ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (CE-2102)
MECHANICAL PROPERTIESOF MATERIALS
(Haymanot Z.)

CONTENTS
Introduction
Testing

of materials for mechanical properties

The tension test
Nominal

stress strain properties in simple tension

Properties for the elastic range
Properties for the plastic range
The

compression test
The shear test
Direct

or transverse shear
Torsional shear
The

bending test

Properties

Relationship

for the elastic and plastic range

b/n material properties

GENERAL
Properties which relate to materials generally are:
Physical properties
Density and specific gravity
Mechanical properties
Thermal properties
Acoustical properties
Chemical properties
Corrosion

The mechanical properties of materials are important to engineers

allowing the selection of the proper material and design of part in
order to avoid or at least minimize failure.

GENERAL
When forces are applied to a solid body in equilibrium two results
are generally produced:
i. Internal resisting forces are developed in the body which
balance the external applied forces. These internal forces are
called stress.
stress
ii. The body is deformed to a varying degree and this deformation
is called strain.
strain

The properties of materials when subjected to stresses and strains

are called mechanical properties.

The response of a material to applied forces depends on the type and

nature of the bond and the structural arrangement of atoms,
molecules or ions.

GENERAL
Depending on the arrangement and direction of the external forces,
the stress produced in a body may be:

Tensile stress,
Compressive stress,
Shearing stress,
Bending stress,
Torsional stress, and
Various combination

Basic deformation types are

i.
ii.

Elastic deformation:
deformation after the application and removal of load,
returns to its original size and shape.
Plastic deformation:
deformation after the application and removal of load the
body fails to return to its original size and shape.
5

2.1 GENERAL
Mechanical tests are those used to examine the performance of
construction materials under the action of external forces.
Standardization is necessary in order to make test results
comparable wherever or by whomsoever they are made.
Mechanical tests may be classified under several headings:

I.

Type of tests with reference to the arrangement and direction

of the external forces:
a. Tension test:
test A specimen under tension test is subjected to an axial
tensile force. (pulling)
pulling
b. Compression test:
test A specimen under compression test is subjected
to an axial compressive force.(pushing)
pushing
c. Shear test:
test the shearing stress in a specimen is determined on cross
sectional areas parallel to the line of action of the external forces
which are themselves parallel. (shoving/sliding)
shoving/sliding
d. Bending test:
test a specimen under bending is subjected to forces that
give rise to bending moments. Tension (below neutral axis) and
Compression (above).
e. Torsion test:
test An indirect test used to determine the shearing strength
of a material.

Tensile

Compressive

Shear

Torsion

II.

Type of tests with reference to the rate and duration of the

load application:
a. Static tests:
tests Tests are made with gradually increasing load, such as
the ordinary test in compression, tension, etc.
b. Dynamic tests:
tests These are made with suddenly applied loads, as by
failing weight or pendulum. E.g. Drop impact test.
c. Wear tests:
tests These are made to determine resistance to abrasion and
impact. E.g. Los Angeles abrasion test, attrition test, etc.
d. Long-time tests:
tests These are made with loads applied to the object
under test for long period of time.
e. Fatigue tests:
tests These are made with fluctuating stresses repeated a
large number of times

III.

Type of tests with reference to the effect of the test on the

specimen:
a. Destructive tests:
tests Under these test methods the specimen are either
crushed or ruptured and made useless at the end of the tests. E.g.
Tensile test for reinforced bar, compression test for concrete.
b. Non-destructive tests:
tests These are usually used to test the strength of
members of existing structures with out affecting their performance.
E.g. Rebound hammer test of concrete structures.

a)

b)

Destructive tests a) Bending test b) Compressive test

10

2.2 THE TENSION TEST

The tension and compression test are used to provide basic design
information on the strength of materials and as an acceptance test
for the specification of materials.
NOMINAL STRESS STRAIN PROPERTIES IN SIMPLE
TENSION
Stress:
Where:
= the tensile stress
F = applied load
A0 = area of the section perpendicular to the line of action

Strain:
Where:
= strain
l= total elongation
l0 = original length of specimen
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NOMINAL STRESS STRAIN PROPERTIES IN SIMPLE

