Lecture 3:

Properties of Materials

Instructor: Dr. Tsz Ho Kwok

MECH 421/6511 1
Outline

1. Introduction
2. Static Properties
3. Hardness
4. Temperature Effects
5. Summary

MECH 421/6511 2
1. Introduction

 Products begin with the appropriate materials

 Materials rarely come in the right shape, size, and
quantity for use
 Parts and components are produced by subjecting
engineering materials to one or more processes
 Manufacturing requires knowledge in several
areas

The manufacturing relationships

among structure, properties,
processing, and performance.

MECH 421/6511 3
Requirements for Design
 Material requirements must be determined
 Strength
 Rigidity
 Resistance to fracture
 Ability to withstand vibrations or impacts
 Weight
 Electrical properties
 Appearance
 Ability to operate under temperature extremes
 Corrosion resistance
MECH 421/6511 4
Metallic and Nonmetallic Materials

 Metallic materials
 Iron, steel, copper, aluminum, magnesium, etc.
 General properties
 Luster, high thermal conductivity, high electrical
conductivity, ductile
 Nonmetallic materials
 Wood, brick, concrete, glass, rubber, plastic, etc.
 General properties
 Weaker, less ductile, less dense

MECH 421/6511 5
Metallic and Nonmetallic Materials
 Metals have historically been the more
important of the two groups
 Recently, advanced ceramics, composite
materials, and engineered plastics have
become increasingly important
 If both a metal and nonmetal are capable for
a certain product, decide by cost
 Other factors that are considered:
 Product lifetime, Environmental impact, Energy
requirements, Recyclability
MECH 421/6511 6
Physical and Mechanical Properties

 Physical properties:
 Density, melting point, optical properties, thermal
properties, electrical properties, magnetic
properties
 Mechanical properties:
 A property that dictates how a material responds
to applied loads and forces
 Determined through specified testing
 It is important to take the testing methodology

MECH 421/6511 7
Mechanical Properties in
Design and Manufacturing
 Mechanical properties determine a material’s
behavior when subjected to mechanical
stresses
 Properties include elastic modulus, ductility,
hardness, and various measures of strength
 Dilemma: mechanical properties that are
desirable to the designer, such as high
strength, usually make manufacturing more
difficult

MECH 421/6511 8
2. Static Properties

 Constant force on a material is called a static

force
 Strength of a material is important
 Elastic stretching or deflection of a material is
related to Young’s Modulus
 A number of methods have been developed
to understand these static properties of
materials

MECH 421/6511 9
Stress and Strain

 Strain is the distortion or deformation of a

material from a force or a load
 Stress is the force
or the load being
transmitted through
the material’s cross
sectional area

Tension loading and the resultant elongation.

MECH 421/6511 10
Tension, Compression, Shear Loading
 Three types of static stresses:
 Tensile - stretching the
material
 Compressive - squeezing
the material
 Shear - causing adjacent
portions of the material to
slide against each other

Examples of tension, compression, and shear

loading, and their response.

MECH 421/6511 11
Stress-Strain Relationships

 Stress-strain curve - basic relationship that

describes mechanical properties for all three
types

Engineering stress-strain diagram for a low-carbon steel in tensile test.

MECH 421/6511 12
Tensile Test

 Most common test for studying stress-strain

relationship, especially metals
 In the test, a force pulls the
material, elongating it and
reducing its diameter

(1) Tensile force applied and

(2) resulting elongation of material

MECH 421/6511 13
Static Testing Machine

 Tensile test
 Uniaxial test
 Generates an
engineering stress-
strain curve
 Compression test
 Difficult to test
compression
 Similar results to that of
the tensile testing
Schematic of the load frame showing how upward motion
of the darkened yoke can produce tension or compression
with respect to the stationary (white) crosspiece.

MECH 421/6511 14
Engineering Stress and Strain

 Stress defined as force divided by cross-

�
section area: =
�0
where s = engineering stress, F = applied force, and Ao = original
area of test specimen
 Strain defined at any point in the test as
�−�0 ∆�
�= =
�0 �0
where e = engineering strain; L = length at any point
during elongation; and Lo = original gage length

MECH 421/6511 15
Typical Engineering Stress-Strain Plot

 Typical engineering stress-strain plot in a

tensile test of a metal
 Two regions:
 Elastic region
 Plastic region

MECH 421/6511 16
Elastic Region in Stress-Strain Curve

 Relationship between stress and strain is linear

 Hooke's Law: = �
 where = modulus of elasticity
 Material returns to its original length when
stress is removed
 is a measure of the inherent
stiffness of a material
 Its value differs for different materials

MECH 421/6511 17
Plastic Region in Stress-Strain Curve

 Yield point marks the beginning of plastic

deformation
 The stress-strain relationship is no longer
guided by Hooke's Law
 As load is increased beyond Y, elongation
proceeds at a much faster rate than before,
causing the slope of the curve to change
dramatically

MECH 421/6511 18
Yield Point in Stress-Strain Curve

 As stress increases, a point in the linear

relationship is finally reached when the
material begins to yield
 Yield point Y can be identified by the change in
slope at the upper end of the linear region
 Y = a strength property
 Other names for yield point:
 Yield strength
 Yield stress
 Elastic limit

