UNIT 2

MECHANICAL TESTING OF MATERIALS

Introduction to mechanical testing - Tensile test - Hardness test (Vickers, Brinell, Rockwell) -
Impact test (Izod, Charpy) - Bend test - Shear test - Creep - Fatigue test.

INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL TESTING

Mechanical testing is a process that is used to determine the mechanical properties of a

material. It can be used to evaluate a material independent of its geometry and also at
defined geometrical conditions. There are a wide variety of mechanical testing methods
that can be performed when evaluating a material like Tensile test, Hardness test
(Vickers, Brinell, Rockwell), Impact test (Izod, Charpy), Bend test, Shear test, Creep,
Fatigue test.

1.0TENSILE TEST
Tensile testing, also known as tension testing, is a fundamental materials
science and engineering test in which a sample is subjected to a controlled tension until
failure. Properties that are directly measured via a tensile test are ultimate tensile
strength, breaking strength, maximum elongation and reduction in area.

From these measurements the following properties can also be determined: Young's
modulus, Poisson's ratio, yield strength, and strain-hardening characteristics.

SPECIMEN

A tensile specimen is usually a standardized sample cross-section. It has two shoulders

and a gage (section) in between. The shoulders are large so they can be readily gripped,
whereas the gauge section has a smaller cross-section so that the deformation and
failure can occur in this area.
TESTING PROCESS

The most common testing machine used in tensile testing is the universal testing
machine. This type of machine has two crossheads; one is adjusted for the length of the
specimen and the other is driven to apply tension to the test specimen. There are two
types: hydraulic powered and electromagnetically powered machines.

Alignment of the test specimen in the testing machine is critical, because if the
specimen is misaligned, either at an angle or offset to one side, the machine will exert
a bending force on the specimen. This is especially bad for brittle materials, because it
will dramatically skew the results. This situation can be minimized by using spherical
seats or U-joints between the grips and the test machine.

If the initial portion of the stress–strain curve is curved and not linear, it indicates
the specimen is misaligned in the testing machine. The strain measurements are
most commonly measured with an extensometer.

The test process involves placing the test specimen in the testing machine and slowly
extending it until it fractures. During this process, the elongation of the gauge section is
recorded against the applied force. The elongation measurement is used to calculate
the engineering strain, ε.

STANDARDS

For metals: ASTM E8/E8M-13

For Composites: ASTM D 3039/D 3039M
For Polymers: ASTM D638

ENGINEERING STRESS AND STRAIN

Consider a bar of original cross sectional area A0 being subjected to equal and opposite
forces F pulling at the ends so the bar is under tension. The material is experiencing a
stress defined to be the ratio of the force to the cross sectional area of the bar, as well as
an axial elongation; σ =F/AO and e = (L – LO)/ L

Subscript 0 denotes the original dimensions of the sample.

Stress-strain curve for this material is plotted by elongating the sample and recording
the stress variation with strain until the sample fractures. For engineering purposes it
is often assumed that the cross-section area of the material does not change
during the whole deformation process. This is not true since the actual area will
decrease while deforming due to elastic and plastic deformation.

The curve based on the original cross-section and gauge length is called
the engineering stress-strain curve, while the curve based on the instantaneous
cross-section area and length is called the true stress-strain curve. Unless stated
otherwise, engineering stress-strain is generally used.
 Engg. Stress-Strain Curve
Engg. Stress-Strain Curve vs True Stress-Strain

PROOF STRESS

Stresses that will produce a pre-decided strain i.e. (0.1% to 0.2%) plastic strain in the
material.

It is used in the same way as that of the yield stress.

Metals should not be stressed beyond their proof stress value.

In some materials, the stress at which the material changes from elastic to plastic
behaviour is not easily detected. In this case, the offset yield strength (proof stress) is
determined.

A line is constructed parallel to the initial portion of the stress-strain curve but offset by
(0.2%) from the origin. The 0.2% offset yield strength is the stress at which the
constructed line intersects the stress-strain curve as shown:
HARDNESS TEST
Hardness is defined as the resistance of a material to permanent deformation such as
indentation, wear, abrassion, scratch.

Hardness test determines the suitability of a material for a given application, or the
particular treatment to which the material has been subjected.

TYPES OF HARDNESS TEST

Macro Hardness Testers Loads > 1 kg

Rockwell
Brinell
Vickers

Micro Hardness Testers < 1 kg

Knoop diamond
Vickers diamond pyramid

MACRO HARDNESS TEST METHODS

Rockwell Hardness Test

The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a
diamond cone or hardened steel ball indenter. The indenter is forced into the test
material under a preliminary minor load usually 10 kgf.

