Mechanical Testing and Properties

The selection of materials for many applications is

performed by matching the service requirements to
the mechanical properties of the material. The steps;
1. Analyse the application to determine the most
important characteristics that the material must
possess.
2. Select material which suits the requirements
from the data list

a material that can develop the desired physical and

mechanical properties
a material that can be processed or manufactured
into the desired shape
a material and process that are economical

Brain Storming Exercise

What properties are required for an exhaust pipe to
be able for it to be used in service?

Tensile Test
The tensile test measure the resistance of a material
to a static or slowly applied force. Information that
can be obtained from the tensile test includes;

Yield strength
Tensile strength
Modulus of elasticity
Ductility

Yield Strength
It is the stress at which slip becomes noticeable and
significant, which divides the elastic and plastic
behaviour of a material. For designing of component,
selection of material must ensure that it has high
yield strength whilst in deforming process the applied
stress must exceed the yield strength to produce a
permanent change in the shape of the material.

The Stress-Strain Curve

Fig 1: The stress-strain curve for an aluminium

alloy

Tensile Strength
It is the stress obtained at the highest applied force
and thus is the maximum stress on the engineering
stress-strain curve

Proof Stress

For some materials, the yield stress is difficult to

determine. It can be determined through offsetting
yield strength of proof stress which taken into
0.2% allowable permanent deformation.

Elastic Deformation
The degree to which a structure deforms or
strains depends on the magnitude of an
imposed stress. For most metals that are
stressed, stress and strain are proportional.
= Hookes Law
The constant proportionality E (GPa) is the
modulus of elasticity / Youngs Modulus
Deformation in which stress and strain are
proportional is called elastic deformation

Elastic Deformation (cont)

Elastic Deformation (cont)

Elastic Deformation (cont)

Elastic Deformation (cont)

Strain Hardening
Is a phenomenon whereby a ductile metal becomes
harder and stronger as it is platically deformed.
The strengthening obtained during cold working,
which is brought about by increasing the number of
dislocations is called strain hardening or work
hardening.

Cold Working relationship to the stressstrain curve

As long as the stress does not

exceed the yield strength y,
no permanent plastic
deformation occurs and the
elastic deformation is
recovered. This condition is
required when the component
is put in service.

Cold Working relationship to the stressstrain curve (cont)

For manufacturing of
component by deformation
processing, the applied
stress must exceed the yield
strength, causing the metal
to deformed into a useful
shape.

Cold Working relationship to the stressstrain curve (cont)

If a stress 1 is applied exceeding the
original yield strength y, of the metal,
and then removed, a permanent
deformation or strain 1, occurs. If retest,
a different stress-strain curve is
obtained, and would have a higher yield
strength but lower ductility.

If the process is repeated, tensile and

yield strength increase while the ductility
decreases. This can be done until the
yield, tensile and the breaking strengths
are equal and there is no ductility, where
the metal cannot be deformed further.

Cold Working relationship to the stress-strain

curve (cont)
By applying a stress that exceeds the original yield
strength of the metal, strain hardened or cold work
the metal is achieved and simultaneously deforming
the metal into a more useable shape.

Cold Working relationship to strain hardening

The strain hardening develops through the increase of
dislocation density in metal by deformation or work hardening.
This is due to dislocation multiplication or formation of new
dislocations. Consequently, the average distance of separation
between dislocations decreases i.e the dislocation are positioned
closer together. The motion of a dislocation is hindered by the
presence of other dislocation. As the dislocation density
increases, this resistance to dislocation motion by other
dislocations becomes more pronounced, thus the imposed stress
necessary to deform a metal increases with increasing cold
work.

Deformation Processing
Techniques

Drop Forging

Upsetting

Direct Extrusion

Metal Flow During Extrusion

Tempaan upset

Wire Drawing

Drawing Die

Shearing Process

Penghasilan cawan
tirus yg dalam
memerlukan
beberapa peringkat
proses penarikan
semula

Properties versus percent cold work

By controlling the amount of deformation the
amount of strain hardening can be controlled.
The measurement of the amount of
deformation can be made by defining the %
cold work
% cold work = A0 Af X 100
A0

Properties versus percent cold working

(cont)
As the % cold work
increases both the
yield and the
tensile strength
increase. However,
the ductility
decreases and
approaches zero.
The metal will
break if more cold
work is attempted

The effect of cold work on the mechanical

properties of commercially pure copper

Structure of Cold Work Material

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig: The fibrous grain structure of copper after cold working (a) 0%
cold work (b) 31% cold work (c) 67% cold work (d) 82% cold work

Structure of Cold Work Material (cont)

Use of Cold-Working Relationship

To determine the number of resizing of a material to
the final dimensions
To predict the properties of a metal or alloy provided
that amount of cold-work achieved is known

Study Example
1.

2.

3.

Determine if a 10mm x 60mm x 200mm copper

plate can be cold rolled in a single pass to a plate of
1mm x 60mm x 2000mm.
A copper rod 12 mm in diameter is to be reduced by
bar drawing process to a 7mm diameter. Determine
the expected mechanical properties.
If a copper bar that has at least 415MPa tensile
strength, 380MPa yield strength, and 5%
elongation. Determine the range of cold work
required.

Characteristics of Cold Working

Simultaneously strengthen the metal while producing
a desired final shape
obtain excellent dimensional tolerances and surface
finishes by the cold-working process
cold-working process is an inexpensive method for
producing large numbers of small parts. For larger
part, too much deformation the metal may fail during
processing and requires large and expensive forming
equipment.

Characteristics of Cold Working (cont)

Some metal such as HCP magnesium, are rather brittle at
room temperature. Only a small degree of cold working
can be accomplished without causing the part to embrittle
and fail
Ductility, electrical conductivity, and corrosion resistance
are impaired by the cold working process. However,
comparatively cold working process reduces electrical
conductivity less than many other strengthening
processes, such as solid solution strengthening. This
makes cold working a more satisfactory way to strengthen
conductor materials such as copper wires used for
transmission of electrical power.

Characteristics of Cold Working (cont)

Characteristics of Cold Working (cont)

Residual stresses and anistropic behaviour may
be introduced during cold working. These
characteristics may be either harmful or
beneficial, depending on how they can be
controlled.
Some deformation processing technique can only
be accomplished if cold working occurs eg. wire
drawing

Characteristics of Cold Working (cont)

Hot Working
Hot working is defined as plastically
deforming the metal at a temperature above
recrystallisation temperature. During hot
working, the metal is continually
recrystallised.

Characteristics of the Hot Working

Processess
Lack of strengthening No strengthening occurs
during deformation by hot working. The amount
of plastic deformation is almost unlimited. It is
suited for forming of large parts
Elimination of imperfections some
imperfections in the original metal may be
eliminated or their effects minimised
Surface finish and dimensional accuracy