Alzaytoonah University of Jordan

Faculty of Engineering and Technology

Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering

ABET-EAC

Strength of Materials Lab

(0908204)

Department of Civil & Infrastructure Engineering

Lab Manual

By
Mohammad Mufid Sehwail
Candidate Dr. in Civil Engineering

Spring, 2019

Instructor’s Name & Signature:

Mohammad Mufid Sehwail
 Table of Contents

Course Syllabus ........................................................................................................................... i

How to write a laboratory report .................................................................................................. 1
Tension test .................................................................................................................................. 2
Torsion test .................................................................................................................................. 7
Bending test ............................................................................................................................... 10
Column buckling test ................................................................................................................... 14
Creep Test .................................................................................................................................. 18
Impact Test ................................................................................................................................. 22
Fatigue Test ................................................................................................................................ 25
Hardness Test ............................................................................................................................. 28
Thin Cylinder Test ........................................................................................................................ 31
LAB REPORT (COVER PAGE) SAMPLE .............................................................................................. 40

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 Course Syllabus

1. Course Number and Name: 0908204, Strength of Materials Lab.

2. Credit and Contact Hours: 1 credit, 3 hours of contact /week

3. Course Coordinator and Lecturers:

 Mohammad Mufid Sehwail (coordinator)

4. Textbook, Title, Author(s), Publisher and Year:

- Beer, Johnston, and Dewolf, Mechanics of Materials, MacGraw Hill (2014)
- Laboratory Manual.

5. Specific Course Information

Catalog description: This course covers the following topics: Tension test, Torsion test, Deflection of
beams, Buckling of Columns, Creep test, Impact Test, Hardness test and Fatigue test.

Co-requisite: 0908203, Strength of Materials

6. Course Specific Performance Indicators

Performance indicators addressed by the course and SO mapping

Course Performance Indicators Student Level of Learning

Outcome
An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation,
analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to
draw conclusions. [6] 2

- Draw Stress-Strain diagrams for materials

- Calculate modulus of elasticity for materials
- Calculate column’s critical buckling load

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7. Topics Covered

 Tension test
 Torsion test
 Creep test
 Hardness test
 Fatigue test
 Deflection on beams test
 Buckling of columns
 Impact Test
 Thin Cylinder

8. Direct Assessment Tools and Weights:

1. Midterms Exams 30%

2. Reports 30%
3. Final Exam. 40%

9. Indirect Assessment Tools:

Course Performance Indicators survey by Students

10. Performance Targets Passing Criteria:

Direct 1. 65% of the class students score over 60% in each performance indicator and each
performance supported program outcome
Targets 2. The class average is at least 65% in each performance indicator and each supported
program outcome

Indirect 65% of the class students score over 60% in each performance indicator for each
performance supported program outcome
Targets

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 How to write a laboratory report

The following arrangement of the report is suggested:

1. Title: This should indicate the nature of the test and the specifications number

used.

2. Scope of the test: A brief statement of the purpose and significance of the test

should be indicated.

3. Materials: The materials used or tested should be described.

4. Apparatus and method of testing: Special equipment used should be briefly

described. The testing procedure should be also described.

5. Data and results of the test: All laboratory data shall be submitted in tabular

form. Observations relating to the behavior of the materials should be included.

All equations or formulas used should be clearly indicated. Calculations should

be properly checked. The results of the test should be summarized in tabular or

graphical form.

6. Discussion: There should be included a brief discussion in which attention is

drawn to the silent facts shown by the tables and diagrams. The test results

should be compared with the standard values and conclusion should be drawn.

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Experiment No.1

Tension test

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Title: Tension test

Aim: To determine the tensile strength of a specimen (Steel, Brass, and Aluminum)

Materials and equipment

• Universal testing machine (Figure 1)

• Specimens (Steel, Brass, and Aluminum) as shown in the (Figure 2)
•

Figure 1. Universal Testing Machine

Figure 2. Tensile Test Specimen

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Theory:

The tensile test is most applied one, of all mechanical tests. If the applied load is small
enough, the deformation of any solid body is entirely elastic. An elastically deformed
solid will return to its original position as soon as load is removed. However, if the load
is too large, the material can be deformed permanently.

The initial part of the tension curve (figure 3), which is recoverable immediately after
unloading, is termed as elastic and rest of the curve, which represents the manner in
which solid undergoes plastic deformation is termed plastic. The stress below which the
deformation is essentially entirely elastic is known as the yield strength of material.

