
C1 Composition in weight or atom percent
m1 , m2 Masses of components 1 and 2
n1 , n2 Number of moles of components 1 and 2
A1 , A2 Atomic weights of components 1 and 2
ρ1 , ρ2 Densities of components 1 and 2
ρave Average density of a two-component alloy
Aave Average atomic weight of a two-component alloy
¯l Mean intercept length (average grain diameter)
LT Total length of test line used in grain size measurements
PM Number of grain boundary intersections with the test line
n Number of grains per square inch at 100x magnification
G ASTM grain size number
nT,M Number of grains per square inch at a magnification M
M Magnification used for grain size measurement

Table 4: Weight Percent, Atom Percent, and Grain Size Symbols

Equation Solving For

Ws = C0 − Cs Mass fraction of liquid phase, binary isomorphous system
Ws = CL − CL′ Mass fraction of solid-solution phase, binary isomorphous system
Vα = W ρα
α
Volume fraction of a phase
Vα = WWβ · Vβ
α
For a phase, conversion of mass fraction to volume fraction
Wα = V α · ρα For a phase, conversion of volume fraction to mass fraction
P
Ws = P +Q Mass fraction of eutectic microconstituent for binary eutectic system
Wβ = P Q +Q Mass fraction of primary microconstituent for binary eutectic system
P =P +Q+R Mass fraction of total phase for binary eutectic system
P +F =C +N Gibbs phase rule (general form)
Wα = 0.022 For hypoeutectoid Fe-C alloy, the mass fraction of ferrite
Wα = 0.76 − 0.76C1 For hypoeutectoid Fe-C alloy, the mass fraction of proeutectoid ferrite phase
Wα = 0.76 − 0.74C1 For hypereutectoid Fe-C alloy, the mass fraction of proeutectoid ferrite phase

Table 5: Phase Rules and Composition Formulas

2
 Symbol Meaning
C Number of components in a system (Gibbs phase rule)
C0 Composition of an alloy (in terms of one of the components)
C0′ Composition of a hypoeutectoid alloy (in weight percent carbon)
C1 Composition of a hypereutectoid alloy (in weight percent carbon)
F Number of externally controlled variables that must be specified
N Number of noncompositional variables for a system
P, Q, R Lengths of tie-line segments
P Number of phases present in a given system (Gibbs phase rule)

Table 6: Phase Rule and Composition Symbols

Equation Meaning Solving For

σ = AF0 Engineering stress Engineering stress
ϵ = ∆ll0 Engineering strain Engineering strain
σ = Eϵ Hooke’s Law Modulus of elasticity
ν = − ϵϵxz Poisson’s ratio Poisson’s ratio
 
l −l
%EL = f l0 0 × 100 Ductility, percent elongation Ductility
 
A0 −Af
%RA = A0 × 100 Ductility, percent reduction in area Ductility
σT = F
A  True stress True stress
l
ϵT = ln lf0 True strain True strain
σT = KϵnT True stress and true strain Plastic region to point of necking
T S(MPa) = 345 × HB Tensile strength from Brinell hardness Tensile strength
T S(psi) = 500 × HB Tensile strength from Brinell hardness Tensile strength
σ
σw = Ny Safe (working) stress Safe (working) stress

Table 7: Stress, Strength, and Strain Formulas

Symbol Meaning
TS Tensile strength
ϵx , ϵz Strain values perpendicular and along the direction of load application
ϵt Strain value in the transverse direction
σy Yield strength
A0 Specimen cross-sectional area prior to load application
Af Specimen cross-sectional area at the point of fracture
At Instantaneous specimen cross-sectional area during load application
E Modulus of elasticity
F Applied force
HB Brinell hardness
K Material constant
lf Specimen length prior to load application
l0 Specimen original length
N Factor of safety
n Strain-hardening exponent

Table 8: Stress, Strength, and Strain Symbols

3
 Equation Symbol Meaning
 1/2
σm = 2σ0 ρac σm Maximum stress at tip of elliptically shaped crack
√
KI = Y σ πa KI Fracture toughness
√
KIC = Y σ πa KIC Plane-strain fracture toughness
σc = YK√IC σc Design (or critical) stress
 πa 2
ac = π σK
1 IC
c,max
ac Maximum allowable flaw size
σm = σmax +σ
2
min
σm Mean stress (fatigue tests)
σr = σmax − σmin σr Range of stress (fatigue tests)
σa = σmax −σ
2
min
σa Stress amplitude (fatigue tests)
σmin
R = σmax R Stress ratio (fatigue tests)
α = af ∆T α Thermal stress
ε̇ = Kσ n  ε̇ Steady-state creep rate (constant temperature)
−Q
ε̇ = K0 σ n exp RT ε̇ Steady-state creep rate
m = T (C + log t) m Larson-Miller parameter

