TITLE:

PROPERTIES AND BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERING METALS

AIM:

To study the properties and behavior of Aluminum, Mild steel and Cast iron. Determine the proportional limit, yield strength, ultimate strength, percent elongation, and percent reduction in area of Aluminum, Mild steel and Cast iron.

OBJECTIVE:

Tensile testing The American Society of Testing Materials defines specific guidelines for the tensile testing of metals. In this lab, procedures from ASTM E8 will be adapted to test and determine the mechanical properties of aluminum, mild steel, and cast iron. The producer or mill normally does these types of tests to demonstrate the conformance of the material to the product specification. For this test, specimens may be either full thickness plate specimens or machined into a smaller round specimen. Generally the test specimens will have a reduced cross section in the center portion of the specimen to ensure that fracture will occur within the gage length rather than the grip region. The reduced section also provides a uniform cross sectional area. An extensometer is attached to the specimen to measure the elongation of the gage length during the test. The strain is calculated by dividing the displacement from the extensometer by the initial gage length. The test is performed by applying a uniaxial load at a specified rate to the specimen until it fractures. Finally, with the results produced by the test, it is possible to determine the proportional limit, yield strength, ultimate strength, percent elongation, and percent reduction in area.

Behavior of metals in tension The entire stress-strain response for individual metals in tension may be quite unique. However, when the entire response is broken into a series of behavior characteristics, it is clear that many metals have very similar properties. For most metals, when a uniaxial load is applied, the metal deforms immediately and the stress is proportional to the strain up to a certain load level. The slope of this line is known as Youngs Loading Modulus, E. In this same region, if the load is removed, the unloading stress-strain response will Unloading follow the same path as the loading response and E will not retain any residual strain as shown in = Figure 1. This will be demonstrated in the tension tests done in this laboratory. These characteristics Strain, define an initial linear-elastic region of the stressFigure 1. Linear-Elastic Stress-Strain strain relationship common to most metals.
Stress,

Behavior
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With continued loading, the response of the metal will pass a proportional limit, beyond which the stress-strain relationship is no longer linear, as well as an elastic limit, beyond which the specimen will incur permanent deformations. From this point onward, the behavior exhibited by the various metals is much more unique. Some metals, such as cast iron, will behave in a brittle manner and fracture before any significant inelastic deformation occurs. However, metals such as aluminum and steel will exhibit ductile behavior and deform significantly before fracturing. Whereas deformations in the elastic strain region involve stretching of the atomic lattice structure, deformations in the inelastic (plastic) strain region involve the permanent slipping of atomic planes relative to each other. If the load is removed in the inelastic region, the stress-strain curve will follow a path parallel to the elastic slope and recover some of the plastic deformation E E elastically, but plastic deformations will remain. This behavior is shown in Figure 2. When the load is reapplied to the material, the stress-strain Strain, Plastic Elastic relationship will again be linear until it rejoins the Strain Strain original loading stress-strain curve. Thus, the Recovery Figure 2: Elastic and Plastic Strains material has higher yield strength after plastic deformation. This mechanism of hardening is used in the manufacture of high strength wire used for prestressing concrete and pianos. A soft wire is drawn through a series of dies that deforms the wire. The result is a smaller diameter wire with higher strength but less ductility. This behavior will be illustrated in the tests by unloading the specimen in the inelastic range. Strain hardening is indicated by the upward slope of the nonlinear portion of the stress-strain curve shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 depicts the major points on a stress-strain curve. The proportional limit is defined by the point on the curve where the stress-strain relationship is no longer linear. The actual point on the curve where the behavior is no longer elastic and the material begins to yield, deform plastically, is more difficult to define for metals that do not exhibit a distinct yield stress. For this reason, the yield strength is estimated using the 0.2% offset method. The yield strength is calculated by constructing a line parallel to initial elastic loading line offset by 0.2%. The intersection of this offset line with the curve is defined as the yield strength. The maximum stress on the stress-strain curve is known as the ultimate strength, and it is followed by a drop in engineering stress leading to the fracture in ductile materials. In this region it would appear that the material is losing strength, but the decrease in capacity is due to the reduction in cross sectional area, not a reduction in material strength. If the curve were plotted using true stress, rather than engineering stress, the curve would continue to increase. Prior to fracture, the cross section of the specimen decreases and is said to neck. Plotting the true stress actually reveals that the stress in the material increases until fracture. It will be possible to observe necking in both the steel and aluminum specimens.
Stress,

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Ultimate Strength Fracture

X
0.2% Offset Yield Strength

Stress,

Proportional Limit

fracture Strain, 0.002 =0.2% Figure 3: Typical Engineering Stress-Strain Curve for Metals

In addition to the strength properties shown in Figure 3, several other properties are used to characterize ability of the material to deform under uniaxial tensile loading. These properties are used to characterize the ductility of the material. Equations (1) and (2) give definitions for percent elongation and percent reduction in area.

