Faculty of Engineering Department of Materials Engineering

Laboratory Manual
Introduction to Materials Laboratory 0703203

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Experiment No.9
IMPACT TEST
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Done by: wissam abed Al-baqi

21911517

Instructors: Dr. Ahmad Jabareen

Objectives:

 Learning the concept of impact energy and impact strength.

 testing metallic materials and their ability to resist.

Introduction:

The impact test is a method for evaluating the toughness and notch sensitivity
of engineering materials.

Impact tests are used in studying the toughness of material. A material's toughness is a
factor of its ability to absorb energy during deformation. Brittle materials have low
toughness as a result of the small amount ofdeformation that they can endure. The impact
value of a material can also change with temperature. Generally, at lower temperatures, the
impact energy of a material is decreased. The size of the specimen may also affect the value
of the Izod impact test because it may allow a different number of imperfections in the
material, which can act as stress risers and lower the impact energy.

Impact testing most commonly consists of Charpy and IZOD Specimen configurations. The
Charpy Impact Tests are conducted on instrumented machines capable of measuring less
than 1 foot-pound to 300 foot-pounds at temperatures ranging from -320°F to over
2000°F. Impact test specimen types include notch configurations such as V-Notch, U-
Notch, Key-Hole Notch.

The load is applied as an impact blow from a weighted pendulum hammer that is released
from a position at a fixed height h. The specimen is positioned at the base and with the
release of pendulum, which has a knife edge, strikes and fractures the specimen at the
notch. The pendulum continues its swing, rising a maximum height h' which should be
lower than h naturally. The energy absorbed at fracture E can be obtained by simply
calculating the difference in potential energy of the pendulum before and after the test such
as:

E = m.g.(h-h')

Where m is the mass of pendulum and g is the gravitational acceleration.

Body centered cubic (bcc) metals, particularly steels, often exhibit a decrease in impact
energy as the temperature is lowered. The temperature at which a sharp decrease in impact
energy occurs is called the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) as shown in
Figure2 schematically. This transition temperature is generally chosen as a lower limit for
the application of such metals.

The impact strength is defined according to the equation:

Impact strength (kj/m2) = Absorbed energy / cross sectional area under the notch
Materials:

Notched specimens of:

• Copper

• Steel

• Heat treated steel

Apparatus:

• Charpy impact test instrument

. • Digital caliper

Procedure:

1. The zero calibration of the impact test is verified.

2. The sample is held in place in the device.

3. The test has started.

4. The energy effect is recorded.

Collected Raw Data:

● The impact energy of each sample was recorded.

● The sample dimensions, incision shape and dimensions are recorded.

L (mm) D (m)
6,15 mm 1.20 m

The impact energy (j) specimens

12,7 j Steel (low carbon)
2,5 j Copper
12,1 j Steel( high carbon)
Calculations:

E= (mg).(h-h')

Impact strength (kj/m2) = Absorbed energy / cross sectional area under the notch

Materials

E1:

E2:

E3:

Discussion:

Notched-bar impact test of metals provides information on failure mode under high
velocity loading conditions leading sudden fracture where a sharp stress raiser (notch) is
present. The fracture surfaces for low energy impact failures, indicating brittle behavior,
are relatively smooth and have crystalline appearance in the metals. On the contrary, those
for high energy fractures, indicating ductile behavior, have regions of shear where the
fracture surface is inclined about 45° to the tensile stress, and have rougher and more
highly deformed appearance, called fibrous fracture.

Some of the factors affecting the results are:

● Shape and dimensions of the notch.

● The lattice type of materials.

● Testing temperature.
● Thermo-mechanical history.

● Chemical composition of materials.

● Degree of strain hardening.

● Presence of lattice defects and micro cracks.

Conclusions

The purpose of an impact test is to determine the ability of the material to absorb energy
during a collision. This energy may be used to determine the toughness, impact strength,
fracture resistance, impact resistance or fracture resistance of the material depending on
the test that was performed and the characteristic that is to be determined. These values are
important for the selection of materials that will be used in applications that require the
material to undergo very rapid loading processes such as in vehicular collisions.

For a single impact test the three most popular types of test are the Charpy V-notch test, the
Izod test and the Tensile Impact test. These three tests all essentially determine the same
characteristics of the material but differ in the orientation of the test sample which causes
the sample to be stressed in different directions and involve a known weight released from a
known height colliding with the specimen in its test fixture. All of these tests are useful in
determining the impact mechanics of the test specimen.