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Loss-Factor:
The next important property of a material from dynamic applications point of view is the
loss-factor. You will always observe that during un-loading a material never comes back
through the same path that it traced during loading. This indicates the presence of
hysteresis. Of course the extent of hysteresis differs significantly from material to
material. Polymers, for example show very high hysteresis in comparison to the metals
or ceramics. A typical hysteresis curve is shown below. The loss factor is defined as the
ratio of amount of energy dissipated during a cycle of loading and un-loading to the
amount of strain-energy stored in the system. High loss-factor indicates higher material
damping which is desirable in components subjected to noise and vibration.
![](images/6.4.gif)
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