Percent Elongation

Lf L0 * 100 = strain at fracture * 100 L0 A0 Af * 100 A0

(1) (2)

Percent Reduction in Area =

The strain in our test is measured directly using an extensometer. Only the reduction in area requires calculation.

Aluminum alloys Pure aluminum is relatively weak (5000 psi yield strength) and very ductile (45% elongation); however, by including small amounts of impurities, high-strength aluminum alloy with sufficient ductility can be produced. The alloys are typically heat treated to produce the desired strength levels. Aluminum alloys have specific gravity between 2.64 and 2.80 (compared with 7.85 for steel). Hence, aluminum alloys are used primarily when minimum weight is a design consideration. In addition, due to the formation of a protective oxide coating, aluminum alloys are corrosion-resistant in an acidic environment. However, in an alkaline environment (high pH) corrosion is a concern.

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Aluminum alloys typically have a stress-strain curve similar to Figure 3. The yield strength is defined using the 0.2% offset.

Mild steel The amount of carbon in carbon-manganese steels has the greatest effect on the final properties of the material. The effect of carbon content on the mechanical behavior of plain carbon steels is illustrated in Figure 4. Increasing the carbon content increases strength but reduces ductility. Carbon content is also used to classify the material as shown in Table 1. When iron is alloyed with very little (<0.05%) or a lot (>1.4%) of carbon, it is called iron. The designation steel is only used for iron alloys with carbon contents of about 0.05 to 1.4% (Table 2). Most structural steels have a maximum carbon content of about 0.20% to provide good weldability and ductility. Table 1: Carbon Content for Steel Materials CARBON CONTENT < 0.05% 0.05 - 0.3% 0.3 - 0.6% 0.6 1.4% 2.0-6.67 MATERIAL TYPE Iron, wrought iron Mild steels Medium carbon steels Tool steels Cast Irons

150,000 Tensile Stress [psi] TensileStress (PSI)

1.2%C 1.0%C

100,000

0.57%C 0.4%C

50,000
0.1%C

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Strain in a a 2-in. Gage Length Strain, , in 2-In. Gauge length

Figure 4. Effects of Carbon Content on Tensile Stress Strain Curves of Plain Carbon Steels

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Figure 5 illustrates the typical stress-strain behavior of mild steel subjected to a constant rate of deformation. Notice the main regions including linear behavior, yielding, strain hardening, and necking and fracture. Low strength carbon steels typically exhibit a definite yield plateau which may be preceded by an upper and lower yield point. The stress corresponding to the plateau level is known as the dynamic yield strength of the material.

Stress,

Uyp

Yield Plateau
X

Lyp
Plastic Elastic Strain Hardening Necking & fracture

Strain,

(Not to Scale)

Figure 5: Stress-Strain Response for Steel

Upper Yield Point (Uyp)Lower Yield Point (Lyp)Yield PlateauStrain Hardening-

Phenomenon of steels whereby plastic deformation is initiated by a decrease in stress Continued deformation fluctuating around a constant stress value known as the yield stress Dislocations are forming and moving but are not yet interacting with each other Dislocations are interacting and thus more stress is required to move them relative to each other

Cast iron The chemical compositions of cast iron and steel are very similar, but cast iron has higher carbon content. Cast iron has a carbon content of 2% or greater whereas steel has less than 2%. This increased carbon has a large effect on the material properties of cast iron. Typically cast iron is more brittle than steel. The strength and ductility of the cast iron are influenced by the cooling rate of the iron. Gray cast iron results from slow cooling in the molds in which much of the carbon (about 90%) precipitates out of the iron and forms flakes of graphite. The graphite flakes are zones of weakness (much like a crack) and introduce stress concentrations. The end result is metal that is
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weak and brittle in tension, but strong and less brittle in compression. A specimen of gray cast iron will be tested in this lab. White cast iron is cooled faster. Malleable and nodular cast irons are more ductile and are produced by heat treatment of the iron. Figure 6 shows a typical stress strain curve for both gray cast iron and mild steel. From this figure it is clear that cast iron is significantly weaker and much less ductile compared to mild steel when tested in tension

