Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Introduction
 During the application/ service, many materials are subjected to forces or loads
 Thus understanding of the relationship between microstructure of the materials
(internal structure) & their mechanical properties are very important

STRESS (σ):
 Internal reaction of a structure to externally applied load; external load and
internal stress are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
 σ = force / area
 Units: MN/m2 = MPa (M = 106)
 Types:

-Tension
- Compression
- Shear
-Torsion

STRAIN (ε):
 Change in length per unite initial length;
 ε =L – Lo / Lo= ∆L / Lo
 Units: dimensionless
 Types:
- Elastic strain.
- Plastic strain.

Tension
Tensile stress, σ:

1
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Compression

-The force is in compressive form

-The specimen contracts along the direction of the stress
-Compressive force is taken to be –ve, thus yields –ve stress
-Since Lo is greater than L, the compressive strains are also -ve

Shear Sress – Shear Strain

Shear stress, τ = F/A0

F is applied parallel to upper and lower faces each having area A0.

Shear strain, γ = tan θ = w/l0 (* 100 %), θ is strain angle

2
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Torsion

STRESS – STRAIN DIAGRAM

Tension/Tensile Test
 Tensile test determines the strength of the material when subjected to a simple
stretching operation. Strength and stress are not the same thing. Stress is a
function of the applied load while strength is a material property.
 Uniform stressed state is formed over the cross section of a smooth specimen
of either circular or rectangular cross section.
 Typically, test samples of standard dimension are pulled slowly at a constant
rate (strain rates between 10-5 and 100 per second) in a testing machine

Tensile Test Equipment

The specimen to be tested is clamped by two grips. The grips are driven by a powerful
hydraulic actuator. Once the specimen has been attached to the grips, the vertical
movements of the grips generate the desired loading on the specimen.

3
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Engineering Stress (σ);

F – Load applied perpendicular to the specimen cross section (N)

Ao – original cross section area (m2)
The unit of σ = MPa (where 1MPa= 106 N/ m2)

Engineering Strain

Tensile strain: Lateral strain:

Where;
δ = change in length
Lo = original length before load is applied
Strain is always dimensionless

Stress-Strain Behavior

4
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Elastic Deformation

 Reversible: when the stress is removed, the material returns to the dimensions
it had before the loading.
 Usually strains are small (except for the case of some plastics, e.g. rubber).
 In tensile tests, if the deformation is elastic, the stress strain relationship is
called Hooke's law:

σ=Eε

E is Young's modulus or modulus of elasticity, has the same units as σ, N/m2 or Pa

5
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Nonlinear Elastic Behavior

In some materials (many polymers, concrete...), elastic deformation is not linear, but it
is still reversible.

6
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Poisson's ratio, ν

Poisson’s ratio (v) is defined as the ratio of lateral and axial strain

The maximum value of v is 0.5

For many metal and alloys, values of v range between 0.2 to 0.35
Units:
E: [GPa], ν: dimensionless

Shear Modulus

Relationship of shear stress to shear strain:

τ=Gγ
G is Shear Modulus (Units: N/m2 or Pa)

7
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Plastic Deformation

 stress and strain are not proportional to each other

 the deformation is not reversible

Tensile Properties: Yielding

Yield strength σy - is chosen as that causing a permanent strain of 0.002

Yield point P - the strain deviates from being proportional to the stress (the
proportional limit)

The yield stress is a measure of resistance to plastic deformation

8
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

 Some steel and other materials exhibit stress strain behavior which
demonstrating the yield point phenomenon
 Thus it not necessary to employ the strain offset method to determine the
yield strength
 Yield strength = average stress that is associated with the lower yield point

Tensile Strength

If stress = tensile strength is maintained then specimen will eventually break

9
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

For structural applications, the yield stress is usually a more important property than
the tensile strength, since once the yield stress has passed, the structure has deformed
beyond acceptable limits.

Tensile properties: Ductility

Ductility is a measure of the deformation at fracture

Defined by percent elongation (plastic tensile strain at failure)

or percent reduction in area

Toughness

• Energy to break a unit volume of material

• Approximate by the area under the stress-strain curve.

10
 Lecture 5 Mechanical Properties

Brittle fracture: elastic energy

Ductile fracture: elastic + plastic energy
Units: the energy per unit volume, e.g. J/m3

True Stress and Strain

True stress = load divided by actual area in the necked-down region (Ai):

σT = F/Ai
Sometimes it is convenient to use true strain defined as εT = ln(li/lo)

True stress continues to rise to the point of fracture, in contrast to the engineering
stress.

11