Materials Science Reports

LAB Reports for
Materials Science

German – Jordanian University (GJU)
Material Science Laboratory
IE 2210
Summer Semester 2008‐2009

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Experiment 1
Tensile Testing of Metals

Mahmood Hisham Shubbak

Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Discussion and Conclusion /20
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objective:
To determine the followings:
1. The relation between the engineering stress and engineering strain according to the
results obtained from the tensile test.
2. The yield stress and offset yield (proof) stress.
3. Modulus of elasticity or Young's modulus.
4. Tensile strength or ultimate tensile strength.
5. Percentage elongation and percentage reduction in area.
6. Indications to understand some important properties of material , such as ductility
brittleness and toughness.

Introduction:
Strength is the resistance of a material to a tensile load applied to a specimen, and this is the
principle of the Tensile Test.
The tensile test specimen differs in shape, size and kind of material according to final
product we want.
There are two main kinds of test pieces:

1. Full section specimens.
2. Machined specimens.
In this experiment we have studied the relation between the tensile force acting on a piece
of metal [N] and the extension of it [mm].
In order to get rid of size we study the relation between stress and strain.

Stress (σ): the force acting per unit area. [MPa]

∆
Strain (ε): the measure of the elongation or contraction of a line segment in the body.
In Engineering Stress and Strain we use the original section area (A0) and the extension of
length (∆L).
But in True Stress and Strain we use the instantaneous area (Ai) and instantaneous gauge
length (Li).
Method:
The first step is measuring the cross section dimensions (width; thickness or
reduced diameter) by micrometer and slide caliper if needed.
The next step is scribing the gauge length L0 on the piece by two soft marks of symmetrical
distance from both ends; After scribing the gauge length it should be measured accurately by
using slide caliper; and this gauge will be the reference for obtaining the percentage
elongation.
Next we install the appropriate grips of the convenient size on the tensile testing machine;
and put the chart of load-extension diagram on the plotter attached to the testing machine;
which its vertical Y ordinate axes gives the force in a factor of mm according to the chosen
force-scale; and its horizontal X axes moves in a magnified scale with the displacement of the
moving head of the tensile machine.
2

We choose the force scale of the machine, fix the piece on the grips and start the operation
until fracture.
Then we remove the specimen from the machine, measure all parameters that we have
measured earlier. And analyze the results.
Results:
Applying the experiment method we got the graph shown on page (5).
The initial properties for the piece were:

9 Diameter D0 = 12.3 mm → Area A0 = 118.82 mm2
9 Length L0 = 50.0 mm
The final properties are:

9 Diameter Df = 10.2 mm → Area Af = 81.7 mm2
9 Length Lf = 58.3 mm
From the graph we can calculate these values as follows:
101.6

118.82
106.4
.
118.82
∆
% 100% . %

∆
% 100% . %

∆
185,240
∆
Discussion and Conclusion:
In this experiment we learned about tensile testing of metals.

Applying this test we can study the behavior of any material under tensile conditions.
According to the graph on page (5) we can recognize an elastic region (from A to B)
where the material can recover its initial shape and dimensions after removing the
effect.
In the graph the region of elasticity is linear, which has a slope (Modulus of
elasticity). Here it equals to 185 GPa.
Elastic region can determine by drawing the proof line from 0.2% of L0 parallel to the
stress function, the intersection point with it is the proof stress (here we got 855MPa).
After the elastic region, any change on shape or dimensions becomes permanent and
this region is called plastic region (After point B).
The engineering stress increase to a maximum value (Tensile Strength; here we got
895.5 MPa).
3

After that it decreases a little until the fracture.
During this process the dimensions of specimen changes as follows:
o The length increases (with %elongation here = 16.6%).
o The section area decreases (with % area reduction here = 31.2%).
Note: the graph on page (5) describes the force as a function of extension, from this graph we
can easily get the engineering stress-strain diagram using the initial properties which are
explained in the results part of this report.
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IE 2210

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Experiment 2
Hardness Test


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objective:
1. To understand the meaning of hardness, and to be able to distinguish
between its values given for different materials.
2. To become familiar with the basic methods and machines used to measure
hardness.
3. To be able to relate hardness to other properties of materials.

Introduction:
Hardness is the resistance of a material to a permanent indentation; the values of
hardness give general indication of the strength of the material and its resistance to
wear and scratches.
There are several methods to measure hardness, the most commonly used tests
are shown in the following figure:

In this experiment we have seen the Vickers, Rockwell and Brinell tests using
Universal Hardness Testing Machine.
1. Rockwell Test:
This method is widely used in industry because it is quick, simple and direct
reading although it is not reliable and inaccurate.

With this system, a hardness number is determined by the difference in
depth of penetration resulting from the application of an initial minor load
followed by a larger major load; utilization of a minor load enhances test
accuracy.

2. Vickers Test:
In this method a very small diamond indenter having pyramidal geometry is
forced into the surface of the specimen. [Applied loads are much smaller
2

than for Rockwell and Brinell] ranging (between 1 and 1000g).The resulting
impression is observed under a microscope and measured; this measurement
is then converted into a hardness number using the formula as shown in the
following figure:
3. Brinell test:
In Brinell tests, as in Rockwell measurements, a hard, spherical indenter is
forced into the surface of the metal to be tested. The diameter of the
hardened steel (or tungsten carbide) indenter is 10.00 mm (0.394 in.).
Standard loads range between 500 and 3000 kg in 500‐kg increments; during
a test, the load is maintained constant for a specified time (between 10 and
30 s). Harder materials require greater applied loads. The Brinell hardness
number, HB, is a function of both the magnitude of the load and the diameter
of the resulting indentation.
2

3

Method:
Take 3‐4 specimens of various materials.
Grind and polish the surfaces (the material surface must be polished and not
painted).
Fix the specimen on the Universal Hardness Tester, focus the surface and start
the operation.
After the impression of the indenter is created, measure its dimensions.
Get the value of Hardness automatically from the machine.
Apply each law for each test using the measured values to check the hardness
value.
Note: With Rockwell test the hardness number can be read easily without any
calculations.

Results:
Applying the experiment method we got the following results:
1. The Vickers Test:
9 Load force = 30 kg
9 The Impression Shape is Diamond.
9 Its diagonals (measured):
d1 = 0.5555 mm
d2 = 0.5342 mm
ª Average d = 0.5449 mm
9 The Hardness value got from machine = 187.3
9 Calculated HV = (1.854 * 30) / (0.5449)2 = 187.33

2. The Brinell Test:
9 Load force = 187.5 kg
9 The Indenter shape is Sphere with D = 2.5 mm
9 The Impression Shape is Circle.
9 Its diameter (measured):
d1 = 1.1068 mm
d2 = 1.1073 mm
ª Average d = 1.1071 mm
9 The Hardness value got from machine = 184.7
.
9 Calculated .
. . . .