TENSION
With the values of the stress and strain , the stress-strain diagram
can be plotted.
The amount of deformation which the material will undergo before
rupture varies widely with different materials.
Some common types of nominal stress-strain diagrams:

c) Non-metallic elastic
material (soft rubber)
12

NOMINAL STRESS STRAIN PROPERTIES IN SIMPLE

TENSION
The initial stress-strain relation is assumed to be linear and can be
represented by the equation: t

t = E or E=
(P/Ao)
(l/Lo)
E=
PLo
Aol
E=

The stress-strain relation given in the above equation is known as

Hookes law.
law
E, the slope of the straight line, is called the modulus of elasticity.
elasticity
The moduli in tension and compression are usually equal.
13

PROPERTIES FOR THE ELASTIC RANGE

The parameters which are used to describe the mechanical
properties of material for the elastic range are:
A. Proportional limit:
limit also called proportional elastic limit is the
greatest stress which a material is capable of withstanding without a
deviation from the law of proportionality (Point a).
a
B. Elastic limit:
limit is the greatest stress which a material is capable of
withstanding with out a permanent deformation remaining upon
release of stress (Point b).
b
C. Elastic strength:
strength is measured by the stress which represents the
transition from the elastic range to the plastic range (points a to d).
D. Yield point:
point is the stress at which there occurs marked increase in
strain without an increase in stress. Only ductile materials have
yield point (upper (c) and lower (d) yield points).

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PROPERTIES FOR THE ELASTIC RANGE

E. Yield strength:
strength is the stress at which yielding occurs. The stressstrain relations of most materials do not show specific yield points;
hence other means are used to define the yield strength and
consequently the elastic strength.

15

Determination of modulus of elasticity

for materials with non linear stressstrain curves

16

PROPERTIES FOR THE ELASTIC RANGE

G. Stiffness:
Stiffness The stiffness of a material is measured by its modulus of
elasticity. The higher the modulus, the stiffer the material. E.g.
ESteel=210GPa, EAlmunium = 70GPa
H. Poissons ratio:
ratio is the measure of the stiffness of the material in
the direction at right angles to the applied uniaxial tensile stress.
Most metals have a value of Poissons ratio b/n 0.25 and 0.35.

x = y

17

PROPERTIES FOR THE ELASTIC RANGE

I. Resilience:
Resilience is the ability of a material to absorb energy when
deformed elastically and to return it when unloaded. Resilience is
measured by the modulus of resilience.
Modulus of resilience: is the internal work or strain energy per
unit volume required to stress the material from zero stress to
proportional limit.
1

R=2 p.p
p
=12 p.
E

p2
=2E
Determination of modulus
of resilience
18

PROPERTIES FOR THE ELASTIC RANGE

For a specimen of cross sectional area A and length L, the total
elastic strain energy in axial loading can be obtained as the product
of modulus resilience and its volume.
p2 .AL
u=2E

2
P
= 2 .AL
2A E

P2L=
2AE

19

PROPERTIES FOR THE PLASTIC RANGE

A permanent deformation remains in the stressed body after
complete removal of the load.
The strain at this stage is made up of two parts: a recoverable elastic
strain e and a non recoverable plastic strain p.
= e + p

= E + p

Elastic & plastic strain

20

PROPERTIES FOR THE PLASTIC RANGE

The parameters which are used to describe the mechanical
properties of material for the plastic range are:
A. Plastic strength:
strength the plastic strength of a material is the maximum
stress a material can possibly resist just before failure. The plastic
strength will correspond to the ultimate strength (ultimate stress) or
to the fracture (rupture) strength.

21

PROPERTIES FOR THE PLASTIC RANGE

B. Ductility:
Ductility ductility of a material represents its ability to deform in
the plastic range. Ductility is usually measured by the percentage
elongation , which is the percentage strain corresponding to
rupture.
Lf-Lo
De= L
100
or De= f x100
o
Where:
De = Percentage elongation, ductility
Lo = original length of specimen
Lf = length of specimen at rupture
f = unit strain at rupture
Ductility is also measured by the percentage reduction in area.
Da =

22

PROPERTIES FOR THE PLASTIC RANGE

C. Toughness:
Toughness the toughness of a material is its ability to absorb
energy in the plastic range. It is measured by the modulus of
toughness or the amount of energy absorbed per unit volume in
stressing to fracture.