Moreover, during plastic deformation, at larger extensions strain hardening cannot

compensate for the decrease in section and thus the load passes through a maximum
point and then begins to decrease. As this stage the’ Ultimate strength ‘, which is
defined as the ratio of the specimen to original cross–sectional area, reaches a
maximum value. Further loading will eventually cause ‘neck’ formation and rupture.

Usually a tension test is conducted at room temperature and the tensile load is applied
slowly. During this test either round or flat specimens (Figure 2) may be used. The
round specimens may have smooth, shouldered or threaded ends. The load on the
specimen is applied mechanically or hydraulically depending on the type of testing
machine.

Figure 3. Stress-Strain relation for Steel

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Procedure:
1. Measure the dimensions of a specimen
• Diameter, d
• Gage length of a specimen, L
• Cross sectional area, Ao ,

2. Mark gage length (Lo) at different portions on the specimen, covering effective length
of a specimen. (This is required so that necked portion will remain between any two
points of gage length on the specimen).

3. Grip the specimen in the fixed head of a machine. (Portion of the specimen has to be
gripped as shown in the fig.1

4. Fix the extensometer (device used to measure the change in length) within the gauge
length marked on the specimen. Adjust the dial of extensometer at zero.

5. Adjust the dial of a machine to zero, to read load applied.

6. Select suitable increments of loads to be applied so that corresponding elongation

can be measured from dial gauge.

7. Keep speed of machine uniform. Record yield point, maximum load point, and the
point of breaking the specimen.

8. Remove the specimen from machine and study the fracture observes type of fracture.

Calculations:
1. Calculate stress and strain for every interval of applied load.
2. Draw stress-strain curve as shown in the Fig.(3)
3. Compute the following;
a. Modulus of elasticity σ = EƐ
Hook’s law states that stress is always proportional to strain within elastic limit. The ratio
of stress and strain is constant, called modulus of elasticity or young’s modulus (E).

b. Yield stress (ζy) ;

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The point, at which strain increases without increase in stress, is known as Yield point.
Stress measured at yield point is called yield stress.
c. Tensile strength:
Maximum carrying capacity of a material in tension is called tensile
d. Modulus of resilience: The ability of a material to absorb energy when deformed
elastically in order to return it to its original shape when unloaded.
Ur = x σy x Ɛy
e. Modulus of Toughness
UT = x σmax x Ɛmax

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Experiment No.2

Torsion test

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Title: Torsion test

Aim: To find the modulus of rigidity of a specimen (Steel, Brass, and Aluminum)

Materials and equipment

1. A torsion testing device (Figure 1).

2. Standard specimen of mild steel or cast iron (Figure 2).
3. Twist meter for measuring angles of twist
4. A steel rule and calipers and micrometer

Figure 1. Torsion testing device

Figure 2. Torsion’s Test Standard specimen

Theory:

A torsion test is quite instrumental in determining the value of rigidity (ratio of shear stress
to shear strain) of a metallic specimen. The value of modulus of rigidity can be found out
through observations made during the experiment by using the torsion equation:

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Where;

G: Modulus of Rigidity
T: Torque
: Polar Moment of Inertia
: Angle of Twist

Torque:
A twisting force or moment that tends to cause rotation. The point where the object rotates
about is called AXIS OF ROTATION.

Polar Moment of Inertia:

It’s a quantity used to describe resistance to torsional deformation (deflection)

For Circular shapes

Procedure:

1. Prepare the testing machine by fixing the two twist meters at some constant lengths
from fixed support.
2. Measure the diameter of the pulley and the diameter of the rod.
3. Draw a straight line along the specimen’s rod in order to observe the twisting
behavior.
3. Apply the twisting force on the specimen (in steps) and continue till the specimen is
broken. For each step, record the twisting angle (twist meter) along with the Torque
(load gage).
4. Use the above formula to calculate G

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Experiment No.3

Bending test

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Title: Bending test

Aim: To find the values of bending stresses and young’s modulus of a material (steel,
Brass, Aluminum) by applying a concentrated load at the center of a simply supported
beam.

Materials and equipment

1. Universal testing machine UTM

2. Beam of different cross sections and materials (steel, Brass, Aluminum)

Figure 1. Specimen details and mounting

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Theory

If a beam is simply supported at the ends and carries a concentrated load at the center,
the beam bends concave upwards. The distance between the original position of the
beam and its position after loading (bending) is different at different points (figure 1)
along the length if the beam, being maximum at the center in this case. This difference
is called ‘deflection’. In this type of loading the maximum amount of deflection is given
by the relation,

Where;

P= Concentrated load acting at the center, N

l=length of the beam between the supports, mm
E=young’s modulus of the beam depending on the material, N/mm2
I=second moment of area of the cross section (moment of inertia) of the beam, about
the neutral axis, mm4

Procedure

1. Adjust the supports alone the UTM

2. Place the beam on the knife-edges.
3. Note the initial reading of displacement indicator
4. Apply the load at the center of the beam through increments (in steps) & record the
reading on the displacement indicator till you have minimum 6 readings.
5. Find the deflection (δ) in each time by subtracting the initial reading of the
displacement indicator.