4

3. The Rockwell Test:
9 Rockwell Type: T
9 The Indenter shape is 1/16 in. Sphere.
9 Load force:
o Minimum = 10 kg
o Maximum = 30 kg
9 The Hardness value got from machine:
o 1st trial HRT = 73.8
o 2nd trial HRT = 76.2

4. Micro Vickers:
9 In this method we used a very accurate machine that gives the HV and
converts it automatically into HRC.
9 Maximum Load force 2000 g.
9 d1 = 99.49 mm
9 d2 = 99.21 mm
9 The Hardness value got from machine:
o 193 μHV
o 9.2 μHRC

In this experiment we learned about hardness testing of materials.
Applying this test we can study the behavior of any material under
compression conditions (press or scratch).
Hardness can be defined as the resistance of the permanent indentation.
There are many common methods and scales to measure hardness.
In this experiment we learned about 3 important methods; Vickers, Rockwell
and Brinell.
The main idea behind all these methods is using a particular indenter to be
forced into the surface of the specimen and measuring the dimensions of its
impression to calculate the hardness value.
Each test has its own merits. Vickers test is accurate, Brinells is widely
common in manufacturing, and Rockwell is automated it does not need too
much human interaction.
The hardness and strength are proportionally related; when the hardness
increase the strength increases.
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IE 2210

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Experiment 3
The Impact Test


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objective:
1. To determine the toughness of metals by an impact testing machine.
2. To observe the behavior of metals under high strain rate loading (impact
loading).

Introduction:
Toughness is a measure of the amount of energy required to cause an item to
fracture and fail. The more energy that is required then the tougher the material.
Recall that ductility is a measure of how much something deforms plastically
before fracture, but just because a material is ductile does not make it tough. The
key to toughness is a good combination of strength and ductility. A material with
high strength and high ductility will have more toughness than a material with low
strength and high ductility. Therefore, one way to measure toughness is by
calculating the aarea under the stress strain curve from a tensile test. This value is
simply called “material toughness” and it has units of energy per volume. Material
toughness equates to a slow absorption of energy by the material.

In order to determine the impact toughness of a material there are two types of
Impact Test methods differs in specimens' specifications and methods of holding the
specimens. These two types are:

2

1. Izod Test:

The specimen is tested in cantilever mode.

The specimen is firmly clamped in a vice with
the prepared notch levels with the edge of
the vice.

The impact blow is delivered on the same side
as the notch.

2. Charpy Test:

The specimen is tested as a simply supported beam.

The edge of the pendulum strikes at mid‐span directly behind the milled notch.

The standard Charpy‐V specimen, illustrated in Fig.1. is 55mm long, 10mm
square and has a 2mm deep notch with a tip radius of 0.25mm machined on
one face.
Fig.2. Standard Charpy‐V notch specimen

For both tests, the specimen is broken by
a single overload event due to the impact of
the pendulum. A stop pointer is used to
record how far the pendulum swings back
up after fracturing the specimen. The
impact toughness of a metal is determined
by measuring the energy absorbed in the
fracture of the specimen. This is simply
obtained by noting the height at which the
pendulum is released and the height to
which the pendulum swings after it has
struck the specimen . The height of the
pendulum times the weight of the
pendulum produces the potential energy
and the difference in potential energy of the
pendulum at the start and the end of the
test is equal to the absorbed energy.

3

Note: The notch is important to make fracturing easier, so that it machined on the
extended surface; the side of strike in Izod test, and the other side in Charpy test.

Method:
Take a specimen of the standard [BS EN 10045‐1] and the shape shown in fig.2.
Using an accurate microscope measure the specimen dimensions and check
whether they satisfy the specific standard.
Fix the specimen on the Impact Test machine in Charpy holding method.
Raise the pendulum hammer of the impact machine to its initial upper height
and fix it.
Put the pointer of the absorbed energy scale at its initial position.
Release the pendulum to strike the specimen and rise to another high, and
notice the reading of the absorbed energy scale.
This reading is in kgforce.m unit, in order to get the toughness in Joules multiply by
g (= 9.8 m\s2).
Notice the fracture appearance of the specimen and the shear fracture area.

Results:
1. The Specimen Dimensions:
9 Angle = 44.46 o
9 Width = 9.971 mm.
9 Length = 54.868 mm.
9 Height = 9.957 mm.
9 L/2 left = 27.49 mm.
9 Radius of the notch = 0.259 mm.
9 Height below notch = 7.927 mm.

ª All these dimensions are approximately among the standard range (see
page 7 )

2. The Impact Toughness Test:
9 Applying the experiment procedure we got the following absorbed
energy reading:
o Toughness = 14.8 kgforce.m
9 Converting this value to Joules:
o . . .

4

3. The Frracture Su
urface:
The sh
hape of thee fracture an
nd its
surface differs from
m specimen n
materiaal to anotheer dependin ng on its
structure.

Brittlee fracture sh
hows a cleaan
granulaar structure with little
deformation, whilee ductile fraacture
shows ffibrous structure. In the very ducttile materialls the fractuures will nott
compleete .sometim mes due to tthe very higgh ductility of a material the test iis
held at low temperature.

Discussion and Conclu
usion:
In this eexperiment we learned d about toughness testting of mateerials (the
impact test).
Applyinng this test wwe can stud
dy the abilitty of a metaal to deform
m plastically and
to absoorb energy in the proceess before frracture.
There aare two com mmon methods to apply impact teest differs in n specimen
holdingg method; Izzod and Chaarpy methods.
In figuree.4 (on the next page) you can reccognize thee differences between tthe
two meethods and tthe procedu ure of Impaact test.
In this eexperiment we learned d specifically about Chaarpy metho od.
In order to get the true resultts from the impact macchine you m must use a
specimeen with thee specificatioons shown in fig.2 [Standard BS EN 10045‐1].
The tou ughness is p proportionally related tto hardnesss and strenggth; it can be
determmined by thee area under the stress strain diagram.
The Imp pact test is very importtant method to determ mine the tou ughness of
metals, and this is necessary w when designing machin nes …etc.
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Figure 4
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IE 2210

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Experiment 4
Bending Test


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objjective:
1. Understanding thee free‐body diagrams FFBD for bend ding and drrawing the
momen nt and shear diagrams for simply ssupported b beam.
2. Calculattion of bendding stress and deflecttion caused by the load d, and the
momen nt of inertia of different cross‐secttions.
3. Obtaining the Mod dulus of Elassticity from
m deflection formula.
4. Understanding thee concept off Neutral Axxis N.A and Neutral Plaane and the
differen
nce between layers in ccompressio on and tensiion in bending.
5. Performming practiccal bending test on a sp pecimen acccording to sspecific
standarrds to test the ductilityy of it.

Intrroduction
n:
D
Ductility is th
he ability off a material to withstan
nd permaneent deformaation witho
out
breaaking.
The bend tesst is a method for
evaluating ductility by app plying a
load d (P) at the midpoint of a
simply supportted beam w with
lenggth (L).

U
Using the equations of
equ uilibrium wee can find th
hat the
forcces on the b beam at sup pports
are normal and d equal to PP/2 on
each. (There arre no more external
forcces acting).

In
n order to d
determine tthe
inteernal forces we use thee method
of sections from m which wee can
draw w the shearr and momeent
diaggrams as follows:

The stress att any point oon the
surfface of the sspecimen can be
deteermined byy this formula

W
While acting with a forcee (P), the hiigher surfacce of the speecimen is co
onfronted w
with
com mpression fo orce while tthe lower suurface is con
nfronted with tension force.

Thhe Neutral AAxis N.A and d Neutral Pllane are som
mewhere between thee two layerss
(com mpression aand tension n) where theere is neithe
er tension nnor compression.

2

Calculating the stress at the higher surface we find that it is negative
(compression) while the stress at the lower one is positive (tension).

Theoretically the stress at the Neutral Plane must be zero.

When we apply the load (P) some deflection (δ) will occur in the beam, this can be
determined by the following formula:

48
Where E: is the Modulus of elasticity.
P: is the applying load.
L: the Length.
I: the moment of inertia of the cross section.

