1.

ABSTRACT:
The main objective of this experiment is to
determine the tensile properties of the two
metals,brassandsteel.Intheexperiment,atensometer
wasusedtoincreaseloadsupplytothemetalsuntil
fractureoccured.Arevolvingdrumisusedtoplotthe
graphs of load against elongation for the two
metals.Fromthegraphs,wecanobtain:
Thelimitofproportionalitystress;
Yieldor0.2%proofstress;
Ultimatetensilestress;
PercentageelongationandPercentagereductionofarea.
Hence,wecancomparethepropertiesofthetwometals
fromtheobtainedresults.

2.INTRODUCTION:
Inallengineeringconstruction,thecomponentparts
ofastructuremustbeproperlyproportionedto
resisttheactualorprobableforcesthatmaybe
imposeduponthem.
Inmanyinstances,thecompositestructureneedsto
berigidandnotdeflectexcessivelywhenunder
imposedloadsduringoperation.So,theabilityto
determinethemaximumloadthataslenderrodcan
carrybeforefractureoccursisofgreatimportance.
Thestudyofthetensileproperitiesofferrousand
nonferrousmetalscoversthestudyofthestrength
ofmaterials.Themostcommonlywaytodefine
thestrengthofamaterialistoplotacurveofthe
loadappliedtothematerial(stress)againstthe
elongationresultingfromtheload
applied(strain).Futhermore,analyticalmethodsare
involvedinthisexperimenttodeterminethestrength,
ductilityandstabilityofthevariousloadcarrying
members,fromtheStressStrainCurve.

3.OBJECTIVE:
Thisexperimentistodeterminethefollowing
materialpropertiesofgivenroundBrassandSteel
barsbytensiletestingaccordingtoBritish
Standard18:

1)Modulusofelasticity;
2)Limitofproportionalitystress;
3)Yieldor0.2%proofstress;
4)Ultimatetensilestress;
5)Percentageelongation;
6)Percentagereductionofareas.

4.THEORY:
4.1.TensileStress:
TheTensileStressisForceappliedonthematerial
perunitarea.
TensileStress=F/A

whereFistheforceapplied;
Aisthecrosssectionalarea;
Dimensionis[ML1T2]
4.2.TensileStrain:
TheTensileStrainistheelongationperunitlength
ortheratioofthedeformedlengthetothe
originallengthl.
Thisisexpressedas,
TensileStrain=e/l
whereeistheextensionorelongation;
listheoriginallength.
4.3.Young'sModulusOrModulusOfElasticity,E:
TheYoung'sModulusofamaterialisdefinedasthe
ratioofstresstostrain.
E=TensileStress/TensileStrain
E=(F*l)/(A*e)

Dimensionis[ML1T2]
Young'sModulusisapplicabletoelasticmaterials
withintheproportionallimiti.ewhere*Hooke'slaw
isobeyed.

*Hooke'slawdeducethattheextensionisproportional
totheforceorloadonamaterialifthe
proportionallimitisnotexceed.

4.4.LimitOfProportionalityStress,fp:
TheLimitOfProportionalityStressisthe
stress(loaddividedbyoriginalareaofcross
sectionalofatestpiece)atwhichthe
strain(elongationperunitoforiginalgauge
length)ceasestobeproportionaltothecorresponding
stress.
Inpractice,itcanbedeterminedforcertainmetals
byinspectionofaloadelongation
diagram(Fig.1a,p7).
IfA1=originalcrosssectionalareaofthemetal;
Pp1=thestressatwhichthestrainceases.
fp=Pp1/A1
4.5.YieldStress,fy:
TheYieldStressisthestressatwhichelongation
ofthetestpiecefirstincreaseswithoutincreaseof
load(Fig.1a,p7).
Itisdefinedastheloadatyieldperunitarea.
fy=Py/A1
wherePyistheloadatyield.
4.6.ProofStress:
TheProofStressisthestresswhichisjust
sufficienttoproduceunderload,anonproportional