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Calculations

 Draw a graph between load (W) and deflection (δ). On the graph choose any two
convenient points and between these points find the corresponding values of W and
δ. Putting these values in the relation to calculate E;

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Experiment No.4

Column buckling test

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Title: Column buckling test

Aim: To determine the deformation of columns under loads

Materials and equipment

1. Column Buckling Machine
2. Three Metal Beams: Steel, Brass & Aluminum. The modulus of elasticity for each
material should be known.
3. Calipers, a Dial Gage, and a Tape Measure.

Theory:

Leonhard Euler first derived a series of equations that can successfully determine the
buckling behavior of columns. The following procedure attempts to verify one of these
equations. The maximum load, the highest load a column can support without buckling,
is correlated to the Young's modulus, moment of inertia, length of a beam, and method
of support. The practice of using a column buckling machine can be very accurate with
proper testing materials and procedure. The results within this experiment exhibited up
to 44% error. Euler determined the following expression for determining the
critical load.

Where:

E : the elastic modulus of the specimen

I : the second moment of area (moment of inertia)
Le : effective length.

The method of support determines the effective length. Figure 1 below

demonstrates what these effective lengths are:

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 Figure 1. Effective length based on different support conditions

Data, Analysis & Calculations

In the following set of results, the scenarios are labeled as follows:
Case 1: A beam fixed on both ends
Case 2: A beam fixed on one end with the second end acting as a pin support
Case 3: A beam with both ends acting as a pin support

Procedure:

1. Measure the dimensions of the Specimen’s cross area and Length.

2. Place the specimen in the column buckling machine and assign the support case as
shown in Figure 1.
3. Start applying the compression load gradually until the load becomes fixed where this
load is the Pcr-experimental load.
4. Measure the deflection (mm) along the beam length using the deflection indicator.
5. Record the results in the Table given below (Deflection vs. Load).

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Results:

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Experiment No.5

Creep Test

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Title: Creep Test

Aim: To perform a creep test to a lead specimen, and to draw the creep curve with the
obtained results. Creep determines the materials behavior under constant loads and
high temperatures.

Materials and equipment

 Creep Machine SM1006 (Figure 1).
 Lead creep test specimen

Figure 1. Creep Machine

Theory:

Materials are often placed in service at elevated temperatures and exposed to static
mechanical stresses. Deformation under such circumstances is termed creep. Creep
deformation is dependent on time and temperature. A typical creep test consist of
subjecting a specimen to a constant load or stress while maintaining the temperature
constant; deformation or strain is measured and plotted as a function of elapsed time.

Figure 2 below shows a typical creep curve shape divided into three periods of time

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 Figure 2. Typical Creep Curve

1) Primary creep: Occurs first, typified by a continuously decreasing creep rate;

that is the slope diminishes with time. This suggests that the material is
experiencing an increase in creep resistance or strain hardening.
2) Secondary creep: The creep rate is constant, so the plot becomes linear. This is
often the stage of creep that is of longer duration.
3) Tertiary creep: Acceleration in the creep rate and ultimate failure. This type of
failure is called rupture; it occurs due to grain boundary separation, and the
formation of internal cracks, cavities, and voids. For tensile loads, it is often to
see a neck formation in the specimen during this creep stage.

PROCEDURES

 Accurately measure and record the width and thickness of the specimen and
enter your measurements and type of specimen.

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 Put the weight hanger in position and fit its support pin in its highest hole to hold
the arm up and ready for the test specimen.
 Fit the specimen support clips to the specimen.
 Fit a suitable weight to the weight hanger. Apply the load to give a stress that
gives the longest test time.
 Apply the loading on the specimen and Record the specimen extension every 30
seconds (0.5 minutes), until it fractures or stop extending due to the limits of the
machine.

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Experiment No.6

Impact Test

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Title: Impact Test

Aim: To determine the Impact toughness (strain energy) through Izod & Charpy test.

Materials and equipment:

1. Impact testing machine.
a. Izod Impact Machine
b. Charpy Impact Machine

2. Specimen with V and U shaped notch.

Theory:

In an impact test a specially prepared notched specimen is fractured by a single blow

from a heavy hammer and energy required being a measure of resistance to impact.
Impact load is produced by a swinging of an impact weight W (hammer) from a height h.
Release of the weight from the height h swings the weight through the arc of a circle,
which strikes the specimen to fracture at the notch.

