thumb|Tensile test of an Aluminium–magnesium–silicon alloys|Al-Mg-Si alloy. The local necking and the cup and cone fracture surfaces are typical for ductile metals. thumb|This tensile test of a Ductile iron|nodular cast iron demonstrates low ductility.
Ductility is the ability of a material to stretch and deform without breaking when pulled or stressed. It matters because ductile materials like certain aluminum alloys can bend and change shape significantly before fracturing, while materials with low ductility—like some cast irons—break more suddenly with less deformation.
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thumb|Tensile test of an Aluminium–magnesium–silicon alloys|Al-Mg-Si alloy. The local necking and the cup and cone fracture surfaces are typical for ductile metals. thumb|This tensile test of a Ductile iron|nodular cast iron demonstrates low ductility.
Ductility is the ability of a material to sustain significant plastic deformation before fracture when undergoing tension, i.e. when the relevant elastic modulus is Young's; the equivalent for deforming under bulk compression, i.e. when using the bulk modulus, is malleability. Historically, materials were considered malleable if they were amenable to forming by hammering or rolling. Lead is an example of a material which is substantially more malleable than ductile. Plastic deformation is the permanent distortion of a material under applied stress, as opposed to elastic deformation, which is reversible upon removing the stress. Ductility is a critical mechanical performance indicator, particularly in applications that require materials to bend, stretch, or deform in other ways without breaking. The extent of ductility can be quantitatively assessed using the percent elongation at break, given by the equation:
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