University of Bahrain

College of Engineering
Department of Chemical
Engineering

Done By:

* Hasan Moh'd Ali Moh'd. 200544

91

* Ali Salman Akbar. 200643

92

* Mufadhal Isa Moh'd. 200527

Introduction:

Material's mechanical properties are very important

characteristics in any engineering design that's why it's important for
engineers and designers. One of the most important property is
toughness. Toughness is the material's ability to plastic deform, when
load is applied, before fracture occurs. Many tests have been made to
measure toughness. One of the most widely used tests is the impact
test. In this test load is applied using a heavy swinging pendulum to a
specimen with standard dimensions. Then the distance the pendulum
moves after hitting the specimen is measured and the toughness
value is calculated.

Materials Tested :

1- Z0: Plain Carbon Steel 0.4wt %C (Martensite).

2- Z: Plain Carbon Steel 0.4 wt % C (Ferrite+ Fine Pearlite).

3- Z4: Plain Carbon Steel 0.4wt%C (Ferrite+ Spherical particles of

Cemntite Fe3C).
4- Z7: Plain Carbon Steel 0-4wt%C (Ferrite+ Spherical particles of
Cementite).

Procedures:

First, the specimen was fixed on the machine in a vertical

position. Then we returned the swinging pendulum to the staring
zero. After that we released it and recorded the maximum value it
reached.

Results:

Impact Strength
Material Fracture Surface
(j)*

Z0 4 Bright & shiny

Z 57 50% shiny & 50% dull

 Z4 16 Mostly dull & small
bright

Z7 120 100%Dark, dull

Discussion:

Although the four materials tested in this experiment are Iron-

Carbon alloys with the same composition, the toughness of each of
them is different .And this is because toughness is related to the
microstructure of the alloy which is related to the heat treatment of the
alloy.

Zo: has showed the lowest toughness (high hardness and

brittleness) and this is because of the way it was heated, Zo were
heated to a temperature of 860 C and held for some time and then
quickly cooled to the room temperature. This way of hearing results a
microstructure called Martensite which very hard & brittle. The Zo,
fracture surface was very bright and smooth..

Z: has the microstructure of Ferrite+ Fine Perrite which resulted

from heating the Fe-C alloy to a temperature of 8600^C and held for
some time, then slowly cooled to the room temperature. This
microstructure gave the alloy a good combination of strength and
toughness .The fracture surface is 50% bright & 50% dull which is
the reason why Z has good combination of strength and toughness.
Z4: has the microstructure of Ferrite and spherical particles of Cemintitie
(Fe3C).This microstructure is a result of heating the alloy to the
temperature of 860 C and holding it for some time then rapidly cooling
it down to the room temperature and then heating it again to the
temperature of 400 C holding it for some time the

cooling it down slowly. The alloy has showed a reasonable toughness

with a bias to the brittleness side because of the surface fracture
which was mostly dull & small bright

Z7: has the same microstructure as Z4 however with a change of the

heat treatment. Z7 is heated as Z4 but in the second heating process it
kept at 6800C. Z7 has showed the highest toughness among the
materials tested. The surface structure of Z7 was 100% Dark and dull.

Conclusion and Engineering significance of the impact test :

Impact test is a very important test for engineers and designers.

Because the test measures the ability of materials to plastic deforms
before it fracture which is the toughness property of materials. In the
lab we measured the toughness of different Fe-C alloys that were
differently heat treated. We concluded from the experiment that
material's toughness is related to its microstructure which is related
to the wav the alloy was heated. The results we got are really
reasonable. Finally, I enjoyed this experiment, especially that I will
need it in most of the engineering projects I will design in the future.