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GENG2004 - Lecture 5
Measuring Mechanical Properties - Slides

Measuring Mechanical Properties

Experimental Measurement

Material constants are obtained through testing:

  • Tensile/compression test →
  • Shear/torsion test →
  • Hydrostatic compression →

As an engineer, it is important that we understand how these properties are obtained, as in the future if you are using a new material, you will need to be able to determine its properties through experimentation.

Skills you will need as an engineer:

  • Designing experiments intentionally
  • Keeping them simple (1 variable ideally)
  • Knowing all your variables:
    • Independent variables
    • Dependent variables
    • Controlled variables

Static and Dynamic Loading Conditions

  • Static loading slow, constant application of load
  • Dynamic loading very fast application of load
    • Time which the sample is loaded is comparable with time of elastic wave propagating through the sample
      • Size is known
      • Wave propagating velocities are known
  • ! Materials behave differently depending on loading speed

Characteristic Points of Stress-Strain Curve

Recap: Understanding Deformation Behaviour & Mechanical Properties

  • True stress actual cross-sectional area of sample used to find stress
    • Shrinks during loading, more physically accurate
  • Nominal stress initial cross-sectional area of sample used
    • Used in solving problems

Through deformation of most material, the true stress will shrink as necking occurs; you can observe this in photographs in the slides

  • OA linear elastic region
    • Straight (linear) line
    • Stress strain
    • This is the area where Hooke’s Law applies
      • Slope of OA is the Young’s Modulus
      • Past this point, equations fail

Point A proportional limit

  • Beyond A, proportionality between stress and strain no longer exists

  • AB non-linear region (elastic → plastic transition)

    • Curve bends
    • Material starts behaving differently internally
    • Some part still elastic, some part permanently deformed

Point B Yield Point

  • The corresponding value of stress is known as yield stress

  • Yield stress = yield strength → we do not want to exceed this point

  • BC perfectly plastic region (yielding)

    • Strain increases, stress stays constant
    • Material is deforming without extra load
  • CD strain hardening

    • Stress increases again
    • Crystalline structure changes
    • Increased resistance of material to further deformation

Point D Ultimate stress

  • Maximum stress reached → known as ultimate strength
  • Further stretching → results in failure at point E or E’
    • Necking occurs reducing area significantly
  • Fracture point is known as failure stress

In real engineering design, we must ensure:

This is to avoid permanent deformation

As engineers, we can use the curve in order to choose an appropriate material depending on the circumstance:

  • The curve indicates both strength (yield stress) and stiffness (slope)

Offset Method

  • Some materials have no clear yield point
    • However, they have initial linear region
  • An arbitrary yield stress may be determined using the offset method

Method:

  1. Take linear elastic slope
  2. Shift it right by a small strain:
  3. Where new line intersects the curve → offset yield stress

Elastic vs Plastic Behaviour

  • Elastic limit is the max stress a material can withstand without experiencing permanent deformation
    • Elastic limit usually same or slightly above proportional limit
  • Plasticity ability of a material to undergo permanent deformation
    • Plastic flow occurs when large deformations occur in a ductile material loaded into the plastic region
    • Material structure permanently changes

Non-linear Behaviour

  • Stress-strain curve depends on the material

Creep

  • Stress/strain also depends on time
  • Strain increases overtime under constant stress

Relaxation decrease in stress over time under constant strain

Fatigue

  • Fatigue is failure due to repeated loading cycles
    • Material can fail at stresses much lower than ultimate stress
    • Shown using a -N curve: stress vs # of cycles
  • Endurance limit is the stress for which failures do not occur
    • Even for indefinitely large number of loading cycles
  • Recap: Failure by Fatigue

Materials such as aluminium and copper have no endurance limit meaning they will always fail eventually


GENG2004 - Lecture 7