MECH 421/6511 19
Yield Point Phenomenon

 Elastic-plastic transition is very well-defined

and occurs abruptly.
 Yield strength is
taking as the
lower yield point

MECH 421/6511 20
Offset Yield Strength

 Most materials do not have a well-defined

yield point, i.e., elastic-to-plastic
transition is not distinct
 Springback effect
 Offset yield strength is used to
defines the stress required to
plastically strain (e.g., 0.2%)
 �= 2

MECH 421/6511 21
Tensile Strength in Stress-Strain Curve
 Elongation is accompanied by a uniform
reduction in cross-sectional area, consistent
with maintaining constant volume
 Finally, the applied load reaches a
maximum value, and engineering stress at
this point is called the tensile strength
(a.k.a. ultimate tensile strength)
����
 =
�0

MECH 421/6511 22
Ductility and Brittleness

 Necking is a localized
reduction in cross
sectional area
 For ductile materials, A standard 0.505-in diameter tensile specimen
showing a necked region developed prior to failure.
necking occurs before
fracture
 For brittle materials, fracture Percent Reduction in Area:

A0  A f
ends the stress strain curve
R. A.  100%
before necking
 Percent elongation is the
percent change of a material A0
at fracture
MECH 421/6511 23
Ductility in Tensile Test

 Ability of a material to
plastically strain without fracture
 Ductility measure = elongation
�− 0
=
0
where EL = elongation; Lf = specimen length at fracture;
and Lo = original specimen length
Lf is measured as the distance between gage marks after
two pieces of specimen are put back together

MECH 421/6511 24
Tensile Test Sequence
 ? Necking? Strain hardening?

(1) No load; (2) uniform elongation and area reduction; (3)

maximum load; (4) necking; (5) fracture; (6) final length

MECH 421/6511 25
True Stress-Strain Curve

 The cross-section area is

changing
 Instantaneous stress
versus the summation
of the incremental strain

    ln
L
F dL L
A L L
o
Lo
True stress-strain curve
for an engineering metal.

MECH 421/6511 26
True Stress-Strain Curve

 Note that true stress increases continuously

in the plastic region until necking
 In the engineering stress-strain curve, the
significance of this was lost because stress was
based on the original area value
 It means that the metal is becoming stronger
as strain increases
 This property is called strain hardening

MECH 421/6511 27
Strain Hardening
 Loading and unloading within the elastic
region will result in cycling up and down the
linear portion of the stress
strain curve
 When metals are plastically
deformed, they become
harder and stronger
(strain hardening)
Stress-strain diagram obtained by unloading
and reloading a specimen.

MECH 421/6511 28
 True Stress-Strain in Log-Log Plot

 If the plastic region of the true stress-strain

curve plotted on log-log scale, the result
would be a linear log �

relationship.
 Flow Curve:
  K n

where K = strength coefficient; and

log �
n = strain hardening exponent

MECH 421/6511 29
Types of Stress-Strain Relationships

 Flow curve: � = �
 Perfectly Elastic
 Elastic and Perfectly Plastic
 Elastic and Strain Hardening

MECH 421/6511 30
Perfectly Elastic

 Behavior is defined completely by modulus of

elasticity
 Fractures rather than yielding to plastic flow
 Brittle materials: ceramics,
many cast irons, and
thermosetting polymers

MECH 421/6511 31
Elastic and Perfectly Plastic

 Stiffness defined by E , when Y is reached,

deforms plastically at same stress level
 Flow curve: K = Y, n = 0
 Metals behave like this when
heated to sufficiently high
temperatures (above
recrystallization)

MECH 421/6511 32
Elastic and Strain Hardening

 Hooke's Law in elastic region, yields at Y,

then flow curve: K > Y, n > 0
 Most ductile metals behave this way when
cold worked

MECH 421/6511 33
Compression Test

 Applies a load that squeezes the ends of a

cylindrical specimen between two platens
 Compression force applied to test piece and
resulting change in height and diameter

Barreling effect

MECH 421/6511 34
Compression

 Engineering stress in compression:

�=−
�0
where �0 = original area of the specimen
 Engineering strain is defined
h  ho
e
ho
Since height is reduced during compression, value of e is negative (the
negative sign is usually ignored when expressing compression strain)

MECH 421/6511 35
Stress-Strain Curve in Compression

 Shape of plastic region is different from

tensile test because cross section increases
 Calculated value of
engineering stress is higher

MECH 421/6511 36
Tensile Test vs. Compression Test

 Although differences exist between

engineering stress-strain curves in tension and
compression, the true stress-strain
relationships are nearly identical
 Since tensile test results are more common,
flow curve values ( and �) from tensile test
data can be applied to compression operations
 Compression operations are common in metal
forming, e.g., rolling, forging, extrusion.
MECH 421/6511 37
Shear Properties

 Application of stresses in opposite directions

on either side of a thin element: (a) shear
stress and (b) shear strain

MECH 421/6511 38
Shear Stress and Strain

 
F
Shear stress defined as
A

where F = applied force; and A = area over which

deflection occurs.


