TUTORIAL 3

ME2151 – Principles of Mechanical Engineering

Materials
Introduction

This tutorial covers the following topics:

 Fracture and Fatigue
 Corrosion
Question 1

 The common measure of toughness that is derived from both these tests is the energy
absorbed till failure i.e., the impact toughness… measured in Joule/m3.

 NOTE: On the other hand, fracture toughness is the ability of a material containing a crack to resist fracture, and is
one of the most important properties of any material for many design applications. It is measured in MPa 𝑚.
Question 1

 Most ceramics are brittle. In such materials, the yield strength is higher than the fracture
strength.

 Hence, when the local stress at a crack tip reaches the fracture strength, atomic bonds split
and the crack grows rapidly to failure with little energy absorption, resulting in low toughness.

 But in metals, the yield strength is lower than the fracture strength.

 So, when the local stress at a crack tip reaches the yield strength, plastic deformation will
occur ahead of the crack tip, causing the crack to grow.

 If the local stress at the crack tip is maintained above the yield strength, crack growth to
failure occurs via continual plastic deformation, which absorbs considerable energy in the
process, resulting in high toughness.
Question 2

 FCC alloys do not experience a ductile-to-brittle transition because a relatively large number
of slip systems remain operable at low temperatures.

 This is because the stress required to move dislocations is not strongly temperature-
dependent in FCC metals, and thus failure occurs by plastic flow instead of crack
propagation.

 On the other hand, BCC metals normally experience this transition because the number of
operable slip systems decreases with decreasing temperature; this is due to insufficient
thermal energy for dislocation motion in BCC metals at low temperatures.
Question 3
Question 3
Question 3

Specimen σmax σmin σmean σamp

X 450MPa -350MPa 50MPa 400MPa
Y 400MPa -300MPa 50MPa 350MPa
Z 350MPa -350MPa 0MPa 350MPa

 Fatigue life is increased when the stress amplitude, σa, and mean stress, σmean, are both low.

 A higher stress amplitude and higher mean stress would reduce the number of cycles to
failure, and thus result in a shorter fatigue life.
Question 4
Question 4
1. Water Line Corrosion:
i. just below the water surface
ii. differential aeration
a. waterline becomes cathodic
1 b. nearby deeper regions are then anodic

2. Galvanic Corrosion
i. inner surface of the tank – between the
copper pipe and steel tank
ii. Steel (iron) has a lower electrode potential
2 and is therefore more anodic.
iii. Preferential Corrosion

3. Stress Corrosion
3 i. bend near the bottom – made by forming
ii. plastic deformation – higher density of
dislocations – higher energy and thus more
anodic than the rest of the tank.
Question 4

 Using sacrificial anodes – makes use of the principle of galvanic corrosion

 A piece of metal lower in electrode potential than both copper and iron, such as aluminium, zinc or
magnesium, which would be attached to the side of the tank below the water surface.

 Painting the entire tank interior is another method of corrosion protection but would
be a more involved undertaking.
Cathodic Protection
 Queries

anirudh.krishnan@u.nus.edu
EXERCISE 4
Discussion Session
Question 1
Question 1

Impact Energy vs. Temperature

90

80

70

Impact Energy in Joules

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
-60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature in deg. C
Question 1

Impact Energy vs. Temperature

90

80

70

Impact Energy in Joules

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
-60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature in deg. C
Question 1

Impact Energy vs. Temperature

90

80

70

Impact Energy in Joules

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
-60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature in deg. C
Question 2

Load 22000 N
Stress 300 MPa
Area 73.33 mm2
r2 23.34 mm2
r 4.83 mm
Dia 9.66 mm