OBJECTIVES OF EXPERIMENTAL WORK

To conduct the tensile test which is one of the many mechanical tests that can be used to
determine the following mechanical behaviour and properties of a material;
a) the elastic and plastic deformations of the test material
b) the tensile and ultimate strengths of the test material
c) the ductility of the material in terms of percentage of elongation and percentage
reduction in cross-sectional area at fracture.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this laboratory session, students should be able to:

1. Operate the simple ‘universal testing machine’ and understand its general functions and
features.
2. Conduct the tensile test which is one of the many mechanical tests in accordance to the
standardized methods such as based on the ASTM/ISO/EN/MS specifications.
3. Define experimentally the load-elongation graph / curve and determine the mechanical
properties such as the elastic modulus (E), yield and tensile strength (y & ult) of the test
material by using the plotted graph.
4. Calculate the ductility of the materials and compare the results obtained with the
theoretical data
5. Understand and describe the overall deformation and fracture behaviour of the test
specimen and its relation with the ‘ductility’ of the ductile or brittle materials.
6. Understanding of basic laboratory practice, including design of experiments, write a
clear and well-presented technical report, data acquisition, interpretation and analysis,
and the relationship between experiments and theory.

THEORY
When a sample of metal with the original gauge length (L0) as shown in Figure 1 (a) is subjected
to a uniaxial tensile load (P), deformation and elongation (L) of the metals occurs as shown in
Figure 1(b). If the metal returns to its original dimensions, particularly when the tensile
load/force is released before reaching its elastic limit, the metal is said to have undergone elastic
deformation. The amount of elastic deformation a metal can undergo is small, since during
elastic deformation the metal atoms are displaced from their original positions but not to the
extent that they take up new positions. Thus, when the force on a metal that has been elastically
deformed is released or removed, the metal atoms return to their original position and the metal
takes back its original shape. If the metal is subjected to a tensile load beyond the elastic limit or
being deformed to such an extent that it cannot fully recover its original dimensions, it is said to
have undergone plastic deformation. During plastic deformation, the metal atoms are
permanently displaced from their original position and take up new positions. The ability of
some metals to be deformed plastically, without fracture is one of the most useful engineering
properties of metals. In metal forming industry, this plastically deformed material is also used to
define the strain-hardening characteristics of the material.

The tensile test is used to obtain the stress-strain diagram where mechanical properties and
overall behaviour of the metals and alloys may be determined. During the test, the sample is
subjected to the tensile load at a constant rate and it is pulled until failure occurs. The data of
load against elongation obtained from the tensile test can be converted to engineering stress-
strain data, and a graph of engineering stress versus engineering strain can be plotted.
P
–––––

Lo
L

Fig.1(a)P = 0 Fig.1(b) P ≠ 0
Mechanical properties of metals and alloys that are of engineering importance for the structural
design and metal forming purposes and can be determined from the tensile test results are:
1. Modulus of elasticity
For the elastic region of the engineering stress-strain curve and based on the Hooke's
law, modulus of elasticity E, is defined as;
E   /  = (∆P/∆L)(Lo/Ao) (1)
where P/L represents the slope of the elastic region of the load vs elongation
graph. Lo is the original gage length of the test specimen and ∆L = changes in
elongation for the elastic region (= L - Lo).

2. Yield strength of the material

The yield strength or yield stress of the test material is given by;
 y  Py / Ao
(2)
Py
where = load at yield point and Ao = original cross-sectional area (within the
gauge length and before load P is applied). It is a very important property for use in
the design of the structure or engineering components based on the elastic theories of
failure. It is also a point where the tested material begins to experience yielding or
plastic deformation.

Since most metallic alloys fails to show a clear or well-defined yield point on the
stress-strain curve, where elastic strain ends and plastic strain begins, then the yield
strength of these type of materials are chosen when a definite amount of plastic strain
has occurred. Normally, a point when 0.2 percent plastic strain has taken place during
the tensile test is defined as a yield strength of such materials as recommended by the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), International Organization for
 Standardization (ISO) or British/European (BS/EN) standards. This is also known as
a proof stress or strength of the material.

3. Ultimate tensile strength

The ultimate tensile strength is the maximum strength reached in the engineering
stress-strain curve. This is also called simply the tensile strength.
 ult  Pult / Ao (3)
where, Pult = Ultimate load (the highest load) as given by the load – elongation graph.
When the material achieved its ultimate tensile strength, the test specimen develops a
localized decrease in cross sectional area (commonly called as necking) the
engineering stress will decrease with increasing strain until fracture occurs.

4. Fracture strength
The engineering fracture strength, f, is obtained from the load at fracture point, P f,
which is not necessarily the highest load reached during the test.

f = Pf / Ao
For a very brittle materials such as glass or ceramics based materials, u = f.

5. Percent of elongation
It is the amount of elongation (or deformation in its general term) that a tensile
specimen undergoes during tensile test which represents the degree of ductility of a
material. In general the higher the percent elongation, then it shows that the tested
material has a higher level of ductility.
Percent of elongation, %∆L = 100(Lf – Lo)/Lo (4)
Lf = Final gauge length of the specimen.

6. Percentage reduction in cross-sectional area

The ductility of a material can also be expressed in terms of the percent reduction in
area.
Percent reduction in area %∆RA = 100(Ao-Af)/Ao (5)

Percentage of elongation and percentage of reduction in area are also two material
properties that are normally used to describe the “formability properties” of the materials
especially in the field of metal forming. Generally, the ability of a material to undergo
deformation when subjected to an applied load may be defined through these values.

