TAM 224/CEE 210 81

8. Notch Sensitivity
8.1. Objective
The objective is to learn the effects that notches
and cracks can have on a components load-carrying
ability.
Bending tests are performed on beams similar to
those used previously except that a notch has been
machined into the specimen (Fig. 1). Depending upon
the type of material being studied, either notch
strengthening or notch weakening can be observed.
Photoelastic specimens containing notches and
cracks are loaded in a polariscope to illustrate stress
concentrations and stress intensities.
8.2. Apparatus
The bending tests are performed in an Instron
Model 4400 screw-driven testing machine with the
four-point bending fixtures used previously. Load
displacement plots are made by a computer data-
acquisition system. Digital calipers are used to
measure the specimens. An optical microscope is
available to view the notch root.
A Vishay polariscope with a screw-type loading
frame is used for analyzing compact tension speci-
mens and other specimens containing notches. The
polariscope is described in the Appendix to this lab.
8.3. Materials
Notch sensitivity in four-point bending is studied
using commercial-grade alloys of steel and aluminum,
and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The notched
specimens have the geometry sketched in Fig. 2. For
each of the two metals, two specimens with differing
notch radii will be available.
The photoelastic specimens are made of PSM-1

, a
transparent, birefringent polycarbonate that is
mechanically similar to PMMA.
8.4. Experimental Procedure
Notched bend tests
1. Measure the thickness w, total height H, and either
notch depth d or net height h of the notched beams
using digital calipers. See Fig. 2. Calculate the
value of h or d, as appropriate. Using a
microscope or calipers, estimate the value of the
notch radius r. Begin filling out Table 1.
2. Place one of the metal bending specimens in the
test fixture, making sure that it is aligned and
centered properly. Prepare the computer data-
acquisition system for recording the load
displacement data. Load the specimen slowly to
failure.
3. After the metal specimens have been tested,
conduct two tests with PMMA: one with the notch
in tension (Fig. 1), and one with the notch in com-
pression.
4. Examine the fracture surfaces closely. Did the
specimen fracture abruptly with little plastic
deformation, or did it fracture after considerable
plastic deformation?

Fig. 1. Notched PMMA bending specimen after
fracturenotch in tension.
P
2
P
2
P
2
P
2
a U
U
a
w
H
Notched bending specimen
h
d
r

Fig. 2. Geometry of notched bending specimen.
Notch
82 Behavior of Engineering Materials TAM 224/CEE 210
Photoelasticity visualization
1. Observe the basic layout of the polariscope. Using
specimens provided, apply moderate bending
moments by hand or by the loading frame, as
appropriate. Note how the fringes in a model
under consideration change as the applied load
increases.
2. Compare the relative severity of the stress
distributions for bending specimens containing
different notch radii. Note in particular the
singular nature of the stresses in a compact
tension specimen, which will be studied further in
Lab 9.
8.5. Theoretical Considerations
Notch effects in a beam
It might appear that a notched beam with net
section height h should behave like a uniform beam of
total height h. If this conjecture were true, the
formulas from the Bending and Torsion Tests lab
could be used to calculate yielding and failure loads
for notched specimens, regardless of the notch
geometry.
One purpose of the current lab session is to
determine if this conjecture is correct. Two types of
material, each of which is initially linear elastic, are
being tested.
The first is a brittle polymer (PMMA), which
before fracture exhibits only a small amount of
ductility. When the beam is loaded so that the notch is
in tension, the high elastic localized stress caused by
the stress concentration leads to fracture at a load even
smaller than that based on the reduced section of
depth h.
The second is a ductile metal (such as plain carbon
steel or commercial grade of aluminum). Localized
yielding at the notch is suppressed because of the
constraint of surrounding elastic material. As a result,
the apparent yield strength (based on the reduced
section) will increase, compared with the yield
strength of an unnotched specimen.
Modulus-of-rupture calculations
For materials that exhibit linear elastic behavior,
the maximum stress in a uniform rectangular cross-

Fig. 3(a). Photoelastic image of a uniform beam loaded in four-point bending.
Contact rollers are hidden from view.

