1. Ductility is a measure of material’s ability to undergo plastic deformation before rupture.

Hardness is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by

mechanical indentation or abrasion.

Strength of materials is a subject which deals with the behavior of solid objects subject to
stresses and strains. The strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied load without
failure or plastic deformation.

Toughness: Measure of the material ability to absorb energy

Resilience: is the ability of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically, and
release that energy upon unloading.
2. Advantages of steel constructions: 1. Suitable for long span structures 2. Suitable for building
temporary structures 3. High load carrying capacity 4. Strength other construction materials 5. Give
visible evidence of failure by large deflections 6. Steel is light in weight that is suitable for industrial
applications

Disadvantages of steel constructions:1. Very weak against corrosion 2. Less resistant against high
temperature 3. Take high amount of energy 4. Need fire proof 5. High maintenance cost

3. Explain the advantages of Rockwell Hardness test and factors that would affect the results:

Advantages:

1. It is non-destructive as the size of indentation is very small as compared to Brinell test

2. It can measure the hardness of very thin plates which otherwise may break in Brinell test
3. It is quick to measure, and the hardness can be directly read on the scale

Factors:

1. The surface of the metal to be test should be very smooth and clean otherwise the results
may be misleading.
2. Any movement of the material during the test may produce wrong results.

4. Explain briefly the yield strength and ultimate strength of steel. And why the yield strength is used
within design process of steel structures:

1. The yield point is the point at which there is an appreciable elongation or yielding of the
material without any corresponding increase of load. Indeed, the load may decrease when
the yielding occurs. Yield strength is the stress at yielding and is used in ultimate strength
design as the failure stress.
2. Ultimate stress/strength is the highest point on the stress-strain curve and indicates the
maximum load which the material can load. However, it can not be used in design, as after
the yielding, the appreciable elongation occurs, and the material may loss its stability.

5. Describe briefly the method to determine the yield strength for the steels do not have a well-
defined yield point.

For materials that do not have a yield point, it can be determined by offset method. The method
consists of drawing a line parallel to the initial tangent of the stress-strain curve. The line starts at an
arbitrary offset strain(0.002m/m). The intersection of the line and the stress-strain curve is called the
yield strength.
6. Please describe experimental procedure for the Brinell hardness test and Rockwell hardness test.

Brinell hardness test:

1. A hardened steel ball(indenter), 10mm in diameter is forced into the test specimen at a load
of 3000kg, applied for 10-15 seconds.
2. The brinell hardness number is found from the diameter of the impression.
3. The BHN is then found from a table of impression diameters against BHN numbers.

Rockwell hardness test:

1. Apply a 10kg minor load to seat the indenter firmly on the specimen and apply the major
load.
2. When the major load is removed, the difference in depth of penetration between the minor
and the major load is indicated on the dial gage, which is equal to the rockwell hardness
number.

7. Please describe the experimental procedure for the Tension test.

1. Preparation of specimen: clean the steel rod specimen and mark the gauge on it.
2. Range calculation: assume a tensile strength for calculating the maximum load capacity of
the rod.
3. Placing the specimen
4. Placing extensometer: fix the extensometer on the specimen and set the reading to zero.
5. Apply load
6. Important load points: with the increase load, the load pointer remains stationary. Load
corresponding to this indicates the yield point. The load before the breaking is ultimate load.
The load at the breaking is the breaking load.

8. List and explain the six criteria that are considered within material engineering.

1. Economical factor

2. Mechanical properties: is the response to external load, materials deform in response to

loads or forces

3. Non-mechanical properties: density, Thermal properties, Surface characteristics: the

ability of material to resist abrasion and surface texture.

4. Production/construction consideration

5. Aesthetic properties: the appearance of the material/structure.

6. Sustainable development: the current and future needs of society

9. Why is reinforcing steel used in concrete?

1. Reinforced concrete is the concrete in which the steel is embedded in such a way that two
materials act together in resisting forces. The reinforcing steel absorbs shear, tensile and
sometimes compressive stresses in a concrete structure.
2. Plain concrete does not easily withstand tensile and shear stresses caused by wind,
earthquakes and vibrations and thus unsuitable in most structural applications. In reinforced
 concrete, the tensile strength of steel and the compressive strength of concrete work
together to withstand these stresses over considerable spans.

