Engineers and material scientists, and the students preparing to enter these professions, need accurate and reliable data on the properties of materials. This might be the tensile strength of high-carbon steel, the conductivity of cobalt, or the melting point of lithium. What’s your go-to resource for the Poisson’s Ratio of annealed magnesium?
One recommended resource for questions about material properties is MatWeb. In its own words, “MatWeb is a free searchable database of engineering materials designed by engineers for engineers.” It contains freely available data sheets with specifications for the properties of metals, carbons, fluids, plastics, ceramics, natural fibers, composites, and other engineering materials. New materials are added regularly, with a current volume of more than 130,000.
The site’s data is fully searchable. Users can search by:
- Keyword or phrase
- Category of material type
- Property (or combination of properties), with values within a specified range
- Metal composition
- Trade name
- Manufacturer
- Advanced searches for polymer films and lubricants
Each data sheet lists the material’s categories, CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) Number, and suppliers. Depending on the type of material, it may include values for some or all of these properties:
- physical properties
- chemical properties
- mechanical properties
- electrical properties
- thermal properties
- optical properties
- component elements properties
- descriptive properties, such as crystal structure
Values are presented in both metric and imperial (“English”) units. Most values are hyperlinked and, when clicked, are loaded into a unit conversion tool:
Each data sheet identifies its source via a “References” link to a page with citations. Most data sheets are provided by industry suppliers: “About 90% of the data sheets in MatWeb originate from testing by the manufacturers. Other data has been taken from handbooks, professional societies, and compilations/relationships by the MatWeb staff.” Handbook sources are typically authoritative reference titles, such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
MatWeb is maintained by MatWeb, LLC, a small, independent US-based company. The data content and the site’s core features are free to use.
Some advanced tools for viewing, manipulating, and downloading data are available to individual users who register with the site (at no cost) or who purchase a premium account. For example, downloading data in a format compatible with CAD (computer-aided design) and FEA (finite element analysis) programs. These features may be of interest for faculty and researchers, or practicing engineers.
But, according to MatWeb, “The vast majority of our users have not found it necessary to register.” For students and most other users, the free content and features are enough to make it an excellent resource for quick access to a rich set of material property values.
Graham Sherriff, Subject Librarian for Engineering and Materials Science, University of Vermont
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