Lab 8: Tensile Testing

1. INTRODUCTION The mechanical properties of materials are determined by performing carefully designed laboratory experiments that replicate as nearly as possible the service conditions. In real life, there are many factors involved in the nature in which loads are applied on a material. The following are some common examples of modes in which loads might be applied: tensile, compressive, and shear. These properties are important in materials selections for mechanical design. Other factors that often complicate the design process include temperature and time factors. The topic of this lab is confined to the tensile property of polymers. igure ! shows a tensile testing machine similar to the one used in this lab. This test is a destructive method, in which a specimen of a standard shape and dimensions "prepared according to ASTM D 638: standard test method for tensile properties of plastics# is sub$ected to an axial load. %uring a typical tensile experiment, a dog&bone shaped specimen is gripped at its two ends and is pulled to elongate at a determined rate to its brea'point( a highly ductile polymer may not reach its brea'point. The tensile tester used in this lab is manufactured by Instron "model ))*+#. It has a
igure !. / photograph of a tensile machine Instron ))*+

maximum load of , or )- '. and a variable pulling rate. The setup of the experiment could be changed to "e.g. compression test, etc#.

accommodate different types of mechanical testing, according to the /0T1 standard

or analytical purposes, a plot of stress "2# versus strain "3# is constructed during a tensile test experiment, which can be done automatically on the software provided by the instrument manufacturer. 0tress, in the metric system, is usually measured in .4m , or 5a, such that ! .4m, 6 ! 5a. rom the experiment, the value of stress is calculated by dividing the amount of force "F# applied by the machine in the axial direction by its cross&sectional area "A#, which is measured prior to running the experiment. 1athematically, it is expressed in 78uation !. The strain values, which have no units, can be calculated using 78uation ,, where L is the instantaneous length of the specimen and L0 is the initial length.
=
F A

"78uation !# "78uation ,#

L LL-

/ typical stress&strain curve would loo' li'e

igure ,. The stress&strain curve

shown in igure , is a textboo' example of a stress&strain curve. In reality, not all stress& strain curves perfectly resemble the one shown in igure ,. This stress&strain curve is typical for ductile metallic elements. /nother thing to ta'e note is that igure , shows an 9engineering stress-strain: curve. ;hen a material reaches its ultimate stress strength of the stress&strain curve, its cross&sectional area reduces dramatically, a term 'nown as necking. ;hen the computer software plots the stress&strain curve, it assumes that the cross sectional area stays constant throughout even the experiment, during

nec'ing, therefore causing the curve to slope down. The 9true: by stress&strain installing a curve could be constructed directly

igure ,. <arious regions and points on the stress&strain curve.

9gauge,: which measures the change in the cross sectional area of the specimen throughout the experiment. Theoretically, even without measuring the cross&sectional area of the specimen during the tensile experiment, the 9true: stress&strain curve could still be constructed by assuming that the volume of the material stays the same. =sing this concept, both the true stress "T# and the true strain "T# could be calculated using 78uations > and ?, respectively. The derivation of these e8uations is beyond the scope of this lab report. @onsult any standard mechanics textboo' to learn more about these e8uations. In these e8uations, L0 refers to the initial length of the specimen, L refers to the instantaneous length and refers to the instantaneous stress.
T =
L L-

"78uation ># "78uation ?#

L T = ln L-

igure , also shows that a stress&strain curve is divided into four regions: elastic, yielding, strain hardening "commonly occurs in metallic materials#, and nec'ing. The area under the curve represents the amount of energy needed to accomplish each of these 9events.: The total area under the curve "up to the point of fracture# is also 'nown as the modulus o toughness. This represents the amount of energy needed to brea' the sample, which could be compared to the impact energy of the sample, determined from im!act tests. The area under the linear region of the curve is 'nown as the modulus o resilience. This represents the minimum amount of energy needed to deform the sample. The linear region of the curve of igure ," which is called the elastic region "past this region, is called the plastic region#, is the region where a material behaves elastically. The material will return to its original shape when a force is released while the material is in its elastic region. The slope of the curve, which can be calculated using 78uation ), is a constant and is an intrinsic property of a material 'nown as the elastic modulus, #. In metric units, it is usually expressed in 5ascals "5a#.

#=

"78uation )#

>

igure >"a# shows typical stress&strain curves of polymers. The figure shows that materials that are hard and brittle do not deform very much before brea'ing and have very steep elastic moduli. The mechanical property of polymers generally depends on their degree of crystallinity, molecular weights and glass transition temperature, Tg. Aighly crystalline polymeric materials with a Tg above the room temperature are usually brittle, and vice versa. ;hen a semi&crystalline polymer undergoes a tensile test, the amorphous chains, will become aligned. This is usually evident for transparent and translucent materials, which become opa8ue upon turning crystalline. igure >"b# shows a diagram showing the mechanical property of some common polymers.

"a#

"b#

igure >. "a# / plot of stress&strain curves of typical polymeric materials. "b# / summary diagram of the properties of common polymers.

