Experiment #08

Title:
To perform the charpy impact test on given specimen.

Objective:
 To measure the energy absorbed till rupture (Modulus of toughness) of a specimen
 To study the behavior of specimen under impact loading
 To differentiate between the behavior of specimen under impact loading and the static
loading.

Problem statement:
Sudden application of load on a material or impact loading is different from the static
loading. We are familiar with the static loading which may be compressive or either tensile
loading. We also studied the behavior of specimen under torque causing torsion. In all these
cases we study the behavior of material under gradual loading. But in some cases the material
is subjected to sudden load that may cause the eventual failure of that material for example
the car in accident, door lock to be break by sudden force, loosening of jammed nut by
impact on spanner, impact of vibrations in machine when any part of a mechanism is loosely
clamped.

Apparatus:
 Charpy impact testing machine

Degree scale Pointer

Pendulum Hammer

Release hand

Lever to uplift
the hammer

Figure: Charpy impact testing machine

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Theory:
Loading:
The application of a force to an object is known as loading. Materials can be subjected to
many different loading scenarios and a material’s performance is dependent on the loading
conditions. Based on application of load with respect to time on the material it is divided into
two types:
 Static Loading:
Static loading refers to the load on an actuator when it is in a fixed or stationary condition.
The static load capacity of an actuator refers to how much weight the actuator can safely hold
without back driving or causing damage. It is the load that does not changes over time.

Figure: Static loading

 Impact Loading:
Sometimes machine members are subjected to load with a sudden impact due to falling or
hitting one object on another. The load produced due to these actions is known as the Impact
load. The stress produced in the machine members due to the Impact load is known as the
Impact stress.

Charpy impact test:

The Charpy impact test is one of the most popular tests used to characterize the mechanical
properties of structural materials, particularly steels, for the fabrication of industrial
components. This simple and cheap test was used for decades to monitor the product quality
of steel producers. This test was also extensively used to characterize the transition behavior
of ferrite steels by providing a transition curve that establishes the relation between the
absorbed energy to fracture a V-notched bar.

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 Figure: Charpy test schematic

Charpy impact test to be directly compared to measured quasi-static fracture toughness data.
Unlike the empirical relationships proposed in literature where the experimental data
including Charpy impact energies and fracture toughness values are simply fitted with
empirical mathematical equations and the parameters minimizing the deviation, there is no
fitting procedure in the proposed approach. Moreover, the objective is not to substitute
fracture toughness testing by Charpy impact testing, but to verify the consistency between the
various tests to guarantee the overall quality of the experimental data. For material design, the
access to fracture toughness using the cheap and fast Charpy impact test can offer an
screening alternative to other more sophisticated test techniques. [2]

Figure: Impact energy vs temperature

Behavior of ductile and brittle materials in charpy test

Charpy tests show whether a metal can be classified as being either brittle or ductile. This is
particularly useful for ferritic steels that show a ductile to brittle transition with decreasing
temperature. A brittle metal will absorb a small amount of energy when impact tested, a
tough ductile metal absorbs a large amount of energy. The appearance of a fracture surface

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also gives information about the type of fracture that has occurred; a brittle fracture is bright
and crystalline, a ductile fracture is dull and fibrous. The percentage crystallinity is
determined by making a judgement of the amount of crystalline or brittle fracture on the
surface of the broken specimen, and is a measure of the amount of brittle fracture.
Impact Energy
Impact energy is a measure of the work done to fracture a test specimen.
When the striker impacts the specimen, the specimen will absorb energy until it yields. At
this point, the specimen will begin to undergo plastic deformation at the notch. The test
specimen continues to absorb energy and work hardens at the plastic zone at the notch. When
the specimen can absorb no more energy, fracture occurs.
Factors Affecting Charpy Impact Energy:
Factors that affect the Charpy impact energy of a specimen will include:
• Yield strength and ductility
• Notches
• Temperature and strain rate
• Fracture mechanism

Yield Strength and Ductility:

For a given material the impact energy will be seen to decrease if the yield strength is
increased, i.e. if the material undergoes some process that makes it more brittle and less able
to undergo plastic deformation. Such processes may include cold working or precipitation
hardening.

Notches:
The notch serves as a stress concentration zone and some materials are more sensitive
towards notches than others. The notch depth and tip radius are therefore very important.

Temperature and Strain Rate:

Most of the impact energy is absorbed by means of plastic deformation during the yielding of
the specimen. Therefore, factors that affect the yield behaviour and hence ductility of the
material such as temperature and strain rate will affect the impact energy.
This type of behaviour is more prominent in materials with a body centred cubic structure,
where lowering the temperature reduces ductility more markedly than face centred cubic
materials.