When equilibrium has been reached, an indicating device, which follows the movements
of the indenter and so responds to changes in depth of penetration of the indenter is set
to a datum position. While the preliminary minor load is still applied an additional
major load is applied with resulting increase in penetration.

When equilibrium has again been reach, the additional major load is removed but the
preliminary minor load is still maintained. Removal of the additional major load allows
a partial recovery, so reducing the depth of penetration. The permanent increase in
depth of penetration, resulting from the application and removal of the additional major
load is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.
There are several considerations for Rockwell hardness test

1. Require clean and well positioned indenter and anvil

2. The test sample should be clean, dry, smooth and oxide-free surface
3. The surface should be flat and perpendicular to the indenter
4. Low reading of hardness value might be expected in cylindrical surfaces
5. Specimen thickness should be 10 times higher than the depth of the indenter
6. The spacing between the indentations should be 3 to 5 times of the indentation
diameter
7. Loading speed should be standardized.

The Brinell Hardness Test

The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm
diameter hardened steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 3000 kg. For softer
materials the load can be reduced to 1500 kg or 500 kg to avoid excessive indentation.
The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds in the case of iron and steel and
for at least 30 seconds in the case of other metals. The diameter of the indentation left in
the test material is measured with a low powered microscope. The Brinell harness
number is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.
When the indentor is retracted two diameters of the impression, d1 and d2 , are
measured using a microscope with a calibrated graticule and then averaged as shown in
Fig

Where:

P is the test load [kg]

D is the diameter of the ball [mm]

d is the average impression diameter of indentation [mm]

DRAWBACKS OF BRINELL HARDNESS TEST

Ridging

Materials, when cold worked, get extremely hard.

In those cases, when indent made an impression,
indentations edges piled up. This results in a
difference in actual diameter and piled up
impression. The defect of such type is called
piling up/ridging.

Sinking In

In the case of annealed structures, materials

get extremely soft. In those cases, if hardened
steel balls are used for a long time like 30 seconds,
then edges of impressions get sunk in which
increases the diameter of an impression than
actual indent diameter. Such a defect is called
a sinking defect.

Vickers Hardness Test

The Vickers hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a
diamond indenter, in the form of a right pyramid with a square base and an angle of 136
degrees between opposite faces subjected to a load of 1 to 100 kgf. The full load is
normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds. The two diagonals of the indentation left in the
surface of the material after removal of the load are measured using a microscope and
their average calculated. When the mean diagonal of the indentation has been
determined the Vickers hardness may be calculated from the formula.

F= Load in kgf
d = Arithmetic mean of the two diagonals, d1 and d2 in mm
HV = Vickers hardness
DRWABACKS OF VICKER’S HARDNESS TEST

Pincushion indentation

Occurs in annealed materials due to sinking-in. Results in overestimation of diagonal

length. So hardness value is reduced than actual value.

Barrelled indentation

Occurs in cold worked materials due to piling-up. Results in underestimation of

diagonal length. So hardness value is increased than actual value.

3.0 IMPACT TEST

Impact test, tests the ability of a material to withstand impact/sudden shock load to
predict its toughness under actual conditions.

Many materials fail suddenly under impact, at flaws, cracks, or notches. The most
common impact tests use a swinging pendulum to strike a notched bar; heights before
and after impact are used to compute the energy required to fracture the bar.

In the Charpy test, the test piece is held horizontally between two vertical bars,
much like the lintel over a door.

In the Izod test, the specimen is held vertically.

Charpy Test

The Charpy impact test, also known as the Charpy V-notch test, is
a standardized high strain-rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed
by a material during fracture. Absorbed energy is a measure of the
material's notch toughness.
The apparatus consists of a pendulum of known mass and length that is dropped from a
known height to impact a notched specimen of material. The energy transferred to the
material can be inferred by comparing the difference in the height of the hammer before
and after the fracture (energy absorbed by the fracture event).
The notch in the sample affects the results of the impact test, thus it is necessary for
the notch to be of regular dimensions and geometry.
Izod Test

The Izod impact strength test is an ASTM standard method of determining the impact
resistance of materials. A pivoting arm is raised to a specific height (constant potential
energy) and then released. The arm swings down hitting a notched sample, breaking the
specimen. The energy absorbed by the sample is calculated from the height the arm
swings to after hitting the sample. A notched sample is generally used to determine
impact energy and notch sensitivity.
The test is similar to the Charpy impact test but uses a different arrangement of the
specimen under test. The Izod impact test differs from the Charpy impact test in that the
sample is held in a cantilevered beam configuration as opposed to a three-point bending
configuration.

