TUTORIAL PHY351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

TUTORIAL 5: METALS

JULY 2021
A 1.5 m metal wire long and 0.2 cm in diameter stretches 0.036 cm when a load of 1.5 kN is hung on
its end. Compute:
a) The stress of the wire.
b) The Young’s Modulus of the wire.
c) c) An alloy with small grain size is expected to have higher strength compared to an alloy
with larger grains. Justify this statement.
(Ans: a) 4.78 x 108 Nm-2, b) 2x1012 Nm-2)

FEBRUARY 2021
a) Plastic deformation define as a permanent deformation or change in shape of a solid body
without fracture under the action of a sustained force. Classify what happens to the positions of
the atoms and bonds between the atoms when metals undergo plastic deformation?

b) A metal wire is cold drawn from a radius of 5.75 mm to a radius of 3.25 mm. Compute the
percent of the cold reduction in this process.
(Ans: 68.05%)

c) A certain metal has a modulus of elasticity of 115 GPa, and its plastic deformation begins at a
stress of 275 MPa. Calculate the maximum elongation to which it can be stretched without
plastic deformation, if the metal has a length of 120 mm.
(Ans: 0.287 mm)

JUNE 2020
A metal wire 1.5 m long and 0.2 cm in diameter stretches 0.036 cm when a load of 5.0 kg is hung on
its end. Compute:

a) The stress of the wire.

b) The Young’s Modulus of the wire.
c) An alloy with small grain size is expected to have higher strength compared to an alloy with
larger grains. Justify this statement.
(Ans: a) 1.56 x 107 Nm-2, b) 6.51 x 1010 Nm-2)

DECEMBER 2019
a) An aluminum sheet of alloy undergoes a cold rolling process. Compute the cold reduction
percentage of the alloy if the thickness of alloy changes from 5.0 mm to 3.0 mm.
(Ans: 40%)
2
b) A metal has an elastic modulus of 110 GPa and an area of 1.5 mm . The maximum load that can
be applied is 2500 N. Compute the maximum length of the metal if the maximum elongation is
0.45 mm.
(Ans: 0.302 m)

c) Material X is higher in ductility as compared to material Y. Evaluate which material would be

more suitable to be drawn into thin wire.

PHY 351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

Mazlini Binti Mazlan ([email protected])
 TUTORIAL PHY351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

JUNE 2019
A cylindrical specimen of steel having an original diameter of 13.5 mm is tensile tested to fracture
and found to have an engineering fracture strength, σf of 460 MPa. If its cross-sectional diameter at
fracture is 10.5 mm, compute:
a) The stress at fracture.
(Ans: 7.6 x 108 Nm-2)
b) The percent reduction in area.
(Ans: 39.51%)

c) Based on question in a), if the ultimate tensile stress for the steel is 500 x 106 Nm-2, predict
whether the cylindrical specimen can support the force or not.

DECEMBER 2018
a) Metals are formed into functional shapes using wide variety of metal forming technique.
i) Give two (2) examples of product made from forging technique.

ii) A 12.8 mm diameter rod of an aluminum alloy is pulled to failure in a tension test. If the final
diameter of the rod fractures surface is 10.8 mm, compute the percent reduction area of the
sample due to the test.
(Ans: 28.81 %)

b) It is hard to improve the strength and ductility of a metal simultaneously. Justify this statement.

JUNE 2018
a) A metal wire of 1.5 m in length and a cross sectional area of 3.14 x 10 -6 m2 stretch
0.036 cm when a tensile force of 1.5 kN is applied. Compute;

i) tensile strain in the wire.

ii) the Young’s modulus of the wire.

PHY 351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

Mazlini Binti Mazlan ([email protected])
 TUTORIAL PHY351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

b)

Figure 2

From Figure 2 above, interpret three (3) main areas of the metal wire under stress shown by A,
B and C.

JANUARY 2018

a) A metal has a brittle or ductile characteristic.

i) Sketch a stress-strain curve to show a material with these metal characteristics.

ii) A metal has an elastic modulus of 107 GPa and an area of 1.13 mm2. The maximum load can
be applied is 2000 N. Compute the maximum length of the metal if the maximum
elongation is 0.41 mm.
(Ans: 0.024 m)
b)

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows the creep behavior (strain vs time) under constant applied stress. Evaluate
three main areas A, B and C of creep behavior in Figure 2.

PHY 351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

Mazlini Binti Mazlan ([email protected])
 TUTORIAL PHY351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

MARCH 2017

a) Tensile force of 2.5 kN is applied to a steel rod of 3.2 m in length and a cross-sectional area of
0.06 cm2. The Young’s modulus of the steel is 200 x 109 N m-2. Compute

i) the engineering stress

ii) the engineering strain
(Ans: i) 4.17 x 108 Nm-2, ii) 2.08 X 10-3)

b) Based on question in (a), if the ultimate tensile stress for steel is 500 x 10 6 N m-2, justify whether
the rod can support the force or not.

OCTOBER 2016

a) A 40 cm long tungsten rod with a diameter of 0.35 cm is loaded with a 3500 N weight. The
Young’s modulus for tungsten is 4.0 X 1011 Nm-2. Determine:
i) The engineering stress
ii) The engineering strain
(Ans: i) 3.64 x 108 Nm-2, ii) 9.1 x 104)

b) Material X is higher in ductility compared to material Y. Justify which material would be more
suitable to be drawn into the thin wire.

MARCH 2016

a) Figure 2 below shows the stress vs strain graph for Mild steel rod.

i) Determine the physical property of point X and Y.

ii) Calculate Young modulus of Mild steel rod.
(Ans: 9.33 x 104 Pa)

Figure 2

b) From Figure 2 above, interpret three main areas of the Mild steel rod under stress shown by
A, B and C.

PHY 351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

Mazlini Binti Mazlan ([email protected])
 TUTORIAL PHY351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

SEPTEMBER 2015

a) State two classifications of non-ferrous alloys with one example for each of them.

b) A cylindrical steel with length of 10 m and surface area of 0.5 m2 is 40% reduced from its surface
after going through rolling process with applied force 45,000 N. Calculate the:
i) Engineering stress
ii) Final surface area
iii) Percentage of elongation if the new length is 16 m.
(Ans: i) 90x103 Nm-2, ii) 0.3 m2, iii) 37.5%)

MARCH 2015
a) Annealing refers to heat treatment in which a material is exposed to an elevated temperature for
an extended period and then slowly cooled. Describe the stages of annealing process.

b) Briefly explain the following:

i) Forging
ii) Tensile test

PHY 351 – MATERIALS SCIENCE

Mazlini Binti Mazlan ([email protected])