We can get the value of E (Modulus of Elasticity) of the specimen using this
formula.

In this experiment we are interested in
deflecting the specimen from its mid‐point by
180o and seeing if it will fracture or not
(whatever the necessary load is). Then we can
determine if the specimen is ductile enough or
not.

At the end of the bend test we can calculate
the length of the specimen using this formula:
2 2
(t: clearance = (5‐10) mm)

Method:
The test is held on a Deformed Carbon‐Steel Concrete reinforcement of 10 mm
outside diameter according to standards.
The specimen will be cut so it is adapted to the machine.
Choose a mandrel of dimensions; D= 4 x d = 4 x 10 = 40 mm.
Install the mandrel in the plunger.
Calculate the length between supports which equals to:
L = 50 + 40 + 20 + 10 = 120 mm.
Adjust the supports to this distance.
Put the specimen on the supports, then turn the machine on and let the mandrel
move to bend the specimen at a U shape with the specified angel 180o.
If the specimen holds up it then it complies with the standard requirements and
it is accepted.
Otherwise any crack occurs the specimen doesn’t follow the requirements and it
is rejected.

3

Ressults:
Ap
pplying the experimentt method w
we got the fo
ollowing ressults:
1. The Sp
pecimen D
Dimension
ns:
9 Thee specimen'ss diameter d = 10 mm..
9 Thee mandrel's diameter = 4 * d = 4 * 10 = 40 mm m
9 quals L = 50 + 10*2 + 40
Totaal length eq 0 +10 = 120 0 mm
9 Thee 10 mm is ffor clearancce
9 Theere is no neeed to obtain
n the energyy or stress ssince the machine test the
specimen if it b
bends right (ductile) orr not only.

2. The Be
ending Test:
9 Appplying the eexperiment procedure we see
thatt the specim
men we stu
udied is ducctile
eno
ough becausse it doesn’’t fracture.

usion:
In this eexperiment we learned d about ducctility testing of materiaals by the b
bend
test.
Applyinng this test w we can deteermine if the material d ductile enough to bend d
o
with 1880 without fracture orr not.
In this ttest we are not interested in the lo oad force necessary to o achieve thhe
bendingg.
This tesst can also b be used to gget the moddulus of elassticity of a m
material usiing
the amo ount of deflection.
The ben nd test is veery important method to study the ductility o of metals
speciallly after weld ding some p parts togeth
her.
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IE 2210

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Experiment 5
Preparation of Specimen for
Micro‐Examination


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objjective:
Prreparation aa specimen for micro‐eexamination n by carrying out the fo ollowing steeps:
1. Grindin
ng and polishing the speecimen.
2. Etchingg the polisheed mirror‐finished surfface of a speecimen to rreveal its
structure.
3. Using thhe metallurrgical microscope.
4. Examining the stru ucture of the specimen n under the microscopee.

Intrroduction
n:
In preparing aa specimen for micro‐eexamination
n, it must have a surfacce produced,
which is flat, an
nd scratch ffree.

Sele ecting the SSpecimen:
But first wheen selectingg the specim
men for the test, it musst be cut fro
om a certain
n
placce, to make the specim men more reepresentativve for the aims of the ttest.

If
f there was some sort o of deformattion, the spe ecimen must be cut in the directio
on
of the deformaation, not peerpendiculaar to it. Also o when cuttting the specimen, we
musst be awaree of overheaating the sp pecimen, because if theere was oveerheating – in
som me cases‐ it will result in deformattion in the
stru ucture of thee specimen, and as a rresult, givin
ng
inco orrect concllusion.

Grin nding & Pollishing:
A
After selectin
ng the specimen, it is n
necessary to o
obtaain a reason nably surfacce with mirror finish, this is
achieved by grinding, and then it sho ould be cleaned
with h water andd rotated th
hrough 90° aat each change of
the paper.

Affter the specimen is griinded, theree are some fine
scraatches that aappeared frrom the grin nding, they
musst be removved by polishing the surface with tthe
polishing powd ders. The po olishing powwders that mmay
be uused are Alu umina (alum minum oxidee) or Magne esia
(Maagnesium Oxxide) or diamond dust (the particlles
rangges from .5 to 3mm). TThey are useed in water
susp pension in cconjunction with a polishing cloth
mou unted on a fflat rotatingg disc, and tthe specimeen is
held d against this rotating ddisc under light pressure.

Etch hing:
Affter the specimen is goone through h the grindin
ng and the p
polishing prrocesses, th here
is a last process that it shoould go thro
ough, in ord
der to be reaady for testting, it is the
e
Etchhing. This prrocess is im
mportant to produce a d deformation free layerr of metal, aand
to show the cryystal structu ure.

2

It is Etched byy a suitablee reagent (Etchant). Thiis reagent iss used to reeveal particu
ular
struuctural characteristics o of a metal aare not evident in the aas‐polished condition.

Ettching can bbe done by iimmersion the surface e of the speccimen in thee etching
soluution, or by swabbing tthe surface with a piece of cotton soaked witth the etching
soluution, and hhandled with h a nickel to
ongs. The
timee required ffor etching varies with the type off
used matter, and etching reagents off course.
Som me alloys can be etched d in a few seeconds,
and d some requ uires as mucch as thirty minutes
which is studied in this
(likee cast iron w
experiment). A After the etcching process, the
specimen mustt be washed d under run nning waterr,
to mmove away the etchingg reagent, and then
swaabbed with alcohol, and d then dried d.

Affter cleaningg the specim
men, it’s beeen taken
for eexamination under thee metallurgical
microscope. Th he surface o
of the specim men must bbe parallel tto the surface, of the sttage
and d normal to the axis of tthe microsccope tube.

Me
ethod:
Bringg representaative specim
men with a d
diameter off 20 mm, an
nd a thickne
ess
of not more than n 12 mm.

Grindingg
Grindd the specim
men minimu um form 120 grit, 400 tthen 1000 ggrit gradually.
The sspecimen shhould be waashed in water and rotated througgh 90° at eaach
end oof the sand paper, to prevent the carry‐over oof relativelyy coarse
grinding from a ppaper to the next finge
er grade san
nd paper.

Washh the groun nd surface o
of the specimmen with w
water, clean it with alco
ohol,
and d
dry it with an air dryer, in order to
o prevent an
ny dirt or co
ontaminatioon or
grinding particlees from bein
ng carried over to the p
polishing clo
oth in the next
step.

Polishingg
Polish
h the ground surface o of the specim
men using tthe rotatingg disc polishing
mach hine, a consttant drip off suspendedd polishing p
powder in wwater is
necesssary; to keep the cloth h covering tthe disc wettted thorou
ughly, during
the polishing operation.

Washh the specim
men with w
water and clean it with alcohol, theen dry it witth
the air dryer.

At thiis point the surface of the specimen must bee like a mirro
or‐surface.

3

Etching
Wash the flat, polished finished surface with running tap water, shake the
specimen to remove the water, and then wash it with alcohol, and then put
it to dry, to remove all the oil, grease or other things that may’ve been
there on the surface, to ensure that the surface to be absolutely clean, and
NEVER touch the specimen with your hands.

Prepare the proper etching solution according to the metal of the
specimen.

Use proper method to apply the etching solution to the prepared surface of
the specimen, and apply it.

After etching, quickly wash the surface with running tap water, then swab
it with alcohol and dry it.

Using Microscope
Put the specimen under the objective lens of the metallurgical microscope
and use the proper magnification power.

