search_by_elastic_properties

Find materials by specifying bulk and shear modulus ranges to identify substances with desired mechanical properties for engineering applications.

Instructions

Search for materials by elastic/mechanical properties.

Args:
    min_bulk_modulus: Minimum bulk modulus in GPa
    max_bulk_modulus: Maximum bulk modulus in GPa
    min_shear_modulus: Minimum shear modulus in GPa
    max_shear_modulus: Maximum shear modulus in GPa
    max_results: Maximum number of results (default: 10)

Returns:
    JSON with materials matching the elastic property criteria

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`min_bulk_modulus`	No
`max_bulk_modulus`	No
`min_shear_modulus`	No
`max_shear_modulus`	No
`max_results`	No

Implementation Reference

src/mcp_materials/server.py:624-697 (handler)

The core handler function for the 'search_by_elastic_properties' tool. Decorated with @mcp.tool() for automatic registration and schema inference from type hints and docstring. Implements search on Materials Project elasticity data using bulk and shear modulus ranges.

@mcp.tool()
def search_by_elastic_properties(
    min_bulk_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_bulk_modulus: float | None = None,
    min_shear_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_shear_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_results: int = 10,
) -> str:
    """
    Search for materials by elastic/mechanical properties.

    Args:
        min_bulk_modulus: Minimum bulk modulus in GPa
        max_bulk_modulus: Maximum bulk modulus in GPa
        min_shear_modulus: Minimum shear modulus in GPa
        max_shear_modulus: Maximum shear modulus in GPa
        max_results: Maximum number of results (default: 10)

    Returns:
        JSON with materials matching the elastic property criteria
    """
    has_key, key_or_error = check_api_key()
    if not has_key:
        return json.dumps({"error": key_or_error})

    try:
        from mp_api.client import MPRester

        with MPRester(key_or_error) as mpr:
            search_kwargs: dict[str, Any] = {
                "num_chunks": 1,
                "chunk_size": max_results * 2,
            }

            # Add bulk modulus filter
            if min_bulk_modulus is not None or max_bulk_modulus is not None:
                bulk_range = (
                    min_bulk_modulus if min_bulk_modulus else 0,
                    max_bulk_modulus if max_bulk_modulus else 1000,
                )
                search_kwargs["bulk_modulus"] = bulk_range

            # Add shear modulus filter
            if min_shear_modulus is not None or max_shear_modulus is not None:
                shear_range = (
                    min_shear_modulus if min_shear_modulus else 0,
                    max_shear_modulus if max_shear_modulus else 1000,
                )
                search_kwargs["shear_modulus"] = shear_range

            docs = mpr.materials.elasticity.search(**search_kwargs)

            results = []
            for doc in docs[:max_results]:
                results.append({
                    "material_id": str(doc.material_id),
                    "formula": doc.formula_pretty if hasattr(doc, 'formula_pretty') else None,
                    "bulk_modulus_GPa": doc.bulk_modulus.vrh if doc.bulk_modulus else None,
                    "shear_modulus_GPa": doc.shear_modulus.vrh if doc.shear_modulus else None,
                    "universal_anisotropy": doc.universal_anisotropy if hasattr(doc, 'universal_anisotropy') else None,
                })

            return json.dumps({
                "query": {
                    "bulk_modulus_range_GPa": [min_bulk_modulus, max_bulk_modulus],
                    "shear_modulus_range_GPa": [min_shear_modulus, max_shear_modulus],
                },
                "count": len(results),
                "materials": results,
            }, indent=2)

    except Exception as e:
        return json.dumps({"error": str(e)})

src/mcp_materials/server.py:19-19 (registration)
Initialization of the FastMCP server instance where all @mcp.tool() decorated functions are automatically registered as tools.
```
mcp = FastMCP("materials-science")
```

src/mcp_materials/server.py:625-644 (schema)

Input schema defined by function parameters with type hints (float | None, int) and comprehensive docstring describing arguments and return format (JSON). Output is standardized JSON with query summary and results.

def search_by_elastic_properties(
    min_bulk_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_bulk_modulus: float | None = None,
    min_shear_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_shear_modulus: float | None = None,
    max_results: int = 10,
) -> str:
    """
    Search for materials by elastic/mechanical properties.

    Args:
        min_bulk_modulus: Minimum bulk modulus in GPa
        max_bulk_modulus: Maximum bulk modulus in GPa
        min_shear_modulus: Minimum shear modulus in GPa
        max_shear_modulus: Maximum shear modulus in GPa
        max_results: Maximum number of results (default: 10)

    Returns:
        JSON with materials matching the elastic property criteria
    """

MCP Materials Server