 Shear strain defined as  
b

where  = deflection element; and b = distance over which

deflection occurs

MECH 421/6511 39
Torsion Test

 Commonly used to test shear on a tube

� ��
�= and �=
2�� 2 � �
where = applied torque, = radius of the tube, = wall
thickness, and � = angular deflection

MECH 421/6511 40
Torsion Stress-Strain Curve

 Typical shear stress-strain curve from a

torsion test
 In the elastic region,
the relationship is
defined as
  G
where G = shear modulus, or shear
modulus of elasticity
For most materials, G  0.4E, where
E = elastic modulus

MECH 421/6511 41
Shear Plastic Stress-Strain Relationship

 Relationship similar to the flow curve for a

tensile test
 Shear stress at fracture = shear strength

strength:  .7
Shear strength can be estimated from tensile

 Since cross-sectional area of test specimen

in torsion test does not change as in tensile

curve for shear  true stress-strain curve

and compression, engineering stress-strain

MECH 421/6511 42
Testing of Brittle Materials

 Hard brittle materials (e.g., ceramics)

possess elasticity but little or no plasticity
 Conventional tensile test cannot be easily applied
 Often tested by a bending test (also called
flexure test)
 Specimen of rectangular cross-section is
positioned between two supports, and a load is
applied at its center

MECH 421/6511 43
Bending Test

 Bending of a rectangular cross section results

in both tensile and compressive stresses in
the material: (1) initial loading; (2) highly
stressed and strained specimen

MECH 421/6511 44
Testing of Brittle Materials

 Brittle materials do not flex

 They deform elastically until fracture
 Failure occurs because tensile strength of outer
fibers of specimen are exceeded
 Failure type: cleavage - common with ceramics
and metals at low temperatures, in which
separation rather than slip occurs along certain
crystallographic planes

MECH 421/6511 45
Testing of Brittle Materials

 The strength value derived from this test is

defined as the transverse rupture strength
.5
=
� 2
where = transverse rupture strength; = applied load at fracture;
= length of the specimen between supports; and � and are the
dimensions of the cross section of the specimen.

MECH 421/6511 46
3. Hardness

 The resistance to permanent deformation in

the form of penetration or indentation
 Good hardness generally means material is
resistant to scratching and wear
 Most tooling used in manufacturing must be hard
for scratch and wear resistance

MECH 421/6511 47
Hardness Tests

 Commonly used for assessing material

properties because they are quick and
convenient
 Variety of testing methods due to differences
in hardness among different materials
 Most well-known are Brinell and Rockwell
hardness tests
 Other test methods include Vickers, Knoop,
Scleroscope, and durometer
MECH 421/6511 48
Hardness Testing

 Brinell Hardness Test

 Measures the indentation of a steel ball
 Pressed into specimen surface with a load of 500,
1500, or 3000 kg
 Yields a Brinell hardness number (BHN) based on
diameter of indentation
 Hardness testing can provide a close
approximation of tensile strength (~500 times
the Brinell hardness number for psi)

MECH 421/6511 49
 Brinell Hardness Test

https://youtu.be/RJXJpeH78iU
Brinell test sequence showing loading and
measurement of the indentation under magnification
with a scale calibrated in millimeters.

MECH 421/6511 50
4. Temperature Effects

 Temperatures effect the mechanical

properties of materials
 General effect of
temperature on strength
and ductility

MECH 421/6511 51
Effect of Temperature on Properties

 Ductile-brittle transition temperature is the

temperature at which the response of the
material goes from high
energy absorption to
low energy absorption

The effect of temperature on

the impact properties of two
low-carbon steels

MECH 421/6511 52
Hot Hardness

 Ability of a material to retain hardness at

elevated temperature
 Typical hardness as a
function of temperature
for several materials

MECH 421/6511 53
Recrystallization in Metals

 Most metals strain harden at room temperature

according to the flow curve (n > 0)
 But if heated to sufficiently high temperature
and deformed, strain hardening does not occur
 Instead, new grains form that are free of strain
 The metal has recrystallized
 The metal behaves as a perfectly plastic material;
that is, � = 0 (� = � )

MECH 421/6511 54
Recrystallization Temperature

 Recrystallization temperature of a given

metal is about one-half its melting point (i.e.,
0.5 ) as measured on an absolute
temperature scale
 Recrystallization takes time
 The recrystallization temperature is specified as
the temperature at which new grains are formed in
about one hour

MECH 421/6511 55
Recrystallization and Manufacturing

 Recrystallization can be exploited in

manufacturing
 Heating a metal to its recrystallization
temperature prior to deformation allows a
greater amount of straining
 Lower forces and power are required to perform
the process
 Forming a metal at temperatures above its
recrystallization temperature is called hot working

MECH 421/6511 56
Summary

 Material selection is extremely important to a

successful product
 Desired material properties must be determined
 Stress strain curve is a valuable engineering
tool that demonstrates a material’s behavior
as loads are applied
 Variety of testing methodologies to determine
material properties
 Method in which they are tested is important to
understand

MECH 421/6511 57