Engineering materials are not limited to metals only; they also include non metals-organic material like plastics, rubber, ceramics, wood, stones, bricks etc which also have good engineering properties.
Most values of the mechanical property documented and packaged in various catalogues and handbooks for referencing when needed. This eliminate the difficulty of memorizing them. It is however essential for engineers to be well versed in the knowledge of the fundamental behavior of various categories of these materials.
GROUPS OF MATERIALS
Solid materials can be conveniently grouped into three main classification. They are metals, polymers and ceramics. Other categories of engineering materials are composite, semiconductor and biomaterials. Composite is an aggregate of two or more different materials, semiconductors on the other hand have unusual electrical characteristics while biomaterials are those that can be implanted into the human body.