elongationequaltoaspecifiedpercentageofthe
originalgaugelength.
Inspecifyingordescribingaproofstressthenon
proportionalelongationshouldbequoted,
eg.0.1or0.2%proofstress.
Theproofstressisdeterminedfromtheload
elongationcurvebydrawingalineparalleltothe
straightportionofthecurveanddistantfromitby
anamountrepresentingtherequirednonproportional
elongation,thusdeterminingtheload,Pp,atwhich
thelinecutsthecurve(Fig.1b,p7).
0.2%ProofStress=Pp/A1

4.7.UltimateTensileStress,fu:
TheUltimateTensileStressisthemaximumload,Pult
reachedundertheprescribedtestingconditionsdivided
bytheoriginalcrosssectionalareaofthegauge
lengthofthetestpiece.
fu=Pult/A1
4.8.PercentageElongationAtFailure:
ThePercentageElongationAtFailureisobtainedby
measurementofthefracturedtestpieceandisequalto
(L2L1)100/L1
whereL1=theoriginallengthoftestpiece;
L2=thedistancebetweenoriginalgaugemarks
obtainedbymeasurementofthefracturedtest
piece.

4.9.PercentageReductionOfAreaAtFailure:
ThePercentageReductionOfAreaisobtainedby
measurementofafracturedtestpieceandisequalto
(A1A2)100/A1
whereA1=theoriginalcrosssectionalarea;
A2=theminimumcrosssectionalareaobtainedby
measurementofthefracturedtestpiece.

5.EQUIPMENT:
1)2plottinggraphpapers;
2)Verniercapiler;
3)Testpiece
a.Brass;
b.Steel;
4)Tensometer.
5.1.Tensometer:

Thegeneralarrangementofthetensometerisshown
inFigure2(p9)andasimplifiedlayoutshowing
thebasicmechaniceisshowninFigure3(p9).The
tensometerisaninstrumentusedtoobtainthe
forceextensionrelationshipofametalspecimen
inthelaboratory.
A)Mannerinwhichthespecimenispositioned.
Thechucksholdingtheendsofthespecimenare
pinnedtoattachmentswhicharesphericallymountedto
ensurenoneccentric,axialloading.
B)Mannerinwhichtheloadisapplied.
Theloadisappliedtothespecimenbyturningthe
handwheel(Fig.2,p9).Themotionistransmittedthrougha
screwguidedbyacrosshead.Thereisaspringbeamwhich
deflectsunderload.Thedeflectionisproportionaltothe
magnitudeofappliedloadingandisindicatedbythe
movementofthemercurycolumninaglasstube.Different
calibratedscalesareavailableforeachspringbeam,to
readtheamountofloadappliedatanystage.
C)Mannerinwhichthespecimenisextended.
Theextensionofthespecimenisindicatedbythe
amountofrotationoftheloadingscrew.Thisrotation
istransmittedthroughgearsandscrewsto
arotarydrumcarryingagraphpaper.Thepath
istracedoutatregularintervals.The
magnificationratioforthespecimenextensioncanbe
alteredbychangingintodifferentgearwheelatone
endofthedrum.Themagnificationratioisat16times.

6.PROCEDURE:
1)Apieceofsuppliedgraphpaperwaswrappedand
clippedontotherecordingdrum.

2)Theloadscaleandextensionmagnificationwere
recorded.
3)Thedimensionsofthebrassweremeasuredand
identified.
4)Thebrasssuppliedwasmountedusingthecorrect
chucks.
5)Themercurycolumnwasridofairbubblesandthe
columnwasadjustedtofallonthezeroscale
mark.
6)Loadwasappliedbyturningthesmallmovement
handwheel.
7)Recordsweretakenonthegraphatappropriate
interval.
8)Thisprocesswascontinueduntilthebrass
fractured.

9)Thegraphpaperwaschangedandtheprocesswas
repeatedforthesteel.
10)Thetensilepropertiesofeachspecimenwere
calculatedandshownonthesampleload
elongationdiagrams.
7.OBSERVATIONS:
Itisobservedfromthegraphforthesteel,the
UltimateTensileStressistoolow.Thisisbecausein
theprocessoftheexperimenttherewasairtrapped
inthemercurycolumn.Inordertosavetime,the
experimentwasredonebyadjustingthemercury
column(togetridoftheairbubbles),andwithout
settingthemercurycolumnandcursorbacktozero
mark.So,theassumptionsdonotstandand
resultinginalowervalueoftheultimatetensilestress
forthesteel.Modificationisbeingmadebyextendingthe
graphdownuntilitcutstheyaxis(whichisthestress
axis).
Assumption:
Throughtheprocedurefollowed,itisassumedthat
thereisnoinitialtension.Iftherewas,itwould
notberecordedasboththemercurycolumnandthe
cursorweresettothezeromark.

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8.CALCULATIONS:
ForBrass:
Limitofproportionalitystress,
fp=Ppl/A1
=4.00kN/[3.14*(5.00/2)2]
=197.40N/mm

2
0.2%proofstress=Pp/A1
=222.82N/mm

2
Ultimatestrength,
fu=Pult/A1
=445.75N/mm

2
Percentageelongation
=[(L2L1)/L1]*100
=[(37.0527.05)/27.05]*100
=36.97%

Percentagereductionofarea
=[(A1A2)/A1]*100
=[3.14(2.521.52)/3.14(2.5)2]*100
=63.99%
ForSteel:

Limitofproportionalitystress,
fp=Ppl/A1
=6.875kN/3.14(5.05/2)2
=343.24N/mm

2
Yieldstress=Py/A1
=7.375kN/3.14(5.05/2)2
=368.20N/mm

2
Ultimatestrength=Pult/A1
=9.625kN/3.14(5.05/2)2
=480.54N/mm

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Percentageelongation
=[(L2L1)/L1]*100
=[(37.0027.10)/27.10]*100
=36.53%
Percentagereductionofarea
=[(A1A2)/A1]*100
=68.15%
Theslopeoftheloadelongationcurveinthe
elasticrange=6.875kN/(20/16)
=5.5kN/mm
'Apparent'ElasticModulus
=(5.5kN/mm*27.10)/3.14(5.05/2)2
=7.44kN/mm

2
9.RESULTSANDLOGSHEET:
1)Logsheet;
2)Graph1(Brass);
3)Graph2(Steel);

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10.DISCUSSIONS:
10.1.Describethefractureofthedifferentmaterials:
DuctileFracturewhichisafractureprecededby
considerableplasticdeformation.Thefractureof
specimens,steelandbrass,belongstotheDuctile
Fracture.
Forboththematerials,whenthecriticalvalueof
stressisreached,thespecimenunderwentasudden
enormouselongationwithanincrementofrelatively
smallappliedload.Whenthemaximumvalueofloadis
attained,thediameterofthespecimenstarted
toreduceastheelongationcontinuedtoaparticular
weaksection,whichiscalledthenecking.Rupturewill
occurandresultinginacupandconeconfiguration.The
threediagrambelowillustratedtheaboveprocess.