10. Factors affecting the Tension Test of Steel

1. Surface Imperfections Surface imperfections, due to improper specimen preparation or

handling or due to corrosion, may cause stress concentrations. This effect is most serious for brittle
materials.

2. Temperature At higher temperatures, the ductility increases; the yield strength, fracture
strength, and modulus of elasticity are decreased.

3. Specimen Size The larger the specimen, the more likely it is to contain severe flaws of one
kind or another. Therefore, larger specimens tend to give lower ultimate strengths. 6
REVIEW OF LAST LECTURE

4. Rate of Loading

11. Use appreciate diagrams, describe the effect of strain hardening of material steel.

12. Name and describe briefly 5 types of corrosion of structural steel.

1. General corrosion: is the most common form of corrosion, and it can be considered as a uniform
corrosion process.

2. Pitting Corrosion: is a non-uniform, highly localized form of corrosion happen in deep pits. And
most in coastal areas.

3. Stress Corrosion: much faster and can lead to brittle failure due to localized corrosion

4. Galvanic or Bimetallic Corrosion: two metals of different electrochemical potential are joined in
water, they act as the anode and corrode.

5. Crevice Corrosion: The corrosion process use available oxygen and high corrosion rates occur at
the tip of the crevice.

13. List and describe briefly two types of heat treatment methods that can be used to improve the
micro-structures and the strength of steel

Annealing: The material is heated to near-melting temperature and then progressively cooled in the
furnace.and soften the material, improve the ductility, increase the toughness.

Normalizing: In normalizing process, the material is heated to a temperature above its melting point
to improve its ductility and toughness.

Tempering and Quenching: Tempering is the slow heating of steel below the melting

point to soften previously hardened structures and make them tougher and more ductile.

14. Based on the carbon contents, list the four types of the carbon steel and introduce the
applications.

1. Low carbon steel(mild steel): soft, remarkable ductile. It is readily weldable and ideal for
construction purposes.
2. Medium carbon steel: suitable for machine part. The main use is in reinforcing bars for
concrete in construction.
 3. High carbon steel ( tool steel): suitable requires high hardness
4. Cast iron: high hardness

15. Describe the corrosion mechanisms on the steel surface.

The anode and the cathode when get into the conductive solution will react so that the anode is
dissolved and generate the electric current. The reaction is accelerated when the pure water’s
conductivity is increased by salt or acid contamination.

At the anode: Fe-2e=亚铁离子

At the cathode: O2+4e-+2H20=4(OH)-

Total reaction: 2Fe2++4OH-=氢氧化亚铁

Then 氢氧化亚铁 oxidizes to 三氧化二铁 which is known as rust t

16. Name and describe at least 5 methods for fire resistance enhancement for structural steel

1. Insulation of Steel Structures: use insulating material to ptotect it from fire

2. Spray Protection: This is the cheapest and fastest method and very suitable for

complex shapes or connections.

3. Boarded Encasements: They are particularly suitable for members with complicated external
surfaces such as profiles with stiffeners.

4. Intumescent Coatings: The are usually applied in situations where the shape of the steel structure
remains visible. These coatings are available in a range of colors and can provide a fire resistance up
to 2 hours.

17. Describe the technique of cathodic protection of corrosion of structural steel.

This method is used for structures located below ground or immersed in water, usually in
conjunction with a protective coating. Can reduce or remove it by controlling the direction and
magnitude of current flow.

18. List two basic approaches for the assessment of fatigue life

1. S-N approach.

2. Fracture mechanics approach

19. List and describle three processes could be used to improve the micro-structure of steel

By introduction of alloying agent (Alloying): Alloying refers to the mixing of two or more metals to
improve the properties of the final product.

By generation and concentration of dislocations (Work or strain hardening): Strain hardening

is a process to change the micro-structure of steel by recrystallizing its grains through plastic
deformation. Recrystallization is a process in which new strain-free grains are nucleated and grow.

By formation of additional grain boundaries (Heat treatment): Heat treatment may be

defined as an operation or series of operations involving the heating and cooling of a metal or alloy
in the solid state to produce desirable conditions or properties.