rev07

Salt Lake Community College

Department of Engineering


ENGR 2145-003; Testing of Engineering Materials
(Instructor: Joven V. Calara)




Tensile Testing


Submitted by
Tyler Scott



Date Submitted: September 21, 2014

Term: Fall 2014




Rev07
2

Table of Contents

Page

Abstract 3

Introduction and Objectives 4

Materials and Equipment 5

Experimental Procedure 6

Results and Discussions 7

Conclusions 8

Appendix

Figure 1 - Stress-Strain Curve Copper 9

Figure 2 - Stress-Strain Curve Steel 10

Figure 3 - Stress-Strain Curve Aluminum 11

Figure 4 - Stress-Strain Curve Polyethylene 12

Figure 5 - Specimens Before Testing 13

Figure 6 - Specimens After Testing 14

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TENSILE TESTING




ABSTRACT

This experiment will go through the tesile testing of 4 materials: Copper, Steel,
Aluminum, and Polyethylene. Using the Instron tensile testing machine, data was
provided for the 4 materials, including stress-strain curves, modulus of elasticities,
approximate yield points, and tesile strength (ultimate strength or maximum stress).

The following data was collected via this experiment for Copper, Steel,
Aluminum, and Polyethylene:
Modulus of Elasticity (psi): 1.70 x 10
7
, 2.72 x 10
7
, 1.07 x 10
7
, and 1.07 x 10
5
.
Yield Stress Approximations (psi) - 37,500, 45,000, 52,000, 4,250.
Maximum Stress Approximations (psi) 40,000, 47,500, 70,000, 4,400.

(Values are respective to their name above)






















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LAB 1 TENSILE TESTING


Introduction and Objective

This experiment will be performed to test various materials under tensile loading.
These tests will provide certain types of data pertaining to the materials on how it acts
under a various loading.

Two types of data that are nesseccary to understand for these tests are stress
and strain. Stress is how much force is excerted over a certain area (will be calculated
in psi, or pounds per square inch for this experiment). Strain is the distance elongated
from its original length (change in length divided by its original length, comes out in a
unitless quatity, but is ofted refered to as inch/inch or as a percentage).

These tests will provide a stress-strain curve for each material which will be used
to understand how the material reacted under the loading conditions.

Below is an example table of a typical stress-strain curve:



As the stress increases, the strain will also increase linearly. Once past point A, the
material starts to become plastic, and strain increases dramatically for small increases
in stress. After point B, strain continues to increased even as stress decreases until it
reaches point C. Explanation of the points:

A: Yield Stress Material streches linearly up to this point.
B: Ultimate Stress Max amount of stress for this material.
C: Breaking Point The material is considered broken.

S
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Strain (in/in)
Sample Stress-Strain Curve
Series1
A
B
C
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Materials and Equipment

For these tests, 4 materials will be used: Copper, Steel, Aluminum, and
Polyethylene. Each material in this experiment will vary in how elastic or brittle it will
behave once loaded. A more elastic material will have a larger strain once broken,
where a more brittle material will have a smaller strain once broken.

Another aspect worth considering is the strength of the material. The larger
stress it can take, the larger the strength is of the material.

Below is a table of the materials that will be used:

MATERIAL
CLASS
ALLOY
DESIGNATION
If applicable
Usage
Copper Copper-110 Used for electrical wiring, sheets, and foils.
Steel C1010 Low carbon steel commonly found in hardware stores.
Aluminum 2024-T351 High strength for aircraft wings, fuselage, bolts, etc.
Polyethylene Milk bottles, laboratory plasticware, etc.

To ensure the results provided from these experiments will be as accurate as
possible, these materials were formed into the same geometric shape that will ensure
failure of the material at a certain point (Figure 5 shows all the materials in their before
test state).

Below are the approximate dimensions of the material:



For the testing of the material, an Instron tensile testing machine will be used in
association with a computer to accurately measure the stress and strain throught the
testing process and provide the stress-strain curves for each material (Figures 1-4).



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Experimental Procedure

For each test, each of the materials should be formed into the tensile shape
shown on the last page. A couple measurements are done on each of the materials
before testing: the width of the smaller portion along with the thickness (for the cross
sectional area, this will be input into the machine at a later stage). Also, to measure the
overall elongation, 2 marks centered 3.5 inches from one side to the other should be
made (these will be used after the material has been fractured for overall elongation).

The next step is to secure the material into the device. Using the top and bottom
clamps, the material centered as good as the eye can tell and then clamped into place.
(A proper amount of force should be applied when clamping the material to avoid any
data errors. If the material slips out or fails in the wrong spot will result in inaccurate
data).

The last step before loading is to attach the extensometer to the center portion of
the material. Exact location of the extensometer in not crucial, but the prongs that attach
to the material should be as horizontal to the material as possible.

Once everything is clamped, extensometer in place, it is time to load the material.
On the computer, it will ask for the specimen information, such as: length, width, and
thickness. Once input, the test can be started.

Shortly after the test has begun, the material will reach, and pass, its yield point.
The machine then stops for extensometer removal, and then resumes with tesile testing
until failure (on each of the Figures 1-4, around the Yield Point there is a sudden drop in
stress with little movement in strain, this is a result of the machine dropping the weight
and waiting for extesometer removal).

Once failure occurs, the test is complete. However, the failure should be
examined before continuing with the data collected. The material should fracture around
the middle of the smaller 0.5 0.53 inch portion. If a fracture occurs at the fillets or
larger portions, or there are signs of slipping at the clamp points, the data will be invalid
and should be redone (this is because the test is programmed for a failure at the smaller
portion, failures elsewhere will give inacurate readings).

