SOLID MECHANICS LAB

IMPACT TEST
Ravi Agarwal 9003017

Objectives: To get familiarize with impact test methodology, machine and to finally determine the material toughness of the given material samples. To fully understand the concepts of:a. Ductile and brittle behaviour of materials. b. Transition from Ductile to Brittle and vice-versa. c. Notch sensitivity of material for ductile-Brittle behaviour.

Procedure:1. Make the following notches on different materials that are V-notch to Brass, saw-cut notch to aluminium, key-hole notch to mild steel. 2. Raise the pendulum till 150 degree position and then release the pendulum (free run) to measure the energy losses due to friction. 3. Now place the given test specimen one by one i.e. aluminium, Mild steel and brass at room temperature to perform the test: Raise the pendulum and place the test specimen using a self centring tong. The pendulum strikes on the side opposite to the notch and machine determines the energy absorbed by the test specimen by precisely measuring the decrease in motion of the pendulum arm. Follow similar process for rest test specimens at room temperature. For the test specimen at low temperature follow the same process, but take care that the time taken between removing the specimen from bath and performing the impact should be less. 4. Note down all the readings. They are listed in table 1 and table 2 for the corresponding test specimens. Use these readings to calculate the toughness of each specimen.

Theory:Toughness is a measure of the amount of energy a material can absorb before fracturing. It becomes of engineering importance when the ability of a material to withstand an impact load without fracturing is considered. Impact test conditions were chosen to represent those most severe relative to the potential for fracture, namely, (1) deformation at a relatively low temperature, (2) a high strain rate (i.e., rate of deformation), and (3) a triaxial stress state (which may be introduced by the presence of a notch). The Charpy impact test, first proposed by Frenchman George Charpy, measures the amount of energy absorbed by a knotched prismatic test piece during fracture at high strain rate. This absorbed energy is a measure of the toughness of a material. The absorbed energy divided by the minimum cross-sectional area is the Charpy Impact Strength. The smaller the impact energy the more brittle is the alloy. Toughness is the resistance to fracture of a material when subjected to high speed strain. In general, a solder that has high ductility deforms by plastic flow so the impact strength is high. By contact a solder with a high

yield point but low ductility fractures in a brittle manner and has a low impact strength against impact. Izod impact test can also be used to measure the toughness. In the Izod impact test, the test piece is a cantilever, clamped upright in an anvil, with a V-notch at the level of the top of the clamp. The test piece is hit by a striker carried on apendulum which is allowed to fall freely from a fixed height, to give a blow of 120 ft lb energy. After fracturing the test piece, the height to which the pendulum rises is recorded bya slave friction pointer mounted on the dial, from which the absorbed energy amount is read. The principle of Charpy testing machine differs from that of the Izod test in that the test piece is tested as a beam supported at each end; a notch is cut across the middle of one face, and the strikerhits the opposite face directly behind the notch. When the results of a number of tests performed in different temperatures are plotted, ductile-to-brittle transition curves, as in Fig. 3, may be obtained. As the temperature isreduced through the transition range, the fracture surface changes from one having a 'fibrous'or 'silky' appearance with much distortion at the sides, to one of completely crystallineappearance with negligible distortion. There is a strong correlation between the energyabsorbed and the proportion of the cross-section which suffers deformation in fracture, and thefracture surface is frequently described in terms of the percentage of its area which iscrystalline in appearance. Typical fracture appearances with crystallinity increases as thetemperature is reduced.

Figure 1. Izod impact test specimen and Charpy impact test specimen (a) and an impact test system

Figure 2 displays a photo of a Charpy impact test system.

Test Specimen: Specimens used for the experiment have a particular type of notch. Every specimen has different kind of notch. Notch provides stress concentration so that the material acts as brittle material. Each notch has particular dimension and angle associated with them.The standard Charpys Test specimenconsist of a bar of metal, or other material, 55x10x10mm having a notch machined across one of the larger dimensions. V-notch: 2mm deep, with 45 angle and 0.25mm radius along the base. U-notch and keyhole notch: 5mm deep notch with 1mm radius at base of notch. 1) V-Notch: (Brass)

2) Sawcut

notch:-

(Alluminium)

3) Key

hole

notch:

-(Mild

steel)

Specimens having standard proportions but different absolute size produce different values for toughness. This results because the stress states adjacent to the flaw changes with the specimen thickness until the thickness exceeds some critical dimension.

