1 | ME Lab Tensile Testing of Metals

Tensile Testing of Metals

1. Objective:

In this experiment, the plastic deformation behavior and the onset of plastic instability of mild steel
specimens will be investigated. The usual mechanical properties such as tensile strength, yield strength
and ductility will be measured from a simple tension test using stress strain curves, in addition, strain
hardening exponent (n) and the onset of plastic instability will be studied. The main objective of this
experiment is to investigate the following.

● Yield, ultimate and fracture stress,

● Strain at fracture
● Strain hardening exponent (n)
● Strength coefficient (K)

2. Tensile Testing Standard

ASTM E8 - Tensile testing of metals

3. Equipment and material required:

1. 100kN Universal Testing Machine with hydraulic wedge grips of suitable dimensions.
2. Specimen- Tensile test specimen manufactured according to ASTM E8 standard.

4. Description of Apparatus:

Universal testing machine used for this experiment is BiSS UTM with 100kN capacity. The specimen is
held at ends by means of grips with the grip holder of the cross head. The bottom end of the specimen
is moved with help of an actuator while the other end is attached to a mobile cross-head.
Customizable, energy-efficient Hydraulic Power Supply for best results, 0 – 200 Hz cyclic frequency.
Hydraulic Lifts and Clamps for upper cross head movement and locking, actuator on top/bottom
crosshead. Mechanical/Hydraulic anti vibration pads along with hard chrome plated columns. Frame
stiffness 600 kN/mm. Touch screen/Operator control panel for basic machine operation viz., hydraulics
on/off, low/high pressure, E-stop, actuator jogging up/down slow/fast, cross head height adjustment &
lock/unlock, hydraulic grips operation etc. Intelligent mount feature protects the sample during test
set-up. Specimen mountings start in stroke control mode and automatically switch to load control
mode whenever specified load is applied. The equipment can measure displacement through an
extensometer or otherwise via a displacement sensor attached to the bottom actuator.

5. Theory:

Tension test is a simple test used for finding the strength of materials using a UTM machine. A standard
specimen as seen in Fig. 1 is gripped on both ends and subjected to increasing axial load. The stress

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applied is measured using a load cell. Strain on the specimen is measured using an extensometer. A
metallic material, when loaded in tension, initially deforms plastically. Under elastic limit the material
usually obeys Hooke’s Law given by σ = ε E.where σ is stress, ε is strain and E is Young’s modulus/
Modulus of Elasticity. Beyond the elastic limit (linear), the material behavior is said to be plastic. The
deformation in plastic behavior is permanent. Plastic deformation commences after elastic
deformation, which is represented in the stress-strain diagram by yielding. Some materials do not show
yielding – materials such as copper. The stress at yield point is called yield strength. In case of materials
which do not show pronounced yielding, the yield point strength is defined by 0.2% proof strength. This
is obtained by 0.2% offset on the strain.

The plastic portion of the stress-strain curve is non-linear. As the specimen gets loaded beyond yield
point, the curve reaches a maximum. The stress corresponding to this maximum point – known as
ultimate tensile strength, true stress [ UTS].

Fig. 1: 100 kN UTM machine and stress-strain curve

Fig. 2: Tensile test specimen

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UTS = Pmax/Ao ---------------------------------------------------------------- (1)

Until this point there is uniform reduction in the area of the cross section of the specimen. After the
point of maximum engineering stress, with continued loading, the specimen forms a neck – which has
low area of cross-section – due to concentration of stress locally. Necking is localized deformation. After
necking begins, the deformation is restricted to the necked region alone. With further loading, the
engineering stress drops beyond the necking point, till the point of fracture. Fracture essentially occurs
at the necked region, due to the triaxial state of stress in the neck region and because the material
cross-section in the neck region is very small. The strain at the point of fracture is called total strain.

6. Terminology

(a) Hooke’s law :

- The stress is directly proportional to the strain within elastic region

𝛔 = E𝜖 ---------------------------------------------------------------- (2)
(b) Power law :
- The true stress – true strain relation in the plastic portion is given by the power law expression.
- The Hollomon equation describes strain hardening as a power law function of 𝜎 & 𝜀

---------------------------------------------------------------- (3)

- The second equation is Ludwik's equation. It is often preferred because it includes the stress up
to the yield point, not just the stress produced by strain hardening

---------------------------------------------------------------- (4)

(c) Yield stress (𝜎0) :

- The first stress maximum (stress at first zero slope) associated with discontinuous yielding.
- Stress required to produce a small specified amount of plastic deformation, offset 0.2%
(d) Proportional limit:
- The highest stress at which the stress is directionally proportional to strain, observing the
deviation from the straight line (linearity).
(e) Elastic limit:
- Greater stress the material can withstand without any measurable permanent strain remaining
on the complete release of load
(f) Strain-hardening exponent (n) :
- An increase in hardness and strength caused by plastic deformation.
(g) Strength coeffıcient (K) :
- An experimental constant, computed from the fit of the data to the assumed power curve, that
is numerically equal to the extrapolated value of true stress at a true strain of 1.00.

