Toughness

In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing. One definition of material toughness is the amount of energy per unit volume that a material can absorb before rupturing. It is also defined as a material's resistance to fracture when stressed. Toughness requires a balance of strength and ductility. Toughness can be determined by integrating the stress-strain curve. It is the energy of mechanical deformation per unit volume prior to fracture. The explicit mathematical description is: