Determination of the Tensile Strength, Compressive Strength &

Flexural Strength of the Supplied Polymer Material & Cement Mortar

Abstract:

The experiment was conducted in order to measure the tensile strength of the polymer material
made with jute fiber reinforcement. Four samples with jute fiber composition of 10%, 15%, 20%
and 25% (wt% of replaced polypropylene) jute fiber were mixed with polypropylene to prepare
four type of sample by four groups. The prepared polymer materials were tested in a universal
testing machine. Their tensile strengths were recorded and plotted in a graph in order to
determine the change of the strengths of the samples. We were briefed about flexural strength
due to unavailability of instruments. Also a compressive strength test was carried out on a pre-
prepared cement mortar sample.

Tensile strength of the polymer sample made by our group was 10.39 Mpa. The compressive
strength of the cement mortar was 17.87 Mpa.

Introduction:

Tensile Strength :

Tensile strength is a measurement of the force required to pull something such as rope, wire, or a
structural beam to the point where it breaks. The tensile strength of a material is the maximum
amount of tensile stress that it can take before failure, for example breaking

There are three typical definitions of tensile strength:

 Yield strength – The stress a material can withstand without permanent deformation. This is
not a sharply defined point. Yield strength is the stress which will cause a permanent
deformation of 0.2% of the original dimension.

 Ultimate strength - The maximum stress a material can withstand.

 Breaking strength - The stress coordinate on the stress-strain curve at the point of rupture.
Figure : Stress vs. strain curve for tensile strength.
 Figure: Stress vs. Strain curve for Ductile and Brittle material.

Tensile strength specifies the point when a material goes from elastic to plastic deformation.
Once a material is in plastic deformation, it can never recover its original shape.[1]

Measuring tensile strength is important in many industries. It is used in :

 To determine batch quality,

 To determine consistency in manufacture,
 To aid in the design process,
 To reduce material costs and achieve lean manufacturing goals,
 To ensure compliance with international and industry standards.

Application of tensile strength :

 Aerospace Industry,
 Automotive Industry,
 Beverage Industry,
 Construction Industry,
 Electrical and Electronics Industry,
 Medical Device Industry,
 Packaging Industry,
 Paper and Board Industry,
 Pharmaceuticals Industry,
 Plastics, Rubber and Elastomers Industry,
 Safety, Health, Fitness and Leisure Industry,
 Textiles Industry.[2]
Compressive Strength:

Compressive strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to

reduce size, as opposed to tensile strength. In other words, compressive strength resists
compression (being pushed together), whereas tensile strength resists tension (being pulled
apart).

Compressive strength can be measured by plotting applied force against deformation in a testing
machine, such as a universal testing machine.

Figure : Sketch diagram of Universal Testing Machine.

 Figure : Compressive Stress vs. Strain Curve.

Some materials fracture at their compressive strength limit; others deform irreversibly, so a given
amount of deformation may be considered as the limit for compressive load. Compressive
strength is a key value for design of structures.[3]

Measuring compressive strength is important in many industries. It is used in :

 To determine batch quality,

 To determine consistency in manufacture,
 To aid in the design process,
 To reduce material costs and achieve lean manufacturing goals,
 To ensure compliance with international and industry standards.

Application of Compressive Strength :

 Aerospace and Automotive Industry,

 Construction Industry,
 Cosmetics Industry,
 Electrical and Electronic Industry,
 Medical Device Industry,
 Packaging Industry,
 Paper and Board Industry,
 Plastics, Rubber and Elastomers Industry,
 Safety, Health, Fitness and Leisure Industry.[4]

Flexural Strength:

Flexural strength, also known as modulus of rupture, or bend strength is a material property,
defined as the stress in a material just before it yields in a flexure test. The transverse bending
test is most frequently employed, in which a specimen having either a circular or rectangular
cross-section is bent until fracture or yielding using a three point flexural test technique. The
flexural strength represents the highest stress experienced within the material at its moment of
failure. It is measured in terms of stress, here given the symbol 𝜎.[5]
 Figure : Flexural Strength Diagram.

Flexural testing is used to determine the flex or bending properties of a material. Sometimes
referred to as a transverse beam test, it involves placing a sample between two points or supports
and initiating a load using a third point or with two points which are respectively call 3-Point
Bend and 4-Point Bend testing.

Maximum stress and strain are calculated on the incremental load applied. Results are shown in a
graphical format with tabular results including the flexural strength (for fractured samples) and
the yield strength (samples that did not fracture). Typical materials tested are plastics,
composites, metals, ceramics and wood.[6]

ASTM Standard :

ASTM International is an international standards organization that develops and publishes

voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and
services. Some 12,575 ASTM voluntary consensus standards operate globally. The
organization's headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.[7]

ASTM Methods for Tensile Properties of Plastics :

D229 Test Methods for Rigid Sheet and Plate Materials Used for Electrical Insulation

D412 Test Methods for Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers--Tension

D618 Practice for Conditioning Plastics for Testing

D651 Test Method for Test for Tensile Strength of Molded Electrical Insulating Materials
D882 Test Method for Tensile Properties of Thin Plastic Sheeting

D883 Terminology Relating to Plastics

D1822 Test Method for Tensile-Impact Energy to Break Plastics and Electrical Insulating
Materials

D3039/D3039M Test Method for Tensile Properties of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials

D4000 Classification System for Specifying Plastic Materials

D4066 Classification System for Nylon Injection and Extrusion Materials (PA)

D5947 Test Methods for Physical Dimensions of Solid Plastics Specimens

E4 Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines

E83 Practice for Verification and Classification of Extensometer Systems

E132 Test Method for Poissons Ratio at Room Temperature

E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test
Method

E1012 Practice for Verification of Testing Frame and Specimen Alignment Under Tensile and
Compressive Axial Force Application.[8]

ASTM Methods for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars :

C91 Specification for Masonry Cement

C114 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Hydraulic Cement

C150 Specification for Portland Cement

C230/C230M Specification for Flow Table for Use in Tests of Hydraulic Cement

C305 Practice for Mechanical Mixing of Hydraulic Cement Pastes and Mortars of Plastic
Consistency

C349 Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic-Cement Mortars (Using Portions of
Prisms Broken in Flexure)

C511 Specification for Mixing Rooms, Moist Cabinets, Moist Rooms, and Water Storage Tanks
Used in the Testing of Hydraulic Cements and Concretes
C595 Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements

C618 Specification for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use in Concrete

C670 Practice for Preparing Precision and Bias Statements for Test Methods for Construction
Materials

C778 Standard Specification for Standard Sand

C989 Specification for Slag Cement for Use in Concrete and Mortars

C1005 Specification for Reference Masses and Devices for Determining Mass and Volume for
Use in the Physical Testing of Hydraulic Cements

C1157 Performance Specification for Hydraulic Cement

C1328 Specification for Plastic (Stucco) Cement

C1329 Specification for Mortar Cement

C1437 Test Method for Flow of Hydraulic Cement Mortar

E4 Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines.[9]

ASTM Methods for Flexural Properties of Unreinforced and Reinforced Plastics :

D618 Practice for Conditioning Plastics for Testing

D638 Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics

D883 Terminology Relating to Plastics

D4000 Classification System for Specifying Plastic Materials

D4101 Specification for Polypropylene Injection and Extrusion Materials

D5947 Test Methods for Physical Dimensions of Solid Plastics Specimens

D6272 Test Method for Flexural Properties of Unreinforced and Reinforced Plastics and
Electrical Insulating Materials by Four-Point Bending

E4 Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines

E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test
Method. [10]
3. Materials & Methodology:

3.1 Materials:

i. Jute fiber reinforced polymer sample prepared using injecting molding according to the
ASTM standard.
ii. 2 in3 cement mortar sample for compressive strength test.
iii. Universal testing machine (Model: Drick WTDW Universal Tester)

3.2 Methodology:

For tensile strength determination:

i. Tensile strength was determined in accordance to the ASTM D 638-02a method.

ii. The thickness and width of the specimen was measured to the nearest 0.025 mm at
several points along the narrow sections.
iii. The specimen was placed in the grips of the testing machine taking care to align the long
axis of the specimen.
iv. The grips were tightened evenly and firmly to prevent slippage of the specimen during
the test but not too tightly so as to crush the specimen.
v. All the dimensions of the specimen were given as input to the machine.
vi. The machine was set at 25 mm/min speed and then the test was initiated.
vii. After completion of the test, the machine gave the tensile strength in MPa.

Methodology of compressive strength determination:

i. A 2 in3 cement mortar sample was taken for compressive strength determination.
ii. The mortar sample was placed in the middle of the holder for uniform load distribution.
iii. A deformation rate of 220mm/min was applied.
iv. All the dimension of the cement mortar were given input to the machine and the test
started.
v. After completion of the test, the machine gave the compressive strength in MPa.

Methodology of flexural strength determination:

i. Flexural test is followed by the ASTM D790 standard.

ii. The specimen lies on a support span and the load is applied to the center by the loading
nose producing three point bending at a specified rate.
 iii. The test is stopped when the specimen breaks. Of the specimen does not break, the test is
continued as far as possible and the stress at 3.5% (conventional deflection) is reported.

4. Result & Discussion:

4.1 Result:

Tensile strength:

The tensile strength was found to be 10.39 Mpa

Collecting data from other groups and plotting them on a tensile strength vs compostion curve
we get the following graph

12

10%, 10.39
10

15%, 8.67
8 20%, 7.96
Tensile Strength

25%, 6.85
6
Tensile strength
4

0
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Jute Composition

Fig: Tensile strength vs jute composition

Compressive Strength:

The compressive strength was found to be 17.87 Mpa

Flexural Strength was not determined.

4.2 Discussion:

From the tensile strength vs. composition curve, we can see that strength almost falls 40% when
the polypropylene is replaced by 25% jute in comparison to the replacement of 10%. So, 10%
jute reinforced polypropylene can be used in the places where it is currently used e.g. textiles,
packaging and labeling, stationery, reusable containers, laboratory equipment etc. This will
decrease the cost and promote degradability as well as jute is an organic fiber. But further
research is required to assert the degradability of polymers.

Reference:

1. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensile_strength

2. http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5551

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressive_strength

4. http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5550

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexural_strength

6. http://www.ametektest.com/learningzone/testtypes/flexural-strength-testing

7.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASTM_International

8.https://www.astm.org/Standards/D638.htm

9.https://www.astm.org/Standards/C109.htm

10.https://www.astm.org/Standards/D790.htm