Lab 2 - Crystalline Structure in Metals and the Deformation Behavior of Polymers

S. Camiener, C. Petty, A. Groff, P. Walsh

MME 231, Section B, 10:00
pettyca3@miamioh.edu

1. Introduction
Tensile-testing is a method of determining the maximum elongation, ultimate
tensile strength, and change in area of a given material. In addition, Poissons ratio and
Youngs modulus can be determined. All materials have their limits, visible through a
tensile test.
As materials are stretched, their diameter decreases and the amount of force
needed to elongate increases. However, assuming that the material stays at a constant
density over the test, it is possible to also ignore the diameter changes, and instead treat
the material as if it only stretched/compressed lengthwise. From this, engineering stress is
determined. Engineering stress is the relationship between the force applied and the
initial cross-sectional area of the material (once again ignoring the change in diameter).
There is also a relationship called strain: the percent elongation of a material. The two
relationships are what make up the stress versus strain curves derived from a tensile test.
As stated, there are certain constants that can be determined via a tensile test.
Youngs modulus describes the ratio to stress versus strain in a given material. The
equation used is very similar to Hookes Law--a linear relationship. In addition, Poissons
ratio describes the relationship between the percent elongation of a material versus the
percent compression in its diameter. These properties, however, are only useful and
accurate during the elastic deformation phase in a tensile test and in application.
Materials all have some strain threshold where one can stretch the material, and
then have it return to its original state--known as elastic deformation. The bonds in the
material are stretched, however dislocations have not yet occurred. Dislocations are the
switched of bonds in a material which occurs gradually and it is permanent. Once the
material goes past that threshold, the material will no longer return to its original state
and will instead plastically deform. Once tension in the material is removed, it will
compress a small distance related to its ability to elastically deform. The bonds in the

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material are still stretch, so the must contract to reduce its energy state. Imagine a spring:
one can stretch a certain distance and still have return to its original shape. This is elastic
deformation. But, lets say it was stretch beyond that point. When force it removed, the
spring contracts a little, but not all the way. The spring has now undergone plastic
deformation. In regards to this lab, plastic deformation is not exactly an issue since the
materials being used are very elastic (hence elastomer), and the tensions applied never
reach the yields stress, or the stress at which plastic deformation occurs.
Elastomers have the special ability to undergo a lot of stress before plastic
deformation. Elastomers do not contain the standard lattice structure found in metals.
Rather, there are many strands of interconnected, coiled, and bunched up bonds. As the
material is elongated, these bonds extend and straighten, and then re-bunch up when
relieved of stress.
Once again, the tensile test can determine all of these properties and ratios to give
a better understanding of a material and give insight into choosing a material for design
and so on.

2. Results and Discussion

In lab 2, two elastomer samples were prepared for tensile testing. One cord
consisted of latex rubber and the other cord consisted of silicone rubber. For each cord,
the free length (l0) and diameter (d0) were measured. Each cord was attached to two
loops. The loops were then attached to a digital force gauge and hand pin. The scale was
adjusted so that for each cords natural length the pin was located at zero inches. From
there the cord was stretched at a steady rate for at least eight points. The force and change
in length were recorded every inch for a total length of 200%. The same process was
conducted to perform the data collection for unloading the sample, except at an offset
interval (ending at .05 strain). Eight points were required for the unloading data as well.
Table 1. Latex and silicone dimensional properties
2.1 Engineering describes how the material is stretched in terms of its initial
length.
(1)

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Engineering strain is the change in length divided by the initial length. There also exists
true strain, which is more accurate; however, engineering strain works well for smaller
tests and materials. But, engineering strain means nothing without also looking at
engineering stress. That is, the pressure applied to a material:
(2)
A load is applied to each end in the tensile test. This is represented as F. This is
distributed over a cross-sectional area

. In order to determine the material properties

previously mentioned, engineering stress and strain are plotted as a curve.

Table 3. Latex tensile test data
Table 4. Silicone tensile test data
Figure 1. Stress vs. Strain curve

2.2 The above graph depicts the curves generated when the latex and silicone
cords are elongated and then allowed to retract. Because the cords were not loaded past
the yield stress, they never plastically deformed, and returned to their initial state upon
release of the load. Interestingly, the path generated on the return to its initial length is
not the same as the one with increasing load. This is because there is a loss of energy as
defined by the area between the curves, as heat. There is friction in the chains of bonds in
the material, and it is lost into the environment.

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2.3 Poissons Ratio relates the longitudinal elastic deformation produced by a

simple tensile or compressive stress to the lateral deformation that occurs at the same
time.
(3)
Usually when a material is compressed in one direction, it tends to expand in two
directions perpendicular to the direction of compression. The ratio is the percent of
expansion over the percent of compression. Likewise, under tension, materials are
elongated while also shrinking in lateral width. In the case of the materials tested, latexs
ratio was found to be .29, while silicones was found to be .54. Diameter measurements
were taken periodically during the load phase along with the engineering strain at those
points.
Table 2. Poissons ratio data
2.4 Youngs modulus of elasticity describes a materials ability to deform
elastically.
(4)
The lower the value for E, the more elastic a material is. Latex was found to have a
modulus of about 129 psi, and 114 psi for silicone.

