CE 133 – CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING (LEC)

Course Description:
The course deals with the physical properties of common construction materials primarily metals,
plastics, wood, concrete, coarse and fine aggregates, asphalt and synthetic materials; examination of
material properties with respect to design and use of end product, design and control of aggregates,
concrete and asphalt mixtures, principle of testing; characteristics of test; properties of materials testing
equipment.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL 2: ELASTIC STRENGTH AND FAILURES OF MATERIALS
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
- Recognize the different elastic strength and failure of materials
- Determine their working stress and factor of safety of materials

Topics for Week 2:

1. Elastic Strength of Materials
2. Failure of Materials
3. Working Stress and Factor of Safety

Topic 1: Elastic Strength of Materials

Elasticity is the ability of a material to return to its previous shape after stress is released. In many
materials, the relation between applied stress is directly proportional to the resulting strain (up to a certain
limit), and a graph representing those two quantities is a straight line.

The slope of this line is known as Young's modulus, or the "modulus of elasticity." The modulus of
elasticity can be used to determine the stress–strain relationship in the linear-elastic portion of the stress–
strain curve. The linear-elastic region is either below the yield point, or if a yield point is not easily identified
on the stress–strain plot it is defined to be between 0 and 0.2% strain, and is defined as the region of strain
in which no yielding (permanent deformation) occurs

Modulus of Elasticity, also known as Elastic Modulus or simply Modulus, is the measurement of a
material's elasticity. Elastic modulus quantifies a material's resistance to non-permanent, or elastic,
deformation. When under stress, materials will first exhibit elastic properties: the stress causes them to
deform, but the material will return to its previous state after the stress is removed. After passing through
the elastic region and through their yield point, materials enter a plastic region, where they
exhibit permanent deformation even after the tensile stress is removed.

Stress Strain Curve

Proportional limit is the point on a stress-strain curve at which it begins to deviate from the
straight-line relationship between stress and strain.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 1
 Elastic limit is the maximum stress to which a specimen may be subjected and still return to its
original length upon release of the load.
A material is said to be stressed within the elastic region when the working stress does not exceed
the elastic limit, and to be stressed in the plastic region when the working stress does exceed the elastic
limit. The elastic limit for steel is for all practical purposes the same as its proportional limit.

Yield point is a point on the stress-strain curve at which there is a sudden increase in strain without
a corresponding increase in stress. Not all materials have a yield point.

Yield strength, Sy, is the maximum stress that can be applied without permanent deformation of
the test specimen. This is the value of the stress at the elastic limit for materials for which there is an elastic
limit. Because of the difficulty in determining the elastic limit, and because many materials do not have an
elastic region, yield strength is often determined by the offset method.
Yield strength in such a case is the stress value on the stress-strain curve corresponding to a
definite amount of permanent set or strain, usually 0.1 or 0.2 per cent of the original dimension.

Topic 2: Failure of Materials

Material failure theory is the science of predicting the conditions under which solid materials fail
under the action of external loads. The failure of a material is usually classified into brittle failure (fracture)
or ductile failure (yield). Depending on the conditions (such as temperature, state of stress, loading rate)
most materials can fail in a brittle or ductile manner or both. However, for most practical situations, a
material may be classified as either brittle or ductile. Though failure theory has been in development for
over 200 years, its level of acceptability is yet to reach that of continuum mechanics.

Failure is defined as any change in size, shape, or material properties of a structure, machine or
machine part. Or in other words, a part becomes unable to satisfactorily perform its intended function.

The failure of most materials can be accredited to one of four specific reasons.

1) Design:

Often in failure analysis it is determined that the engineering design is a major factor leading to catastrophe.
Sometimes a material is modified to such an extent that it no longer serves its original designed purpose.
The material can be subjected to overly high stresses or overly high stress concentrations very easily if it is
altered from its “on paper” design.

2) Manufacturing:

The way certain materials are processed and pieced together can also generate failure modes. For
example, weldments are a trouble prone area for metals, as are weld lines or knit lines in molded plastics.
High residual stresses can result from metal forming, heat treatment, welding and machining.

www.engr.sjsu.edu www.rwfei.com

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 2
(Left) The Heverill Fire Department aerial ladder failure. A faulty weld and higher than calculated stresses
led to this ladder collapse.(Right) Typical weld failure due to overly high stress concentrations.

Similarly, high frozen-in stresses in injection molded plastic parts often contribute to failure. Porosities and
voids are common to metal castings and plastic molded parts. These serve as stress raisers and reduce
load carrying capability.

3) Service:

Environmental degradation is one of the most important service-related causes of failure for metals and
plastics. One major environmental factor is the oxidation of iron, commonly called rust. This type of service
related failure causes many problems especially in older components.