The difference between potential energies is the fracture energy. Energy used in
fracturing the specimen can be obtained approximately as:

Wh1 - Wh2
= mgh1 - mgh2

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Moreover, the initial and final heights (h1 & h2) can be calculated by:

h1= R (1-cos ) & h2= (1-cos )

Procedure

1. Measure the dimensions of the specimen. Also, measure the dimensions of the
notch.
2. Raise the hammer and note down initial reading from the dial, which will be energy to
be used to fracture the specimen.
3. Place the specimen for test and see that it is placed center with respect to hammer.
Check the position of notch.
4. Release the hammer and note the final reading. Difference between the initial and
final reading will give the actual energy required to fracture the Specimen.
5. Compute the energy of rupture of each specimen.

Calculations:

 Rupture Energy = Final – Initial (mgh1 - mgh2)

 Notch Impact Strength =

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Experiment No.7

Fatigue Test

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Title: Fatigue Test

Aim: To define the fatigue endurance limit or fatigue life and fatigue strength of the
materials.

Materials and equipment:

 Fatigue specimens
 Micrometer or vernier caliper
 Permanent pen
 Fatigue testing machine

Figure 1. Fatigue Testing Machine

Figure 2. Fatigue Testing Specimen

Theory:

Most engineering failures are mainly due to fatigue in which the components are
subjected to fluctuating or cyclic loading such as suspended bridges, rails, or airplane
wings. Though the fluctuating load is normally less than the yield strength of the
materials, it results in fracture behavior which is more severe than that achieved from
static loading. Fatigue failures are therefore unpredictable, and provide high-risk

26
situations, if the operators are not aware of material behavior when subjected to fatigue
loading.

Fatigue behavior of materials can thus be practically described according to the

parameters given as follows;

 Maximum stress (ζmax)

 Minimum stress (ζmin)
 Stress range (Δζ) = ζmax − ζmin
 Mean stress = (ζmax + ζmin )/2
 Stress amplitude = (ζmax − ζmin )/2
 Stress ratio = ζmin /ζmax

Figure3. Relationships between stress and time or no. of cycles.

Procedure
1. Measure dimensions of the specimens.
2. The bending stress for a load P (N) can be calculated using the following
equation:

ζ=
3. Conduct the fatigue test at room temperature using the fatigue testing machine.
Fit one end of the specimen to a motor and fit the other end to a bearing hung
with a known weight, indicating the stress applied to the specimen.
4. Start the motor to rotate the specimen at a constant speed. The revolution
counter is used to record the number of cycles to which the specimen fails.
Record the results.
5. Construct the S-N curves of the steel specimens.
6. Calculate Fatigue Ratio using the following equation:

Fatigue Ratio =

27
Experiment No.8

Hardness Test

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Title: Hardness Test

Aim: To measure the material’s strength by determining the material’s resistance to

penetration.

Materials and equipment:

 Rockwell hardness testing machine
 Brinell hardness testing machine
 Steel specimen

Figure 1. Hardness Test Machine

Figure 2. Rockwell test machine

Theory:
Hardness: A measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by
either mechanical indentation or abrasion. Some materials (e.g metals) are harder than
others (e.g plastics).

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Hardness is dependent on:
 Ductility
 Elastic stiffness
 Plasticity
 Strain
 Strength
 Toughness

Procedure:
1. Place the specimen on the hardness test machine

2. Place the indentation (e.g. Rockwell / Brinell)

3. Assign the load to be applied

4. Place the head of the indentation to the surface of the specimen and apply the load.

5. Using the Microscope, measure the penetration diameter.

6. Calculate the Brinell hardness number using the following equation:

BHN =
√

Where:

: Diameter of indentation

D: Diameter of Steel Ball (=1.56mm)

31
Experiment No.9

Thin Cylinder Test

31
Title: Thin Cylinder

Aim:
 Open Ends Test:
 The show the linearity of the strain gauges in the Open Ends condition
 To find the hoop stress and strain relationship (Young’s Modulus) for the
cylinder material
 To find the longitudinal and hoop strain relationship (Poisson’s Ratio) for the
cylinder material
 To show how to draw and use a Mohr’s Circle
 Closed Ends test:
To use the experience gained from the Open Ends experiment to analyze the more ‘real
world’ application of a ‘Closed Ends’ (biaxial stressed) cylinder.

Materials and equipment:

Thin Cylinder Machine along with the specimen

Figure 1. Thin Cylinder Machine

The Thin Cylinder apparatus also teaches students about:

•A biaxial stress system.

