Materials Engineering (ME251)

Mechanical Properties of Metals

Content
Tensile test
Hardness test
Impact test
Fatigue test
Creep test
Several Factors influence on the strength and
ductility of metallic materials such as:

Material’s composition,

Nature of bonding,

Crystal structure,

Defects (e.g., point defects, dislocations,

grain boundaries, etc.)
Terminology for Mechanical Properties

Stress: Force or load per unit area of cross-section

over which the force or load is acting.

Strain: Elongation change in dimension per unit

length.

Young’s modulus: The slope of the linear part of the

stress-strain curve in the elastic region, same as
modulus of elasticity.
 Ft
Engineering Stress, Tensile stress

Let us consider a cylindrical rod of

length Lo and cross sectional area
Ao subjected to a uniaxial tensile
force Ft.

σ = Ft/Ao (N/m2 or lb/in2)

Ao
Engineering Strain, Tensile Strain

When a uniaxial tensile force is

applied to a rod it causes the rod to Lf
Lo
be elongated in the direction of the
force.
ΔL = Lf - Lo

ε = ΔL/Lo
Strain is a dimensionless quantity.

Ao
Tension Test
Tension Test: The test is used to evaluate the strength and ductility of
metals and alloys. The sample is pulled to failure in a relatively short time
at a constant strain rate.

Gauge Length

Typical Tensile Test Specimen

A unidirectional force is applied to a specimen in the tensile test by means of the moveable crosshead.
The cross-head movement can be performed using screws or a hydraulic mechanism
Example: Tensile test results of an aluminum alloy

Test Results
The stress-strain curve for an aluminum alloy from Table 6-1
Elastic and Plastic Behaviour

Elastic deformation: the metal returns to

its original dimensions when the force is
removed. (Reversible)

Plastic deformation: the metal is

deformed to such an extent that it
cannot fully recover its original
dimensions. (Irreversible)
Properties Obtained from the Tensile Test
1. Yield Strength,
2. Tensile Strength,
3. Modulus of Elasticity,
4. Modulus of Resilience,
5. Ductility,
6. Tensile Toughness.
1. Yield Strength
The yield strength is an important material property used in engineering
structural design.

The critical stress value needed to initiate plastic deformation is defined

as the elastic limit of the material. In metallic materials, this is usually
the stress required for dislocation motion, or slip, to be initiated.

The proportional limit is defined as the level of stress above which the
relationship between stress and strain is not linear.

In most materials, the elastic limit and proportional limit are quite close;
however, neither the elastic limit nor the proportional limit values can
be determined precisely. We, therefore, define them at an offset strain
value (0.002 or 0.2%). We then draw a line parallel to the linear portion
of the engineering stress-strain curve starting at this offset value of
strain.

The stress value corresponding to the intersection of this line and the
engineering stress-strain curve is defined as the offset yield strength,
also often stated as the yield strength.
Yield Strength

(a) Determining the 0.2% offset yield strength in gray cast iron, and
(b) Upper and lower yield point behavior in a low carbon steel (lower yield
point is used as a yield strength in this case)
2. Tensile Strength
The stress obtained at the highest applied force is the tensile strength
(UTS), which is the maximum stress on the engineering stress-strain
curve. This value is also commonly known as the ultimate tensile
strength.

In many ductile materials, deformation does not remain uniform. At

some point, one region deforms more than others and a large local
decrease in the cross-sectional area occurs. This locally deformed
region is called a “neck.” This phenomenon is known as necking.

Necking tack places because the cross-sectional area becomes smaller

at this point, a lower force is required to continue its deformation, and
the engineering stress, calculated from the original area “Ao”,
decreases.

The tensile strength is the stress at which necking begins in ductile

metals.
 The geometry of the deformed specimen
at various points along the stress-strain curve.

Tensile Strength

Necking

Fracture
3. The Modulus of Elasticity or Young’s Modulus (E)

It is the slope of the stress-strain curve in the elastic region. This

relationship between stress and strain in the elastic region is
known as Hooke’s Law.

The modulus is closely related to the binding energies of the

atoms.

The stiffness of a component is proportional to its Young’s

modulus.

A component with a high modulus of elasticity will show much

smaller changes in dimensions if the applied stress causes only
elastic deformation when compared to a component with a lower
elastic modulus.
Comparison of the elastic
behavior of steel and
aluminum.

For a given stress,

aluminum deforms
elastically three times as
much as does steel
(i.e., the elastic modulus of
aluminum is about three
times lower than that of
steel).
 4. The modulus of resilience (Er)

The area contained under the elastic portion of a stress-strain

curve is the elastic energy that a material absorbs during loading
and subsequently releases when the load is removed.

For linear behavior:

Er = (1/2) (Ys) (Es)

The ability of a
spring to perform
satisfactorily
depends on a high
modulus of resilience.
Er = Area underneath the stress–
strain (σ–ε) curve up to yield = σ × ε
Er [=] Pa × % = (N·m−2)·(unitless)
Er [=] N·m·m−3
Er [=] J·m−3
5. Ductility
It is the ability of a material to be permanently deformed without
breaking when a force is applied.

There are two common measures of ductility: The percent elongation

quantifies the permanent plastic deformation at failure by measuring
the distance between gage marks on the specimen before and after the
test. The percent elongation can be written as:

L f − Lo
% Elongation =  100
Lo
A second approach is to measure the percent change in the cross-
sectional area at the point of fracture before and after the test.