Fig. 3(b). Photoelastic image of a sharp-notched beam loaded in four-point bending.
Notch is loaded in tension.
TAM 224/CE 210 Notch Sensitivity 83
section beam of thickness w and depth h loaded in
four-point bending would be equal to the nominal
stress given by

nom
3
( / 2) ( / 2)
/12
Mc P a h
I
wh
= =
or

nom
2
3Pa
wh
= . (1)
The modulus of rupture R
B
is also computed using
Eqn. (1) by substituting the failure load P
max
for P and
the modulus of rupture R
B
for
nom
, i.e.

max
2
3
B
P a
R
wh
= . (2)
For brittle materials, the modulus of rupture is in
fact equal to the value of the actual maximum stress

max
in the beam at failure. For ductile (elastic
plastic) materials, the value of R
B
is equal to a
fictitious stress based on an equivalent elastic
bending moment; R
B
for such materials is somewhat
larger than the actual maximum stress
max
at failure,
as explained in the Bending and Torsion Tests lab.
(See also, for example, Beer and Johnston (1992).)
Brittle materials.Brittle materials remain essen-
tially elastic to failure. An analysis of a rectangular
elastic beam that contains a notch shows a
pronounced stress-concentration effect in the vicinity
of the notch root. This effect is illustrated using
photoelasticity in Fig. 3. The highly localized stress
distribution is characterized by a stress concentration
factor K
t
that is defined as the ratio
K
t
=

max
nom
,
where (as illustrated in Fig. 4)
max
= K
t

nom
is the
actual maximum stress at the notch root, and
nom
is
the nominal stress, which is the stress that would exist
theoretically in a straight unnotched beam having the
dimensions of the reduced cross section.
If, as in the case of PMMA, the stress concentra-
tion is not mitigated by local yielding and stress
redistribution at the notch, then the value of R
B

measured for the notched beam should be reduced by
this value of K
t
, i.e.
K
R
R
t
B
B
=
( )
( )
unnotched
notched
. (3)
Values of stress concentration factors are given in
graphical form in many references, for example,
Marks Handbook (1987). A value of K
t
= 4 is typically
observed for notched PMMA specimens when the
notch is loaded in tension.
Ductile (elasticplastic) materials.For a
notched elasticplastic rectangular beam with
thickness b and remaining height h at the notch, the
rupture modulus R
B
can still be calculated from
Eqn. (1) using the failure load P
max
, as noted earlier.
However, owing to a triaxial constraint provided by
surrounding elastic material in the vicinity of the
notch root (Fig. 5), yielding at the notch root is
suppressed. The net effect is to raise the apparent
yield strength and the modulus of rupture.
The apparent yield strength is determined from
Eqn. (1) by observing the load P
y
on the P- curve
where the response deviates from linearity:

2
3
y
y
P a
wh

= . (4)
Due to the presence of the notch, the apparent yield
strength
y
may be larger than the uniaxial yield
strength
y
because of (1) the alteration in the elastic
M M
h
0

nom

nom
K
T
Bending specimen
Actual
stress
Nominal
stress

Fig. 4. Elastic stress-concentration effect
of a notch in bending.

Fig. 5. Failure of notched aluminum beam in bending.
Region of
high triaxiality
84 Behavior of Engineering Materials TAM 224/CEE 210
stress field caused by the notch, and (2) the sup-
pression of yielding at the notch root caused by
triaxiality of the stress field there.
To see how the suppression of yieldingthat is,
an increase in the apparent yield strengthis related
to triaxiality of the stress state in the region of the
notch root, consider the following argument. Suppose
the Tresca yield criterion is valid, i.e. yield initiates
when the maximum shear stress
max
reaches a
critical value
y
for the given material:

max
max( , , ) =
1
2
1 2 2 3 3 1 y
. (5)
In an unnotched specimen, the stress state is
uniaxial at the top and bottom surface. Consider the
bottom surface where the uniaxial stress is positive
(tensile). If
y
denotes this uniaxial stress at the yield
condition, then as shown in Fig. 6,