DUCTILE TO BRITTLE TRANSITION

Pure metals have a definite transition temperature T T

If TT >T DB : the material is ductile

If TT < T DB : the material is brittle

Transition temperature is a temperature at the which

the fracture of a material is 100% ductile

SIGNIFICANCE OF TRANSITION TEMPERATURE

Transition temperature curve helps to

select materials that are resistant to
brittle fracture.High strength materials
have low notch toughness so that brittle
fracture can occur even at nominal
stresses in the elastic range at all
temperature and strain rates with the
 presence of flaws. High strength steel, aluminium and titanium come under this
category as shown in the figure.
LOAD TIME HISTORY
An instrumented impact tester can provide
load time history of specimen during impact test.
From the curve the energy required to initiate
and propogate crack could be easily determined.
From curve it is clear that energy required to
initiate crack is higher, once crack is initiated
its propogation requires less energy and load.

CREEP TEST
Creep is the tendency of a solid material to move slowly or deform
permanently under the influence of persistent mechanical stresses.

It can occur as a result of long-term exposure to high levels of stress that are still
below the yield strength of the material, i.e. Material fails at stresses lower than its
max stress. Creep is more severe in materials that are subjected to heat for long
periods and generally increases as they near their melting point.

The rate of deformation is a function of the material's properties, exposure time,

exposure temperature and the applied structural load.

For example creep of a turbine blade could cause the blade to contact the casing,
resulting in the failure of the blade.

Unlike brittle fracture, creep deformation does not occur suddenly upon the
application of stress. Instead, strain accumulates as a result of long-term stress.
Therefore, creep is a "time-dependent" deformation.

Creep occurs when vacancies in the material migrate toward grain boundaries
that are oriented normal to the direction of the applied stress.

The Critical Temperature for Creep is 40% to 50% of the Melting Temperature.

If T > 0.4TM to 0.50 TM à Creep Occurs

TM = Melting temprature
 CREEP CURVE:

Primary Creep: slope (creep rate) decreases

with time. This region is known as transient
or unsteady state creep.

Secondary Creep: In this region work hardening

occurs with recovery. This region is known as
steady-state creep i.e., constant slope.

Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate) increases with

time, i.e. accelerated creep occurs till fracture.

EFFECT OF STRESS AND TEMPERATURE ON CREEP:

With Increasing stress or temperature:

 The instantaneous strain increases

 The steady-state creep rate increases
 The time to rupture decreases

CREEP MECHANISMS:

1. Bulk Diffusion
2. Grain Boundary Diffusion
3. Dislocation Climb
4. Thermally Activated Glide

Creep Testing Methods

1. Tensile creep testing

2. Compression creep testing
3. Flexural creep testing
a. 3 point bend test
b. 4 point bend test
4. Impression creep testing

1. Tensile creep testing/ 2. Compression creep testing

Load frames used for tension and compression testing are of two types:
a. Direct Load Creep Test (DLCT)
b. Lever Arm Creep Test (LACT)

In DLCT type load is directly applied on the specimen held in the furnace and
strain is recorded using extensometers or LVDTs.

In LACT type load is not directly applied but transmitted through a lever arm.
Load applied gets transmitted through moments on to the specimen and usually
the load applied is amplified by moments acting on both sides of fulcrum.

Requirements of creep testing machine

1. Load frame - To load the sample

2. Specimen Fixture – To hold the sample
3. High temperature Furnace – To provide temperature of interest
4. Extensometer – To measure the strain exhibited by specimen
5. Software – For online monitoring & analysis of data

Heating Apparatus

1. Difference between actual temperature and set temperature & set

temperature should not be more than 2 to 3O C.
2. Heating shall be by electric furnace or radiation furnace.
3. Thermocouple or LVDTs are used for temperature measurement.

Force application and removal

A small fraction of test force usually not more than 10% for materials that yield
immediately like stainless steel and 15% for materials that show linear elastic
region can be applied. This increases the axiality of force application.

Strain measurement

Strain measurement should not be more than 24 hours or 1% of the estimated

duration of the test whichever is longer.