Sketch the micro‐structure of the etched surface of the specimen, as it is
observed through the eye‐piece lens of the metallurgical microscope.

Results:
1. Grinding and Polishing:

9 The sand papers were rotating in a 300 speed.

2. Etching:

9 The etching solution we used was Nitric Acid.

3. Microscope:

9 The microscope power was 0.8*16*16 = 204.8 (times)

9 The specimen we have studied was cast iron.

9 According to what we have seen by the microscope, the specimen
contained only carbon graphite and ferrite.

4

9 Belo
ow is a skettch of the sp
pecimen as we have seeen it underr microscop
pe:

Graphite
e
Ferrrite

usion:
In this eexperiment we learned d about preparing the sspecimen fo or micro‐
examination.
To see tthe grains oof a specimeen under microscope itt must be p prepared in
some particular steeps which aare Grindingg, Polishing then Etchin ng.
Grindinng is done inn order to mmake scratch hes on the ssurface of the specime en as
a step tto reach a mmirror finishh.
The grin nding mach hine is used with a suitaable speed of rotation and it uses
many grades of griit.
After thhat we come to the polishing proccess in which the very ffine surface e
scratches are remo oved. And w we reach the mirror finnish surface.
Etchingg is the last sstep; using a suitable e
etching solu
ution, the buurnished layyer
is remooved in ordeer to reveal the crystal structure b beneath it.
We must be carefu ul when make etching in order not to get und der‐ or overr‐
etchingg specimen.
After ettching is prooperly donee, the specimmen's grainns and structure can be e
seen cleearly underr microscope.
The miccro‐examinaation is widely used to get more in nformation about the
specimeen, its struccture, grainss and comp ponents.
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Experiment 6
Scanning Electron Microscope


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objjective:
1. Get fam
miliar with SScanning Eleectron Microscope.
2. Study SSEM's operaating princip
ple.
3. Notice ssome SEM'ss applicatio
ons.

Intrroduction
n:
Th
he Scanningg Electron M
Microscope is a microsccope that usses electron
n beam insttead
of light to form
m extremelyy larger with
h high resolu
ution imagees.

Prep paring the sspecimen fo or SEM exaamination:
In order to geet clear and
d accurate reesults from this
examination, the specimeen should bee prepared following
thesse main steps:
1. Removiing all water, solvents or other maaterials thatt
could vaporize durring the opeeration.
2. Firmly m mount all thhe samples..
3. Non‐m metallic samples, such aas those of bbiology or
ceramiccs, should bbe coated w
with some m metals (usually gold) so they becom
me
electriccally conducctive.
4. Metallicc samples ccan be placeed directly into the SEMM.

How w does a SEEM work?

1.. A beam o of electronss is produceed at the top
p of the miccroscope byy an electron
gun (a filament mad de of various types of m materials, th
he most commmon is the e
Tungsten n hairpin gun.
2

2.. The elecctron beam follows a veertical path through th he microscope, which iss
held with hin a vacuum m; the reason
of this is to avoid insstability cau
used
by gas filled, and to avoid any
reactionss with the eelectron
source.
3.. The beam m travels through
electrommagnetic fields and lensses,
which foccus the beaam down
toward the sample.
4.. The beam m goes after that throu ugh
scan coilss which are energized by
varying the voltage (25‐30
thousand ds volts) pro
oduced by aa
scan generator, and create a
magneticc field which h deflects th
he
beam back.
5.. The varyiing voltage is also applied to the ccoils around
d the neck o
of the Catho
ode‐
ray tube CRT.
6.. Once thee beam hits the samplee, secondaryy electrons and X‐rays are ejected d
from the sample.

7.. These eleectrons are collected b by a secondaary detecto or or a backsscatter
detector,, converted to voltage and amplified.
8.. The amplified voltagge is applied d to the grid
d of the CRTT causes thee intensity o
of
the spot of light to cchange.
9.. The imagge consists o of thousandds of varyingg intensity sspots.
100. From thee secondaryy electrons aand x‐ray w we can deterrmine the composition n of
the mateerial and seee it with largge magnificcation poweer reaches 3300,000 timmes.

A
An Image of h
human blood
d cells underr SEM.
3

Me
ethod:
Selecct specimen to be exam mined (in this experimeent we used
d a 5‐Piastre
es
coin).

Use SSEM to see tthe writing on its surfaace by
adjussting it to th
he suitable m
magnificatio
on power.

Deterrmine the chemical com mposition oof the selectted
specimen.

Ressults:
Ap
we got the fo
ollowing ressults:
1. Magniification P
Power:
9 Thee magnificattion power w
we used to see the writings clearlly was almo
ost
15 tto 20 times..

2. Chemiical Comp
position

9 Thee 5‐Piasters coin consists mainly off Nickel (Ni)).
9 Theere was somme dirt on itss surface we analyze itt chemicallyy and saw th
hat
it co
onsists main
nly of Calciu
um (Ca).

usion:
In this eexperiment we learned d about usinng the Scanning Electro on Microsco ope.
SEM is w widely used
d to see a cllear with higgh resolutio
on images foor metallic
specimeens, Non‐m metallic speccimens can also be seen with some preparation.
SEM haas more pow wer than opptical microsscopes.
Anotheer importan nt advantage of SEM is its ability too make cheemical analyysis
to get the composition of the specimen.
SEM is w widely used
d in biology to study orrganisms, it is also usedd to study
chemical componeents of mateerials, and tthe shape o of some tools such as
medical needles.
SEM haas a large magnification n power reaaches 300,0 000 times.
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Experiment 7
Corrosion


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100

1

Objjective:
1. Identifyy metal corrrosion.
2. Define ffactors affeecting corrosion and co
orrosion ratee.
3. Calculatte corrosion n rate.

Intrroduction
n:
Corrosion is the processs in which mmetal deteriiorates throough a chem
mical reactio
on
with h the enviro
onment.

TThere are m
many factorss affecting ccorrosion raate such as:
1. Temperrature.
2. The hyddrogen‐ion concentration pH (hyd drogen powwer).
3. Time.
4. Temperrature Cycling.

Coorrosion causes a lot of eeconomical losses either
direct; where wee need to replace the corroded
com mponents, or indirect (losss of producttion and lowe er
efficciency).

here are man
Th ny methods tto prevent m metals from
corrrosion such aas painting, pprotective co oating or usin
ng
corrrosion resistaance alloys.

Noon‐metallic mmaterials aree affected by corrosion allso. Plastics, for examplee, are attacke ed
by salvation or cchemical reaction causingg softening, swelling and d ultimate failure.

Thhere are man ny types of coorrosion, likee:
Generall corrosion.
Corrosio
on fatigue.
Galvanic corrosion.
Cavitation corrosionn.

Thhe most commonly used method to d determine th he corrosion rate for mettals is the we eight
loss method; byy using this m method we caan calculate the corrosio on rate for an ny specimen
under the actual or simulateed conditionss.

Thhe main idea behind this method is to o let the speccimen go under particulaar conditionss of
temperature, pH H … ‐exactly like the actu ual condition
ns in the field
d‐ for a speccific time, and
then n calculate th
he loss of its weight.

Thiis corrosion rrate can be eexpressed in [mils per ye ear (mpy)], [mmillimeters pper year (mm m/y)]
or inn [g/m2.day] by using theese formulas:

.

Wheere : WL: weigght loss (mg).
D: Densitty (g/cm3).
A: Area (cm2).
T: Time (hr).
2

⁄

Wheere: WL: weight loss (g).
A: Area (m2).
T: Time (day).

