Mechanical Properties

Introduction
To understand and describe how materials deform ( elongate ,
compress , twist ) or break as a function of applied load , time ,
temperature , and other conditions we need first to discuss
standard test methods and standard language for mechanical
properties of materials
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOADING
a) Tensile b) Compression c) Shear d) Torsion
CONCEPTS OF STRESS AND STRAIN
Engineering stress : It is defined as the load applied perpendicular to
a specimen per unit area

Engineering strain : It is defined as the change in length divided by the

original length

These definitions of stress and strain allow one to compare test results
for specimens of different cross-sectional area Ao and of different
length lo . Stress and strain are positive for tensile loads , negative for
compressive loads .
Shear stress : F is the load applied parallel to the upper
and lower faces each of which has an area Ao . Shear
stress is given the symbol τ .
Shear strain : It is the strain formed by a shear stress . It
is given the symbol γ .
Stress strain behavior
Elastic deformation :
Reversible : when the stress
is removed , the material returns
to the dimensions it had before
loading . Usually stains are small
( except for the case of rubber )
Plastic deformation :
Irreversible : when the stress is
removed , the material does not
return to its original dimensions
Elastic deformation
In tensile tests , if the deformation is elastic , the stress –
strain relationship is called Hooke’s law

E is Young’s Modulus or modulus of elasticity, it has the

same units as σ ( N/m2 or Pa )
Young’s modulus of elasticity
is a measure of the stiffness
of the material .
 Young’s modulus decreases

with the increase of

temperature .
 A bigger value of Young’s

modulus means a bigger

stiffness and a lower
deflection
Nonlinear elastic deformation
 In some materials ( many
polymers , concrete …) ,
elastic deformation is not
linear , but it is still
reversible
Time dependence of elastic deformation
 So far we have assumed that elastic deformation is time
independent ( i.e. applied stress produces instantaneous
elastic strain ) .
 However , in reality elastic deformation takes time
( finite rate of atomic / molecular deformation
processes ) – continues after initial loading , and after
load release . This time dependent elastic behavior is
known as anelastisicity .
 The effect of normally small for metals but can be
significant for polymers ( visco-elastic behavior )
Poisson’s ratio
 Materials subject to tension shrink laterally . Those
subject to compression , bulge . The ratio of lateral and
axial strains is called the Poisson’s ration . Negative
sign in the equation shows that the lateral strain is in
opposite sense to longitudinal strain . Poisson’s ratio is
dimensionless .
Theoretical value for isotropic materials : 0.25
Maximum value : 0.5
Typical value : 0.24-0.3
Relation between Young’s modulus and shear
modulus
SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 1 : A piece of copper originally 305 mm long is
pulled in tension with a stress of 276 MPa .
If the deformation is entirely elastic what will be the
resulted elongation .
Solution :
E = 110 GPa ( tables ) = 110 * 103 Mpa
Example 2 : A tensile stress is to be applied along the long
axis of a cylindrical brass rod that has a diameter of 10
mm . Determine the magnitude of the load required to
produce a 2.5*10-3 mm change in diameter if the
deformation is entirely elastic .
Solution :

The diagram to the right

illustrates the situation .
Plastic deformation
 Stress and strain are not proportional
 The deformation is not reversible

 Deformation occurs by breaking and re-arrangement of

atomic bonds
Yielding
 Yield strength ( σy ) : is chosen
as that causing a permanent strain of
0.002 .
 Yield point P : The point where the
strain starts deviating from being
proportional to the stress ( The
proportional limit ) .
 The yield stress : It is a measure of
resistance to plastic deformation
 Remark : In some materials
( e.g. low – carbon steel ) , the
stress – strain curve includes
two yielding points ( upper and
lower ) . The yield strength is
defined in this case as the
average stress at the lower
yield point .
Tensile Strength
 Tensile strength : It is the
maximum stress on the stress-
strain diagram . For structural
applications the yield stress is
a more important property
than the tensile strength ,
since once the yield stress has
passed , the structure has
deformed beyond acceptable
limits .
Solved example
 From the given stress-strain diagram determine the
following :
a) The modulus of elasticity
b) The yield strength at a strain offset of 0.002
c) The maximum load that can be sustained by a
cylindrical specimen having an original
diameter of 12.8 mm
d) The change in length of a specimen originally
250 mm long that that is subjected to a
tensile strength of 345 MPa .
Solution :
Ductility
Ductility : Is a measure of
deformation at fracture . It can be
defined by either percent elongation
( plastic tensile strain at failure ) or
as percent reduction in area .
The yield strength and tensile strength vary with prior
thermal and mechanical treatment , impurity levels , etc
… This variability is related to the behavior of the
dislocations in the material .
But elastic moduli are relatively insensitive to these
effects . The yield and the tensile strengths and the
modulus of elasticity decrease with increasing
temperature , ductility increases with temperature .
Typical mechanical properties of metals
Effect of temperature on stress-strain behavior
Resilience
Resilience : It is defined as the capacity of a material to
absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then ,
upon uploading to have this energy recovered . The
associated property is the modulus of resilience Ur
which is the strain energy per unit volume required to
stress a material from unloaded state up to the point of
yielding .
 In case the elastic deformation is approximated to a
straight line then the area can be considered as a right
angled triangle , and the relation can take the following
forms .
TOUGHNESS
Toughness : It is the ability to absorb energy up to
fracture ( the total area under the stress – strain curve up
to fracture . It has the units J/m3 )
True stress and strain
True stress : It is defined as the load divided by actual
area . True stress continues to rise to the point of fracture .