Specimen

Tensile test specimen is ASTM E8

 COMPARISON

Tensile creep test is less suitable for ceramics because brittle materials with
cracks and void grow reducing load carrying ability.
But in compression creep test the crack and void gets closed. So creep rate
deformation is faster in tension.

DRAWBACKS OF TENSION/COMPRESSION CREEP TEST

1. Specimen preparation is complicated Egs. Dog bone sample.
2. Small misalignment of specimen in the grip that will lead to cracks.
So we prefer flexural test.

3. Flexural Creep Test

 Alternate method of tensile/ compression creep testing.
 Bar sample is easily prepared.
 Experimental design is very simple. So cost of testing is less.

Types of flexural test

1. Three point bend test

2. Four point bend test

Three point / Four point test

 Rectangular specimen without notches.
 Applied force is compressive in nature
resisted by tensile forces acting
upward.
 Lower surface is in tension and upper
surface is in compression.

Stress applied σ = 3P (L – Li)/2bh2

Engineering Strain e = 6hx / (L – Li)(L + 2Li)
Li – Distance between the load points

x – Deflection

4. Impression creep testing

 For small scale creep testing i.e. for costly
and hazardous nuclear samples.
 Simliar to hot hardness testing
 A cylindrical flat bottomed punch used as
a tool is made to penetrate the specimen.
 The depth of penetration is recorded as
a function of time.

Impression Stress σi = 4P/ πD2

Impression Strain ei = Vs/d
 where Vs – steady state velocity of punch

d- plastic zone size under impression

5.0 FATIGUE TESTING

Fatigue is the failure (by fracture) of structures that are subjected to repeated or
cyclic loading i.e. periodic stress-time variation, e.g.,

(a) axial tension-compression, (b) reversed bending and (c) torsion or twisting.

Once a fatigue crack has initiated, each loading cycle will grow the crack a small
amount, typically producing striations on some parts of the fracture surface.

The crack will continue to grow until it reaches a critical size, which occurs when
the stress intensity factor of the crack exceeds the fracture toughness of the
material, producing rapid propagation and typically complete fracture of the
structure.

Stages/mechanism of fatigue failure

1. CRACK INITIATION

2. CRACK PROPAGATION

3. FINAL FRACTURE

Crack initiation

Materials when loaded form cell structures and harden in response to applied
load thereby increasing the stress amplitude. This causes the material to fail/
crack due to the stress concentrated at the persistent slip bands. Thus crack is
initiated.

Crack Propagation

Once crack is initiated the rate of crack growth is driven by the cyclic loading
which accelerates the crack growth.

Final Fatigue Fracture

When the stress intensity at the crack exceeds the fracture toughness value the
final fatigue fracture occurs and the material would not be able to perform its
function.
FATIGUE TESTING MACHINE

The arrangement shows R.R. Moore

rotating beam machine used for fatigue
testing. The work piece is held in SSB
arrangement.

The motor drive gives rotary motion

to the specimen.

The main bearing supports the specimen

whereas the load bearings are meant
for applying load.

The S-N curve is generated by rotating the motor at a constant revolution per
minute.

To create a failure in the specimen, a constant stationary load is applied on the

specimen which creates a constant bending moment.

The stationary moment applied to the rotating specimen causes stress at any
point on the outer surface of the specimen to go from zero to a maximum tensile
stress, back to zero and finally to a compression stress. Thus stress here is
completely reversed in nature.

S-N CURVE / FATIGUE CURVE / KNEE CURVE / WOHLER CURVE

It is a graph between Stress - No. of cycles of fatigue loading.

Here a material is subjected to tensile and compressive stresses at the same time
and the results are plotted in a curve with no. of cycles along X-axis and Stress
along Y-axis.

Many non-ferrous metals and alloys, such as aluminium, magnesium, and copper
alloys, do not exhibit well-defined endurance limits. These materials instead
display a continuously decreasing S-N response.

Fatigue life of ferrous materials is always better than non-ferrous

materials.

From graph it is clear that materials operated below endurance limit have
infinite fatigue life i.e. they never fail due to fatigue.

Endurance limit is the stress level below which a specimen can withstand cyclic
stress indefinitely without exhibiting fatigue failure.
 NOTE: Students you
represent all 3 graph
data in a single
graph.

