Mechanical Properties

of Metals
500

CONTINUED
Stress (MPa)

400

300

200

100

0
0.000 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.010
Strain
 Mechanical Properties
• Stiffness - Elastic Modulus or Young’s Modulus (MPa)
• Strength - Yield, Ultimate, Fracture, Proof, Offset Yield.
Measured as stress (MPa)
• Ductility - Measure of ability to deform plastically without
fracture - Elongation, Area Reduction, Fracture Strain - (no units
or mm/mm)
• Toughness, Resilience - Measure of ability to absorb energy
(J/m3).
• Hardness - Resistance to indentation/abrasion (Various scales,
e.g.; Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers.)
 Stress and Strain
• In a simplistic sense, stress may be thought of
as Load/Area.
• Similarly, strain is the deformation of the
component/original length.
• A stress may be direct, shear, or torsional -
leading to corresponding deformations.
• Stress cannot be measured directly, but
deformation can be.
 Direct Stress Examples
Load, P Engineering Stress Load, P
∆L/2

P ∆L/2

S=
Lo Area
Ao
Ao
Lo Area

∆L Ao

e=
∆L/2
Lo ∆L/2
P
Engineering Strain
P

Direct Stress - Tension Direct Stress - Compression

 Tension Test
Measures P

Extensometer
Measures ∆ L

Typical Universal
Testing Machine
Modern Materials Testing System

Hydraulic
Wedge
Grips

Specimen
Extensometer
ASTM Tension Test Specimen

Ao=0.20 in2
0.505" Dia

2” Gauge Length

Lo
 Raw Data Obtained
Total
Uniform Elongation
Deformation
Load, P (kN)

Maximum
Load, Pmax
Elastic
Load, Pf
Deformation

Elongation, ∆ L (mm)
 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve
Elongation

Sy
Engineering Stress, S=P/Ao

0.2% offset
yield stress

E (Ultimate)

Su
E

Proportional Limit

Engineering Strain, e = ∆ L/Lo)

Duke’s Quick Tip!

• Express Load in Newtons (N) and Area in mm2 to

get Stress in MPa.
N
2 ≅ MPa
mm
• Mechanical properties of metals are almost
always given in MPa or ksi.
• Imperial units: Load in kips (1000 lbf) & Area as
in2 gives Stress in ksi (kips/in2)
• 1000 psi = 1 ksi = 6.89 MPa
 Hooke’s Law
Elastic Deformation
• Elastic deformation is not permanent; it means that when the
load is removed, the part returns to its original shape and
dimensions.
• For most metals, the elastic region is linear. For some
materials, including metals such as cast iron, polymers, and
concrete, the elastic region is non-linear.
• If the behavior is linear elastic, or nearly linear-elastic,
Hooke’s Law may be applied:

S = Ee
• Where E is the modulus of elasticity (MPa)
 Modulus of Elasticity - Stiffness
500
Stress (MPa)

CONTINUED
400

300

200 ∆S (300 − 0)MPa

E= = = 2x105 MPa
∆e (0.015 − 0.0)

100

0
0.000 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.010
Strain
Atomic Origin of Stiffness
 dF 
E∝  
 dr  ro
Net Interatomic Force
Strongly Bonded

Weakly Bonded

Interatomic Distance
 Shear Stress and Strain
Shear Stress,τ
Strain,γ
Shear

Shear Stress
G

Shear Strain

shear stress, τ = Shear Load / Area

shear strain, γ = angle of deformation (radians)
shear modulus, G = τ /γ (elastic region)
 Elastic Properties of Materials
• Poisson’s ratio: When a metal is strained in
one direction, there are corresponding strains
in all other directions.
• For a uniaxial tension strain, the lateral strains are
constrictive.
• Conversely, for a uniaxial compressive strain, the
lateral strains are expansive.
• i.e.; the lateral strains are opposite in sign to the
axial strain.
• The ratio of lateral to axial strains is known as
Poisson’s ratio, ν .
Poisson’s Ratio, ν

ex ey
ν =− =−
ez ez
For most metals,
0.25 < ν < 0.35
in the elastic range
Furthermore:
E = 2G (1 + ν )
 Plastic Deformation
Elastic Plastic Elastic Plastic
Elastic Plastic
Sy
Sy
Sy
Stress

0.002 0.002 Strain 0.002

Most Metals - Al, Cu Clad Al-Alloys Low carbon Steel

 Microstructural Origins of Plasticity
• Slip, Climb and Slide of atoms in the crystal structure.
• Slip and Climb occur at Dislocations and Slide occurs
at Grain Boundaries.

τ
 Elastic and Plastic Strain
P (e,S) e = ee + e p
S
ee =
Stress

E
e p = e − ee
Total Strain

The 0.2% offset yield stress

Strain is the stress that gives a plastic
Plastic (permanent) strain of 0.002.
Elastic
ep ee
 Elastic Recovery
Loading Loading
Reloading
Stress

Unloading

Unloading

Strain Strain
elastic strain
 Ductility - EL% & AR%
• Elongation
L f − Lo
EL% = x 100
Lo Lo
Lf
• Area Reduction
Ao − A f Ao
AR% =
Af
x 100
Ao
 Ductile Vs Brittle Materials
• Only Ductile materials will exhibit necking.
• Ductile if EL%>8% (approximately)
• Brittle if EL% < 5% (approximately)
AX X
Engineering Stress

B C
X

D X Brittle Ductile
A&B C&D

Engineering Strain
 Toughness & Resilience
• Toughness: A measure of the ability of a material
to absorb energy without fracture. (J/m3 or
N.mm/mm3= MPa)
• Resilience: A measure of the ability of a material
to absorb energy without plastic or permanent
deformation.
(J/m3 or N.mm/mm3= MPa)
• Note: Both are determined as
energy/unit volume
 Toughness, Ut

Su
Engineering Stress, S=P/Ao

Sy
X
ef
Ut = ∫ S de
o
(S y + Su )  EL%
≈  
2  100 

Engineering Strain, e = ∆ L/Lo)

 Resilience, Ur

Sy Su
Engineering Stress, S=P/Ao

ey X
Ur = ∫ S de
o
Sy e y
≈
E 2
Sy 2
=
2E
ey
Engineering Strain, e = ∆ L/Lo)
 Typical Mechanical Properties
Metals in annealed (soft) condition

Material Yield Stress Ultimate Ductility Elastic Modulus Poisson’s

(MPa) Stress (MPa) EL% (MPa) Ratio
1040 Steel 350 520 30 207000 0.30
1080 Steel 380 615 25 207000 0.30
2024 Al Alloy 100 200 18 72000 0.33
316 Stainless Steel 210 550 60 195000 0.30
70/30 Brass 75 300 70 110000 0.35
6-4 Ti Alloy 942 1000 14 107000 0.36
AZ80 Mg Alloy 285 340 11 45000 0.29