May 15, 2015

Mechanical Properties of
Materials
Danial Naeem
Umer Farooq
Nouman Butt
Shahzad Shabbir
Ayesha Saddiqa

Contents
Vickers Micro Hardness Tester
Introduction/History
Principle
Construction
Working

Sample Preparation
Results/Applications
Advantages/Disadvantages

Universal Testing Machine

Introduction/History
Principle/Working
Construction
Sample Preparation

Results/Applications
Advantages/Disadvantages

What are the mechanical properties of a

material?

The mechanical properties of a material are those properties that

involve a reaction to an applied load.
The mechanical properties of metals determine the range of
usefulness of a material and establish the service life that can be
expected.
Mechanical properties are also used to help classify and identify
material.
The most common properties considered are tensile strength,
ductility and hardness etc.

How Hardness is defined?

Hardness is
indentation.

resistance

to

deformation

or

Property of the material that enable it to resist plastic

deformation.

Vickers Micro Hardness Tester

The first Vickers Micro Hardness Tester was
developed in1936
It works on the technique of
Indentation Hardness

Construction
Square based diamond pyramid indenter with
136 degrees between opposite faces

Lower magnification
lens 10X
Higher magnification
lens 40X

Working

The Vickers Hardness Number is defined as the load

divided by the surface area of the indentation
VHN= 1.854P/L^2

Sample Preparation

Metallographically Polished and mounted

Size

The smaller the part, the lighter the load

required to produce the required indentation.
Minimum thickness and proper indentation
required for small parts.
Larger parts need to be fixtured properly.
Parts should be clamped into place on the
anvil.
Surface of the specimen should be smooth
(for good measurement).

Thickness of a sample

Sample should have a minimal thickness that is at least 10x (ten

times) the indentation depth that is expected to be attained.

Sample shoud be about 1 in. (25 mm) by 1 in. (25 mm) by 1/2 in.
(12 mm) thick.

Cylindrical

samples

A correction is needed to the test due to a difference between axial

and radial material flow.

It is important to maintain a minimum spacing equal to 2~1/2 times

the indentation's diameter from an edge or another indentation.

Sample should be perpendicular to the indenter.

The indentations should be as large as possible to maximize the

measurement resolution

Thin, flat samples, such as sheet material, can be tested without

mounting or preparation if the surface finish is suitable.
Opposing indenter faces
are
set at a 136
degree angle from one
another.

Applications
The

hardness tester is used in most laboratories for the testing of

metal specimens and the hardness distribution of hardened and
carburized surface.

It

is suitable for testing small parts, thin plates, metal foils,

electroplated layers, and non-metallic materials.

The

test is accurate and reliable

Provide

precise and detailed information on surface features of

materials that have a fine microstructure, are multi-phase, nonhomogeneous.

Determine

structure.

hardness of different micro-constituents within a

Advantages

Can be used for soft metals such as...

Elastomers
thermoplastic
vulcanized

elastomers

rubber

And hard metals as well...

Tin

Aluminium

Gold

Copper

Iron

Tests may be conducted in low-load and micro range as well.

Limitations
The

main disadvantage is the need to optically measure the indent

size.

Slow,

time.

testing can take 30 seconds, not counting the preparation

Universal Testing Machine

Introduction

A universal testing machine (UTM) ,also known as

universal tester.

It is used to test the tensile strength and

compressive strength of materials.

It is named after the fact that it can perform many

standard tensile and compression tests on materials,
components and structures.

Types
Mechanical

The electromechanical machine uses

the electric motor, gear reduction
system and one, two or four screws to
move the crosshead up or down

A range of crosshead speeds can be

achieved by changing the speed of
motor.

Hydraulic

A hydraulic testing machine uses

either single or dual acting piston to
move the crosshead up or down.

In a manually operated machine , the

operator adjusts a needle to control
the rate of loading. In a close-loop
hydraulic servo system, the needle
valve is replaced by an electrically
operated valve servo for precise
control.

Types

Digitally operated universal testing machine

Computer operated universal testing machine

Single column universal testing machine

Double column universal testing machine

Four column universal testing machine

Universal Testing
Machine
Testing machine was designed to determine the
stress strain curve of thin materials such as polymers
and particularly metallic films deposited onto
polymeric substrates.
The mechanical design minimizes effects of load
introduction in the main frame, drive screws and the
relative movement between the movable cross head
and drive screws.

 Testing

machine is
composed of five main
parts:

 The

testing machine is mainly made of stainless

steel, excepting some frictional elements like
the gears, which were made of bronze.

The

main frame includes the rectangular base

where the gearbox is placed, the fixed
crosshead and two vertical parallel columns.

The

drive system includes a stepper motor with

variable speed.