Below: an example of oxidized metal. This type of failure is caused due to the fact that oxidization
significantly weakens the normal mechanical properties of the material.

www.metengr.com

Other factors include excessive wear, damage upon impact, overloading, and electrical discharge.
Environmental factors were very prevalent in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. It was found that
unusually cold weather caused an o-ring to not expand to its designed specifications. This led to a liquid
fuel leak which caused the explosion that killed all seven astronauts on board.

www.space.com

This photo displays the Challenger Shuttle shortly after lift-off. It was determined by failure analysts that a
leak in the liquid fueled rockets sparked the explosion.

4) Material:

Other manufacturing and material-related problems that may lead to failure include; adverse thermo-
mechanical history, poor microstructure, material defects and contamination from foreign particles.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 3
 If you are familiar with stress strain characteristics of materials such as ductile and brittle, you shall
be aware of why we use compression test for brittle materials. Generally, brittle materials are known to be
strong in compression. Before moving in to the question, let’s see some basics in material failure.

There are mainly two kinds of failure. Brittle failure and ductile failure. The ductile failure occurs in
ductile materials whereas brittle failure in brittle materials. Brittle materials do not undergo plastic
deformation under stress since the failure is sudden at the ultimate limit. You can’t see necking in brittle
materials which means Brittle materials will give on clean and flat break. Necking is the reduction of cross
sectional area prior to ductile failure.

Why we perform material strength tests? To know the safe limit of loading, right?

The compression strength of brittle material is much more than its tensile strength. Due to this we design
brittle materials for compressive loading. So we have to perform its compression strength test instead of
tensile strength test. Why brittle materials have better compression strength than tensile strength is very
complicated topic. To understand the core reasons for this kind of nature of brittle material, molecular or
atomic level understanding is required.

Brittle materials under compression test

Brittle materials in compression typically have an initial linear region followed by a region in which
the shortening increases at a higher rate than does the load. Thus, the compression stress – strain diagram
has a shape that is similar to the shape of the tensile diagram. As you can see the ultimate stress for
compression is much higher than for tension.

Structural damage consists of distress induced in structural components of lateral and gravity-
load-resisting systems, such as beams, columns, load-bearing walls, and shear walls, as well as
horizontal diaphragms, such as slabs and roofs.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 4
 Structural failure refers to the loss of structural integrity, or the loss of load-carrying capacity in
either a structural component or the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when a material is stressed
beyond its strength limit, causing fracture or excessive deformations; one limit state that must be accounted
for in structural design is ultimate failure strength. In a well-designed system, a localized failure should not
cause immediate or even progressive collapse of the entire structure.

Structural failure can occur from many types of problems, most of which are unique to different
industries and structural types. However, most can be traced to one of five main causes.

 The first is that the structure is not strong and tough enough to support the load, due to either its size,
shape, or choice of material. If the structure or component is not strong enough, catastrophic failure can
occur when the structure is stressed beyond its critical stress level.
 The second type of failure is from fatigue or corrosion, caused by instability in the structure’s geometry,
design or material properties. These failures usually begin when cracks form at stress points, such as
squared corners or bolt holes too close to the material's edge. These cracks grow as the material is
repeatedly stressed and unloaded (cyclic loading), eventually reaching a critical length and causing the
structure to suddenly fail under normal loading conditions.
 The third type of failure is caused by manufacturing errors, including improper selection of materials,
incorrect sizing, improper heat treating, failing to adhere to the design, or shoddy workmanship. This
type of failure can occur at any time and is usually unpredictable.
 The fourth type of failure is from the use of defective materials. This type of failure is also unpredictable,
since the material may have been improperly manufactured or damaged from prior use.
 The fifth cause of failure is from lack of consideration of unexpected problems. This type of failure can
be caused by events such as vandalism, sabotage, or natural disasters. It can also occur if those who
use and maintain the construction are not properly trained and overstress the structure.

What Factors Causes Failure of Concrete Structures?

The main factors that affect the failure of concrete structures are:

 Incorrect selection of materials

 Errors in design calculation and detailing
 Improper construction techniques and insufficient quality control and supervision
 Chemical attacks on concrete structures
 External mechanical factors

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 5
Fig.1: Failure of Concrete Structures Due to Various Factors
Incorrect Selection of Concrete Materials Causes Failure of Structure
To build a structure that meet safety and strength requirements, it is necessary to execute construction
process according to the applicable codes and specifications.

Normally, the selection of materials required for given project should be acceptable according to code
specifications to use suitable materials.

If materials are selected properly and meet code requirements, then they will meet the conditions of the
place where the material is placed such as soil conditions.

Failure in the material selection is one of the major factors that detrimentally affect the strength and safety
of structure and eventually could lead to failure.