Fracture Mechanism:
Metals tend to fail by one of two mechanisms, microvoid coalescence or cleavage.
Cleavage can occur in body centred cubic materials, where cleavage takes place along the
{001} crystal plane. Microvoid coalescence is the more common fracture mechanism where
voids form as strain increases, and these voids eventually join together and failure occurs. Of
the two fracture mechanisms cleavage involved far less plastic deformation ad hence absorbs
far less fracture energy.

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Ductile to Brittle Transition:
Some materials such as carbon steels undergo what is known as a ‘ductile to brittle
transition’. This behaviour is obvious when impact energy is plotted as a function of
temperature. The resultant curve will show a rapid dropping off of impact energy as the
temperature decreases. If the impact energy drops off very sharply, a transition temperature
can be determined. This is often a good indicator of the minimum recommended service
temperature for a material.
Fracture Toughness:
Fracture toughness modulus is another indicator of a rock's strength in the presence of a
preexisting flaw. For example, glass has a high strength, but the presence of a small fracture
reduces the strength. Therefore, glass has low fracture toughness. Fracture toughness is an
important consideration in hydraulic fracture design. Fracture toughness is an essential
parameter in very low fluid viscosity (water) and very low modulus formations. A low
fracture toughness value indicates that materials are undergoing brittle fractures, while high
values of fracture toughness are a signal of ductility. [3]

Figure: Fracture toughness

Modulus of Toughness
Toughness is the property due to which the material can withstand impact loading without
fracture. Modulus of toughness quantifies this toughness.
What is toughness?
Let us understand what toughness means in common usage; When we say someone is tough,
it means that they are strong enough to withstand rough conditions. The same applies to
materials also.
Toughness is the property due to which the material can withstand impact loading without
fracture (At fracture, it breaks!). If the material can take more strain without undergoing
fracture then it will be the tougher material.
Modulus of toughness quantifies this toughness. It is the area under the stress-strain curve
upto fracture point. It can also be defined as the strain energy stored per unit volume of the

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material upto fracture.Ductile material can take more strain upto the fracture point than the
brittle material

Procedure:
 Take U-notched specimen. Find out its cross-sectional area volume and then measure the
depth and width of notch.
 Set the pendulum at 138 degree (indicated by dial gauge) using lever and lock it by
locking pin
 Place specimen on the support using centering device
 Release the pendulum by unlocking pins using locking lever
 Measure the angle of final height by dial indicator
 Stop the pendulum using brake lever
 Calculate impact strength and modulus of toughness.
Derivation:
∆ E=E 1−E 2
∆ E=mg ( H−h )
H=L+ L∗sin ( α −90 )

h=L−L∗(−cosα )
∆ E=mg (−Lcosα+ Lcosβ )

∆ E=mgL ( cosβ−cosα ) ---- (i)

Observations and Calculations:

Least count of Dial indicator scale = 0.5˚
Least count of vernier calipers = 0.05mm
Dimension of Specimen:
Length = 2 inches = 0.0508m
Width = 1 cm = 0.01m
Thickness = 1 cm = 0.01m
Area = 1 ×10-6 m2
Volume = 5.08 ×10-8 m3
Parameters of Pendulum:
Mass of Pendulum = 42Kg
Length of Pendulum = L = 0.85m
Initial angle of Pendulum α = 138˚

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 Figure: Initial angle

Final angle of Pendulum β = 49˚

Figure: Final angle

Putting in Eq. (i)

∆ E=mgL ( cosβ−cosα )
∆ E=42 × 9.81× 0.85 ( cos 49 °−cos 138 ° )
∆ E=490.025 J
∆E
Impact Strength=
Effective cross section area
= 4.9 ×106 J/m2
∆E
Modulus of toughness=
Effective volume
= 96.46 ×106 J/m3

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Conclusin:
In this experiment our main objective was to measure the energy absorbed till rupture
(Modulus of toughness) of a specimen (Brass) which came to 490.025 Joules. It means that
an impact load of 490.025 J can break the material of brass having such dimensions. Energy
absorbed per unit area came to 4.9 ×106 J/m2 and the modulus of toughness came to 96.46
×106 J/m3. This type of testing is useful to demonstrate the behavior of a given material under
impact loading which is useful in selection of suitable material in term of cost and
availability.

Comments:
The experiment was performed at room temperature we can also demonstrate the variation of
modulus of toughness of brass or any other given material by varying its temperature and
then performing the charpy impact test.
During calculations the air resistance and friction losses were neglected. We can get more
precise results by also considering them in calculations.

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