The high toughness of metal structural parts is first reflected in the fact that they can deform to a certain extent when they encounter external force impact, thereby absorbing the impact energy and avoiding instantaneous structural fracture. When external forces such as vehicle collisions and heavy objects falling act on structural parts, high toughness prevents them from directly breaking like brittle materials. Instead, they disperse the energy to a larger range through bending, stretching, etc., so that the impact force is gradually consumed during the deformation process, reducing the damage to the core part of the structure and retaining more integrity for the overall structure.
This toughness helps to reduce the damage to the structural connection parts caused by external force impact. The connection points of structural parts are usually weak links where the force is concentrated. If the toughness is insufficient, the connection parts are prone to loosening or breaking due to excessive stress during impact, causing the overall structure to fall apart. High-toughness metal structural parts can allow the connection parts to deform with the main body, disperse the concentrated stress, make the connection components such as bolts and welds not easily damaged, maintain the firm connection between the parts, and ensure that the structure can still maintain overall stability after impact.
In the scenario of repeated impact, high toughness can reduce fatigue damage of structural parts and extend their service life. For example, bridge structures will be subjected to repeated impacts from vehicle driving for a long time. If the toughness is insufficient, tiny cracks will gradually accumulate inside the structure, eventually leading to fracture. High-toughness metal structural parts can buffer each impact through their own elastic deformation, reduce the possibility of cracks, and even if there is a small damage, it is not easy to expand quickly, so that the structure can maintain its impact resistance in long-term use and reduce the frequency of maintenance and replacement.
High toughness enables metal structural parts to avoid local excessive damage when dealing with uneven impacts. External force impacts are often not uniformly applied to the surface of the structure, but may be concentrated in a certain local position. If the toughness is insufficient, this part will be severely deformed or damaged due to excessive pressure. When a high-toughness structural part is subjected to local force, it will transfer the force to the surrounding area, making the deformation distribution more uniform, avoiding fatal damage to a certain part. For example, when a supporting column in a building encounters a side impact, the high toughness causes it to bend instead of break, and it can still bear part of the load, buying time for personnel evacuation.
For metal structures containing precision components, high toughness can reduce the impact of impact on internal components. Many structural parts contain precision components such as instruments and circuits. If the external impact is directly transmitted to the inside, these components will be damaged. When a high-toughness structural shell is impacted, it absorbs most of the energy through its own deformation, weakens the impact force transmitted to the inside, protects the precision components from severe vibration or extrusion, and ensures that the function of the structure is not affected. For example, the protective shell of industrial equipment can still ensure the normal operation of the internal machinery after the collision.
High toughness can also reduce the secondary harm of external impact to the surrounding environment. When a structural part is damaged by impact, brittle materials may produce a large number of fragments, and the flying fragments will cause secondary damage to the surrounding people and objects. However, the high-toughness metal structural parts are mainly deformed rather than broken after impact, and no sharp fragments will be produced. Even if they break, the fracture is relatively smooth, which reduces the risk of flying fragments, reduces the chain damage caused by impact accidents, and improves the safety of the overall environment.
In addition, high toughness improves the impact resistance reliability of metal structural parts in extreme environments. In special environments such as low and high temperatures, the toughness of many materials will decrease and they will become brittle and break easily, while metal structural parts with high toughness can still maintain good deformation capacity even under extreme conditions. For example, when outdoor structures in cold areas are hit by wind and snow, their high toughness will prevent them from becoming brittle and breaking due to low temperatures, maintaining their impact resistance and ensuring that the safety and stability of the structure are not affected in harsh environments.