2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Important! 1a'e sure you wear safety glasses before starting any operation. Bour eyes could be hurt by a bro'en piece of polymer. /lso wear gloves to protect against any residue on the machine and samples. ,.! 0pecimen 5reparation The polymer specimens were in$ection&molded into dog&bone shapes. Their dimensions were determined according to the ASTM D 638 standard mentioned earlier in the introduction. "!# 1easure the thic'ness, width and gage length of polymer samples in mm. These dimensions should be approximately the same for each sample. ",#/lso ma'e note of any sample defects "e.g. impurities, air bubbles, etc.#. The following samples will be tested: !# 5olypropylene "55#, polystyrene "50#, polylactic acid "biopolymer#, high density polyethylene "A%57#, and %ynaflex for analysis of mechanical properties. ,# 5olystyrene: to compare effects of feeding direction on mechanical properties. ># 5olypropylene: to analyCe effects of strain rate on mechanical properties. ,., Dluehill 0oftware 0etup !# Turn on the tensile test machine. The switch is located on the right side of the machine. /lso turn on the video extensometer. ",# Eo to the des'top and double&clic' on the 9Dluehill: icon. "># On the main page, select Test to start a new sample. .ame your test and clic' Drowse to select the folder you would li'e to save it in. @lic' next. "?# @hoose which method you would li'e to use. @reate and save a new method if needed. ")# 1ethod set up: 0ave after any changes are made. Eeneral: used for display purposes

0pecimen: specifies sample dimensions and parameters. / dogbone sample is used for tensile testing. 0elect rectangular, and specify the width, thic'ness and gauge length of the sample. The gauge length is the distance between the clamps before starting the test.

@ontrol: describes the actual test. 0elect extension for mode of displacement, then specify the rate of extension. 1ost use ) mm4min or )- min4mm, depending on if you want a slow or fast test.

7nd of Test: identifies the criteria for the end of the test. / large load drop is experienced when sample failure occurs. will stop. or this test, when the sample load drops by a certain percentage of the pea' load, the machine

%ata: specifies if the data is ac8uired manually or automatically, while the strain tab recogniCes whether the strain is measured from the video extensimeter or the extension.

Fesults and Eraphs: select what data is shown and how it is displayed.

,.> Instrument 0etup "!# 1a'e sure the proper load cell is installed, either , '. or )- '. depending on the load range and sensitivity of the sample. To switch load cells, ma'e sure the machine is off. =nscrew the bolts and remove using the handle. 1a'e sure to plug the new load cell into the port behind the machine. ",# @alibrate the load cell by clic'ing on the button in the upper right hand corner. 1a'e sure all loads are removed from the load cell and clic' calibrate. "># Install the correct type of clamps for the testing. needed. Gero the load once the clamps are installed. "?# 5ress the up and down arrows on the controller until the clamps are $ust touching . 5ress the reset gauge length button at the top of the screen to Cero the position of the clamps. ")# =se the up and down arrows until the clamps are about !-- mm apart. This is a typical gauge length for the dog bone samples. * or tensile testing, )'. or )-'. samples can be used. Install the clamps using the pins. /lso install height brac'ets if

"*# 5lace the polymer sample between the grips of both the tensile test machine. ;hile holding the sample vertically with one hand, use another hand to turn the handle of the top grip in the closing direction as tightly as possible. "The specimen should be gripped such that the two ends of the specimen are covered by the grip, approximately > mm away from its gage&length. It is important that the specimens are tightly gripped onto the specimen grips to prevent slipping, which will otherwise result in experimental errors. # "8#1a'e sure that the specimen is vertically aligned, if not a torsional force, rather than axial force, will result. "+# Turn the bottom handle in the 9close: direction as tightly as possible. <isually verify that the sample is gripped symmetrically at its two ends. "!-#Gero the extension by pushing Cero extension button at the top of the screen. /lso Cero the load if needed. ;ait for a few seconds to let the computer return its value to Cero. ,.? Tensile Test "!# 7nter geometry of the sample before starting. ",# @lic' on the 0tart button. Doth the upper and bottom grips will start moving in opposite directions according to the specified pulling rate. Observe the experiment at a safe distance "about !.) meters away# at an angle and ta'e note of the failure mode when the specimen fails. ".OT7: De sure to wear safety glasses. %o not come close to e8uipment when the tensile test is running#. "># / plot of tensile stress "15a# versus tensile strain "mm4mm# will be generated in real& time during the experiment. ,.* 7nd of Test "!# The machine will stop automatically when the sample is bro'en. ",# 5ress the 9Feturn: button on the digital controller. Doth the upper and lower grips will be returned to their original positions automatically. "># Turn the two handles in the open directions to remove the sample

"?# Fepeat the previous steps for any additional tests. ")# ;hen finished, save your file and clic' inish. This will export your data into a 5% and individual data files. "*# @lean up any bro'en fragments from the specimens. "H# Turn off the machine and exit the program when finished.

3. ASSIGNMENTS Eraph 55 ")- mm4mm extension#, 50 ", feed inputs#, 5L/, A%57 and %ynaflex results using raw data files. There should be two tests for each polymer, but $ust pic' one to graph. @onstruct the true stress&strain curves for each polymer "hint: use 78uations "># and "?# provided in the $ntroduction section#. @alculate BoungIs 1odulus for each material and testing condition and compare experimental values with literature values. %iscuss any differences in mechanical behavior between the polymers "use picturesJ# /nalyCe the fracture modes of each sample "ductile fracture, brittle fracture, or intermediate fracture mode#. =sing the data for polypropylene, discuss the effects of strain rate on the mechanical behavior of the polymers. =sing the data for polystyrene, compare effects of feed direction on the mechanical behavior. 7xplain any unexpected results.