Tensile Test

Discussion

This experiment is carried out to study and determine the behavior and mechanical properties
of mild steel and high tensile test specimen subjected to tensile load. Tensile test result is normally
converted to stresses and strain. Stress is defined as force applied per unit cross-sectional area of the
specimen. Strain is defined as the change in length over the initial length of a specimen or called as
deformation. From the result, a stress-strain diagram was drawn. From the diagram it is shown that both
diagrams undergoes four different phases which is linear region, perfect plasticity or yielding, strain
hardening and lastly necking.

Linear region which is the first phase occur, the stress is directly proportional to the strain just
before the proportional limit. At this stage, we can know that the specimen will return to its original
shape and size when the tensile force is removed which exhibits the property of elasticity and obeys
Hookes Law. For mild steel, the stress increase proportionally from 0 MPa to 326.1487 MPa. And then
the strain from 0% to . While for the high tensile steel, the stress is from 0 MPa to 590.1349 MPa and
strain form 0% to 1.15% .Modulus elasticity of the mild steel and high tensile steel specimen can be
obtain in this region by calculating the gradient of the graph. The modulus elasticity of mild steel and
high tensile steel is respectively. Since mild steel has lower modulus of elasticity than high tensile steel,
it indicates that mild steel is lower in stiffness and easily stretched.

As the tensile force increases after the proportional limit, it will reach a point called yield point
where yield stress occurs. The behavior of will start to change as it turns from elastic deformation to
plastic deformation. Beyond the yield point, the specimen is said to undergone permanent deformation
which can no longer return to its original shape and size when the tensile force is removed. The yield
stress of mild steel is 326.1487 whereas the high tensile stell is 591.1871 . Starting from this point,
elongation of the specimen will increases rapidly without any significant increment of tensile force. This
region is called yielding or perfect plasticity region. The perfect plasticity region for mild stell occurs
from 3.7% to 6.9% and for high tensile steel is from 1.2% to 4.3%. Within this range, the stress fluctuates
due to some factors such as uneven cross-sectional area throughout the specimen.

Strain hardening occur when the stress increases with strain after the yielding region until it
reaches the maximum stress called ultimate tensile strength or tensile stress. In this region, the
increment of stress is much slower compared to the increment in linear region. Strain hardening occurs
due to the changes of crystalline structure in the specimen, resulting in increased resistance of the
material to further deformation. The ultimate stress of mild steel and high tensile steel is 391.5357 and
591.1871 respectively. This show the highest stress that the specimen can withstand before necking
occurs.
 The last region of the stress-strain diagram is called as the necking region is where before the
specimen reach the fracture point. The cross sectional area will decrease rapidly and the strain will
concentrate at the necking point which is normally located at the center of the gauge length. As the
stress increased the specimen will fractured because it can no longer bear the stress applied. Mild steel
undergoes fracture when the stress is 236.0791 and the value of strain is 0.109812%. For high tensile
steel it under goes fracture when stress is 494.4909 and strain is 0.37889%.

From the data we can say that mild steel is ductile as it undergoes large permanent strain before
failure. The ductility of a specimen can be characterized by its elongation and the reduction of cross-
sectional area where fracture happened. The percentage of elongation of mild steel is 37.38%. It is
higher compared to high tensile steel which is 22.78%. Then the percentage of reduction in cross
sectional area of mild steel is 266.97% indicated that mild steel is easily stretched compared to high
tensile steel. From the percentage of reduction we know that mild steel is ductile.

The experimental data obtained is lower when compared to the theoretical data. This might be
due to the surrounding environment which have different temperature and heat energy stored in the
specimen during cutting. Other things that might affect the accuracy of the result is the parallax error
which might occur while measuring the length of steel. The eyes must be perpendicular to the reading
to avoid parallax error. The specimen also needed to be gripped tightly by the machine upper and
bottom clamp for a better data to be recorded by the software.
Conclusion

From the experiment, the behavior and mechanical properties of mild steel and high tensile
steel subjected to tensile load can be determined by interpreting the stress-strain diagram obtained.
Both mild steel and high tensile steel undergo the linear region, yielding, strain hardening and necking
before they undergo fracture. The data obtained from the experiment is tabulated in table below.

Mechanical Properties Mild Steel High Tensile Steel

Modulus of Elscticity (GPa)
Proportional Limit (MPa) 326.1487 590.1349
Yield Stress (MPa) 326.1487 591.1871
Tensile strength (MPa) 391.5357 651.3105
% of Elongation 37.38 22.78
% Reduction in Cross-Sectional Area 266.97 7.36

When the result is compared, mild steel has lower value of modulus of elasticity, proportional
limit, yield stress and tensile strength. When a higher load is applied on both specimen, mild steel
undergoes permanent deformation first as its proportional limit is only which is much lower than high
tensile steel. Mild steel also will rupture easily because its ultimate strength is only. This indicates that
mild steel is weaker than high tensile steel and can be easily stretched if same load is applied on both
specimen, which resulting in higher percentage og elongation and reduction in cross sectional area
which shows that the mild steel is more ductile than high tensile steel.

So, mild steel is weaker in stiffness and deform easily if high load is applied to it compared to
high tensile steel which is stiffer. Other than that mild steel is more ductile and has lower ultimate stress
than high tensile steel. The objective of the experiment is achieved.
Summary of S5: Tensile Test Labaratory

Muhammad Farid Bin Khairuzzaman (133418)

The purpose of this experiment is to study the behavior and mechanical properties of mild steel
and high tensile steel test specimen subjected to tensile load. The experiment is done and
Makmal Lantai Kebal or also known as Bilik Universal Testing Machine (UTM) located at the back
of Pusat Pengajian Kejuruteraan Awam. We were help by a technician named Abdullah Md
Nanyan. Two specimen are used which mild steel in dumbbell shape and high tensile steel in
parallel shape. It is clamped at the UTM, then when the machine started a tensile load is applied
to the specimen and the result of stress and strain obtained is recorded to find the modulus
elasticity, yield stress, tensile strength, elongation and reduction in cross-sectional area of the
specimen. The load applied until the specimen fractured. The result obtain is . From the result
we know that mild steel is ductile and have low tensile strength compared to high tensile
strength.