If a proper failure took place, the material can be removed and the stress-strain
data can be retreived from the computer. The same measurements of the material
should be done once again at the point of fracture.


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Results and Discussion

Using the stress-strain points provided by the computer, 4 stress-strain curves
were produced for each material (Figures 1-4). With these, the Modulus of Elasticity,
Yield Stress, and Tensile Strength can be calculated. A few physical measurements are
made to calculated the % Elongation and % Reduction in Area.

Below is a table of the results:

Material Alloy
designation
If available
Elastic
Modulus
(psi)
Yield
Stress
(psi)
Tensile
Strength
(psi)
%
Elongation
% Reduction
in area
(cross-sec)
Copper Copper-110 1.70 x 10
7
37,500 40,000 16.6 61.3
Steel C1010 2.72 x 10
7
45,000 47,500 23.9 61.7
Aluminum 2024-T351 1.07 x 10
7
52,000 70,000 11.0 13.1
Polyethylene 1.07 x 10
5
4,250 4,400 209 85.8

Finding the Modulus of Elasticity: Using a couple selected points on the data
table, a modulus of elasticity can be created. The Modulus of Elasticity can also be
thought of as the slope of the line in the linear region before the yield point on the
stress-strain curve. After calculated the slope, we have our Modulus of Elasticity.

Finding the Yield Stress and Tensile Strength: These were found using
approximations on the stress-strain curve (Figures 1-4).

Finding % Elongation and % Reduction in area: These are both physical
properties of the material. Before testing, measurements were made of the width,
length, and thickness. After testing was done, the material was put back together (as
close as possible) and re-measured. % Elongation comes from the change in the
length. % Reduction in area comes from the change in width and thickness.

A look at the data as well as the specimen themselves (Figure 6) reveals some
important aspects of the material. As we can see by the elongation and area reduction,
the higher the percentage, the more elastic the material is. Polyethylene, a more elastic
material, was able to elongate much more than any other material where as aluminum,
a more brittle material did not elongate very much. But because of this elasticity,
polyethylene suffered in tensile strength. The most brittle material, aluminum, was able
to endure the highest amount of psi.

With a material being more elastic or brittle, the way the material broke changed.
The most brittle, aluminum, broke instantaniously with a sharp loud noise and a clean
cut with very little change in cross sectional area. On the other hand, polyethylene
continued to stretch until the cross sectional area was too small and snapped. In the
middle of the two, steel started to form cracks, some not even where the material broke,
and reduced in cross sectional area until rendered broken (Steel was the only material
that didnt actually break in two, it remained as a weakened one piece with a reduced
cross sectional area).

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Conclusions

Taking a look at the results in comparison to a materials chart, an observation
can be made to see how accurately the testing was performed.

Comparison of Modulus of Elasticity:

Material This Test MoE (psi) Actual MoE (psi)
Copper 1.70 x 10
7
1.60 to 1.80 x 10
7

Steel 2.72 x 10
7
2.80 to 3.00 x 10
7

Aluminum 1.07 x 10
7
1.00 to 1.14 x 10
7

Polyethylene 1.07 x 10
5
1.00 to 2.00 x 10
5


Most of the Modulus of Elasticity values aquired through this test were inside the
actual values. Only steel was slightly under.


Comparison of Yield Stress:

Material This Test Yield (psi) Actual Yield (psi)
Copper 37,500 8,000 to 110,000
Steel 45,000 30,000 to 100,000
Aluminum 52,000 5,000 to 70,000
Polyethylene 4,250 N/A

The actual yields seem to be very broad, that is most likely because every material
varies greatly, finding the yield stress is more of an approximation. For the most
accurate data, a test should be done on a materials before pursuing a design with that
material. All of this tests values are within the actual values.


Comparison of Tensile Strength:

Material This Test Strength (psi) Actual Strength (psi)
Copper 40,000 15,000 to 80,000
Steel 47,500 50,000 to 120,000
Aluminum 70,000 15,000 to 80,000
Polyethylene 4,400 6,000 to 12,000

Same as Yield, the values are quite varied. For most accurate results, tests should be
done on each material. From what was collected, this tests data seems to be lower
than that of the materials book.

As an overview, the data collected in these tests are quite approximated. When
determining the elongation and area reduction, new methods would need to be put in
place to get accurate measurements. Also, The yield stress and tensile strength were
only approximated from the stress-strain curve, a closer look may reveal a different
outcome.
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Appendix



Figure 1 Stress-Strain Curve Copper

0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
S
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(
p
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Strain (in/in)
Copper Stress-Strain Curve
Series1
Yield Point
(Sharpest Bend after
Linear Region)
Tensile
Strength
(Highest Point)
Breaking Point
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Figure 2 Stress-Strain Curve Steel


0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
S
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(
p
s
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)

Strain (in/in)
Steel Stress-Strain Curve
Series1
Yield Point
(Sharpest Bend after
Linear Region)
Tensile
Strength
(Highest Point)
Breaking Point
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Figure 3 Stress-Strain Curve Aluminum


0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16
S
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(
p
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Strain (in/in)
Aluminum Stress-Strain Curve
Series1
Yield Point
(Sharpest Bend after
Linear Region)
Tensile
Strength
(Highest Point)
Breaking Point
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Figure 4 Stress-Strain Curve Polyethylene


0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
S
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(
p
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Strain (in/in)
Polyethylene Stress-Strain Curve
Series1
Yield Point
(Sharpest Bend after
Linear Region)
Tensile
Strength
(Highest Point)
Breaking Point
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Figure 5 Specimens Before Testing
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Figure 6 Specimens After Testing