2.

MATERIAL BEHAVIOR/DESIGN CONCEPTS

2.1. Introduction
Several material properties that play important roles in the design process are obtained
from graphs or stress versus strain. These graphs are called stress-strain diagrams. Three
important standard laboratory tests are commonly used to determine the properties of
engineering materials. They are standard uniaxial tension test, the standard uniaxial
compression test and the standard torsion test. The properties of a material are most commonly
obtained from a stress-strain diagram obtained from a standard tension test. The stress-strain
diagram, and hence the material properties, for a specific material depends on:
• The temperature at which the test is conducted;
• The type of loading (tensile, compressive or shear);
• The duration of the test (rate of loading).
2.2. Standard Tensile stress-strain diagrams
The tensile properties of a material are determined from a stress-strain diagram that is
obtained from a standard tension test performed on a specimen of the material. Several
important material properties that are characteristic of most engineering materials can be shown
in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Proportional limit
The proportional limit of a material is defined as the maximum stress for which stress
remains proportional to strain. It is denoted σPL. The proportional limit is labeled point A.

1
 Elastic modulus
The modulus of elasticity of a material is defined to be the slope of the initial straight-
line portion of the stress-strain diagram and is denoted E. It is a measure of the stiffness of a
material and has the same units as stress since it is the ratio of stress to strain. The linear region
of the stress-strain diagram is represented by the relation:
𝜎 = 𝐸𝜀 (1)
This equation is called Hooke’s law. The modulus of elasticity E is often called Young’s
modulus.
Elasticity
If the stress in a tension specimen is increased to a magnitude not exceeding a stress
called elastic limit σEL of the material from which it is made, and if the stress is subsequently
released, the material will unload along the loading path OAB as shown in Fig. 1. This behavior,
where the material returns to its original unstressed configuration, is referred to as elastic
behavior or, simply, elasticity.
On the other hand, if the stress exceeds the elastic limit stress (as occurs at point C in
Fig. 1) and if it is subsequently released, the material will unload along a straight line CD that
is essentially parallel to the initial straight-line portion of the stress-strain diagram. The strain
that remains after the stress has been reduced to zero is permanent deformation and is called
plastic strain (εP) if it does not depend on the time involved in the loading and unloading
process.
Strain hardening
When a tensile stress is reapplied, the material will load along the line DC to point C
and then proceed along the curve CE. The elastic strain that occurs during the reloading process
between points D and C is designated as εE. The proportional limit of the material has evidently
been increased by the strain-hardening effect.
Elastic limit
The elastic limit of a material is defined as the maximum stress for which the material
remains elastic and is denoted σEL. The elastic limit of a material is different from the
proportional limit. While the material must behave elastically to the elastic limit, the two points
differ in that the axial stress has ceased to be proportional to the axial strain beyond the
proportional limit. Between these two points, the material is said to behave in a nonlinearly
elastic manner.

2
 Yield point
The stress-strain diagram for various grades of steel exhibit a region for which strain
continues to increase with no apparent increase in stress. The stress corresponding to this region
of the stress-strain diagram is called the yield point stress for the material and is denoted σYP.
Yield strength
The stress-strain diagrams for most materials do not exhibit a well-defined yield point
as low-carbon steel does. For these materials, an analogue strength property, called yield
strength, is defined. The yield strength for a material of this type is obtained by the offset
method. The offset method stipulates that the yield strength of a material can be taken as the
stress corresponding to a specified amount of permanent strain. The specified permanent strain
is usually given as a percentage. For instance, the specified permanent strain for steel is 0.2%.
Accordingly, this amount of strain (0.002) is measured along the abscissa of the stress-strain
diagram, and a straight line is drawn through this abscissa parallel to the initial straight-line
portion of the diagram. The stress corresponding to the intersection of this line with the graph
of stress versus strain is taken as the yield strength of the material.
Ultimate strength
The engineering stress that corresponds to the highest point of a stress-strain diagram is
called the ultimate strength of the material and is denoted by σULT.
Modulus of resilience
The modulus of resilience of a material is the area under the stress-strain diagram
delimited by the proportional limit. The modulus of resilience has units of energy per unit
volume (J/m3). Consequently, the modulus of resilience is a measure of the capacity of a
material to absorb energy without undergoing permanent deformation, and is usually used to
compare the elastic energy-absorbing capabilities of different materials.
Toughness
Toughness id defined to be the total area under the stress-strain diagram. It is a measure
of the capacity of a material to undergo large permanent deformations prior to fracture. It is
also a measure of the total energy a material can absorb. A reasonable approximation of the
toughness of a material can be obtained by visually establishing an average stress for a stress-
strain diagram and multiplying it by the strain at fracture.
Poisson’s ratio
If we measure the diameter of the specimen at each load-level during a tension test, we
can compute the strain perpendicular to the direction of the applied load. This lateral strain is
given by the formula:

3
 𝑑−𝑑0
𝜀𝑙 = (2)
𝑑0

where d is the diameter of the specimen for the current value of applied load and d0 is
the initial or original diameter. We know that the axial strain (parallel to the direction of load)
is given by the relation:
𝑙−𝑙0
𝜀𝑎 = (3)
𝑙0

The relation between |𝜀𝑙 | and |𝜀𝑎 | is found to be linear for most materials for stresses
up to σPL and the proportionality factor is called Poisson’s ratio. Consequently:
𝜀𝑙 = − 𝜗𝜀𝑎 (4)
Physically it is observed that the strain perpendicular to the direction of load application
is a contraction when the axial strain is tensile and an expansion when the axial strain is
compressive, that is, the lateral strain has a sign opposite that of the axial strain. Poisson’s ratio
for most engineering materials ranges from 𝜗 = 0.25 𝑡𝑜 𝜗 = 0.35. The theoretical maximum
value that Poisson’s ratio can attain is 0.5, which corresponds to a hypothetical incompressible
material.