Various detrimental factors such as presence of sulfide in soil or ground water and the occurrence of
freezing and thawing should be carefully considered while materials are selected to prepare concrete
mixture.

Fig.2: Materials Used in Construction of Concrete Structure

Errors in Design Calculation and Detailing of Concrete Structures

It is considerably important to practice substantial care while design calculation is conducted otherwise
undesired events and costly structural improvement would prevail.

That is why it is recommended to conduct an entire design check to guarantee that reinforced concrete
section sizes, thicknesses, and reinforcement spacing and sizes are sufficient to support the most critical
load combinations.

Not only does the check need to involve entire stability of the structure but also its serviceability and
robustness. Regarding detailing, it is the most well-known factor that leads to initiate cracks and sometimes
failure of the structure.

It is advised to use correct, robust and efficient arrangement for the structure. The building should be
constructed in such a way that prevents water to remain on the structure and consequently deteriorate the
structure. Movement joints should be placed properly to avoid crack development.

Code specifications regarding reinforced concrete elements shall be followed correctly. For example,
concrete cover which protects steel bars from aggressive attacks and fire, maximum and minimum
reinforcement ratio, steel bar spacing which restricts cracks, lap length and anchorages.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 6
Improper Construction Techniques and Insufficient Quality Control and Supervision Causes Failure
Improper construction methods, poor workmanship, low quality material and insufficient supervision
of construction process would cause several problems that reduces the performance of concrete structures
substantially and subsequent failure. Table-1 provides construction issues and their influence on the failure
of the structure.

Table-1: Construction Issues That Influence Failure of Concrete Structure

Types of
Effect of Construction Errors on Concrete Structure
Construction Errors

This error makes concrete cover smaller which in turn leave the
Incorrect placement
steel bars unprotected. Disposition of steel bars may lead the
of steel
member to fail when it is loaded completely.

If required cover thickness is not provided, then aggressive

Inadequate cover to
elements can penetrate the member and eventually reinforcement
reinforcement
bars will deteriorate and concrete spalling will occur.

Poor compaction and inadequate preparation are common

Incorrectly made problems of joint construction. If such joints are not constructed
construction joints properly, it would become a path for moisture to penetrate
concrete.

When joints of formworks are not sealed properly, then grout and
Grout leakage fine material would move out of concrete mixture. As a result, a
considerably porous concrete will be produced.

This would create porous honeycombed concrete which should be

Poor compaction tackled immediately by removing it and then recast that part of the
element.

Segregation of Segregation would distort concrete texture and sometimes

concrete mixture increase porosity.

The required strength of concrete cannot be attained if curing is

Poor curing
not executed properly.

High quantity water Excessive water content makes concrete permeable, porous and
content reduces its strength. So, this problem should be avoided.

Chemical Attacks on Concrete Structures

There are different types of chemical attacks that considerably affect strength of the structure. Various types
of chemical attacks and their influence on the structure are discussed in Table-2.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 7
Table-2: Types of Chemical Attacks and Their Effects on Concrete Structures
Types of
Effect of Chemical Attacks on Concrete Structure
Chemical Attacks

Chloride ions penetrate concrete during and after construction. High

Chloride concentration of chloride corrodes steel bars and deteriorates
concrete.

It disintegrates concrete and create path for harmful substances to

Sulfate
attack reinforcements.

Carbonation Carbonation attack and deteriorate steel bars

Alkali silica Alkali silica reaction produces a gel which its volume increases and
reaction consequently disintegrates concrete.

Acids It strongly affect concrete and removes part of set cement

External Mechanical Factors Causing Concrete Structure Failure

There are various types of exterior or mechanical factors that influence concrete failure for example
restraints against movement, abrasion, wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, overloading, structural
alteration, fire resistance and settlement.

Damage and Collapse of Concrete Buildings – Types and Causes

A reinforced concrete building gets damaged and collapses due to many reasons such as sliding of roofs,
falling of walls, crushing of columns, short column effects, diagonal cracking, foundation sinking and tilting
etc.

Types and Causes for Damage and Collapse of Concrete Buildings

The following types of damages are quite common in reinforced concrete buildings:

1. Sliding of Roofs off the Supports

Where the beams simply rest on walls or columns, they are bound to slide when the intensity of earthquake
exceeds the frictional resistance and many times leave the support and fall down, particularly if the bearing
length is small.

2. Falling of Infill Walls

The infill panel walls in between reinforced concrete columns overturn outside the framework if not tightly
held or connected with the frames.

3. Crushing of Column Ends and Virtual Hinging

During severe shaking, the column ends are subjected to heavy eccentric compressive stresses under
which the concrete gets crushed and spalled off from the outer surfaces. In repeated cycles, the damage
progresses inwards, thus the effective section gets very much reduced. Both the column ends virtually start
behaving as pins and the whole framework collapses like a mechanism.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 8
Crushing of Columns

4. Short Column Effect

When infill walls with wide openings are attached to the columns, the portions of the columns that will
deform under lateral seismic loads become very short as compared to their normal height. Such short
columns become much stiffer than other columns and attract much larger shear forces under which they get
severe diagonal tension which may lead to the failure of the column.