The percent reduction in area describes the amount of thinning

undergone by the specimen during the test
Ao − A f
% Re duction in Area =  100
Ao
Schematic representations of tensile stress – strain behavior for
brittle and ductile materials loaded to fracture.
The stress-strain behavior of brittle materials compared
with that of more ductile materials
6. Tensile Toughness:

The energy absorbed by a material prior to fracture is known as

tensile toughness and is sometimes measured as the area under
the stress–strain curve (also known as the work of fracture).
Tensile Toughness of Various Materials:
Effect of temperature on the tensile properties

The effect of temperance (a) on the stress-strain curve and (b) on the tensile
properties of an aluminum alloy
True Stress and True Strain
True stress: The load divided by the
actual cross-sectional area of the
specimen at that load.
True stress = F/Ai.

True strain: The strain calculated

using actual and not original
dimensions, εt = ln(l / l0).

True stress-engineering stress relation:

σT = σ (1 + ε)

True strain-engineering strain relation:

εT = ln (1 + ε)

The relation between the true stress-true strain diagram and engineering stress-
engineering strain diagram. The curves are identical to the yield point.
Hardness Test
Hardness Test
Measures the resistance of a material to penetration by a hard object.

Hardness can represent resistance to scratching or indentation and a

qualitative measure of the strength of the material.

The hardness of a metal is measured by forcing an indenter into its

surface. The indenter material, which is usually a ball, pyramid, or cone
is made of a material much harder than the material being tested. For
example hardened steel, tungsten carbide, or diamond are commonly
used materials for indenters.

Macrohardness: Overall bulk hardness of materials measured using

loads more than 2 N.

Microhardness: Hardness of materials typically measured using loads

less than 2 N.

Nano-hardness: Hardness of materials measured at 1–10 nm length

scale using extremely small (~100 µN) forces.
Indentors for the Brinell and Rockwell hardness tests
Comparison of Typical Hardness Tests
Impact Test
Impact test: Measures the ability of a material to absorb the
sudden application of a load without breaking , “measure the
material toughness”.

Toughness: is a measure of the amount of energy a material can

absorb before fracturing or the ability of a material to withstand
an impact load without fracturing.

Impact energy: The energy required to fracture a standard

specimen when the load is applied suddenly.

Fracture toughness: The resistance of a material to failure in the

presence of a flaw.
Impact Test

One method of using this

apparatus is to place a Charpy
V-notch specimen across parallel
jaws in the machine.

In the impact test a heavy

pendulum released from a known
height strikes the sample on its
downward swing, fracturing it.

By knowing the mass of the

pendulum and the difference
between its initial and final
heights, the energy absorbed by
the fracture can be measured.
The impact test: (a) The Charpy and Izod tests, and (b)
dimensions of typical specimens
Properties Obtained from the Impact Test

Ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT): The

temperature below which a material behaves in a
brittle manner in an impact test.

Notch Sensitivity: Measures the effect of a notch,

scratch, or other imperfection on a material’s
properties, such as toughness.
Ductile-Brittle
Transition
Temperature
The following data were obtained from a series of Charpy impact tests performed on
four steels, each having a different manganese content. Plot the data and determine:
(a) The transition temperature of each defined by the mean of the absorbed
Energies in the ductile and brittle regions.
(b) The transition temperature of each defined as the temperature that provides
50 J of absorbed energy.
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Fatigue Test
Fatigue: weakening of a metal when subjected to repeated
stresses or repeated strains.

Fatigue failure occurring under conditions of dynamic loading.

Fatigue is the most common mechanism by which engineering

components fail.

At least 80-90% of all service failures are due to fatigue failure.

Fatigue failure occurs without any obvious warning resulting in

catastrophic failures.

Conditions necessary for fatigue failure:

Maximum stress of sufficiently high value.

Large fluctuations in the applied stress.
Sufficiently large number of cycles of the applied stress.
Fatigue stress cycles for some components in service conditions
Presenting Fatigue Data:
Typical fatigue (S-N) curve of ferrous and non-ferrous metals
MPa

Note the presence of a fatigue limit in many

steels and its absence in aluminum alloys.
Results of the Fatigue Test
Endurance limit: An older concept that defined a stress below
which a material will not fail in a fatigue test.

Fatigue life: The number of cycles permitted at a particular

stress before a material fails by fatigue.

Fatigue strength: The stress required to cause failure by

fatigue in a given number of cycles, such as 500 million
cycles.

Notch sensitivity: Measures the effect of a notch, scratch, or

other imperfection on a material’s properties, such fatigue life.
The fatigue data for a steel alloy are given as follow in Table 1.
(a) Make an S-N plot using the data given in Table 1.
(b) What is the fatigue limit for this alloy?
(c) Determine fatigue lifetimes at stress amplitudes of 415 MPa and 275
MPa.
(d) Estimate fatigue strengths at 2x104 and 6x105 cycles.

The fatigue data for a steel alloy

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Creep Test
Creep
Creep is the plastic deformation over a period of time for a metal or an
alloy at a constant load during service. (Time dependant strain).

It is very important for parts operating at elevated temperature such the

turbine blades of gas turbine engine.

Creep test: measures the resistance of a material to deformation and

failure when subjected to a static load below the yield strength at an
elevated temperature.
Creep rate: the rate at which a material deforms when a stress is
applied at a high temperature.

Creep is a function of: applied stress; temperature; and time.

It is found that creep in metals starts when the temperature in the range
0.3 to 0.4 Tm.

Most metals have high melting points and hence they start to creep only
at temperatures much higher than room temperature.
Creep Testing Machine
Creep Test Results (Creep Curve)
Creep curve.
Creep rate.
Rupture Time.

A typical creep curve showing the strain produced as a function

of time for a constant stress and temperature
The following creep data, listed in Table 1, were taken on an aluminum
alloy at 480°C and a constant stress of 2.75 MPa. Plot the data as strain
versus time, then determine the steady-state or minimum creep rate.

Table 1. Creep data taken on an aluminum alloy at 480°C and 2.75 MPa.
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