Observations and Calculations:Current angle Absorbed energy frictional) Impact strength Pendulum Energy -150.5 to 0.21 23.51 150

(due

Toughness (Actual absorbed energy) = Absorbed energy + loss = Absorbed energy + 0.21

Specimen Aluminium Brass Iron Material Aluminium Brass Iron

Current Angle -150.4 -150.2 -150.5 Absorbed energy 5.37 2.48 23.03

Absorbed Energy 6.48 2.33 26.28 Impact strength 67.18 31.06 287.89

Pendulum Energy 150 150 150

Impact strength 81.01 29.15 348.49

Toughness 6.69 2.54 26.49 Final State Unbroken Broke Unbroken

Final State Unbroken Broken unbroken

Toughness 5.58 2.69 23.24

Result:1. Toughness of given material samples is calculated and the following order of toughness is obtained at room temperature : Mild steel >Aluminium> Brass Table for specimens which are at room temperature: SPECIMEN Aluminium 1 Aluminium 2 Brass 1 Brass 2 Mild Steel 1 Mild Steel 2 EFFECT OF IMPACT Not Broken Not Broken Broken Broken Broken Not Broken

Table for cold specimens: SPECIMEN Aluminium 1 Brass 1 Mild Steel 1 EFFECT OF IMPACT Unbroken Broken Unbroken

2. Impact strength also follows the same order. Ductile material can withstand sudden impact upto an extent but brittle material brakes suddenly as a result iron broke into two pieces while aluminium and brass did not.

Discussions and conclusions:1. There are several variables that have a profound influence on the impact energy which directly affect the toughness of a material. These variables are: Yield Strength and Ductility. Notches (depth of notch and root curvature). Temperature and Strain Rate. Fracture Mechanism (brittle or ductile, etc.). Increasing the yield strength of a metal by processes such as cold work, precipitation strengthening and substitutional or interstitial solution strengthening generally decreases the ductility.Increasing the yield strength by some mechanism, except for grain size reduction, therefore decreases the Charpy impact energy since less plastic work can be done before the strain in the plastic zone is sufficient to fracture the test specimen. An increase in yield strength can also affect the impact energy by causing a change in the fracture mechanism.

Figure :- The yield strength, tensile strength and ductility. See text for discussion.

The notch in the test specimen has two effects. Both can decrease the impact energy. First, the notch acts as a stress concentrator in the specimen. It greatly amplify the stress around the notch for a uniformly applied load. The stress concentration of the notch causes yielding or plastic deformation to occur (locally) at the notch area. A plastic hinge can develop at the notch, which reduces the total amount of plastic deformation in the test specimen. This reduces the work done by plastic deformation before fracture. Secondly, the constraint of deformation at the notch increases the tensile stress in the plastic zone. The degree of constraint depends on the severity of the notch (depth and sharpness or root curvature). The increased tensile stress encourages fracture and reduces the work done by plastic deformation before fracture occurs.Some materials are more sensitive to notches than others, and a standard notch tip radius and notch depth are therefore used to enable comparison between different materials. The Charpy impact test therefore indicates the notch sensitivity of a material. Since the Charpy impact energy comprises mostly of the (local) plastic work of the (local) yielding of the specimen, it is affected by factors which change the yield behavior of the material, such as temperature and strain rate. It is through their effect that the motions of dislocations are influenced. Increasing the yield strength by lowering temperatures or raising the strain rates may impart effect on the ductility of the material, and therefore influences the Charpy impact energy. The yield strength of body centred cubic (BCC) metals is more sensitive to strain rate and temperature than that of facecentred cubic (FCC) metals. The Charpy impact energy is affected by changes in the fracture mechanisms. 2. The Ductile to Brittle transformation:- The Charpy impact test is used to determine the ductile to brittle transition behavior of a metal. It's very important to realize that the ductile to brittle transition is defined in terms of the fracture energy. A brittle fracture is a low energy fracture and a ductile fracture is a high energy fracture. 3. The Charpy impact test can be used to assess the relative toughness of different materials, e.g. steel and aluminum, as a tool for materials selection in design. It may also be used for quality control, to ensure that the material being produced reaches a minimum specified toughness level.

Bibliography: ASTM E23 - 07ae1 Standard Test Methods for Notched Bar Impact Testing of Metallic Materials Wikipedia From Charpys to present impact testing By D. Franois, Andr Pineau http://practicalmaintenance.net/?p=968, www.google.com