Tensile Test Lab Report Name of student: Lecturer: Abstract ‘This experiment was conducted so as compare the mechanical properties of aluminium and mild steel. The basics ‘on the operation of universal testing machine were also learnt during this experiment, The Universal Testing Machine can be tsed to determine the tensile strengths of many engineering materials, The design of many ongincering structures is based on the tensile properties of the materials used, The stress. strain relationship of ‘various metals can be used to predict the characteristics of materials when subjected to different types of loadings. ‘From this experiment, itean be seen that mild steel have higher tensile and yield strength than aluminium. This ‘explains the wide applications of mild steel in many constructions and other enginecring applications that require high strength, L INTRODUCTION For safe design of structural components in bridges, railway lines, marines ships, sitcrafts, pressure vessels ste. the tensile propertics of materials used should be analyzed. Hence the tensile strength of the materials should ‘meet the strength requirements of the structural applications. The mechanical properties of the metals determine the kind of engineering application to be used for, Experiments on tensile tests can be used to predict the tensile: propertics and they are conducted by application of axial or longitudinal forces to a specimen with known dimensions. [ CITATION Dav04 \I 1033 ]. These forces ate applied on the specinsen until deformation causes failure, The tensile load and corresponding extensions are then recorded for calculations and determination of stress strain relationship of the material specimen. The tensile test experiment can be used to determine other mechanical ‘sharasteristics of the apesimen like yield strength, percentage elongation, and ultimate strength among others, The ‘original gauge length L ameter D., or cross sectional area also used in calculations hence should be recorded, [ CITATION Mic 13 \1 1033 ] ‘Aten > Tocompare and contrast the tensile strengths of mild steel and aluminium specimensObjectives > Tostudy the deformation and fracture characteristics of mild stecl and aluminium when they are subjected to uniaxial loading » Toobserve the load extension and stress ~ strain relationships in both aluminium and mild steel + Tostudy the basics of uniaxial tensile testing A. Stress- strain relationship Tensile loading on material causes the material to undergo deformations. The kind of deformation can either be ‘clastic or plastic deformation. The elastic deformation is characterised by linear relationship between the extension and applied foad, Engineering stress is given by the ratio of foad applied to the original cross sectional area, while enginwering strain € is given by change in length (extension) AL over the original length L [CITATION Gia12 4 1033 J Hence: (ly Where, @ isengincering stress P isthe applied axial load A is the original cross sectional area isthe engineering strain AL isthe extension L, isthe original lengthB. Youngs modulus ‘The engineering stress- strain relationship for elastic deformation is based on Hooke's law. The gradient on this curve gives a modulus of elasticity called The Voung’s Modulus E. =o =o, 8) ‘Where: Eis Youngs modulus isengineering stress and £ is the enginoering strain In engineering applications of materials’ metals that are subjected ta deflections, Young's modulus is of critical importance. [ CTTATION Ric14 \I 1033 ] | ts Figure 1: stress- strain relationship under uniaxial loading. Source [ CITATION Ric14 \! 1033 ] > J L rTh. METHODOLOGY A. Materials and equipment © Universal testing machine © muler Vernier calipers © 3 samples of mild steel * 3 samples of aluminum B. Experimental procedure » 2 a 4 o n s % [By use of Vernior calipers, the thickness and width each samples of aluminium and mild steel were measured. The gage length of each specimen was determined to be 80 mm. ‘A ruler was used to measure and confirm the gage length of each sample of specimen. ‘The software for acquiring and recording data was activated and the material corresponding to the specimen was selected in the software, [By zcroing the load cell, the Instron Lood Frame could only be act to measure only the tensile Load on cach specimen inserted. The jaws were adjusted to fit the size of the specimens, This was followed by attaching the extemsometers on the reduced sections of the gage specimen, To avoid slipping of the specimens, the seroll wheel was used in preloading the machine. After the specimen was removed, the extensometers were adjusted to zero values and the test commenced to measure strain of the specimen. The data was reconded by the software on the spreadsheet By placing each sample in the universal testing machine, the tensile test was conducted and results ‘were recorded in the computer. The data was later retrieved for calculation and plotting of the graphs. Il. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS. Figure 2 table of dimensional results MILD STEEL ALUMINIUM Load at Break (Standard) 3.35743 N | -so1.0383Extension at Break (Standard) 2683716 mm — | 6.76516 mm ‘Dats point ut Break (Standard) 322 813 mmm ‘Tensile strain (Extension) at Break (Standard) 0.26837 om 0.06765 mmm Tensile extension at Break (Standard) 2683716 mm — | 6.76517 mm ‘Toosile stress af reak (Standard) 335.783 MPa | 8010313 MPa Figure 3: results of mild steel and aluminium samples rt 10 083 4094.34 2 oo10 | oxsz 2087.750 4 0.010 11442 20 167 483141 9021 1.663, 28841707. 0021 118.29 30 250 4781.08 243.30 031 | 2498 2981.60 2 0031 120.98 40 333 4918.83 25031 O42 | 3.332 3048.70 7 9.042 121.86 50 417 492658 250.71 0.052} 4.165 3071.70 7 0.052 123.87 60 5.00 5257.07 267.53 0.062 | 4.998 3112230 S 0.062 114,16 70 5.83 3437.01 27668 0073 | 5.832 2877540 4 0073 80. 6.66. SS7S88 283.75 9083 | 6.665 HAS SU 28.610 0.083 ai 6.75 5384.21 26418 0.084 | 6.748 -780,168 30.952 0.084 SLI 676 S5md.04 284.17 O04 | 6.757 -TOLORS 31.421 0.08 812 677 $501.60 28488 Goss | 6765 801.031 31.780 0.085 813 6.77 5587.98 28437 08S | 6.772 800.438 432.114 O.0KS 100 833 STIS1S 203.89 0.104 Ho 9.16 $847.52 29787 120 10.00 5911.04 30081 0.125 130 1083 5965.41 30357 0.135 140 11.67 6010.53 303.87 146 1501250 6042.57 307.500.1536 160 13.33 6072.26 309.01 0.167Mild Stee! Strain Figure 4: graph of stress v strain for mild steelAluminium 0.09 08 004 0.05 006 007 0 Strain (mm/mm) Figure S: graph of stress v strain for sluminium sampleStross versus s{rain for Mild Steel and Aluminium 0.05 on 0.15 o2 0.25 os 0.35 Strain (mmm) Figure 6: grapi of stress versus strain for both aluminium and mild steel Iv. DISCUSSION ‘The data obtained from the universal testing machine shows the difference in rates of extensions in mild steel sluminium samples. From data on cross- sctional area, length, extension and axial loads, the strains and stress for both sample specimens were calculated. When subjected to same amount of load, there was relatively high extension inv aluminium than in mild steel, This ean be attributed to the difference in miero- crystalline structures of the (Wo. sample materials. Mild sicel reached yield point at stress of 240 MPa while aluminium reached yield strength at LOS MPa, Hence it can be seen that mild stec! has high tensile strength compared to aluminium. When the gradicnts of both mild steel and aluminium were calculated, mild steel had s higher gradicet thas aluminium. The gradients of stress. strain curves give the Young's Modulus, which affect the deflection of material under different loads. Further loading of both specimens beyond the yield point gave a stack difference: mild steel reached fracture point at approximately 335 MPa while ahaminium reached fracture at ~ 80 MPa, Mild stcel has Body Centered Cubic (BCC) structure while aluminium has Centered (FCC) structure. Changes in length indicate the ductility of the material ‘when loaded. There were large amounts of necking observed in mild steel than there was in aluminium. Precipitation hardening done to aluminium and its atloys hinders the elongation of the specimen.‘The changes encountered in cross sectional area cannot be influenced by engineering stress- strain relationshij the changes can only be possible for true stress. strain curves. Normally. true strains are of higher values than those of enginoering strains. This can be explained by the fact that true strains take place in transverse directions of the ‘gage length. High values of stress and strains in mild steel are attributed to strain hardening. Strain hardening or ‘work hardening in mild steel occurs at higher values of stress than aluminium. In the graph, it can be seen that for ‘engineering stress. strain curves, the curves drop downwards after necking has occurred. However, this phenamenon ‘cannot be seen in normal true stress- strain curves, the curves would