KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & MINERALS

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ME 217: Material Lab

Student Name Mohammed S. ALHARBI

Student ID # 201763790

Section # 13

Experiment No. & Title NO.7 & Flexural Test

Instructor Name Dr. Morsi Mohamed Mahmoud

Date 3 Nov 2019

Cover Page 0

Introduction & Objectives 3

Experimental Procedure 3

Results & Discussion 10

Conclusion 4

Total 20
Introduction & Objectives

In some brittle materials whose failure behavior is linear such as ceramics, concretes, stones and woods,
the flexural or bend test is the common test. This because the result of the tensile test for these materials is
difficult or invalid due to their fracture at gripping. Generally, smooth surface rectangular specimens without
notches are prepared to be used for a flexural test. The bend test is performed under three-point or four-point
bend arrangements, as shown in figure 1. In this experiment, the materials that were used are acrylic and steel
under the three-points bend arrangement, as shown in figure 2 and 3 respectively. Also, the same machine and
the software program those were used in the tensile test will be used again in this experiment, but with different
input. Because as it can be seen from figure 4, it is difficult to determine the yield point of ductile materials
under bending, the flexural test is not suitable for these materials. In addition, in plotting stress vs strain curves,
a different formula will be used for flexural stress and strain from which has been used in previous lab

3FL 6 Vc
experiments. The flexural stress equals to σ = 2 , and the flexural strain equals to
ε = 2 . Also, an
2b d L
important mechanical parameter for brittle ceramics that determined using the flexure test is the flexural
strength, fracture strength, modulus of rupture or the bending strength and its symbol σfs. The flexural strength

3 Ff L
for a rectangular cross-section, which is used in this experiment, is equal to σ fs = , and the parameters are
2 b d2
indicated in Figure 5. It can also be calculated based on the data that extract from the stress-strain curve, as
shown in figure 6. The objectives are to Investigate the responses of some materials when they are subjected to
bending. In addition, to use the extracted curves to determine some parameters such as
yield strength in bending, bend strength and elastic modulus.
 Figure 1

Figure 4: Rafiq,
H. (2016, June 2).
Stress-Strain
Curve, Shear
Force and
Bending Moment.
Figure 3
Figure 2
 Load vs Extension
2500

2000

1500
Load (N)

1000

500

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Extension(mm)

Figure 6

Figure 5

Experimental Procedure

The experiment starts with measuring the width and thickness of the specimens including the span
length, which will be used to calculate the stress and elastic modulus, all using the vernier caliper. Then, the
sample will be located at the center of the machine and the loading block will be lowered until it touches the
sample. Next, the required information will be filled in the program. After filling the information, the load
recorder will set to zero and start up the machine. For acrylic (brittle), the test will continue until the material
fails, while for steel (ductile), the test will be until a deflection of 8 mm is reached. Finally, a load vs extension
and flexural stress vs flexural strain curves for both the materials will be constructed.

Results & Discussion

1) The graphs of steel

600

500
Stress (MPa)

400

300

200

100

0
0 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03
Strain

The elastic modulus equal to 294.059 GPa.

Yield strength at 1% offset strain is 571.42 MPa.

2) The graphs of acrylic

Load vs Extension
1400

1200

1000

800
Load (N)

600

400

200

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Extension (mm)
 Flexure Stress vs Flexure Strain

70

60

50
Stress (MPa)

40

30

20

10

0
0 0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02
Strain

The elastic modulus equal to 3.922 GPa.

3 Ff L
To calculate the fracture strength of acrylic this is formula σ fs =
2 b d2

3 ×(1162.89 N )( 67 mm)
2 = 63.738 MPa.
σ fs =
2 × ( 38.85 mm )( 6.87 mm )

Comments:

It has been observed that steel needs high stress to fracture under bending, and its failure is predictable because
it takes time in bending, and its shape looks like arched. Also, when it fails, it will have a ductile fracture, which
did not view in this experiment because the test was until a deflection of 8mm. On the other hand, acrylic has a
relatively fast, unpredictable brittle failure, as shown in figure 7.

Figure 7
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, in this experiment, it has been examined the responses of some materials when they are subjected
to bending. Also, curves such as load vs extension and flexural stress vs flexural strain have been plotted using

3 FL 6 Vc
the extracted data and the formulas σ = 2 for flexural stress and
ε = 2 for the flexural strain. In addition,
2b d L
some significant mechanical properties have been calculated, such as elastic modulus for both steel and acrylic,
the fracture strength of acrylic, and yield strength at 1% offset strain for steel. By using the linear region for
graphs of both materials, the elastic modulus of steel is equal to 294.059 GPa and acrylic is equal to 3.922 GPa.
A 1% offset strain for steel corresponds to 571.42 MPa stress. The fracture strength of acrylic has been

3 Ff L
calculated to be 63.738 MPa via this formula σ fs = . It has been viewed that acrylic has a brittle fracture,
2 b d2
as can be seen in figure 7. Because steel is ductile, that will make it hard to break under bend stress and will
have ductile fracture when it breaks. The values look consistent since the elastic modulus of steel is away bigger
than elastic modulus of acrylic, because steel is ductile, and acrylic is brittle. Although the experiment was
simple and was done in a short period, it was interesting and informative.