•The use of strain gauges.
•Young’s Modulus.
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 •Poisson’s Ratio.
•Construction and use of a Mohr’s Circle

Cylinder stress patterns include:

 Circumferential stress or hoop stress, a normal stress in the tangential (azimuth)

direction;
 Axial stress, a normal stress parallel to the axis of cylindrical symmetry;
 Radial stress, a stress in directions coplanar with but perpendicular to the
symmetry axis

The longitudinal and hoop stresses are directly proportional to the internal pressure and
the diameter-to-thickness ratio of the cylinder. The radial stress is only related to the
internal pressure.

Because of their relationship to the geometry, the Longitudinal and Hoop stresses are
far greater and more significant than the radial stress in a thin cylinder. For this reason,
the radial stress is small enough to ignore in basic calculations

Figure 2. Stresses in a Thin Walled Cylinder

Open and Closed Ends

A Hand Wheel at the end of the frame sets the cylinder for the open and Closed Ends
experiments.

 When the user screws in the Hand Wheel, it clamps the free-moving
pistons in the cylinder. The frame then takes the axial (longitudinal)

33
 stress and not the cylinder wall, as if the cylinder has no ends. This
allows ‘Open Ends’ experiments (see Figure 3).
 When the user unscrews the Hand Wheel, the pistons push against caps
at the end of the cylinder and become ‘Closed Ends’ of the cylinder. The
cylinder wall then takes the axial (longitudinal) stress (see Figure 4).

Figure 3. Open ends condition

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 Figure 4. Closed Ends Condition

The Difference between Thick and Thin Cylinders

In stress analysis, cylinders are divided into two groups: thick and thin.

 A thin cylinder has a diameter-to-thickness ratio of more than 20.

 A thick cylinder has a diameter-to-thickness ratio of less than 20.

Direct Stresses on a Thin-Walled Cylinder

Three direct stresses can act on a closed cylinder with an internal pressure:

1.Longitudinal (or Axial) stress – the stress along the cylinder length (axis).

2.Hoop (or Circumferential) stress - the stress around the diameter of the
cylinders.

3.Radial stress – the compression of the walls of the cylinder. It is equal to the
pressure on the inside, and zero on the outside.

The longitudinal and hoop stresses are directly proportional to the internal pressure and
the diameter-to-thickness ratio of the cylinder. The radial stress is only related to the
internal pressure.

Because of their relationship to the geometry, the Longitudinal and Hoop stresses
are far greater and more significant than the radial stress in a thin cylinder. For
this reason, the radial stress is small enough to ignore in basic calculations

35
 Stresses in Thin Walled Cylinder

The individual direct stresses in a thin walled cylinder are given by:

σy= σH = Hoop Stress

σx= σL = Longitudinal Stress

The Mohr’s Circle

36
37
Procedure

1. Create a blank table of results, similar to Table 1.

2. Switch on the power to the Thin Cylinder and leave it for at least five minutes
before you do the experiment. This allows the strain gauges to reach a stable
temperature and give you accurate readings.

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3. Look at the positions of the strain gauges (see Figure 5 or the diagram on the
front of the Thin Cylinder). Which gauges do you think will give direct readings of the
Hoop Strain and Longitudinal Strain in the cylinder?

4. Open (turn anticlockwise) the Pressure Control and screw in the Hand Wheel to
set up the Open Ends condition.

5. Shut (turn clockwise) the Pressure Control and use the ‘Press & hold to zero’
button to zero the strain gauge display readings. All the strain gauge readings
should now read 0 με (+/−5 με), and the pressure meter should read 0 MN.m-2 (+/-
0.05 MN.m-2).

6. Enter your first set of readings (at zero pressure) into your blank results table.

7. Pump the Hand Pump until the pressure is approximately 0.5 MN.m-2. Wait a few
seconds for the readings to stabilize and record the readings into the results table.

8. Carefully increase the pressure in 0.5 MN.m-2 increments up to 3 MN.m-2. At

each increment, wait for the readings to stabilize and record the readings into your
results table.

Try to get as close as possible to 3 MN.m-2 so that you can compare your
results with theoretical values.

9. Open (turn anticlockwise) the Pressure Control to reduce the indicated pressure
back to 0 MN.m-2.

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 LAB REPORT (COVER PAGE) SAMPLE

Alzaytoonah University of Jordan

Civil & Infrastructure Engineering Department

Strength of Materials Lab

(0908204)
Spring 2018/2019

Experiment Name

Experiment Number

Submitted by: Name & Surname.

Student Number:

Submitted to: Instructor name

Submission Date:

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