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7. True stress and true strain

True stress is defined as ratio of load applied to instantaneous cross-section area, σ = P/A. True strain is
defined as change in gage length divided by instantaneous gage length. It is given as:

ε =∫ 𝑑𝑙/𝑙 = ln(l/l0) = 2ln [d0/d] ---------------------------------------------------------------- (5)

For small strains, we can take both engineering and true strains to be equal. However, true strains are
more consistent with real phenomena. Advantage of using true strain is apparent from the fact that
total true strain is equal to sum of incremental true strains.

Fig. 3: Stress-Strain curve for the mild steel (ductile material)

True strains for equivalent amounts of tensile and compressive deformations are equal, only differing in
sign. True stress and engineering stress are related by the expression:

σ = S (1+ e) ---------------------------------------------------------------- (6)

where S is engineering stress, e is engineering strain.

Similarly, relation between engineering strain e and true strain ε is given as:

ε = ln (1+e) ---------------------------------------------------------------- (7)

True stress-strain curve does not indicate any yield point. It also does not show the elastic region. The
total area under the true stress-strain curve is known as toughness.

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ε
Toughness = ∫ σ𝑑ε , where ε is the fracture strain --------------------------------------------- (8)
0

The true stress – true strain relation in the plastic portion is given by the power law expression:

σ = k εn ----------------------------------------------------------------- (9)

Stress required (σ) in the plastic range to maintain plastic deformation at a certain strain, ε is called
flow stress. When the true stress is plotted against true strain on the log-log plane, the power law
relation becomes a straight line. Slope of the line is called strain hardening exponent. K, the strength
coefficient is the value of stress σ, under ε = 1. Strain rate and temperature are 2 important factors that
affect the stress strain behavior of a material. Increasing the strain rate increases the tensile strength.
Increasing the temperature reduces the tensile strength, yield strength, and increases ductility.

Take the log on both sides of equation 8, then it becomes a straight line.

ln 𝜎 = ln K + n ln 𝜀 ----------------------------------------------------------------- (9)

Fig. 4: Determination of the point of maximum load

At higher temperatures, the sensitivity of strength to strain rate increases – strength becomes more
sensitive to changes in strain rate. The flow stress is strongly dependent on strain rate at elevated
temperatures. Strain rate also affects the strain hardening exponent of materials. Strain hardening
exponent decreases with increase in strain rate. Generally, ductility of materials is dependent on strain
rate sensitivity parameter (m).

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8. Procedure for running experiments

1. Run Basic application (MTL32_2020).

2. Select User Administer
3. Click Open and select the appropriate system setting file (.ssg), in this case monotonic.
4. Confirm system tuning and calibration are correct.
5. Confirm required log channels are selected.
6. Open Monotonic V5 application. Create or Open existing assignment file (.mmnc).
7. Enter all test inputs, specimen geometry. Confirm DAQ channel assignment.
8. Mount the specimen (will be elaborated during the lab session).
9. Confirm the extensometer is mounted properly (will be elaborated during the lab session).
10. Start the test and observe the graph, online feedback on the panel.
11. Check if the test is running properly, if not stop the test check specimen and extensometer
mounting. The test will terminate when termination conditions are reached or after the
completion of all steps (under normal condition).
12. Click report and generate report by using the single/ multiple file operation.

9. Expected outcomes of the experiments (to be mentioned in the lab report)

1. Yield, ultimate and fracture stress

2. Strain at fracture
3. Strain hardening exponent (n)
4. Strength coefficient (K)
5. Tensile toughness (area under the curve)

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10. Discussion (to be included when making report)

1. What is the difference between the stress-strain behavior of ductile and brittle material?
2. What is the effect of strain rate and temperature on yield strength of the materials?
3. What is the condition for necking to occur?

References
1. Bridgeman, P. W., Transactions of ASM, v. 32, pp. 553-574, (1944).
2. Polakowski, N.H. and Ripling, E.J., Strength and Structure of Engineering Materials, PrenticeHall,
New Jersey, (1966).
3. Mechanical Testing, Metals Handbook, Volume 8, ASM International, Metals Park, OH, (1985). 2.
Smithells Metals Reference Book, sixth edition, ed. Eric A Brandes, Butterworths & Company,
London, (1983).

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