True strain : It is defined by the following relation

The suffix ( i ) stands for instantaneous

If no volume change occurs during deformation

Both true stress and true strain can be calculated from the
following relations only and only prior to necking .
Comparison between engineering and true
stress-strain diagram
Coincident with the formation
of a neck is the introduction of
complex stress state within the
neck region ( the existence of
other stress components in
addition to the axial stress )
As a consequence , the correct
stress within the neck is slightly
lower than the true stress .
For some metals and alloys the region of the true stress-
strain curve from the onset of plastic deformation to the
point at which the necking begins may be approximated
with

where K and n are constants , with values varying with

the type of alloy as well as the condition of the material .
n is named the strain hardening exponent which has
positive values less than one .
Different values for K and n
Solved example
A cylindrical specimen of steel having an original
diameter of 12.8 mm is tensile tested to fracture and
found to have an engineering fracture strength of 460
MPa . If the cross sectional diameter at fracture is 10.7
mm , determine :
a) The ductility as % reduction in area
b) The true stress at fracture
Solution
Elastic recovery during plastic deformation
If a material is deformed plastically
and the stress is then released , the
material ends up with a permanent
strain . If the stress is reapplied , the
material again responds elastically at
the beginning up to a new yield point
that is higher than the original yield
point . The amount of elastic strain
that it will take before reaching the
yield point is called elastic strain
recovery .
Design / Safety factors
There are always uncertainties in characterizing the
magnitude of applied loads and their associated stress
levels for in-service applications .
A safe stress or working stress ( σw ) is used , and is
defined by

where N is a factor of safety ( 1.2 – 4 )

and σy is the yield strength
Factors for choice of N :
1) Economics
2) Previous experience
3) The accuracy with which material properties are
determined
4) The consequences of failure in terms of loss of life
and / or property damage .
Factors affecting the shape of a STRESS-strain
curve
 Metallurgical factors :
1) Composition
2) Heat treatment
3) Prior history of plastic deformation
 Test conditions :

1) Strain rate
2) Temperature
3) State of stress
Hardness
Hardness : It is a measure of the materials resistance to
localized plastic deformation .
( It may also be defined as the resistance to indentation ) .
A qualitative Moh’s scale , determined by the ability of a
material to scratch another material : from 1 ( softest = talc
) to 10 ( hardest = diamond ) . Different types of
quantitative hardness test has designed ( Rockwell ,
Brinell , Vickers ,…..) Usually a small indenter is forced
into the surface of the material under conditions of
controlled magnitude and rate of loading . The tests are
somewhat approximate , but popular being easy to perform
and non-destructive .
Brinell hardness : In this test the material surface is
indented with a 10 mm steel ball at a load ranging from
300 to 500 kg for 30 seconds .
HB : The Brinell hardness number
F : The imposed load in Kg
D : The diameter of the spherical indenter in mm
d : Diameter of the resulting indenter impression
in mm .
Vickers hardness : In this test the indenter is a square –
base diamond pyramid .
VHN : Vicker’s hardness number
F : The applied load in Kg
L : The average length of diagonals
θ : The angle between opposite faces of diamond
Rockwell hardness : It is the most common method to
measure hardness because they are so simple to perform
and require no special skills .Several different scales may
be utilized for possible combinations of various indenters
and different loads , which permit the testing of all metal
alloys as well as some polymers . Indenters include
spherical and hardened steel balls having diameters of
1/16 , 1/8 , ¼ , 1nd ½ in , and a conical diamond ( Brale )
indenter , which is used for the hardest materials .
With this system , a hardness number is determined by the
difference in depth of penetration resulting from the
application of an initial minor load followed by a larger
major load . Utilization of the
minor load enhances test accuracy . On the basis on the
magnitude of the both major and minor loads there are
two types of tests : Rockwell and Superficial Rockwell .
For Rockwell the minor load is 10 Kg and the major
loads are 60 , 100 and 150 Kg . Each scale is represented
by a letter from the alphabet . For superficial tests 3 Kg
is the minor load , 15 , 30 and 45 Kg are the possible
major loads followed by X , T ,W , N or Y depending on
the indenter .
Rockwell hardness scales
Superficial Rockwell hardness scales
Comparison between different scales
Relation between tensile strength and hardness
Both tensile strength and hardness are measures of the
material resistance to plastic deformation . Consequently
they are roughly proportional . For most steels the
following relation is valid .
Impact test
What are the reasons impact toughness is important ?
 An engineer needs to know if the material is

able to withstand service conditions ( load

bearing structures ) .
 Low temperature , wind effects , impacts ,

stress concentrations such as notches and

cracks are important factors affecting the
toughness of the material .
 All these factors must be taken into consideration during
equipment design
 Three factors contribute to a brittle cleavage
fracture :
 Triaxial state of stress

 Low temperature

 High strain rate

That is why it is important to perform impact tests to

determine the susceptibility of the material to brittle
fracture .
Ductile vs brittle
Ductile materials : they have extensive plastic
deformation and consequently high toughness before
cleavage
Brittle materials : are those of little plastic deformation
and low toughness .
Ductile to brittle transition
As temperature decreases a ductile material can become
brittle ( DBT ) , raising the temperature activates more
slip systems thus ductility .
CHARPY TEST
Charpy test : In this test the total energy absorbed during
fracture is measured .
The standard Charpy specimen is hit by a pendulum
at the opposite side of the notch and the energy
required to break open is measured .The size of the
standard specimen is 10*10*55 mm3 and the notch
is 2mm deep , with an angle of 45o and 0.25 mm root
radius .
Izod test
 It is performed with the same hammer as in Charpy test ,
the only difference is in the shape of the specimen used
and its way of fixing .
 Impact tests are used to

indicate how brittle the

material is
Important remarks

FCC metals ( Al ) BCC metals ( Carbon steel )

remain ductile to show BDT with an increase
very low temperatures in impact energy with rise in
temperature

HCP ( Zn ) and cast iron remain brittle

even at high temperatures