Me
ethod:

1. Surface
e Preparattion:

Provid
de a surface comparable to that in thhe system that is being m
modeled; in this
experriment we wiill use 2 carb
bon steel cou
upons 3×5×0 0.1 cm.

Degreease the testt specimens using Hydrochloric Acid (M = 0.1 mo ol/l) at ambie
ent
conditi
tions for 2 m
minutes, to reemove any p de layer. Then
protective or passive oxid
rinse w
with distilled
d water and dry with pap
per tissue.

Note: In order to on process with a
o measure the molarity of HCL we usee the titratio
base such aas NaOH witth presence o
of an indicator.
And to red
duce the conccentration of HCL we add d water to in
ncrease its
volume acccording to th
his formula:

Keep the test speecimens in Acceton for (1)min. then drry them using air dryer.
Repeaat these last two steps ussing Ethanol.

Keep the test speccimens in thee desiccator for 10min to o keep them dry.

2. Conducting the e
experiment:

Pre‐w weighed the ttest specimen (before exxposure).

Immeerse the speccimen in 0.5 M Hydrochlo oric Acid HCl at 60º (in th
he experimen nt
we usse 52º) for haalf an hour.

Remo ove the test sspecimen fro om the acid, then rinse it using distilleed water,
wed by dryingg step using air blower, tthen keepingg in Ethanol aand Aceton aas
follow
mentiioned previo ously.

Keep the test speccimen for 10 0 min. in the desiccators, and finally rreweighed (aafter
expossure).

3

Results:
1. Experiment conditions:
9 Temperature = 52 o C.
9 Solution: Acidic.
9 Kind of solution: HCl.
9 Solution composition: M= 0.5 mol/l.
9 Solution movement: Stagnant.
9 Type of Metal: Carbon Steel.

2. Experiment Readings:
9 We ran the experiment for two specimens and got the following readings:
Specimen A Specimen B
Trial(1) = 18.1801 g Trial(1) = 18.1818 g
Initial weight Trial(2) = 18.1799 g Trial(2) = 18.1819 g
Avg = 18.1800 g Avg = 18.18185 g
Trial(1) = 18.1389 g Trial(1) = 18.1510 g
Final weight Trial(2) = 18.1392 g Trial(2) = 18.1510 g
Avg = 18.13905 g Avg = 18.1510 g
Weight Loss (g) 0.04095 0.03085
Sample area* (m2) 3.16 x 10‐3
Exposure Time (day) 30min = 0.0208 day
Corrosion rate** (g/m .day)
2 622.025 468.608
Corrosion rate*** (mm/y) 187.326 141.120
*Sample Area= 2x3x5 + 2x3x0.1 + 2x5x0.1 = 31.6 cm2 = 3.16 x 10‐3 m2
**Corrosion rate= WL/AT
Specimen Density: D1=12.12 g/cm3 , D2=12.1212 g/cm3
***Corrosion rate (mm/y) = 87.6WL/DAT

In this experiment we learned about Corrosion.
Corrosion is big problem facing most the metallic parts and pieces in
machines, and it occurs because of the reaction between the metals and the
environment (water, temperature cycling and pH…)
There are many types of corrosion as well as many methods to prevent it.
Weight loss method is very common method to determine the corrosion rate
depending on the loss of the specimen's weight due to corrosion.
In this experiment we have calculated this rate for 2‐Carbon steel‐specimens
and it was different (almost 622 g/m2.day for the 1st one and 469 for the 2nd)
Corrosion Rate Test or weight loss test is very important to specify how long
the metal can stand in the field of operation, and this can be used when
designing machines.
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Experiment 8

Hardening Steel
Using Different Quenching Media


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100
1

Objective:
1. Heating steel to appropriate temperature, and then quenching it using
different quenching media.
2. Measuring the hardness after quenching by different media.
3. Study the changes in hardness of steel due to the changes of the quenching
media.

Introduction:
Plain carbon steels and alloy steels are among relatively few engineering materials,
which can be usefully heat‐treated in order to vary their mechanical properties.
Steels are heat treated, because of the structural changes that can take place within
solid iron carbon alloys. The various heat‐treatment process appropriate to plain
carbon steels are:
1. Full annealing.
2. Normalizing.
3. Process annealing.
4. Hardening.
5. Tempering.
In all above process the steel is heated slowly to the appropriate temperature
according to its carbon content and then cooled.

It is the rate of cooling which determines the ultimate structure and properties
that the steel will have at the end of each of the pre‐mentioned heat treatment
process.
2

The process of hardenin ng involves rapidly que enching the steel from appropriate e
tem mperature in nto quenchiing media. H Hypereutecctoid steels are heated up to 30‐50 0˚ C
abo ove their upper critical temperaturre prior to q quenching. There is no particular
advantage in heating hypeer‐eutectoid d steels aboove their Acm when hardening them m,
and d in practicee; the hardening tempeerature norm mally used is just 30‐50
0˚ C above
theiir lower crittical temperrature. Queenching hypereutectoid d steels fromm this lower
tem mperature helps to prevvent crackin ng and distoortion.

f the steel iss cooled quiickly, there will be no ttransformattion into Pearlite and
If
ferrrite or Pearlite and Cem mentite, butt into a neww harder, buut less ductiile structure
e
calleed Martenssite. This is d due to the aallotropic trransformation of the faace‐centere ed
Ausstenite.

Thhe most com mmonly useed quenchin ng media arre:
a. Compreessed air blaast.
b. Oil.
c. Water.
d. 10% Briine (water ++ 10% salt).

In this Experiment we sttudied the eeffect of heaat treatmen nt on the prroperties of
carb bon steel esspecially its hardness. W We used three quench hing media w which are air,
watter and insid de the furnaace.

Me
ethod:
1. Specim
men Heatin
ng:

a) Brinng three speccimens with similar dime ensions
fromm steel contaaining more tthan 0.3% C bars.
b) Heat the furnacee to the hard dening temperature of thhe specimen (until they
beco ome totally aaustenite), thhe hardeningg temperature usually deepends on th he
perccentage of caarbon of the steel bar used.
hen put the three specim
Th mens close to each other inside the heeated furnacce. In
ordeer to protectt them from oxidization, it is recomm mended to coover them wiith
sand d inside a steeel cast iron container.
c) Leavve the specim mens inside tthe furnace ffor 30– 60 m
minutes.

2. Quenching in diffferent Media:

a) Leavve one specimen inside tthe furnace ffor a long tim me (6 hours o
or more); in
ordeer to cool it wwith small coooling rate.
b) Takee the second d specimen o out from the furnace usin ng nickel tongs, and quennch
it in the air (larger cooling raate).
c) Takee the third sp pecimen outt, and quench h it using thee water media with stirring
until it becomess cold. (the laargest cooling rate).

3

3. Hardne
ess Measuring:

a) Grin
nd the surfacce of each sp pecimen propperly to prep
pare it for thee hardness te
est.
b) Meaasure the hardness for eaach one of th he specimens using the V Vickers testin
ng
macchine, do 3 trrials for each
h specimen.
mpare betweeen the results, and discu
c) Com uss the effectt of each queenching med dium
on tthe hardnesss of the speciimen.