Stress

Stress,

tu
(22-36 ksi)

Mild Steel Gray cast iron

f f

(0.003-0.005)

Strain Strain,

Figure 6.6. Stress - trainCurves of Gray Cast Iron and Mild Steel inin Tension Figure Stress-Strain Curves of Gray Cast Iron and Mild Steel Tension S
Brass The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet, cornet, euphonium, tenor horn, and the French horn. Even though the saxophone is classified as a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone, both are also often made from brass. In organ pipes of the reed family, brass strips (called tongues) are used as the reeds, which beat against the shallot (or beat "through" the shallot in the case of a "free" reed). Brass has higher malleability than bronze or zinc. The relatively low melting point of brass (900 to 940C, depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The density of brass is approximately .303 lb/cubic inch, 8400 to 8730 kilograms per cubic meter (equivalent to 8.4 to 8.73 grams per cubic centimeter). Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Because brass is not ferromagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are heated and extruded into the desired form and size.
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Figure 7: Stress-Strain of Brass Copper Copper, silver and gold are in group 11 of the periodic table, and they share certain attributes: they have one s-orbital electron on top of a filled d-electron shell and are characterized by high ductility and electrical conductivity. The filled d-shells in these elements do not contribute much to the interatomic interactions, which are dominated by the s-electrons through metallic bonds. Contrary to metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of copper. At the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress there by increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is usually supplied in a finegrained polycrystalline form, which has greater strength than monocrystalline forms.

Figure 8: Stress-Strain of Brass

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PROCEDURE 1. Prior to running the test you should measure and record the diameter of each specimen at three locations along the reduced section. The average of these measurements for each specimen should be used to calculate the area of the specimen. 2. After the test is started, observe the load-strain curve and the specimen during the test. After the peak load is reached you should observe the development of the neck in the specimen. 3. After the test, measure and record the diameter of the specimen at the fracture. The two diameters should be 90 degrees apart. 4. Determine the maximum load resisted by your test specimen write it on the data sheet.

Stress-Strain Curves From the load and strain data recorded in your laboratory session and using the average of the three diameters measured to calculate the area prior to loading, plot stress (vertical axis)strain (horizontal axis) curves for all five materials. This can be done using an Excel spreadsheet. From the plots and data, determine the following, if applicable: Youngs modulus Slope of the elastic unloading and reloading lines Proportional limit Yield strength (report the upper yield strength, the lower yield strength, and the 0.2% offset yield strength for each material, if applicable)

Tensile Strength and Percent Elongation Both of these values can be obtained from the recorded data. The tensile strength is the maximum stress in your calculated stress column. You can use the maximum function to have Excel find the value or you can search manually. The percent elongation is the largest strain (converted to a percent format) recorded at the end of your test.

Reduction in area Calculate the area of the location of the fracture using the average of your two measured diameters. Use the formula in the laboratory description to calculate the reduction in area. Using the reduced area, determine the true stress at fracture.

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Data Sheet: Tensile Testing of Metals

Material: Diameter of Specimen before Testing Diameter of Specimen after Testing Maximum Load

Aluminum

Material: Diameter of Specimen before Testing Diameter of Specimen after Testing Maximum Load

Cast Iron

Material: Diameter of Specimen before Testing Diameter of Specimen after Testing Maximum Load

Mild Steel

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Material: Diameter of Specimen before Testing Diameter of Specimen after Testing Maximum Load

Brass

Material: Diameter of Specimen before Testing Diameter of Specimen after Testing Maximum Load

Copper

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Discuss the following points in your report: 1. Compare and contrast Elastic Youngs modulus calculated from the slopes of loading curves for each material. 2. Compare and contrast the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of all five materials. 3. Compare and contrast the ductility of the five materials. 4. Discuss about different application of each material in the industry. In your report, please include plots of stress vs. strain for each material. Indicate the different stages and points of interest on the plots. (For example, label the elastic region, inelastic region, yield points, proportional limit, etc.) These labels can be neatly handwritten on the plots. The following information should be included in a table for all five materials tested:

Elastic Youngs modulus for each martial Proportional limit, if applicable Yield strength (report the upper yield strength, the lower yield strength, and the 0.2% offset yield strength for each material, if applicable) Ultimate tensile strength True stress at fracture Percent elongation based upon maximum extensometer reading before fracture Percent reduction in area

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