3. Conclusion
The tensile test brings to light the limitations of a material because it measures the
resistance of a material to a slowly applied force. The maximum elongation, ultimate
tensile strength, Young's modulus, and Poisson's ratio can be determined based on the
data collected. There is definitely some discrepancy in the data to what should actually
have occurred. The Poissons ratios seem too low in the case of the latex, and too high in
terms of the silicone. This could be due to error in taking diameter measurements with the
caliper. It may not have been zeroed correctly, and it may not have been perfectly
perpendicular to the cord. In addition, the moduli of elasticity calculated for both
materials appeared to be extremely low. It is unknown why this occurred. Even with
small errors in recording force and distance stretch, the numbers obtained at too small on
the order of hundreds possibly. No discrepancies were found in units, however. The stress

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and strain were time dependent and relied on the stability of the person holding the cord.
It may not have been elongated at a slow enough rate, and the calculations may have been
taken too quickly or slowly which allowed for creep to be a variable. This is unlikely
however, since once again the numbers were off by hundreds.
Regardless of the outcome, much was learned from the techniques of tensile
testing. All materials regardless of how different they are of each other still adhere to a
certain set of mechanical properties, most of which can be determined through a tensile
test such as this one. However, with newer technologies, a lot of human error is
eliminated through tensile testing machines. They are reliable, consistent, and accurate.
The methods used in this lab were rather rudimentary, but were a learning experience and
a hands on way of perceiving material properties.

References
[1] Askeland, D. and Fulay, P., 2009, The Essentials of Materials Science and
Engineering (2nd ed.), Cengage Learning, Mason, OH.

MME 223, Section B, 10:00

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Appendix

Table 1. Latex and Silicone dimensional properties

Latex

Silicone

0.3700

0.3875

0.3760

0.3860

0.3750

0.3780

Average

0.3737

0.3838

Length (in)

9.91

9.50

Diameter
(in)

Table 2. Poissons ratio data

Latex

Silicone

Strain

Diameter

Poisson's

Strain

Diameter

Poisson's

(in/in)

(in)

Ratio

(in/in)

(in)

Ratio

0.10

0.3625

0.30

0.11

0.354

0.74

0.30

0.3415

0.28

0.32

0.3245

0.49

0.50

0.3185

0.29

0.53

0.3065

0.38

Average

0.29

Average

0.54

Ratio

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Ratio

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Table 3. Latex tensile test data

Latex
Distance

Force

Stress

Strain

(in)

(lb)

(psi)

(in/in)

0.0

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.7

24.88

0.10

246.52

4.6

41.53

0.20

205.77

5.5

50.56

0.30

167.00

6.6

59.98

0.40

148.61

7.6

69.21

0.50

137.18

8.6

78.24

0.61

129.23

9.5

86.87

0.71

122.98

11.1

101.51

0.81

125.75

12.8

116.76

0.91

128.56

10

15.4

140.83

1.01

139.56

9.5

13.2

120.57

0.96

125.77

8.5

10.6

96.30

0.86

112.27

7.5

8.6

78.84

0.76

104.18

6.5

7.3

66.80

0.66

101.85

5.5

6.3

57.38

0.55

103.38

4.5

5.3

48.75

0.45

107.36

3.5

4.3

39.32

0.35

111.33

2.5

3.2

28.89

0.25

114.51

1.5

1.9

17.25

0.15

113.98

0.5

0.2

1.40

0.05

27.83

Average

128.68

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E (psi)

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Table 4. Silicone tensile test data

Silicone
Distance

Force

Stress

Strain

(in)

(lb)

(psi)

(in/in)

0.0

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.6

13.83

0.11

131.36

3.5

30.25

0.21

143.68

5.0

43.21

0.32

136.83

6.4

55.31

0.42

131.36

7.8

67.41

0.53

128.08

8.9

76.92

0.63

121.78

9.8

84.69

0.74

114.94

10.8

93.34

0.84

110.84

11.8

101.98

0.95

107.64

10

12.6

108.89

1.05

103.45

9.5

12.1

104.57

1.00

104.57

8.5

11.1

95.93

0.89

107.21

7.5

10.0

86.42

0.79

109.47

6.5

8.9

76.92

0.68

112.42

5.5

7.6

65.68

0.58

113.45

4.5

6.3

54.45

0.47

114.94

3.5

4.9

42.35

0.37

114.94

2.5

3.4

29.38

0.26

111.66

1.5

1.9

16.42

0.16

103.99

0.5

0.3

2.59

0.05

49.26

Average

113.59

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E (psi)

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