Ressults:
Ap
we got the fo
ollowing ressults:
The Speciimens Harrdness:
e 1st Specim
1. The men:
9 Quenching Media: Inside the furn
nace (slow ccooling)
9 Vickers Harrdness:
d1 d
d2 HV
st
1 trial 0.5388 0.5270 195.8
nd
2 trial 0.5471 0.5583 182.1
rd
3 trial 0.5546 0.54
416 187.9
188.6 HV
V
e 2nd Specim
2. The men:
9 Quenching Media: air (medium cooling rate))
d1 d
d2 HV
st
1 trial 0.4754 0.44
456 262.3
nd
2 trial 0.4565 0.4518 269.9
3rd trial 0.4518 0.4628 266.0
266.1 HV
V
rd
3. The
e 3 Specim men:
9 Quenching Media: water (rapid ccooling)
d1 d
d2 HV
st
1 trial 0.3908 0.3938 361.4
2nd trial 0.4124 0.4009 336.3
rd
3 trial 0.4077 0.4064 341.0
346.2 HV
V

usion:
In this eexperiment we learned
d about Harrdening Steeel using diffferent
quench hing media.
4

Heat treatment is very effective method to hardening carbon steel; the idea
behind all the heat treatments is to change the structure of the alloy material
in order to change its properties.
In all heat treatment processes we heat the specimen to some high
temperature then we cool it with some cooling rate.
From the results we got in this experiment we can notice that the larger
cooling rate we applied, the harder steel we got.
When we use the water media (the most rapid cooling) we got very hard and
brittle steel. (something like Martensite)
While using the furnace cooling media, we got steel with least hardness and
most ductility. (something like Pearlite)
And using the air media, the output we got was something like Bainite with
medium hardness and ductility (almost highest toughness).
The heat treatment process (or the quenching media we used) depends
always on the final product we need and its applications; for example we can
use the rapid cooling process to get very hard iron and use it in gears or other
high hardness needed applications.
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Experiment 9
Hardenability and Jominy Test


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100
1

Objective:
1. Distinguish between hardness and hardenability.
2. Understand the concept of mass effect and ruling section.
3. Perform Jominy test as a method to indicate hardenability.

Introduction:
One of the most important properties of materials is Hardness; which describes the
resistance of a material to a permanent indentation.

In steels, the value of hardness depends on many factors such as the carbon
content, alloying elements and the cooling rate during hardening process.

The Maximum hardness in steels is obtained by producing a fully martensitic
structure. This can be done by austenitizing the steel and then quenching it. During
the austenitizing treatment all of the carbides dissolve and the ferrite transforms
into austenite.

Quenching this structure causes the austenite to transform into Martensite.
This transformation is so fast that there is no time to
the carbon to diffuse out of the Martensite grains or
to form carbide phases. This Martensite is very hard
and also very brittle.

Another important property of materials is
Hardenability which describes the ability of material Martensite
to be hardened in large depth, or the ability of a steel
to partially or completely transform from austenite to some fraction of martensite at
a given depth below the surface, when cooled under a given condition (the
maximum depth of Martensite).

When a thick steel component is quenched from its hardening temperature, it will
take longer time to the inner core of the component to cool than for the surface
layers that are in contact with quenching medium. This leads to a variation in
hardness across the section of the steel component, and this mass variation in
hardness is referred to as “mass effect”. This mass effect in plain carbon steel may
be remedied to some extent by adding alloying elements to the steel, such as nickel,
chromium, molybdenum, etc. these alloying elements make it possible to get a
martensitic structure throughout the section of the steel component, even by oil‐
quenching. This is one of the most important functions of alloying, but the lack of
uniformity of structure and hardness in steels, can seriously affect the other
mechanical properties. For this reason it becomes necessary to specify the maximum
diameter of the bar of "ruling section".
2

Th
he hardenab bility of matterials can b
be studied b
by a particu
ular test callled Jominy
Testt; in which aa heated sppecimen of ssteel (auste
enite) is dropped into pposition in aa
framme, and queenched by sspraying a p pre‐set standard jet of w
water again nst its lowerr
end d. The stand
dard specimen cools veery rapidly aat the quencched end an nd
end. When cold, a flat is grounded
proggressively leess rapidly ttowards thee opposite e d
alonng the side of the specimen and itts hardness is measured every 3m mm form the e
queenched end..

Me
ethod:
1. Specim
men Heatin
ng:

a) Choose two typees of steel baars with propper dimensioons to be maachined to thhe
ndard dimenssions of the Jominy test specimen. O
stan One of these steel bars is
madde from plain
n carbon steeel and the otther is from aalloy steel (h
here we usedd d2
Steeel).
b) Heat each of theese two barss up to its ausstenite temp
perature.

2. Jominyy Test Macchine:

c) Drop each bar in
nto its propeer position off the frame o
of the Jominyy
test device.
d) End quenches eaach bar withh tap water fo or about 15mmins.

3. Hardne
ess Measuring:

e) Grin
nd a flat alon
ng the side off each specim
men.
f) Meaasure the hardness everyy 3 mm form m the quenched side of th he
bar using Vickers1 hardness ttesting mach hine (the oldest one in th
he
worrld).
g) Plott the hardnesss measured (HV) of each h bar with th
he relation to
o
the distance from quenched d end (mm) o on the same graph paperr.
h) Commpare the hardenability o of the two obbtained curvves.

Ressults:
Ap
we got the fo
ollowing ressults:

1
In tthe standard JJominy test Ro
ockwell C Harrdness must be used, but heere in this exp
periment we h
have
usedd Vickers insteead.
3

Distance d1 d2 avg
g HV
3 0.3 0.3 0.3 618 Specimen Type: Plain Carbon Steel 1045
6 0.29 0.29 0.29 661.3555
9 0.3 0.3 0.3 618 Load (kg) 30
12 0.3 0.3 0.3 618
15 0.31 0.31 0.31 578.7721
18 0.31 0.28 0.295 639.1267
21 0.29 0.3 0.295 639.1267
Hardenability for Plain Carbon Steel [1045]
24 0.31 0.29 0.3 618 800
27 0.3 0.29 0.295 639.1267 700
30 0.28 0.28 0.28 709.4388
Vickers Hardness (HV))
33 0.31 0.32 0.315 560.5442 600
36 0.31 0.3 0.305 597.9038 500
39 0.32 0.33 0.325 526.5799
400
42 0.34 0.3 0.32 543.1641 HV
45 0.34 0.35 0.345 467.2968 300
HV)) .‫أأسي‬
48 0.33 0.34 0.335 495.6115 200
51 0.38 0.37 0.375 395.52
100
54 0.36 0.37 0.365 417.4892
57 0.39 0.37 0.38 385.1801 0
60 0.4 0.39 0.395 356.4813 0 20 40 60 80 100
63 0.39 0.38 0.385 375.2403 Distance from quenched end (mm)
66 0.38 0.39 0.385 375.2403
69 0.37 0.4 0.385 375.2403
72 0.39 0.4 0.395 356.4813
75 0 37
0.37 0 39
0.39 0 38 385.1801
0.38 385 1801
78 0.37 0.38 0.375 395.52
81 0.38 0.4 0.39 365.6805
84 0.38 0.4 0.39 365.6805
87 0.37 0.39 0.38 385.1801
90 04
0.4 0 42
0.42 0 41 330.8745
0.41 330 8745
Distance HV
3 736 Specimen Type: d2 Steel
6 626.1
9 561
12 662.1
15 598.5 Hardenability for d2 Steel
Hardenability for d2 Steel
18 579.1
900
21 561.1
24 598.1 800
27 561.1
s (HV)
700
30 579.1 600
Vickers Hardness
33 579.1 500
36 662.4
HV 400
39 765.4
42 736.1 HV)) .‫أسي‬ 300
45 708.5 200
V
48 712.1 100
51 700.4 0
54 666.8
0 20 40 60 80 100
57 660
60 653.3 Distance from quenched end (mm)
q ( )
63 634.7
66 612.4
69 559.4
72 541.8
75 504 1
504.1
78 478.9
81 480.3
84 423.1
87 410.1
90 628 5
628.5
Distance Plain Steel d2 Steel
3 618 736
6 661.35553 626.1
9 618 561 Hardenability for 1045 & d2 Steel
12 618 662.1
15 578.77211 598.5 900
18 639.12669 579.1
800
21 639.12669 561.1
24 618 598.1 700
27 639.12669 561.1
HV)
30 709.43878 579.1 600
Vicckers Hardness (H
Pl i St l
Plain Steel
33 560.54422 579.1
36 597.90379 662.4 d2 Steel 500
39 526.57988 765.4 Plain Steel)) .‫أسي‬ 400
42 543.16406 736.1
45 467.29679 708.5 d2 Steel)) .‫أسي‬
300
48 495.61149 712.1
51 395.52 700.4 200
54 417.48921 666.8
57 385.18006 660 100
60 356.48133 653.3 0
63 375.24034 634.7
0 20 40 60 80 100
66 375.24034 612.4
69 375.24034 559.4 Distance from quenched end (mm)
72 356.48133 541.8
75 385.18006 504.1
78 395.52 478.9
81 365.68047 480.3
84 365.68047 423.1
87 385.18006 410.1
90 330.87448 628.5
In this experiment we learned about the Hardenability of Steels.
Hardenability is an important property of material (especially steels) that
describes the capacity of the steel to harden in depth under a given set of
conditions.
Jominy test is an effective method to measure Hardenability of steels; by
quenching one end of a specimen to generate Martensite along its depth,
then measuring the hardness at different distances from this end, and
determine the ability of this steel specimen to generate Martensite with
depth.
As we have studied (and also noticed in the lab) adding some alloys to steel
make it more hardenable. The following graph explains this:

When we applied the Jominy test on the two specimens in this experiment
we found the following:
1. The 1st specimen's (Plain Steel 1045) curve was approximately similar to
our expectations except some out‐of‐range points –as you can see in the
results part of this report‐.
2. The 2nd specimen's (D2 Steel) curve was almost strange; since the first 12
points are less hard than the next part of the curve, and this doesn’t make
sense (because these 1st points have more cooling rate i.e. more
opportunity to form Martensite).
3. But in general we can notice from the third graph (the comparison one)
the effect of alloying in increasing hardenability.
This unexpected curve2 (of D2 steel) can be due to some factors such as:
a. Some inhomogeneousity in the specimen.

2
Notice: this part of experiment for D2 steel has done by the other group of students, and I actually
don’t know the way or conditions in which they made it. So all the reasons I mentioned are just
expectations.
7

b. Mistakes in applying Jominy test (especially in the rate of cooling
along distance).
c. Mistakes in measuring hardness.

I think that the third reason is the most expected because they have
changed the hardness testing machine (from the manual one to the
automatic one) between the 12th and 13th points, and their mistakes
could be either in measuring d1 & d2 of the impression, or in
calculating the Vickers hardness.

Alloying usually increases the hardenability of steels because it increases the
time needed to form martensite (decreases the critical cooling rate).
From this experiment we can conclude that the plain carbon steel 1045 has
less hardenability than D2 steel.
This property (hardenability) can help in choosing suitable metals for more
effective heat treatment and performance in industrial applications.
8

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Experiment 10
Tensile Testing of Plastics


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100
1

Objective:
1. To investigate the tensile behavior of polymers.
2. To determine the following properties:
a. The relationship between tensile stress and strain.
b. Modulus of elasticity.
c. The tensile strength.
d. Percentage of elongation.

Introduction:
Strength can be defined as the ability of a material to resist applied forces without
yielding or fracturing.

The strength of materials can be determined using some kind of tests called Tensile
Test, in which a tensile load (force) is applied to a specimen of the material and its
extension is measured with respect to this load, i.e. Tensile test is used to measure
the force required to break a specimen and the extent to which the specimen
stretches or elongates to that breaking point.

Applying this test, the Stress‐Strain Diagram is produced, and we can investigate
the tensile behavior of the material and its properties from this diagram.

Stress (σ): the force acting per unit area. [MPa]

∆
Strain (ε): the measure of the elongation or contraction of a line segment in the body.
In this experiment we are studying the tensile behavior of some polymers (Plastics)
under specific conditions (such as temperature, initial geometry and speed of testing
.etc.)

The testing speed: is the rate of separation of the grips of the testing machine
during the test (expressed in [mm/min]).

2

The tensile behavior of polymers depends on many factors rather than the
composition and structure; it depends also on the temperature T and the strain rate
(testing speed).

Increasing the temperature results in decreasing of modulus of elasticity (E) and
Tensile strength TS but increasing in Ductility (%EL).

The effect of strain rate is completely the opposite of T; while the strain rate of
testing increases the ductility of the material decreases and it seems stronger.

Method:
1. Test Atmosphere:

a. Conduct the test in the same atmosphere used for conditioning the test
specimen. (the conditions we used in this experiment were:
T = 23 oC (+/‐ 2)
Humidity = 50% (+/‐ 5)

2. Dimensions of test specimen1:

e. Define the gauge marks on the test specimen; these shall be approximately
equidistance from the midpoint.
f. Measure the width (b) and the thickness (h) at the center of each end of
each specimen and within 5 mm of each end of the gauge length (4 readings
for each).
g. Calculate the arithmetic means for the width and
thickness of each specimen, which shall be used for
calculation purposes.

3. Clamping: place the test specimen in the grips.

4. Prestresses: the specimen shall not be stressed substantially
prior to test.

5. Adjustment of the Camera: after balancing the
prestresses, set and adjust the camera to be centered to the gauge length of the test
specimen.

6. Testing speed: set the speed of testing in accordance with the appropriate for the
material concerned.

7. Recording of data: record the force and the corresponding values of increase of
the gauge length and the distance between grips during the test using the automatic
recording system of the tester.

1
In this experiment we have tested three specimens; 2 PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) specimens (with
diﬀerent testing rate) and 1 HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) specimen.
3

Results:
1. Dimensions of test specimens:

Material Thickness (mm) Width (mm) Gauge Length (mm) Testing Speed
HDPE 3.06 6.12 25 100 mm/min
PVC1 3.3325 3.175 50 5 mm/min
PVC2 3.4 11.72 50 15 mm/min

2
2. Stress‐Strain Diagrams:
The stress strain diagram for each specimen was drawn by the automatic
recording system of the tester and you can see them in the next pages.

Material Tensile Strength (MPa) Yield Stress YP (MPa) Ductility %EL
HDPE 25.6061 21.4127 640%
PVC1 50.3081 1.4514 150%
PVC2 50.7984 ‐ 63%

In this experiment we learned about the tensile testing of Polymers.
This test is carried out to study the tensile behavior of polymers (under
tensile load).
There are many properties related to this test such as strength, Ductility
toughness, stiffness and so on.
Polymers differ widely in their tensile behaviors.

