EXPERIMENT NO.

2
TENSILE TEST OF REINFORCING STEEL BARS

Plain/ Deformed Round Bars

Structural Grade Intermediate Grade Hard Grade (415)
(230) (275)
Ultimate
Strength,
KN 0.39 0.48 0.62
mm2
(Minimum Value)
Yield
Strength,
KN 0.23 0.275 0.410
mm2
(Minimum Value)
Elongation d<25mm, 18% d<25mm, 10% d<25mm, 8%
d>25mm, 16% d>25mm, 8% d>25mm, 7%
Objectives:

 To determine the suitability of reinforcing steel bars for concrete reinforcement by performance
of tensile test using ASTM Designation A 370.
 To determine the grade of steel bars.

Discussion of Principles:

The tensile test is the most widely used in mechanical property test. The intent is to measure
the inherent material behavior. In this exercise, based on standard tensile test of American Society for
Testing and Material (ASTM), the tensile loads are applied to a specimen of 500 mm in length and 10
mm - 70 mm diameter with a gage length of 200 mm. The applied axial loads, deformation, stresses
and strains shall be calculated during the process. From the stress and strain data, the diagram for
stress-strain is obtainable. It conveys important information about the mechanical properties and type
of behavior of the material.

There are tests in which specified deformation and tensile force are applied and measured
respectively. The test is used much less often than the applied loading test. The initial cross-sectional
area used to calculate the stress, is called nominal stress. A more exact value of the axial stress is
known as the true stress, which is calculated by using the actual area of the specimen. For nominal
strain, the initial length is used in the calculation. To get the true strain, the actual length should be
used. In our test, we use nominal stress and strain.

Plain and deformed are the two classes of steel bars that are commonly used. These are
further classified into three grades – structural intermediate, and hard. Standard sizes of deformed
bars are listed in Table l. The standard sizes of plain are designated by their nominal diameters.

Table I. Tensile Requirements

*Table is based on Philippine National Standard provided by MIRDC.

Where: d is the diameter of the deformed bar

Related Research:

Stress vs. Strain

*Properties of Engineering Materials (Higgins, Raymond)

Figure 2-1: Stress and Strain Diagram

Engineering stress-strain diagram (Figure 1) are use to relate stress and strain of a material in
which the engineering strain and stress are plotted as ordinate and abscissa, respectively. The
stresses are computed by dividing the load by the initial area of the specimen, i.e., the area at the
beginning of the test at quite high stresses, the diameter of the cross section decreases appreciably
as elongation occurs. Therefore, the stress based on the initial area of the specimen will not give a
true stress. The true stress acting on the specimen at any instant is computed by dividing the load
acting at that instant by the actual cross-sectional area.

*Engineering Materials and Processes by Donald S. Clark

List of Apparatus:

 Shimadzu Universal Testing Machine UH-A-C Series, Computer Controlled Hydraulic Servo
System.

 Apple iPhone 4S 16GB (used as camera for observation of the UTM)

 Center Punch
 Ball Hammer
 Measuring Tape
 Masking Tape
 Electronic Balance
 Caliper
 Plain and Deformed Round Bars
Procedures:

1. Measure and mark 150 mm in length from each end of both prepared bars.
2. Determine the weight of the specimens.
3. Determine the actual cross sectional area of both bars.

4. Determine the average space of lugs.

5. Determine the average height of lugs.
6. Determine the summation of gaps.

NOTE: FOR DEFORMED BARS ONLY

 7. Get data from generated results.
8. Compute for other necessary data.
9. Fill-up the preliminary data sheet completely.

Computation for Variations in Mass:

Computation for Percent Elongation:

Computation for Reduction Area:

Drawing:
Questions:

1. Why would an engineer be interested in the yield strength of a metal for a particular
application?

It is for the engineer to know the extent of force needed to deform the metal, thus knowing the
extent of force that can be carried by the metal.

2. Distinguish clearly between proportional limit and elastic limit.

Proportional limit is the limit in which the material can still sustain its original form while the
elastic limit is the limit in which the material will break.

3. How seriously are the results of the tension test of reinforcement bar affected if the
specimen dimensions vary a little from the standard?

The matter content of the reinforced bar is significantly different from the standard round bar,
this is why there are big differences with the results of the tensile test.

4. Why is necessary to state the gage length when reporting the percentage elongation?

Because each ends of the gage length serves as the “pulling area” of the UTM.

5. Are wedge grips suitable for tests of brittle materials? Explain.

No, because any miscalculation with the securing of the material can easily break the material
itself.

6. Distinguish between yield point and yield strength?

Yield point is the point where in the material tested starts to change shape while the yield
strength is the force needed to change the shape of the material itself.
Computations:
Discussion of Experiment:

What is Tensile Testing?

Tensile testing, also known as tension testing, is a fundamental materials science test in which

a sample is subjected to a controlled tension until failure. The results from the test are commonly
used to select a material for an application, for quality control, and to predict how a material will react
under other types of forces. Properties that are directly measured via a tensile test are ultimate tensile
strength, maximum elongation and reduction in area. [1]

Why Perform a Tensile Test or Tension Test?

You can learn a lot about a substance from tensile testing. As you continue to pull on the
material until it breaks, you will obtain a good, complete tensile profile. A curve will result showing
how it reacted to the forces being applied. [2]
Recommendation:

I recommend that the UTM Center be expanded so that more students and more equipment
can be accommodated. Some of my classmates almost skipped their next class due to time
constraints caused by the time wasted by separating the class into two groups. The second group
was actually given lesser time than those members of the first.

This is where it came in to mind that the school should improve the facility by having the room
ready for a class for 30-40 students simultaneously so that the students may have more time in
preparing the necessary requirements needed for the day.
Conclusion:

Tensile test is a test done by engineers in order to know how strong a material is. It records
yield, ultimate, and break stress and force to analyze what are the limits of the material.

This test is important for all of us in our daily lives because this tells us that we should not just
use and abuse all the things that surround us but instead, we should learned its limits and use it just
as how it’s supposed to be used.
References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensile_testing
2. http://www.instron.us/wa/glossary/Tension-Test.aspx?ref=http://www.google.com.ph/url
 Mapua Institute of Technology
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

ME136P/A1
Materials Testing and Processes

Experiment # 2
TENSILE TEST OF REINFORCING STEEL BARS

NATIVIDAD, Richard Paul M. 04/29/2013

2011100208 05/06/2013
ME-2

Engr. Edward Ang

Professor