The

gearbox is formed by a worm shaft, and two

worm gears, which moves the two drive screws.

 The

moveable crosshead is integrated

by the bottom grip, two conical fastener
tools with internal thread and an
adjustable conical ring.

The

conical fastener tools provide

stabilization to the moveable crosshead
when moving along the drive screws.

The

load cell can be used for tension

and compression testing, it is located
on the upper side of the frame and
supports the upper grip.

 The

digital indicator measures the crosshead

displacement and consists of a digital
micrometer from starret with 0.001 mm of
resolution, which is connected to a personal
computer to acquire data.

To

achieve high resolution in the measurements,

the device includes a stepper motor used to
control both velocity and torque.

Two

stainless steel grips ( one fixed to the load

cell and the other on the moveable crosshead )
are used to hold the sample.

The

grips were designed with smooth surfaces

to avoid damage to soft and thin samples.

 Each

grip is composed by a fixed part and a

moveable plate joined with two screws to
uniformly press the sample.

This

holding system avoids sliding between

sample and grips during tensile test.

The

design of this universal testing machine

permits the interchange of the different parts
such as the load cell , grips and drive screws in
order to extend the user requirements.

Stress

strain data are captured and saved in a

data file through a GPIB interface controlled
with a home made protocol programmed in
Labview.

Specimen for UVT

A

Tensile specimen is a standardized sample crosssection.

It

has two shoulders and a gauge in between. The

shoulders are large so they can be readily gripped.

The

important part of specimen is the gage section. The

cross-sectional area of the gage section is reduced
relative to that of remainder of the specimen so that
deformation and failure will be localized in this region.

The

gage length is the region over which measurements

are made and is centered within the reduced section.

 Tensile

specimen made from an aluminum alloy.

standard specimen is prepared in a round or a square

section along the guage length, depending on the
standard use.

The

two left specimens have a round cross-section and

threaded shoulders.

The

right two are flat specimen designed to be used

with serrated grips.

 The

initial gage length is standardized (in several

countries) and varies with diameter ( Do) or the crosssectional area (Ao) of the specimen as listed

Type
specimen

United state

Sheet

4.5

Rod

4.0

Britain

5.65

5.00

Germany

11.3

10.0

Working Principle

It works on the principle of elongation and deformation

In UTM tensile, compressive and Shear Forces are acting

Working Procedure

Compression Test

A compression test is a method for determining the behavior of materials under a

compressive load . Compression test are conducted by loading the test specimen
between the two plates and then applying a force to the specimen by moving the
crossheads together. During the test, specimen is compressed , and deformation
verses the applied load is recorded. The compression test is used to determine the
elastic limit ,proportional limit, yield point, yield strength, and for some compressive
strength.

In compression test specimen is gripped in machine jaws and load is applied through
screw gear mechanism by a moveable crosshead jaw when we apply load our
specimen is compressed under load and its compressive strength shows on screen
by graph.

Tensile Test

Tensile Test

Tensile testing is a way of determining how something will react when it is pulled
apart i.e. when a force is applied to it in tension. In tensile testing a specimen is
subjected to an increasing axial load while measuring the corresponding elongation
until it fractures. The test is designed to give the yield stress, ultimate tensile test
and percentage elongation for the materials

In tensile test the specimen is gripped in machine jaws and load is applied through a
screw gear mechanism by a moveable crosshead when we apply load our specimen
is elongated under load and stress strain graph is obtained on screen

UNIVERSAL TESTING
MACHINE
APPLICATIONS
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF UTM

APPLICATIONS
UTM

is suitable to test various metallic and non metallic

materials for tension, compression, bending and
shearing strength.

It

is capable of testing the character of materials on

physical and technology properties.

It

is easy to operate and widely used in works,

laboratories for research and quality control.

Applications
UTM

are used to conduct the following tests:

Tension

test on metal, synthetic materials etc.

Compression

test on springs, rubber etc.

Bending/transverse
Shear

test on beams, synthetic materials.

test on metals, polymers.

Advantages
Cost

saving in the tens of thousand of dollars when

compared to purchasing a new machines.

Increased

capabilities, flexibility and accuracy of your

materials testing system.

Reduced
Achieved

testing times.
test results to generate compressive reports.

Advantages

Fast

and error free calculations.

Streamlined

operations and effortless training.

Increase credentials surrounding your product to support

your business development efforts.

An

additional advantage of our testing is the lower cost and

smaller size as compare to other commercial machines.

Disadvantages
This

machine may not work with brittle materials .

That

experience short elongations prior to fracturing.

Alignment

If

of the material is critical.

the material is misaligned the machine will exert a

bending force on the material.

Disadvantages
the

initial portion will be curved and not linear which

indicates the misalignment.

The

result will be changed.

Thank

You