2
The diagrams on Pages(7‐9) are force‐extension diagrams, that we can turn into Stress‐Strain using
the two equations of Stress and Strain (in the introduction part of this report).
4

The main aim of tensile test is to measure the strength of materials in term of
Tensile (Max) or Yield strength (stress).
The main difference between metals and polymers tensile behavior is that
polymers' depends on temperature and strain rate.
Another important difference is in ductility; since polymers (in general) are
much more ductile than metals.
Metals have more strength than polymers.
Here we have tested two types of polymers; HDPE and PVC, and we got the
following results:
o HDPE is more ductile than PVC.
o HDPE has less tensile strength than PVC.
Applying the tensile test on PVC specimens with different strain rate (5 and
15 mm/min), we got the following:
o By increasing the strain rate, the strength of polymer increases (here
the TS increased from 50.3081 MPa to 50.7984 MPa).
o By increasing the strain rate, the ductility of the polymer decreases
(here from %EL 150% to 63%).
And these results meet the theoretical information mentioned in the
introduction part of this report.
The PVC specimen with high strain rate has no yield strength i.e. it directly
deforms plastically without plastic deformation, because of the high testing
speed.
Tensile test is very important to check if the specimen meets the standards or
not.
5

IE 2210

i
i

Experiment 11
Melt Mass Flow Rate (MFR)
Of Thermoplastics


Title Mark
Objective /10
Introduction /15
Method /15
Result /30
Report Neatness /10
Total Mark /100
1

Objective:
1. To determine the melt mass flow rate MFR of thermoplastics materials under
specified conditions of temperature and load.
2. Compare between raw and manufactured material in MFR.

Introduction:
One of materials' properties is the melt mass flow rate which describes the
viscosity of the polymer in the melt phase. . It is defined as the mass of polymer in
grams flowing per 10 minutes through a capillary of specific diameter and length by
a pressure applied via a range of standard weights at specified temperature.

MFR is a simple and quick test of the polymer viscosity, carried out using some
Apparatus (Extrusion Plastometer) consists of the following essential parts:
1. Cylinder: manufactured from a material resistant to wear and corrosion up to
a maximum temperature of the heating system, and the finish, properties
and dimensions of its surface shall not be affected by the material being
tested. The cylinder shall have a length between 115 mm and 180 mm and an
internal diameter of 9.550 ± 0.025 mm.
2. Piston: also manufactured from a material resistant to wear and corrosion up
to a maximum temperature of the heating system, and the finish, properties
and dimensions of its surface shall not be affected by the material being
tested. The piston shall have a head 6.35 mm ± 0.10 mm in length. The
diameter of the head shall be less that the internal diameter of cylinder by
0.075 mm ± 0.010 mm.
3. Temperature control system: between 10 mm and 75 mm above the top of
the die. And it shall allow the test temperature to be set in steps of 0.2ºC or
less.
4. Die: made of tungsten carbide or hardened steel, 8.000 mm ± 0.025 mm in
length. The die shall have ends that are flat, perpendicular to the axis of the
bore and free from visible machining marks.
5. Means of setting of maintaining the cylinder truly vertical: a two‐directional
bubble level, set normal to the cylinder axis, and adjustable supports for the
apparatus are suitable for the purpose.
6. Load: a set of removable weights, which may be adjusted so that the
combined mass of the weights and the piston gives the selected nominal load
to an accuracy of ± 0.5 % are mounted on top of the piston.

Using this machine, we get some cut‐offs of the specimen in specified time (taking
other conditions such as temperature, load and dimensions into consideration), then
we can calculate the MFR using this equation:
600
,
Where: T is the test temperature [oC].
mnom is the nominal load [kg].
m is the average mass [g] of the cut‐offs.
T is the cut‐off time‐interval [sec].
600 is the factor used to convert g/sec into g/10 min (600s).
2

In this experiment we have studied the melt mass flow rate of raw material and
manufactured HDPE (High Density Polyethylene).

Method:
1. Selection of temperature and load:
The material standard takes precedence over the international standard. If no
material standard exits, use an appropriate set of conditions based on knowledge of
the melting point of the material or the processing conditions recommended by
manufacturing.
Here we used two specimens (raw material and manufactured HDPE) with
temperature and load as fixed in Standards.

2. Cleaning:
The apparatus should be cleaned thoroughly after each determination. The
cylinder may be cleaned with cloth patches and the piston with a cotton cloth (while
it’s hot) and the die is cleaned with a closely fitting brass reamer.

3. Selection of sample mass and charging cylinder:
Charge the cylinder with 3‐5 g of the sample. During the charging, compress the
material with the packing rod, using hand pressure. Complete the charging process
<1 min. The preheat time of 5 min begins after the charging is complete. At the end
of the 5 min preheating put the desired load.

4. Measurements:
ª Place the selected weight on the piston. When
the lower reference mark has reached the top
edge of the cylinder, start timing, simultaneously
cut off the extrudate with the cutting tool.
ª Collect the successive cut‐offs in order to
measure the extrusion rate at a given time
interval. Choose a time interval1 so that the
length is not less than 10 mm and preferably
between 10 & 20 mm.
ª Stop cutting when the upper mark reaches the edge of the cylinder. After
cooling, weigh individually, to the nearest 1mg, preferably three or more2, and
calculate their average mass.
ª The time between the end of charging the cylinder and the last measurement
shall not exceed 25min for any material. For some materials, this time may need
to be reduced to prevent degradation or cross‐linking of the material during the
test.

5. Expression of results:
Calculate the melt mass flow rate in term of g/10 min using the equation placed in
the introduction part of this report.
Then compare the MFR values of raw material and manufactured HDPE.

1
Here we have chosen 240 seconds as a time interval for cutting.
2
In this experiment we have done the test only one time for each specimen.
3

Results:
Test Time interval
Load The Cut MFR
Material Temperature for cutting
(kgforce) Mass (kg) (g/10 min)
(0C) (sec)
Manufactured
190 oC 5 kg 240 sec 0.1026 g 0.2565
HDPE
Raw material
190 oC 5 kg 240 sec 0.1060 g 0.2650
HDPE
% Difference 3.21%

In this experiment we learned about the melt mass flow rate MFR of
thermoplastics.
MFR test is carried out to study the viscosity of the polymer in the melt phase
which is important to determine the suitable manufacturing processes for it.
This test is usually done using some Apparatus (Extrusion Plastometer) that
melt the specimen in specific conditions of temperature and load, let this
melt extrude for an interval of time and then cut it off.
By measuring the mass of the cut piece, (with known interval time) we can
calculate the MFR.
Here we have tested two HDPE specimens, raw material and manufactured,
and we noticed the following:
o MFR for the two specimens are not the same. There was some
difference.
o MFR for Raw‐material is more than its value for manufactured
specimens from the same material (HDPE).
o Here we got 0.265g/10min as MFR for the raw material HDPE while
0.2565g/10min for manufactured HDPE, with %difference of 3.21%.
o This difference might be because that during manufacturing process
the structure of the material may be slightly changed, or some other
types of materials might be added.
MFR test of polymers is very important to check if some manufacturing
processes and conditions are suitable for the specimen or not.
4

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There are two main kinds of test pieces:

The initial properties for the piece were:

The final properties are:

From the graph we can calculate these values as follows:

Discussion and Conclusion:

In this experiment we learned about tensile testing of metals.

You might also like

Materials Science Reports

Uploaded by

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Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

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Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

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Materials Science Reports

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There are two main kinds of test pieces:

The initial properties for the piece were:

The final properties are:

From the graph we can calculate these values as follows:

Discussion and Conclusion:

 In this experiment we learned about tensile testing of metals.

You might also like

In this experiment we learned about tensile testing of metals.