Determination of toughness
23

PROPERTIES FOR THE PLASTIC RANGE

C. Toughness:
Toughness
For certain ductile material the toughness can be approximated by
toughness index number or merit number.
TD= uf or TD= y+ u f
2

For brittle materials with parabolic stress-strain curve the modulus

of toughness becomes
Tb= 2 uf
3
Where:
y = Stress at yield point
u = Ultimate stress
f = Unit strain at fracture

24

EXCERCISE-1
A. Determination of mechanical properties in tension for a ductile
material.
A specimen with a diameter of 12mm and gage length of 50mm was
used in a standard tension test of structural steel. The load at the lower
yield point was found to be 32 kN. The Maximum and fracture loads
were 54 kN and 38 kN respectively and the gage length at fracture was
64.118mm. The diameter of the fracture cross-section was found to be
8.910 mm. At a load of 15.161 kN the total strain was 0.0336mm. A
plot of the stress-strain diagram showed that the initial straight-line part
of the diagram passed through the point of zero stress and strain.
Determine: (a) the lower yield point, (b) the modulus of elasticity, (c)
the modulus of elastic resilience, (d) the ultimate stress, (e) the fracture
stress, (f) the percentage elongation, (g) the percentage reduction in
area, and (h) the toughness index number.
25

EXCERCISE-1
B. Determination of mechanical properties in tension for a brittle
material.
A cast iron tension specimen has a gage length of 50mm and a diameter
of 12mm. The maximum load equal to fracture load is 21.054 kN. The
total strain at this load is 1.25mm. Find: (a) the ultimate stress, (b) the
percentage elongation, (c) the secant modulus if the strain at a stress of
34.474 Mpa is 0.0002mm per mm, and (d) the modulus of toughness
assuming that the stress-strain curve is parabolic.

26

2.3 THE COMPRESSION TEST

Engineering materials may be divided into two general class
according to their manner of failure in compression. These are:
a. Ductile (plastic or viscous) materials: which include those which
will flow without showing any other indication of failure. E.g.
Wrought iron and soft steel.
b. Brittle materials: which include those which will crush to a powder,
or crumble to pieces, or fail by shearing on definite angles under
compressive load. E.g. Cast iron, concrete, brick and stone.

NOMINAL
STRESS
STRAIN
PROPERTIES
IN
COMPRESSION
The stress strain properties defined for tension can also be defined
for brittle materials under compression.
However the mechanical properties for ductile materials in the
plastic range can not be determined.
27

2.3 THE COMPRESSION TEST

EXCERCISE-2
A concrete cylinder 150 mm in diameter with a gage length of 250 mm
used to obtain a stress-strain curve in compression, failed at a load of
249.8 kN and a total strain of 0.472 mm. Determine: (a) the ultimate
and fracture strengths, (b) the percentage contraction at fracture, (c) the
modulus of toughness, assuming a parabolic stress-strain curve, and (d)
the secant modulus for a stress of 4.5 MPa and a total strain of 0.091
mm.

28

2.4 THE SHEAR TEST

Two types of test are used to determine the property of material in
shear. These are:
a. Direct or transverse shear test: encountered in rivets and bolts.
b. Pure or torsional shear test:
test occurs in shafts subjected to torsion.

DIRECT OR TRANSVERSE SHEAR

These tests are applied to a specimen by different means such as the
Johnsons shear tool.
The disadvantage of these types of test is that no strain readings are
recorded.
The only property obtained is an average value of the ultimate
strength in shear, which is equal to the maximum load obtained
divided by the shear area.