EQUIPMENT
3
7
8

4
6
 1

Figure 2 Tensile tester

As shown in Figure 2;
1. Machine base (1) with hand grip (11)
2. Support with cross head (2)
3. Load frame with upper (3) and lower cross-member (4)
4. Hydraulic system consisting of a main cylinder (5) and a master cylinder with a hand
wheel (6)
5. Force display (7)
6. Elongation display via a dial gauge (8)
7. Gripping heads (9) with specimen (10)

PROCEDURE
The test device is set up as follows:
1. Untwist the hand wheel on the master cylinder as far as it will go and move the load frame
to its lower position.
2. If this is not yet done, insert the gripping heads in the upper cross-member and the cross-
head.
a) Screw down the gripping head with the short bolt at the bottom and with the pressure
pad (a).
b) Gripping head with long bolt at the top (b).
3. Insert the required tensile specimen as shown in Figure 3
a) Screw the specimen into the lower gripping head by hand as far as the end stop.
b) Screw the sample into the upper gripping head as far as the end stop, by rotating the
gripping head itself.
c) Tighten the nut on the upper gripping head by hand until the gripping head is seated
without slack in the upper cross-member.
 Figure 3 Procedure of fitting the specimen

4. Adjust the dial gauge as shown in Figure 3

a) Push the dial gauge upwards on the support bar until the tracer pin is touching the
driver.
b) Push further up the dial gauge and pre-stress to 8 mm.
c) Lightly pre-stress the sample using the hand wheel until the pointer on the force display
moves. This compensates slack.
d) Set the rotating scale on the dial gauge to zero.
e) Set the maximum pointer on the force display to zero.
f) Set force-measuring system to zero by simultaneously pressing (1) and (2) on force
display (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Force indicator

5. Performing experiment;
Slowly and constantly load the sample by rotating the hand wheel.
a) Application of the force should be extended over a period of 5~10 minutes.
b) It is essential to avoid sudden or jerky load application of force.
c) Observe the dial gauge. Read the force from the display every 0.1 mm and make a note
of it with the corresponding extension. From 1 mm extension, the reading interval can
be extended to 0.2 mm.
d) Monitor the sample and note when constriction begins. From now on, the sample will
no longer increase, but instead, will tend to decrease.
e) ATTENTION! Don’t be startled! Particularly with steel, rupture of the sample occurs
with a loud bang.
f) Remove the sample from the gripping heads.
 g) Twist back the hand wheel on the master cylinder as far as it will go and move the load
frame down.

6. Repeat the above procedure for other specimens.

REFERENCE
1. Hibbeler.R.C. 2013. Mechanics of Materials 9th SI Edition. Prentice Hall
2. Hibbeler R.C., 2013, Statics and Mechanics of Materials, 3rd SI Ed., Prentice Hall, New York.
3. Beer. F.P. et al. 2012. Mechanics of Materials, 6th Edition in SI Units. McGraw-Hill
4. Beer. F.P. et al. 2011. Statics and Mechanics of Materials, 1st Edition. McGraw-Hill

EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Type of material:

Initial dimensions of specimen (before load P is applied):

Original Gauge Length (Lo): mm
Average Original Diameter (Do): mm
Final dimensions of specimen (after fracture):
Final gauge length (Lf) : mm
Final diameter (Df) : mm (*)
Note (*): In order to obtain this data (*), the fractured specimen need to be reconnected
closely, before the final diameter (Df) at the necking zone may be measured.

Table 1 Tensile Test Raw Data

Elongatio Test Observation Elongatio Test Load Observation
n (mm) Load n (mm) (kN)
(kN)
Elongatio Test Observation Elongatio Test Load Observation
n (mm) Load n (mm) (kN)
(kN)
Table 2 : Calculated results of the tensile test

No Mechanical properties Results (Units)

1 Modulus of Elasticity, E
2 Yield Strength, y
3 Ultimate tensile strength, ult
4 Fracture strength, f
5 Ductility: Based on %EL
6 Ductility: Based on %RA

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
1. Based on the measured data shown in Table 1, plot the overall graph of Load P (kN)
versus Elongation ∆L (mm) for each specimen. Indicate and label this graph with the
important parameters such as yield and ultimate points, elastic and plastic regions and the
fracture point. Calculate y and ult from Eqs. (2) and (3).
2. Plot another graph for the elastic region only and from the slope of the straight line of this
graph, determine the modulus of elasticity (E) for each specimen by using Eq. (1).
3. By using Eq. (4) and Eq. (5), calculate the percentage of elongation and reduction of area
of the fractured specimen.

4. Draw the fractured surface of each specimen and briefly explain of your examination of
this surface.
N.B All calculations for this laboratory work must be shown under this section of the lab report
and recorded as shown in Table 2

DISCUSSION (N.B This section of your report must be written in the paragraph form)

 Discuss the results of this testing work, especially the mechanical properties and the
overall deformation behaviour of the materials. Give your interpretations of the graphs
and relate its to the behaviour of the ductile or brittle materials. Support your descriptions
with the relevant diagram / figures.
  Compare between the experimental and theoretical (as may be obtained from any
references / handbooks) results as defined in this work. Explain the differences.

 State the main factors that may be considered as the source of discrepancies / differences
(experiment errors). Justify your answer / arguments.

CONCLUSION (N.B Content of this section should not more than 150 words)

Give your conclusion of this experiment work / report. Summarize its main findings.