Mechanical Properties of Materials 1.1, IMPORTANT MECHANICAL PROPERTIES ‘The following are the most important mechanical properties of engineering materials: (i) Elasticity (i) Plasticity (ili) Ductility (ivy) Brittleness (v) Malleability (i) Toughness (vii) Hardness, and (vill) Strengrh Some of the above propertics can not be mutually reconciled; hence no material can possess them all simultaneously. The criteria of suitability (or otherwise) of an engineering material, forming part of either a machine or a structure, is dependent upon the possession of one or more of the above properties The above properties are assessed, with a fair degree of accuracy, by resorting to mechanical ests. 1.2, ELASTICITY . When external forces are applied on a body, made of engineering materials, the external forces tend to deform the ‘body while the molecular forces acting between the molecules offer resistance against deformation. The deformation or displacement of the particles continues till full resistance to the external forces is setup. If the forces are now gradually diminished, the body will return, wholly or partly to its original shape. Elasticity is the property by virtue of which @ material deformed under the load is enabled io return to its original dimension when the load is removed. It a body regains completely its original shape, it is said 10 be perfectly elastic. For any particular material, a critical value of the load, known as the elastic limit marks the partial break down of elasticity beyond which removal of load results in a degree of permanent deformation ot permanent set (Fig. 1.1). Steel, aluminium, copper, stone, concrete etc, may be considered to be perfectly clastic, within certain limits, Stress-Strain relationship : The load per unit area, normal to the applied load is known as stress (p). Similarly, the deformation per unit length in the direction of deformation is known as strain (ec). The elastic properties of materials used in engineering are determined by tests performed on small specimens of matcrial. The tests are conducted in materials-testing-laboratories equipped with testing machines capable of loading the specimens in gradually applied increments, and the resulting stresses and strains are measured at all such load increments, till the specimen fails. Fig, 1.1 shows one such stress-strain diagram (schematic). In Fig. 1.1(a), the specimen is Joaded only upto point A, well within the clastic limit E. When the load, correspoading to point A, is gradually removed the curve follows the same path AO and the strain completely disappears. Such a behaviour is known as the elastic behaviour. In Fig. 1.1(0), the specimen ao2 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS q @ 4 8 y z| & z G 3 suste | masta oRSERT | c-eusre [eure Recovery = stra (e) > staan (€) @ co) FIG. Li. ELASTICITY AND PLASTICITY is loaded upto point B, beyond the elastic limit £. When the specimen is gradually unloaded, the curve follows path BC, resulting in a residual strain (OC) or permanent strain, Such a behaviour of the material, loaded beyond the clastic limit, is known as partially clastic behaviour. A more detailed discussion of stress-strain curve is given in § 2.4. Homogeneity and Isotropy : A material is homogeneous if it has same composition throughout the body. For such a material, the elastic properties are the same at each and every point in the body. I is interesting to note that for a homogeneous material, the elastic properties need not be the same in all the directions. If a material is equally elastic in all the directions, it is said to be isotropic. If, however, it is not equally elastic in all directions, ie. it possesses different elastic properties in different directions, it is called anisotropic. A theoretically ideal ‘material could be equally clastic in all directions, ie. isotropic. Many structural materials meet the requirements of homogencity and isotropy. We shall be dealing with only the homogeneous and isotropic materials in this book. 13. PLASTICITY Plasticity is the converse of elasticity. A material in plastic state is permanently deformed by the application of load, and it has no tendeney to recover. Every elastic material possesses the property of plasticity. Under the action of large forces, most engineering materials become plastic and behave in a manner similar to a viscous liquid. The characteristic of the material by which it undergoes inelastic sirains beyond those at the elastic limit is known as plasticiy. ‘When large deformations occur in a ductile material loaded in the plastic region, the material is said to undergo plastic flow. Tne property is particularly usefut in the operations of pressing ity’ is also useful in the design of structural members, utilising its ultimate Ductitiyy is the characteristic which permits a material to be drawn out longitudinally 10 # reduced section, under the action of a tensile force. In a ductile material, therefore, large deformation is possible before absolute failure or rupture takes place. A ductile material must, of necessity, possess a high degree of plasticity and strength. During ductile extension, a material shows a certain degrec of clasticity, together with a considerable degree of plasticity. Ductility is measured in the tensile test of specimen of the material, cither in terms of percentage elongationMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS a or in terms of percentage reduction in the cross-sectional area of the test specimen. The property of ductility is utilised in wire drawing. 