29

2.4 THE SHEAR TEST

DIRECT OR TRANSVERSE SHEAR

Direct or transverse shear tests

30

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

The advantage of this test is that properties such as the torsional
yield strength,
strength the modulus of elasticity in shear can be obtained
in addition to the ultimate strength in shear.
In this test, a specimen, generally of circular cross-section, is
subjected to a twist by a means of torsion testing equipment and the
twisting moment and corresponding angle of twist is recorded.
From the torque and angle of twist readings, torque-twist diagrams
are plotted.
A. Elastic strength:
strength

31

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

A. Elastic strength:
strength
The twisting moment is resisted by shear stresses set up in the crosssection of the bar.
J
MT = r
Where:

or

=MJT r

= Shear stress, MPa

MT = Twisting moment or Torque, N-m
r = Radial distance measured from center of cylinder, m
J = Polar moment of inertia, m4

32

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

A. Elastic strength:
strength
For a cylindrical specimen where J= D4/32, the maximum shear
stress is:
16M
max= MT D/2
=T
D4/32
D3

For thin walled tubular specimen, the shear stress on the outer
surface is:
16MTD1
= 4 4
(D 1- D 2)
Where :
D1= outside diameter of the tube
D2= inside diameter of the tube
33

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

A. Elastic strength:
strength
The shear strain is given by:
r
s= tan =
L
Where :
= angle of twist in radians corresponding to the torque
L= gage length of the specimen, m
The torque at the yield point (yield torque load) is defined as
Jonsons apparent elastic limit load (point A). If M TP is the value of
this torque, then the elastic shear strength is:
MTP r
p=
J
The elastic strength in torsion is sometimes measured by using offset
angle of twist to determine the yield torque M Ty at B.
MTy r
=
J
34

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

A. Elastic strength:
strength

Torque twist diagram for the elastic

range

35

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

B. Stiffness:
Stiffness
The constant of proportionality which measures the resistance to
torsional deformation or stiffness in torsion, is the modulus of
elasticity in shear Es, sometimes called the modulus of rigidity.
rigidity
= Ess
MT L
Es =
J
C. Resilience:
Resilience
This is represented by the average work per unit volume required to
stress the material in torsion to the proportional limit.
The average work per unit volume is:
Rs= Mpp . 1
2
A.L
36

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

C. Resilience:
Resilience
For a solid cross section p= MpL/EsJ, therefore,
2
M
pL
Rs=
(2EsJ) (AL)

Since Mp= Jp/r

Rs= (Jp/r )2L = p2J

(2EsJ) (AL) 2EsAr2

Since A=r2 and J= r4/4, hence

Rs= p2

4Es

Determination of modulus of resilience in shear

37

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

D. Plastic shear strength:
strength
The apparent maximum strength in torsion (or plastic shear strength
in torsion) is referred to the modulus of rupture in shear and is given
by:
MT ur
=
J
Where:
MT u = the maximum twisting moment or torque.

Torque twist diagram for the plastic range

38

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

E. Ductility:
Ductility
An approximate but more accurate method of defining ductility in
torsion is to specify the percentage elongation of an outer fiber, i.e.
Where:

DT= (L1-Lo)
Lo

100

Lo= the original length of the outer fiber

L1 = The final fracture length of an outer fiber,
F. Toughness:
Toughness in shear is the average work done per unit volume
required to fracture a specimen.
Toughness or the approximate value of the average work done per
unit volume for fracture is:
MTu f
f = the angle of twist at fracture
Ts= AL
39

PURE OR TORSIONAL SHEAR

EXCERCISE-3
A. Stress-strain properties in torsion for a ductile material.
In a torsion test of a solid, round brass specimen the yield torque
was 107 Nm and maximum torque was 158 Nm. The fracture angle
of twist was 515 and, for a torque of 96 Nm on the linear part of
the torque-twist diagram, the angle of twist was 10. A specimen
diameter of 12.70 mm and a gage length of 203mm were used.
Determine the following torsional shear properties: a) the yield
strength, (b) the stiffness or modulus of rigidity, (c) the average
modulus of elastic resilience, (d) the apparent ultimate strength or
modulus of rupture, and (e) the approximate modulus of toughness.