FACTORS INFLUENCING FATIGUE LIFE

Cyclic stress state: Depending on the complexity of the geometry and the loading, one or
more properties of the stress state need to be considered, such as stress amplitude, mean
stress, bi-axiality, in-phase or out-of-phase shear stress, and load sequence

Geometry: Notches and variation in cross section throughout a part lead to stress
concentrations where fatigue cracks initiate.

Surface quality: Surface roughness cause microscopic stress concentrations that lower the
fatigue strength. Compressive residual stresses can be introduced in the surface by e.g. shot
peening to increase fatigue life.

Material Type: Fatigue life, as well as the behavior during cyclic loading, varies widely for
different materials, Eg. composites and polymers differ markedly from metals.

Residual stresses: Welding, cutting, casting, and other manufacturing processes involving
heat or deformation can produce high levels of tensile residual stress, which decreases the
fatigue strength.

Size and distribution of internal defects: Casting defects such as gas porosity, non-
metallic inclusions and shrinkage voids can significantly reduce fatigue strength.
Direction of loading: For non-isotropic materials, fatigue strength depends on the
direction of the principal stress.

Grain size: For most metals, smaller grains yield longer fatigue lives, however, the presence
of surface defects or scratches will have a greater influence than in a coarse grained alloy.

Environment: Environmental conditions can cause erosion, corrosion, or gas-phase

embrittlement, which all affect fatigue life. Corrosion fatigue is a problem encountered in
many aggressive environments.

Temperature: Extreme high or low temperatures can decrease fatigue strength.

6.0 BEND TEST

Bend test determines whether a material has surface defects like open
discontinuities, surface cracks etc. that causes material to fail under pressure.

Bend test is important in any construction process involving ductile materials loaded
with bending forces.

Bend testing a material allows for the determination of that materials ductility, bend
strength, fracture strength and resistance to fracture.

Unlike a flexure test the goal is not to load the material until failure but rather to
deform the sample into a specific shape. The test sample is loaded in a way that
creates a concave surface at the midpoint with a specified radius of curvature according
to the standard in relation to which the test is performed.
The bend test may be free formed or guided.

6.1 Free form bend test

Three point / Four point test

 Rectangular specimen without notches.

 Applied force is compressive in nature resisted by tensile forces acting upward.
 Lower surface is in tension and upper surface is in compression.

The major difference being that with the addition of a fourth bearing the portion of the
beam between the two loading points is put under maximum stress, as opposed to only
the material right under the central bearing in the case of three point bending.

Also, a three-point test best applies where the material is homogeneous, such as plastic
materials. A four point test tends to be the best choice if the material is not homogeneous,
such as composites or wood.

Compared to the three-point bending flexural test, there are no shear forces in the four-point
bending flexural test in the area between the two loading pins.
The four-point bending test is therefore particularly suitable for brittle materials that cannot
withstand shear stresses very well.
6.2 Guided bend test
 The guided bend test is where the specimen is
wrapped around a former of a specified diameter
and is the type of test specified in the welding
procedure and welder qualification specifications.

 The strain applied to the specimen depends on

the diameter of the former around which the specimen
is bent and this is related to the thickness of the
specimen 't', normally expressed as a multiple of 't'

 Weldments were subjected to the following

bend tests to find the strength of the
weldment.
This test shows surface defects like
open discontinuities, surface cracks etc.
that causes material to fail under pressure.
 7.0 SHEAR TEST
Shear testing is performed to determine the shear strength of a material. It measures
the maximum shear stress that may be sustained before a material will rupture.

Shear testing is commonly used with adhesives and can be used in either a tensile or
compressive method.

Shear testing is different from tensile and compression testing in that the forces
applied is parallel to the upper and lower faces of the object under test.

Materials behave differently in shear than in tension or compression, resulting in

different values for strength and stiffness. Shear testing applies a lateral shear force
to the specimen until failure results.

Fasteners, such as bolts, may be pulled in single or double shear to SAE or ASTM
specification.

A single shear test fixture uses two blades with centrally located transverse holes.
One blade is kept stationary with the fastener in place while the second blade is
moved in a parallel plane, which shears the fastener.

Double shear testing uses a second stationary blade support behind the shearing
blade.

 In single shear shearing

occurs across a single surface.

 In double shear shearing

occurs across two surfaces.

Lap shear testing is performed to determine

the shear strength of an adhesive that is
applied to two metal plates and pulled to failure.
It can be used to compare between adhesive
types or different lots within the same adhesive.
Specimens are cut and prepared as per ASTM
standard prior to testing.

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