THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

ST AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, WEST INDIES

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Telephone (868) 662-2002 Ext. 2501/2

Fax: (868) 645 7691 E-mail: Civil.Engineering@sta.uwi.edu

CVNG 1005- SCIENCE OF MATERIAL B

TENSILE TESTING OF THE SELECTED MATERIALS
(Metallic and polymeric samples)
A Student Manual

Lecturer: Dr Mwasha Abrahams

Room 137 Extn. 83434

Introduction
Background
Testing is an essential part of any engineering activity. Testing must take place at many stages in the process of
producing, assembling and during the service life of any engineering product. Material testing involves both
experimentation and testing. The purpose of an experiment is to gain information when the outcome is uncertain.
Testing requires well-established standard procedures and only necessary information are recorded for quality
assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). Usually standard conditions are laid down for the preparation of testpieces and the conduct of tests with the aim of ensuring that the results obtained from small pieces are
representatives of the bulk material. Also, the fact that different laboratories are conducting tests to the same
standard allows the user to have confidence in the test results irrespective of where the tests were carried out. In
the United Kingdom, the standardized procedure for testing is compiled and published by the British Standard
Institution (BSI). In the USA the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International and the
International Standard Organization (ISO) together with representatives from other national standard bodies exists
to promote standardization of procedures across all countries.

Tensile Testing
This is a static test since the uniaxial force is applied over a relatively short time and relatively slow. The speed
of testing can be considered to have a practically negligible effect upon the results. The tension test is commonly
used for evaluating materials. It is accomplished by tightly gripping opposite ends of a piece of material within
the load frame of a test machine and pulling it apart. A tensile force is applied by the machine, resulting in the
gradual elongation and eventual fracture of the test item. Observations of applied force for appropriate
elongation (force-extension data) are recorded during the test. Stresses, strains, elongation, reduction of area are
all monitored and recorded and computed on the basis of the original dimensions. Tension tests are generally
performed on metals and polymers. (ASM Handbook, Volume 8 Mechanical Testing and Evaluation. Uniaxial Tension
Testing)

Definitions
Tensile Stress, , is the force measured by the load cell divided by the initial cross sectional area. Note that this
is the nominal stress and that the actual stress is much larger because the area reduces during the test.
Specimen Strain, , is the extensometer deformation divided by the extensometer gauge length. This is the best
estimate of the engineering strain.

Youngs Modulus, E, is the slope of the linear regression line through the data up to the proportional limit.
2

Proportional Limit, p, is the stress at which the stress strain relationship deviates from linearity (this requires
a somewhat subjective determination).
Yield Stress, y, is the stress at which the material begins to undergo significant deformation without much
change in stress (depending on the particulars of the stress strain behaviour this can also be rather subjective).
Tensile Strength, t, is the maximum tensile stress at any point along the stress strain curve. It gives the
maximum force carried by the specimen.
True Tensile Strength, 't, is the maximum value of the actual tensile stress in the steel. This accounts for the
reduction in the cross section as load is applied. We do not measure the cross section during the test therefore
we can only compute the actual tensile stress from the final measured cross section. We will assume that this is
the True Tensile Strength.

Objective
To determine the Stress/Strain characteristics of a number of common engineering materials (polymers and metals)

Organization
(a) Group instructions and briefing - 10 minutes
(b) Introduction to equipment and materials - 20 minutes
(c) Experiment procedures and observation - 30 minutes
(d) Experimental data collection - 10 minutes
(e) Questions and answers - 10 minutes
(f) Estimated student input time (30 minutes per semester)

Preparation of labs you must read the following

Properties of Metallic materials

Properties of Polymers

Read about the elastic modulus of polymers and metals,

Proportional limit polymers and metals,

Yield strength of polymers and metals and

Tensile strength of polymers and metals

Apparatus
Hounsfield Tensometer (see instruction booklet)
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Hounsfield Extensometer (see instruction booklet)

Percentage Elongation Gauge (see instruction booklets)

Materials
Specimen: 0.1 Carbon Steel (Long and Short)
Aluminium Alloy
High conductivity Copper (short)
70/30 Brass (short)
Coconut Fibre (short)
Sisal fibre
Plastic fibre
Plywood (short)
Teak (short)
White Pine (short)

Tensile Test Procedures

Force-extension data can quantify several important mechanical properties of a material. As the name suggests
the material is subjected to a tensile force or in other words, the material is stretched or pulled apart. Results
from tensile tests allow us to determine the following properties:
1. The elasticity of a material
2. The plasticity or ductility of the material
3. The ultimate tensile strength of the material.

In order for tests to be carried out on a consistent basis, the shape of the specimen to be tested must conform to
British Standards or ASTM. The principle of tensile testing is as follows:
The force is applied to the specimen,
The material begins to stretch or extend.
The tensometer applies the force at a constant rate and readings of force and extension are noted until the
specimen finally breaks.
The readings are plotted on a graph to show the overall performance of the material.

Observation
Observe the behaviour of polymers (PVC, natural fibres (Sisal, coir)) Nylon polypropylene etc. and metallic
(steel, brass, cooper, aluminium), in tension and
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 Observe the effects of specimen geometry (cross sectional area and length) for metallic (steel, brass, cooper,
aluminium),

Report
Compile a report containing the following:
(a) Introduction
(b) Graphs and results
(c) Discussion and
(d) Calculations

Introduction (10 marks)

Include a short (2 paragraphs) write up of relevant theory which supports tensile testing and why it is necessary
for materials to undergo tensile testing.

Graphs and Results (40 marks)

Note the values of yield stress and Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) from the autographic recording.
Tabulate, with the above properties, the percentage elongation and percentage reduction in area at fracture
for each material.
Note also the shape of the fractured sections.
Plot, from the elastic test, Stress vs Strain for the steel and calculate the value of E
Compare and comment on the strain-stress for the fibres tested
Plot, stress vs percentage elongation for materials tested

Discussion (40 marks)

Discuss and compare the information regarding strength, plasticity and ductility of each of the materials tested
as given by the tabulated results.

Suggest other factors that would also dictate and choice of material for a given application (e.g weight, cost,
corrodibility, sustainability, durability etc.) and give some applications for each material. Are your results in
agreement with those usually quoted?

Comment on the tensile test in general and in particular as performed here.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Hounsfield Tensometer over other tensile testing machines?

What factors could contribute an error on testing using Hounsfield Tensometer

From the given results calculate the following (10 marks)

Youngs Modulus for each material tested.

Young ' sModulus =

Stress
Strain

a) Stress for each material tested.

F
A

b) Calculate the strain for each material tested.

=

L
L

c) Youngs Modulus

Report submission
The report should be submitted ONE week after tests.
The report should be submitted to the material Laboratory Technician (Mr Martin Moore)

References
1. Alan Everett (1994), Mitchells Materials 5th Edition Pearson education
2. Larry Horath (2001), Fundamentals of Material Science for Technologists. Properties, Testing, and
laboratories Exercises Prentice Hall Ohio
3. Vernon John (2003), Introduction to Engineering Materials. PALGRAVE Macmillan
4. Http://faculty.olin.edu/~jstolk/matsci/Operating%20Instructions/Instron%20Universal%20Tester%20Op
erating%20Instructions.pdf cited 2016
5. Http://www.asminternational.org/documents/10192/3465262/05105G_Chapter_1.pdf/e13396e8-a327490a-a414-9bd1d2bc2bb8