1
2

y y
= .
In a notched specimen, assume that the elastic
material in the vicinity of the notch root allows a state
of triaxial tensile stress to develop quickly after
material begins to yield at the surface. Then, besides
the maximum principal stress
1
, such a state of stress
will include somewhat smaller, but positive, principal
stresses
2
and
3
, each of the order of, say,
1
,
where is a factor greater than zero but less than
unity. Then in this triaxial state, as shown in Fig. 6,
yield will initiate according to the Tresca yield
criterion when

1
2
1 1
( ) =
y
. (6)
Since
y
is the same in the two cases (according to
the Tresca theory), eliminating
y
between the two
expressions provides a relation between
1
in the
triaxial state and the yield stress
y
in the uniaxial
state. This
1
is interpreted as the apparent yield
strength
y
in the triaxial state:
=

y
y
1
. (7)
The term notch strengthening is used to
describe the apparent increase in rupture modulus
and yield strength in ductile samples containing
notches. However the term is a bit misleading
because strength calculations are based on the reduced
section of height h, not the total section of height H
(Fig. 2). In effect, material had to be added to the
reduced section (on either side of the notch) to achieve
this apparent increase in strength.
By contrast, in brittle materialseven with the
added materialthere is instead a definite notch
weakening based on the reduced section.
8.6. Analysis of Results
Notch strengthening and weakening
1. For the PMMA specimen, first recall the value of
the modulus of rupture as determined previously
in the Bending and Torsion Tests lab for an
unnotched specimen, and then compute the
modulus of rupture for the notched specimen
(with the notch loaded in tension), based on the
current failure load and the net section of height h.
Begin filling out Table 2. Then deduce the value
of the stress concentration factor K
t
for your
geometry using Eqn. (3).
2. From the loaddeflection plots for steel and
aluminum, calculate the apparent yield strength

y
. Compare these values with the uniaxial
values
y
determined in the previous lab where
unnotched specimens were used.
3. Derive Eqn. (7), describing briefly the reasoning
involved. Substitute the value = 0.3 into this
expression and compare the relative values of
y

and
y
. Does this reasoning assist in explaining
notch strengthening, if in fact it was observed in
the lab? Explain briefly.

Uniaxial
Triaxial

y
0
( = = )
2 3 1
= =
2 3 1

3

Fig. 6. Mohrs circles for uniaxial stress
and a particular triaxial stress state
having the same maximum shear stress.
TAM 224/CE 210 Notch Sensitivity 85
8.7. Points for Discussion
Note.Your lab instructor will indicate which of the
following questions are to be addressed in your report.
1. How does the value of K
t
calculated for PMMA
compare with the approximate value K
t
= 4?
Explain why variations might be expected. Did
notch weakening occur?
2. As noted in the Analysis of Results section above,
Eqn. (3) should not be used to calculate a stress-
concentration factor K
t
for an elasticplastic
material (if indeed the material has yielded).
However, the ratio ( ) / ( ) R R
B B unnotched notched
can
be calculated for the steel and aluminum
specimens anyway. What are these values for the
steel and aluminum specimens, and how do they
compare with K
t
for PMMA? Give an explanation
for the difference.
3. For the steel and aluminum specimens, compare
the values of
y
determined in this lab with the
values of
y
calculated in the Bending and
Torsion Tests lab. Comment on the differences, if
any. How did the notch affect the material?
Explain.
4. For the two specimens made of the same metal,
but with different notch radii, determine the
effect(s) that notch radius had on the results. Can
you explain these effects (or lack thereof)?
5. How would you expect specimens of cast iron to
perform in the notched beam test?
6. To what extent is photoelasticity useful for
visualizing stress concentrations? Are the results
applicable to both elastic and elasticplastic
materials?
8.8. References
Avallone, E. A., and T. Baumeister III, eds. 1987.
Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers,
9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Section 5.1. See
discussions of stress concentration factors and
fracture mechanics.
Callister Jr., W. D. 2003. Materials Science and Engineer-
ingAn Introduction, 6th ed. New York: Wiley,
Sections 6.16.12, 8.18.4.
Beer, F. P., and E. R. Johnston Jr. 1992. Mechanics of
Materials, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Sec-
tions 4.9-4.11.
86 Behavior of Engineering Materials TAM 224/CEE 210
Table 1Notched bending specimen data
Measurement or property Material
_____ Steel PMMA _____ Aluminum
Quantity Symbol Units Round Notch Tension Compr Round Notch
Initial data
Overall beam height H mm
Notch depth d mm
Net beam height at notch h mm
Notch radius r mm
Beam thickness w mm
Moment of inertia I mm
4