Short Column Effect

5. Diagonal Cracking in the Columns

Columns are subjected to diagonal cracking due to large seismic shears caused under severe ground
shaking. If the building undergoes the twisting action as well, the crack may take a spiral form reducing the
load capacity of the columns severely.

6. Diagonal Cracking of Column Beam Joint

Many times diagonal cracking occurs through the junction of the columns with the beams which seriously
impairs the strength of the frame.

7. Pulling Out of the Reinforcing Bars

Where the anchor length of the column bars or overlaps between the longitudinal bars are not adequate for
developing full tensile strength of the bar, they are often pulled out due to tensions caused in the column
under reversal of stresses.

8. Collapse of Gable Frames

Reinforced concrete gable frames, often used for school workshops, gymnasia and assembly halls, and
cinema halls, have a tendency of spreading out with no secondary resistance available once a joint fails.
These are often found to fail and collapse unless very carefully designed and detailed.

9. Foundation Sinking and Tilting

Sinking or tilting of foundations of columns due to seismic shaking occurs in loose soft soils and can lead to
severe cracking of the superstructure and even collapse.

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 9
Topic 3: Working stress and Factor of Safety

Working stress

 Safe working stress is known as the maximum allowable stress that a material or object will be
subjected to when in service.
 This stress is always lower than the yield stress and the Ultimate Tensile Stress (UTS).
o The ratio of Working Stress to the Yield Stress or UTS is known as the Factor of safety.
 Safe working stress is always less than the Elastic limit for a given material.

What Is The Factor Of Safety?

A factor of safety is the load carrying capacity of a system beyond what the system actually supports.
Bridges, buildings, safety equipment and fall protection all start with a factor of safety.

Simply put, the safety factor is how much stronger a system is than required. The factor of safety is the
backbone of all structures and safety equipment and originates with engineers. In the planning phase of all
structures and safety equipment, engineers determine required overload from any object to remain safe in
the event of an emergency.

For reliability, structures are typically built stronger than necessary. This is in case a structure experiences a
heavier-than-expected load. This is a factor of safety. Ultimately, the amount of stress and overload a
structure can handle comes down to the material used to build it.

Determining the factor of safety:

Engineers perform strength tests to determine how much weight a material can handle. Certain materials
are more ductile than others, meaning they deform to pressure before breaking more so than others, like
brittle materials. Brittle materials simply break once they meet the maximum force.

Ductile materials use the yield strength to determine the safety factor. Brittle materials use the ultimate
strength.

Yield strength: Determines the safety factor until the start of deformation.

Ultimate strength: Determines the safety factor until failure.

Ductile materials often test the factor of safety against yield and ultimate strengths while brittle materials
usually only calculate the ultimate safety factor since the yield and ultimate values are often so close.

The necessary factor of safety of any structure determines the materials used. If a structure has a
high required factor of safety, then engineers use a ductile material to build it. The realized factor of
safety determines the amount of material used.

Required (design factor): A constant value imposed by law or standard. A structure is required to meet
this value at minimum.

Realized (safety factor): A calculated ratio of structural capacity to actual applied load. A measure of the
reliability of a design.

References:
https://www.onsitesafety.com/safety-articles/what-is-the-factor-of-safety/

https://www.engineersedge.com/strength_of_materials.htm

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 10
https://www.instron.us/en-us/our-company/library/glossary/m/modulus-of-elasticity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_of_materials#:~:text=Elasticity%20is%20the%20ability%20of,quantitie
s%20is%20a%20straight%20line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Material_failure_theory

http://www.uky.edu/~tzhai0/index_files/fail_analysis.htm

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-compression-test-used-for-brittle-material-not-a-tensile-test

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4020-4399-
4_346#:~:text=Structural%20damage%20consists%20of%20distress,such%20as%20slabs%20and%20roof
s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_integrity_and_failure

https://theconstructor.org/concrete/what-factors-causes-failure-of-concrete-
structures/19495/#:~:text=There%20are%20various%20types%20of,alteration%2C%20fire%20resistance%
20and%20settlement.

https://theconstructor.org/structural-engg/damage-collapse-concrete-buildings/407/
https://nsb.wikidot.com/ea-1-2-1-3#:~:text=be%20measured%20continuously.-
,Working%20stress,as%20the%20Factor%20of%20safety.

“Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you

are done.” -- unknown

CE 133 – Construction Materials & Testing | Instructor: Engr. Romel B. San Diego Jr. 11