Table 9: Failure Formulas

Symbol Meaning
σm Maximum stress / Mean stress
σ0 Applied stress
a Crack length
ρc Crack tip radius
KI Fracture toughness
KIC Plane-strain fracture toughness
Y Geometrical constant
σ Applied stress
σc Critical stress
ac Maximum allowable flaw size
σmax , σmin Maximum and minimum stresses in fatigue tests
σr Stress range
σa Stress amplitude
R Stress ratio
α Coefficient of thermal expansion
af Final crack length
∆T Temperature change
ε̇ Steady-state creep rate
K Material constant
n Stress exponent
K0 Pre-exponential factor
Q Activation energy for creep
R Universal gas constant
T Absolute temperature
m Larson-Miller parameter
C Material constant
t Time

Table 10: Failure Symbols

4
 Equation Solving For
dQ
C= Definition of heat capacity
dT
lf − l0
= αl (Tf − T0 ) Definition of linear coefficient of thermal expansion
l0
∆l
= αl ∆T Linear coefficient of thermal expansion
l0
∆V
= αv ∆T Definition of volume coefficient of thermal expansion
V0
dT
q = −k Definition of thermal conductivity
dx
σ = Eα(T0 − Tf ) = Eα∆T Thermal stress
σf k
T SR = Thermal shock resistance parameter
Eα
Table 11: Thermal Property Equations

Symbol Meaning
E Modulus of elasticity
k Thermal conductivity
l0 Original length
lf Final length
q Heat flux—heat flow per unit time per unit area
Q Energy
T Temperature
Tf Final temperature
T0 Initial temperature
αl Linear coefficient of thermal expansion
αv Volume coefficient of thermal expansion
σ Thermal stress
σf Fracture strength

Table 12: Thermal Property Symbols

Equation Solving For

V = IR Voltage (Ohm’s law)
RA
ρ= Electrical resistivity
l
1
σ= Electrical conductivity
ρ
J = σε Current density
V
ε= Electric field intensity
l
σ = ni e(µe + µh ) Conductivity for intrinsic semiconductor
Q
C= Capacitance
V
ε0 A
C= Capacitance for a parallel-plate capacitor in a vacuum
d
εr ε0 A
C= Capacitance for a parallel-plate capacitor with a dielectric medium between plates
d
D = ε0 εr E Dielectric displacement
D = ε0 E Dielectric displacement in a vacuum
P = D − ε0 E Polarization

Table 13: Electrical and Dielectric Property Equations

5
 Symbol Meaning
A Plate area for a parallel-plate capacitor; concentration-independent constant
a Temperature-independent constant
ci Concentration in terms of atom fraction
—e— Absolute magnitude of charge on an electron (1.6 × 10−19 C)
I Electric current
l Distance between contact points used to measure voltage or plate separation distance
n Number of free electrons per unit volume
ni Intrinsic carrier concentration
p Number of holes per unit volume
Q Quantity of charge stored on a capacitor plate
R Resistance
T Temperature
Vα , Vβ Volume fractions of α and β phases
ϵ Permittivity of a dielectric material
ϵ0 Permittivity of a vacuum (8.85 × 10−12 F/m)
µe , µh Electron, hole mobilities
ρα , ρβ Electrical resistivities of α and β phases
ρ0 Concentration-independent constant

Table 14: Electric and Dielectric Property Symbols

Equation Solving For

n′ (ΣA C + ΣA A)
ρ= Density of a ceramic material
VC NA
3Ff L
σf = Flexural strength for a bar specimen having a rectangular cross section
2bd2
Ff L
σf = Flexural strength for a bar specimen having a circular cross section
πR3

E = E0 1 − 1.9P + 0.9P 2 Elastic modulus of a porous ceramic
σf = σ0 exp(−n′ P ) Flexural strength of a porous ceramic

Table 15: Ceramic Equations

Symbol Meaning
ΣA C Sum of the atomic weights of all anions in a formula unit
ΣA A Sum of the atomic weights of all cations in a formula unit
b, d Width and height of flexural specimen having a rectangular cross section
E0 Modulus of elasticity of a nonporous ceramic
Ff Applied load at fracture
L Distance between support points for flexural specimen
n′ Experimental constant
n′ Number of formula units in a unit cell
NA Avogadro’s number (6.022 × 1023 formula units/mol)
P Volume fraction porosity
R Radius of a cylindrical flexural specimen
VC Unit cell volume
σ0 Flexural strength of a nonporous ceramic

Table 16: Ceramic Property Symbols