1.5. BRITTLENESS Brittleness implies lack of ductility. A material is said to be brittle when it can not be drawn out by tension to smaller section. In a brittle material, failure takes place under load without significant deformation. Brittle fractures take place without warning and the property is generally highly un- desirable. Examples of brittle materials are (i) cast iron (ii) high carbon steel, (iii) concrete (iv) stone, (W) glass, (vi) ceramic materials, and (vii) many com- mon metallic alloys. Fig. 2.2 shows a typical stress- strain curve for a typical brittle material which fail with only little clongation after proportional limit (point A ) is exceeded, and the fracture stress (point F) is the same as ultimate stress. Ordinary glass is a nearly ideal brittle material in which the stress- strain curve in tension is essentially a straight line, with failure occurring before any yielding takes place. Thus, glass exhibits almost no ductility whatsoever. 1.6. MALLEABILITY Malleability is a property of a material which permits the materials to be extended in all directions without rupture, A malleable material possesses a high degree of plasticity, but rot necessarily great strength. This property is utilised in many operations such as forging, hot rolling, drop-stamping etc. 1.7. TOUGHNESS Toughness is the property of a material which enabies it to absorb energy without fracture. This property is very desirable in components subject 10 cyclic or shock loading. ‘Toughness is measured in terms of energy required per unit volume of the material, to cause rupture under the action of gradually increasing tensile load. This energy includes the work done upto the elastic limit which is small in comparison with the energy subsequently expanded. Fig. 1.3 showe the stress-strain curves, both for mild steel as x, = STRESS (P) > STRAIN (€) € FIG. 12. STRESS STRAIN CURVE FOR ‘A BRITTLE MATERIAL UNIT STRESS —+ well as high carbon stecl. The toughness is rep- UNIT STRAIN —— resented by the area under the stress-strain curve for the material. A common comparative test FIG. 1.3. MEASURE OF TOUGHNESS. for toughness is the bend test in which a material is expected {0 sustain angular bending without failure. 1.8. HARDNESS Hardness is the ability of a material to resist indentation or surface abrasion. Since these resistances are not necessarily synonymous, it is usual to base the estimation of the hardness4 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS of a material on resistance to indentation only. Tests on hardness may be classified into (@) scratch test, and (ji) indentation test. The scratch test consists of pressing a loaded diamond into the surface of the specimen, and then pulling the diamond so as to make a scratch. The hardness number is then determined on the basis of (i) load required to make a scratch of a given width, or (#) the width of the scratch made with a given load. The indentation test consisis of pressing a body of standard shape into the surface of the test specimen. In the commonly used Brinnell hardness test a hardcned steel ball of a given diameter is squeczed into the surface of test specimen, under a fixed standard load and then surface arca of the indent is measured. Brinell’s hardness number (BH.N.) is then given by : P BHN. = sere =P p-vP= a where P= Standard toad (N) ; D= diameter of steel ball (mm) d= diameter of the indent (mm) 9, STRENGTH ‘This is the most important property of a material, from design point of view. The strength of a material enables it to resist fracture under load. The load required to cause fracture, divided by the area of the test specimen, is termed as the ulimae strength of the material, and is expressed in the unit of stress. An important consideration in engineering design is the capacity of the object (such as building structure, machine, air craft, vehicle, ship etc,), usually referred to as structure, to support or transmit loads. If structural failure is to be avoided, the loads that a structure actually can support must be greater than the loads it will be required to sustain when in service. Since the ability of a structure to resist loads is called strength, the governing criterion is that the actual strength of a structure must exceed the required strength. ‘The ratio of the actual strength to the required strength is called the factor of safety. However, failure may occur under the action of tensile load, compressive load or shear load, Hence it is essential to know the ultimate strength of the material in each of these three conditions, and the three ultimate strengths are separately determined experimentally. 1.10. MECHANICS (OR STRENGTH) OF MATERIALS Three fundamental arcas of enginecring mechanics (or applied mechanics) are (i) Statics (é) Dynamics and (iii) Mechanics (or strength) of materials. Siatics and dynamics are devoted primarily to the study of the extended effects of forces on rigid bodies, ie. the bodies for which the change in shape (or deformations) can be neglected, In contrast to this, mechanics of materials, commonly known as strength of materials deals with the relation between externally applied loads and their internal effects on solid bodies. The Solid bodies include axially loaded members, shaft in torsion, thin and thick cylinders and shells, beams, and columns, as‘well as structures that arc assemblies of these components. These bodies are no longer assumed to be rigid ; the deformation, however small, arc of major interest. In actual design, the engineer must consider both dimensions and material properties to satisfy the requirements of swength and rigidity. A machine part or structure should neither break nor deform excessively. The purpose of studying sirengih of materials is to ensure that the structure used will be safe against maximum internal effects that may be produced by any combination of loading.