Upper span U mm
Lower span L mm
Support moment arm
2
L U
a

=
mm
Strength
Apparent yield load P
y
kN
Maximum load P
max
kN

Reason for stopping test







Detail of fracture surface or
final shape






Derived quantities
Apparent yield strength
y
MPa
Modulus of rupture in
bending
R
B
MPa

Test date: Group: Students name:

TAM 224/CE 210 Notch Sensitivity 87
Table 2Comparison of unnotched and notched bending results
Measurement or property Material
_____ Steel PMMA _____ Aluminum
Quantity Symbol Units Round Notch Tension Compr Round Notch
Derived properties (from unnotched bend testsLab 7)
Yield strength
y
MPa
Modulus of rupture in
bending
R
B
MPa


Nature of fracture surface

Derived properties (from notched bend tests)
Apparent yield strength
y
MPa
Modulus of rupture in
bending
R
B
MPa


Nature of fracture surface

Test date(s): Group: Students name:

88 Behavior of Engineering Materials TAM 224/CEE 210
Appendix
Notes on Photoelasticity
Photoelasticity is an optical method for deter-
mining stresses in loaded components. Although the
method works in three-dimensional problems, it is
more commonly applied to two-dimensional
problems.
In a circular polariscope, circularly polarized light
is produced by a polarizer and quarter-wave plate,
and is passed through a two-dimensional model, as
illustrated in Fig. A1. The elliptically polarized light
leaving the model is then derotated by another
quarter-wave plate and a second polarizer called the
analyzer.
When white light (such as sunlight) is used as the
light source, a rainbow-like fringe pattern is produced
in the model. In monochromatic light, the fringes are
various shades of gray. The value of a fringe is given
by N where


1 2
=
Nf
h
, (A1)
where
1
and
2
are the in-plane principal stresses
and f

is an optical constant for the transparent model

material. The thickness of the model in the light-
propagation direction is h. For more information on
photoelasticity, see, for example, Dally and Rileys
book (1991).
The photoelastic fringe patterns shown in Fig. 3
were photographed using the polariscope and
specimens in Room 201 Talbot Lab. Specimens were
made of PSM-1

, which is an easily machinable, fairly

tough, and photoelastically sensitive material com-
monly employed in photoelasticity work. Images
were captured with an ordinary 35-mm camera, using
ordinary daylight color ISO 200-speed film. Exposure
times were of the order of 1/2 sec. The light source, a
mercury-vapor lamp, provides light that has a broad
color spectrum, although the light is particularly
strong in the green wavelengths. An example of
fringe-number interpretation is given in Fig. A2, in
which a magnified portion of the fringe pattern
surrounding a keyhole notch is presented.
Reference
Dally, J. W., and W. F. Riley. 1991. Experimental Stress
Analysis, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Part
III. See esp. Chapters 10, 12, and 14.
Printed 7/9/03

Light source
Polarizer
Quarter-wave plate
Model
Quarter-wave plate
Analyzer
Viewer or
film plane

Fig. A1. Elements of a circular polariscope.

Fig. A2. Detail of fringe pattern around notch.
8 9 9 8




2 2


5 6 6 5


6 5 4 1 0 0 1 4 5 6