reach the highest region of fracture, Engineering stress and strains were calculated after the extensometers on the Instron machine measured the strain that was applied on each sample specimen. The data on strain was obtained on the cross head after necking had occurred. The engincering stress was then calculated by dividing the applied load by the original cross- sectional area. For engineering strains, the changes in length (extensions) were divided by the original length. In calculations of true stress. the load applied could be divided by the instantaneous area, True strain is calculated by dividing the change in length by the instantaneous final length. % CONCLUSION Many engineering applications that require high tensile strength normally use mild stect, This is because of the crystalline structure of mild steel that allows ito withstand high axial loads before fracture can occur. Aluminium however has found many uses in designs that require low density materials like in serodynamies and some motor ‘vehicles. Aluminium experiences high ductility rates compared to mild stcel and have therefore low level values of ‘Young's Modulus, a factor that determines deflections in structural components, This experiment therefore giver close relationship of tensile strength to the theoretical data REFERENCES 1) Davies, J. (2004), Tensile Testing (2nd Edition ed.). ASM International. 2) GJ, & Barry. (2012). Mechanics of Materials (8th Edition ed.), CL Engineering. 3) Mare, K. K. (2008), Mechanical Behavior of Materials (2nd ed.) Cambrige University Press, 4) Micheal F. Asby, K. J. (2013). Materials and Design (3rd Eaition ed.). Butterworth, 5) Richard Budynas, K. D. (2014). Me-Graw Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering (0th Edition ed.). Me~ Graw Hill Series. 6} Richard, A. (2002), ddvanced Mechanics of Materials. (R. J, Schmidt, Ed.) Wiley.VIL APPENDIX A. Terminologies ‘Engincering strain — its calculated by dividing the change in length (extension) by original length. Englacering stress — it is obtained by dividing the applied axial load by the original cross sectional area. Engincering stress-strain curve is a graph showing the relationship between engineering stress and engineering strains Hooke’s taw -this law explain the linear relationship observed in the elastic regions of a stress. strain curves. The ‘gradient along this curves give the Young's modulus. Modulus of elasticity — also called the Young's modulus, isthe ratio of stress to strain and can be calculated on the stress-strain curves by determining the gradients of the curves. "Necking — this refers to the gradual reduction of the cross sectional area along the gage length and starts at the tensile point. It results in formation of cups and cones and is experienced in ductile materials Plastic deformation ~ this phenomenon occurs when the material is loaded beyond the yield point then offloaded. ‘% Reduction tn area — can be determined by dividing the change in cross sectional area over the original area imuttiplied by 100% when a tensile test is performed on the specimen, ‘Tenalle strength - refers to the matimum siress that a material can withstand during the tensile tests. “Tense test - refers to the methous of determining the mechanical properties of material when subjected to uniaxial load. The results can be used to determine the Young's modulus, tensile strength. ductility, toughness and ultimate tensile strength of the materials, ‘True strain ~ refers to the ratio of extension to the final instantancous length of the material ‘True stress — is the ratio of the applied load over the instantaneous cross- sectional arca. ‘Yield strength — this refers to the amount of stress required to initiate plastic deformation.B, Ultimate tensile strength As shown in figure 2 above of the enginesring stress-strain relationship, when loading is continued past the {Yielding point, « permanent deformation of the material is realized. At this polit, the material is aid to be strain of ‘work hardened and this phenomena is dependent upon the micro- crystalline structure and chemical composition of the material. It isiat this point that the material can withstand the highest possible stress and is characterised by reduction of croxs sectional area af the center of the specimen. « process known ax necking [ CITATION MarO8 \t 1033 ] ‘Figure 0: stress: strata relationship for mild stec! and aluminium, Source (Auther & Richard, 2002)