40

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Many members in structure are subjected to forces acting transverse
to their longitudinal axis. Such members are said to be subjected to
bending or flexure.
Basically there are two commonly adopted types of loading in
bending test:
a. Center point loading
b. Two point loading

Two point loading is considered a more accurate measure of the

bending properties for the following reasons:
The maximum moment, hence stress is applied over an appreciable
length of the specimen.
Bending stresses free from transverse shear stresses are produced for
an appreciable length of the specimen.
41

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Types of loading for bending tests

Loading

SF diagram

BM diagram
a) Center-point loading

b) Two-point loading
42

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Loads and deflections are measured to failure at predetermined
increments of load which gives a load-deflection diagram.
Ductile and brittle materials behave differently under bending.

a) Ductile material

b) Brittle material
Type A

c) Brittle material
Type B

Load-deflection diagram for ductile and brittle materials

43

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
A. Elastic strength

The elastic strength in bending is determined based on either the

proportional-limit load corresponding to Johnsons apparent elastic
limit or the yield load using the offset method.

Determination of elastic and yield loads in

bending.

44

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
A. Elastic strength

The elastic strength, defined as the maximum bending stress in the specimen
corresponding to either the proportional limit load P e or the yield load Py, is
given by:

b y =

MyC
I

Where:
My= Maximum moment in N-m corresponding to the

loads Pe or Py
(M=PL/4 and PL/2 for center- point
and two point loading respectively).
C= Distance in m from the neutral axis to the outer most
fiber, and

I= Moment of inertia of the cross-section in m4.

as
45

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
A. Elastic strength

The type of cross-section influences the elastic bending strength as

shown below:

Influence of cross-section on bending strength

46

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
B. Stiffness:

The resistance to deformation in bending in the elastic range is called

stiffness in bending and is measured by the modulus of elasticity in
bending.
bending
From the deflection-load relation and the deflection equation, the
maximum deflection is given by:
y= kb

PL3
EI
Hence for a point on the straight line portion, with load P and
deflection y, the modulus of elasticity in bending will be:

Eb= k b

PL3
yI
Kb = 1/48 for a beam under center point loading
Kb = 23/1296 for a beam under two point loading
47

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
C. Resilience:

The resilience in bending is the average work done in stressing a

specimen in bending to the proportional limit load Pp.
For simply supported beam with a center load the modulus of
resilience in bending is given as follow:
Ppyp . 1
Rb= 2 AL

For center point loading we have [yp= PpL3/48EI] and

MpC/I =PpLC/4I], using the values of yp and Pp= 4Ip/LC

[p=

p 2 . I
Rb= 6E C2A

For a specimen of rectangular cross section of width b and depth d,

I=bd3/12, C=d/2, A=bd, the resilience in the above
equation becomes:
p2
Rb= 18E
48

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
D. Plastic strength:

The stress obtained is known as the modulus of rupture in bending.

Then if Mu is the maximum value of the bending moment, the
modulus of rupture in bending is:
MuC
bu = I

E. ductility:
For brittle materials that fracture in bending, the ductility is
measured as the maximum deflection at fracture.
For ductile materials that cannot be fractured in the usual type of
loading, cold bend tests are made using apparatus such as the Olsen
cold bend machine.
49

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

Properties for the elastic and plastic range
F.

Toughness:

For brittle materials, toughness is measured by the average work done per unit
volume to fracture the specimen.
For specimen with center load, the average work done per unit volume is:
For some brittle materials the load-deflection curve may be assumed to be parabolic
so that

Tb=

2 Pfyf
3 AL
50

2.5 THE BENDING TEST

EXCERCISE-4
Determination of static bending properties.
A wood specimen 50 by 50 mm in cross-section, with a span length
of 50 mm, was tested with a center load to fracture. The
proportional limit load was 4,359 N and the maximum fracture load
was 4,982 N. For a load of 2,669 N on the linear part of the load
deflection diagram the center deflection was 1.524mm. Determine:
(a) the proportional limit, (b) the modulus of elasticity in bending,
(c) the average elastic resilience per unit volume, and (d) the
modulus of rupture.

51

2.6 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERIAL CONSTANTS

The three material constants, the modulus of elasticity in tension (E), the
modulus of elasticity in shear (Es) and the poisons ratio () are generally
used to describe the elastic behaviour of materials and are related by the
following equation.
Es=

E
2(1+)

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THANK YOU!
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