3. Characteristics of materials and processes

3.1 Material characteristics

For convenience, we divide them into :

• intrinsic, material-specific characteristics that can be objectively measured and reproduced in any environment;

• interactive characteristics, specific to a pair of two materials or to a material-environment pair ;

• attributed characteristics, the value of which depends on the technical or economic, or even socio-cultural context in which it is assessed: state of scientific and technical knowledge, level of needs, current legislation, etc.