16

10.2.Comparethestressstraincurvesofthedifferent
materials:
Fromthesimplecalculations,weobtainthat:
ThepercentageelongationofBrass=36.97%
ThepercentageelongationofSteel=36.53%
whichcanbededucefromthestressstraincurves,the
plasticdeformationforbrassislargerthansteel.Butin
realitysteelisamoreductilematerialthanbrass.This
oppositedeductioncanbeduetosomeimpurityaddictive
addedonduringmanufactured.Hence,thestructureofthe
molecularbondinginthisexperimentisalteredand
strengthenedthebrassspecimen.
Itisnoteasytofindtheyieldpointforthebrass
asthereisanabsenceofsignificantincrementof
elongationonthecurve.So,0.2%ProofStresswas
usedtorepresenttheyieldstress.Fromthe
graph,steelhasahigheryieldstressthanbrass.
Fromthecurves,thesteelhasahigherUltimate
Stressthanthebrass.Thismeansthatthesteelhas
ahighersafetyfactorthanthebrass.Thisisnottrue
asbrassshouldhaveahigherUltimateStressthan
steel.Thismaybeduetohumanerrorduring
experiment.
10.3.Relatethepropertiestotheutilizationofthe
differentmaterials:
Duetosteel'sflexibilityofitstensilestress,via
thevariationofthecarboncontent,steelhasgotits
generalapplicationsondailylife.Examplesarethe
makingofgaspipe,cookingutensilsandreinforced
concrete.

Forthebrass,itshighultimatestressanditsnon
corrosivenaturemakeitmostsuitableforthe
manufactureofplumbingfitting,screwsetc.
Materialswithlowpercentageelongationorlow
percentagereductionofareahaspoorformability.In
otherwords,thematerialsarerigidandcannotbe
bentandstretchverymuchbeforefailure.So,itis
importantforonetotakenoteoftheductilityfor
variousmaterials.

17

10.4.CommentonthismeasuredvalueforEanddiscuss
thesuitabilityoftheequipmentforcarrying
outthetests:
The'Apparent'ElasticModulus,E,forsteelwasfound
tobe7.44kN/mm2.ThespecificEforsteelis
206700*106N/mm2.
Thereisagreatdifferencebetweenthetwo
values.Thereareseveralcauseswhichleadtothis
difference:
1)Thematerialforthetensometerisslightly
elastic.Whenloadisapplied,theframeofthe
tensometerwillexpand.
2)Themercurycolumnusedtoindicatethestress
level,
whetheritiscalibratedaccuratelyisvery
importanttoo.
3)Thetestspecimenmaycontainsomeflawslikeair
bubblestrappedinbetweenthespecimenduringmass
production.
Thismaygiverisetounevencrosssectionalarea
throughoutandunbalancedappliedload.

4)Thehumanparallaxerrorcontributestothe
inaccuratemeasurementoflengthanddiameterof
thespecimens.
5)Lastly,theplottingofthegraphmaynotbe
accurate,
becauseitismanuallyoperated.
Therefore,theresultobtainedshouldnotbetaken
tooseriouslyforindustrialreference.Whereas,it
willbegoodenoughforacademicspurposesin
understandingofthepropertiesofthe
materials.
Inordertoachieveacloserspecificresult,we
shoulduseanautomaticrecordingtensometer,so
thatthereadingtakenwillbemore
accurate.Futhermore,wecanusesensitive
device(eg.CRO)tomonitortheelongationofthespecimen.

18

11.CONCLUSIONS:
Fromtheaboveexperiment,wehaveachievedthe
objectivesasfollows:
ForSpecimenABrass:
TheLimitOfProportionalityStresswas197.40N/mm2
The0.2%ProofStresswas222.82N/mm2

TheUltimateStrengthwas445.75N/mm2
ThePercentageElongationwas36.97%
ThePercentageReductionOfAreawas63.99%
ForSpecimenBSteel:
TheLimitofProportionalityStresswas343.24N/mm2
TheYieldStresswas368.20N/mm2
TheUltimateStrengthwas480.54N/mm2
ThePercentageElongationwas36.53%
ThePercentageReductionOfAreawas68.15%
TheSlopeOfTheLoadElongationwas5.5kN/mm
Curve
The'Apparent'ElasticModuluswas7.44kN/mm2
12.REFERENCES:
1)VernonJohn,"DictionaryofMaterialand
Manufacturing",
Macmillan.
2)DrBoey,"EngineeringMaterialNotes".

19

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