University of Baghdad

Al-Khawarizmi College of Engineering

Mechatronics Engineering Department

Materials & Manufacturing

Lecture (2)
Mechanical Properties of Materials

First Semester
2024 - 2025
Assist. Prof. Dr. Furat I. Hussein
Lecturer: Abdulrahman B. Khudhair
 Why study The Mechanical Properties of Metals?
Many materials, when in service, are
subjected to forces or loads;
examples include the aluminum alloy
from which an airplane wing is
constructed and the steel in an
automobile axle. In such situations it
is necessary to know the
characteristics of the material and to
design the member from which it is
made such that any resulting
deformation will not be excessive
and fracture will not occur. The
mechanical behavior of a material
reflects the relationship between its
response or deformation to an
applied load or force.
Why study The Mechanical Properties of Metals?

SAFETY and
COST !!
 Definitions of Mechanical Properties of materials
Strength: The strength of material is its ability to resist the application of
force without rupture.

In service, a material may have to withstand tension, compression or shear

forces . The unit of strength is (N/m2).

Tension Force Compression Force Shear Force

 Definitions of Mechanical Properties of materials
Stress: It is defined as the intensity of the internal distributed forces or
components of forces resisting a change in the form of the body . It is
measured as the force per unit area (N/m2).

There are three types of stresses namely: tension, compression and shear
stress.

Strain: It is a deformation or change produced in material in its dimensions

due to the effect of stress on it . It is a ratio or dimensionless number (has
no unit) .

There are three types of strains corresponding to the type of stresses

namely , tensile , compressive , and shearing strain .

Strain also known to be of two categories: elastic strain and plastic strain .
 Definitions of Mechanical Properties of materials
Elasticity: The elasticity of a metal is its power of returning to its original shape after
deformation by force .

Plasticity: It is the property of the material enabling it to retain the deformation

produced by load permanently.

Stiffness: It is the property of material enabling it to resist deformation under stresses.

Toughness: It is the ability of material to resist fracture due to high impact loads like
hammer blows .

Ductility: It is the property of a material enabling it to draw into wire with application
of a tensile force .

Brittleness: It is the property of breaking of a material without much permanent

distortion.

Hardness: The hardness of metal is a measure of its ability to withstand scratching ,

wear and abrasion indentation by harder bodies
 Engineering testing of materials, Tension Tests
One of the most common mechanical stress–strain tests is performed in
tension. As will be seen, the tension test can be used to ascertain several
mechanical properties of materials that are important in design.

A specimen is deformed, usually to fracture, with a gradually increasing

tensile load that is applied uniaxially along the long axis of a specimen.

The standard diameter is approximately

12.8 mm (0.5 in.), whereas the reduced
section length should be at least four
times this diameter; 60 mm is common.

A standard tensile specimen

with circular cross section
 Engineering testing of materials, Tension Tests
Stress 𝜎 is defined by the relationship:

Which F is the instantaneous load

applied perpendicular to the specimen
cross section, in units of newtons (N),
and A0 is the original cross-sectional
area before any load is applied (m2).
The units of stress are megapascals,
MPa (SI) (where 1 MPa = 106 N/m2 )
 Engineering testing of materials, Tension Tests
Strain 𝜀 is defined according to

Which l0 is the original length before any

load is applied and li is the instantaneous
length. Sometimes the quantity li− l0 is
denoted as Δl and is the deformation
elongation or change in length at some
instant, as referenced to the original
length. Strain is unitless. Sometimes
strain is also expressed as a percentage,
in which the strain value is multiplied by
100. Stress 𝜎 or s &
Strain 𝜀 or e
 Stress–Strain behaviour
The degree to which a structure deforms or strains depends on the magnitude
of an imposed stress.
Stress and strain are proportional to each other through the relationship:

This is known as Hooke’s law, and the

constant of proportionality E (GPa)
is the modulus of elasticity, or
Young’s modulus.
Modulus of elasticity values for several
metals at room temperature are
presented in Table.
 Stress–Strain behaviour
The figure below illustrate typical progress of a tensile test: (1) beginning of test, no
load; (2) uniform elongation and reduction of cross-sectional area; (3) continued
elongation, maximum load reached; (4) necking begins, load begins to decrease; and
(5) fracture. If pieces are put back together as in (6), final length can be measured.
 Stress–Strain behaviour
A typical engineering stress–strain curve from a tensile test of a metallic
specimen is illustrated in Figure:

The stress–strain relationship in

Figure has two regions, indicating
two distinct forms of behavior:

(1) Elastic region.

(2) Plastic region.

(1) Elastic region.

In the elastic region, the
relationship between stress and
strain is linear, and the material
exhibits elastic behavior by
returning to its original length
when the load (stress) is released. The relationship is defined by Hooke’s law
 Stress–Strain behaviour
As stress increases, some point in
the linear relationship is finally
reached at which the material
begins to yield.

This yield point Y of the material

can be identified in the figure by
the change in slope at the end of
the linear region.

It is the point where the stress–

strain curve for the material The yield point is a strength
intersects a line that is parallel to characteristic of the material and is
the straight portion of the curve therefore defined as the yield
but offset from it by a strain of strength (other names include yield
0.2%. stress and elastic limit). The yield
point marks the transition to the
plastic region and the start of plastic
deformation of the material.
 Stress–Strain behaviour
Finally, the applied load F reaches a
maximum value, and the stress calculated at
this point is defined as the tensile strength
(or ultimate tensile strength) of the
material.
It is denoted as TS, where
TS = Fmax/A0

TS and Y are important strength properties

in design calculations. (They are also used in
certain manufacturing calculations.) Some
typical values of yield strength and tensile
strength are listed in Table
 Stress–Strain behaviour
The amount of strain that the material
can endure before failure is also a
mechanical property of interest in
many manufacturing processes. The Where EL = elongation, often
common measure of this property is expressed as a percent; lf = specimen
ductility, the ability of a material to length at fracture, mm, measured as
plastically strain without fracture. the distance between gage marks
This measure can be taken by after the two parts of the specimen
elongation as: have been put back together; and lo =
original specimen length, mm.
 Stress–Strain behaviour

A metal that experiences Ductility is a measure of the

very little or no plastic degree of plastic deformation
deformation upon fracture that has been sustained at
is termed brittle. fracture.
Brittle Fracture
Ductile Fracture
 Example
A tensile test specimen has a starting gage length = 50 mm and a cross-
sectional area = 200 mm2 . During the test, the specimen yields under a load of
32,000 N (this is the 0.2% offset) at a gage length of 50.2 mm. The maximum
load of 65,000 N is reached at a gage length of 57.7 mm just before necking
begins. Final fracture occurs at a gage length of 63.5 mm. Determine (a) yield
strength, (b) modulus of elasticity, (c) tensile strength, (d) strain at maximum
load, and (e) percent elongation.

Solution:
(a) Y = F/A0 = 32,000/200 = 160 MPa
(b) 𝜀 = li - l0 / l0 = (50.2 − 50.0)/50.0 − 0.002 = 0.002
E = 𝜎 / 𝜀 = 160/0.002 = 80 × 103 MPa
(c) TS = Fmax/A0 = 65,000/200 = 325 MPa
(d) 𝜀 = (57.7 − 50)/50 = 0.154
(e) EL =( lf - l0 / l0 ) ×100% = (63.5 − 50)/50 = 0.27 = 27%