ductily - is this a word?

[chiefchester]

Hi all, I have an easy question that I'm sure most of you have an opinion on. Is ductily a word?

Can a beam fail ductily? Or does a beam fail in a ductile manner?

 

[Ron]

At the risk of answering a student question (violation of forum rules), the term is "ductility". Most failures in metals occur in a ductile manner (there are many exceptions). Most concrete failures are brittle, though reinforcing steel is intended to help the ductility.

The primary difference between a brittle and ductile failure is the time it take for failure to occur. Brittle failures are fast and often catastrophic. Ductile failures are slower and sometimes allow evacuation of structures before collapse...but not always.

 

[apsix]

Ductilely gets 3.5x more hits on Google than ductily.
Personally I'd use 'in a ductile manner'.

 

[chiefchester]

Ron:

I'm well aware of the word ductility. And I've done my fare share of ductility calculations. But while working in a design office for years, I've heard the question, is ductily a word more often then I'd care to count. So I was just posing the question on the forum to see what people thought.

Apsix:

It's not so much a question of spelling as it is of usage. I see you prefer 'in a ductile manner.'

 

[apsix]

There is more than just a spelling difference between ductilely and ductily.
Ductily implies 'in a ducty manner'.
I've never heard either, but we live in a big world and the correct usage of English is varied.

 

[IDS]

At the risk of answering a student question (violation of forum rules), the term is "ductility". Most failures in metals occur in a ductile manner (there are many exceptions). Most concrete failures are brittle, though reinforcing steel is intended to help the ductility.

That's why it's a good idea to ensure that the reinforcement will fail before the concrete. The implication that most reinforced concrete sections are brittle is not right.

In answer to the original question, I agree with apsix.

Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services

http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/

 

[Ron]

I suppose as a term of art, ductily is an adverb modifying how a failure occurs. It seems a bit out of place as a common engineering term, but its meaning in that context is understandable. Seems a little cumbersome and not easily understood. If you are writing for someone who has a non-technical background, I wouldn't use it.

I would probably opt for Apsix's use...in a ductile manner.

 

[weab]

I have heard that "word" used and would understand what it means. I don't believe it is a word, but if it is used enough it will appear more often in our vocabulary and eventually in the dictionary.

For now, I'll take Ron one step further. I wouldn't use it at all regardless of the audience, especially the boss. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

[rapt]

It is not a word. Fortunately for the world, Google is not yet regarded as the dictionary of the world.

I agree with Ron, "in a ductile manner" is the correct terminology.

 

[hokie66]

As apsix implied above, "ductily" is a misspelling of "ductilely", which is a perfectly good adverb in my opinion. Having said that, this type question is probably best posted in the Engineering Language/Grammar Skills forum, where a few language gurus hold court.

 

[steellion]

I may use "ductilely" in passing speech, but I'd never write it in a formal document. "In a ductile manner" seems less awkward.