Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology

BSc Engineering (Hons) Engineering First Year

Semester 2/2022

MT1011 Engineering Materials

Tensile testing of metals
Laboratory Instructions

Learning outcome
At the end of the laboratory excercise the student will be able to use experimental
techniques to determine the tensile properties of metallic materials using tensile testing.

Introduction
Tensile testing is one of the most important tests performed on materials to obtain
valuable information about the mechanical behaviour under tension. It is generally a
destructive test used for measuring the tensile modulus, tensile strength, yield strength,
and ductility of metallic materials. These properties are widely used in designing and
analysis of engineering structures and for developing new materials.
The instrument used for tensile testing is known as a tensiometer. The instrument ap-
plies an axial load to a standard tensile specimen with known dimensions, see Figure 1,
generally at a specific extension rate, till failure. The applied tensile load and extension
are recorded during the test for calculating the uniaxial stress developed and the result-
ing strain. During the testing, a metallic material undergoes both elastic and plastic
deformation. In the initial stages of the test, the specimen length will increase elasti-
cally. However, when the applied load is removed the length will return to its original
value because the deformation is elastic. If the load is applied continuously the specimen
will start to deform plastically beyond a characteristic point known as the yield point.
The plastic deformation will continue until failure occurs. The deformation behaviour
can be represented in a stress-strain plot from which the mechanical properties can be
extracted.

Figure 1: A standardised metallic specimen used for the tensile test.

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 Figure 2: A typical stress-strain graph of a ductile metal.

The engineering stress σ and strain ϵ of the specimen can be calculated using following
equations:
F
σ=
A0
where F is the instantaneous load applied perpendicular to the specimen cross section
and A0 is the original crosssectional area before any load is applied. The engineering
strain is given by
l − l0 ∆l
ϵ= =
l0 l0
in which l0 is the original length before any load is applied and l is the instantaneous
length. The deformation is given by ∆l. The strain depends on the magnitude of the
aplied stress. For most metals stressed in tension and at relatively low levels, stress and
strain are proportional to each other as

σ = Eϵ
where E is the modulus of elasticity, or Young’s modulus. Figure 2 shows a typical
stress-strain plot of a ductile material. Some important properties that can be obtained
from a tesile curve is also shown. For further information, you should refer lecture
material.

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Procedure
A standard metallic sample will be provided for testing. The sample will be tested by
using a manually operated tensile-testing Machine (tensiometer).

ˆ As the first step, the sample dimensions must be measured accurately using a
vernier caliper. At least three readings should be taken for the guage length (initial
length) of the thinner crross section and initial diameter of the thinner section (See
Figure 1) and their average values must be recorded.

ˆ Next, the sample must be fixed carefully in the tensile testing instrument.

ˆ A uniaxial tensile force is applied by rotating the crank with a testing speed of
about 20 mm/min.

ˆ The force acting on the sample and the extension will be measured and recorded
in the machine.

ˆ While the sample is deforming, you should observe the formation of the neck (safety
precautions must be taken as advised).

ˆ When the sample finally breaks, the two pieces of the broken sample must be
carefully removed from the machine.

ˆ The diameter at the thinnest section should be measured on both samples (an
average of at least three readings on each piece is recommended).

ˆ Next, the two pieces must be placed together at the fracture surface. The final
length of the sample should now be taken as an average of at least three readings
by holding the pieces together.

(Note: If the lab session is conducted online, a demonstration video will be shown of
tensile testing. A data set from a real test will be provided for you to do the calculations
and plotting the graphs).

Laboratory report
Reports should be written individually and be submitted electronically either Word or
pdf formats to the submission link on CourseWeb. The report should contain a the
signed continuous assessment cover sheet as the front page, a title page containing the
title of the laboratory, student name and index number and also the names of other
members of the laboratory group (if applicable). The report should typically have a
short introduction (5 Marks) followed by sections on theory (5 Marks), materials and
apparatus (5 Marks), procedure (5 Marks), observations (5 Marks), results (5 Marks)
and discussion (5 Marks) sections.

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 Figure 3: The tensile testing machine used for the laboratory.

Results
The following two graphs must be plotted using the tensiometer data:
1. Load versus extension plot (5 Marks).
2. Stress vs strain plot (5 Marks)
The following properties should be determined using the stress-strain curve:
1. Elastic modulus (5 Marks)
2. Yield stress and yield strain (if you can see an upper and lower yield points, you
shoulde report these. If there is no clear yield point, you should give the 0.2 %
yield stress as the yield point). (5 Marks)
3. Tensile strength (5 Marks)
4. Fracture strength (5 Marks)
5. Percentage elongation (5 Marks)
6. Percentage reduction in area (5 Marks)
7. The modulus of resilience (5 Marks)
Show the final results summary in a table (5 Marks).

Discussion
You should have a short discussion on the results you have obtained. You should compare
the results you obtained with the published data. If your results deviate considerably
from the published data, what are the reasons for the variation? (10 Marks)

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References
A list of references should be included as appropriate. (5 Marks)

Assessment
This laboratory will be part of the continuous assessment of the module and will be
worth 5% of the total marks for the module. The assessment for this laboratory is based
on the report submitted which will be marked out of 100.

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 Observation Sheet

Title: Tensile testing of metals

Name:
Index number:
Group:
Date:
Time:
Instructor:

Guage length (mm):

Reading 1 Reading 2 Reading 3 Reading 4 Reading 5 Reading 6 Average

Initial diameter (mm):

Reading 1 Reading 2 Reading 3 Reading 4 Reading 5 Reading 6 Average

Final length of broken sample (mm):

Reading 1 Reading 2 Reading 3 Reading 4 Reading 5 Reading 6 Average

Smallest (final) diameter of broken sample (mm):

Reading 1 Reading 2 Reading 3 Reading 4 Reading 5 Reading 6 Average

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Material (mild steel/aluminium/brass):
Fracture surface (Cup and cone/brittle) attach photo in the report:
Load extension data:

Load (N) Extension (mm) Load (N) Extension (mm) Load (N) Extension (mm)

September 2022