A PRACTICAL REPORT
ON
TENSILE TEST ON MILD STEEL
BY
AHAMUEFULE PROMISE JUNIOR
19/ENG06/004
SUBMITTED TO:
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND MECHATRONICS
ENGINEERING
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AFE BABALOLA UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE,
NIGERIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE COURSE MACHINE DESIGN III (MEE 586)
MAY, 2024
1 INTRODUCTION
Tensile testing, which is done with a tensile testing equipment, is a destructive testing technique.
A specimen is held in two grips by a tensile strength tester, who then applies a tensile load that
increases until the specimen breaks. The tensile strength may be computed if the specimen's
initial cross-section and rate of elongation—or the rate at which its length changes—are known.
An electromechanical or hydraulic universal test equipment can be used for tensile testing. A
crosshead moves and applies loading, specimen grips hold the test piece, and a data collection
system records the test parameters. One of the most basic and often performed mechanical tests
is the tensile test. Material qualities that enable designers and quality managers to forecast how
materials and products will behave in use may be found by measuring the force needed to stretch
a specimen to its breaking point.
1.1Aim of the Experiment
The aim of the experiment is to study the Universal Testing Machine (UTM) and perform the
tensile test on mild steel to achieve the required tensile properties.
1.2Objectives:
1. To see the relationship between load and extension produced.
2. The stress-strain relationship and establish the relationship graphically.
3. To determine the ultimate tensile stress, yield stress, percentage elongation and percentage
reduction in area at the end of this experiment.
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1.3Equipment’s Used
1. Tensile Testing Machine:
Figure 1: Tensile Testing Machine
2. Guillotine Machine:
Figure 2: Guillotine machine
1.4 Hand Tools Used
1. Scriber
2. Tri-square
3. Square file
4. Curved file
5. Tape rule
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2 THEORY
A key experiment in material science and engineering, the tensile test gauges a material's
reaction to uniaxial tensile force. Finding the different mechanical characteristics that
characterize a material's response under stress is the main objective. The design and analysis of
engineering structures depend on these qualities.
Tensile tests are performed for several reasons. The results of tensile tests are used in selecting
materials for engineering applications. Tensile properties frequently are included in material
specifications to ensure quality. Tensile properties often are measured during development of
new materials and processes, so that different materials and processes can be compared. Finally,
tensile properties often are used to predict the behavior of a material under forms of loading
other than uniaxial tension.
Often, the most important factor is a material's strength. Either the maximum stress that the
material can tolerate or the stress required to produce noticeable plastic deformation can be used
to quantify the strength of interest. In engineering design, these strength metrics are applied with
the proper prudence (as safety considerations). The ductility of the material—a measurement of
how far it can be bent before breaking—is also important. Ductility is rarely introduced directly
into design; instead, it is included in material requirements to guarantee toughness and quality. In
tensile testing, low ductility is frequently correlated with low resistance to fracture under various
loading scenarios. Elastic characteristics could also be of relevance, however measuring them
during tensile testing requires specific methods, while ultrasonic methods allow for more precise
measurements.
The uses for tensile test machines are listed below:
1) Material selection for engineering applications.
2) Material quality assurance.
3) Comparison of properties of new materials or processes.
4) To identify material behavior under load.
A tensile test (or tension test) applies force to a material specimen to measure the material's
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response to tensile (or pulling) stress. This type of testing provides insight into the mechanical
properties of a material and enables product designers to make informed decisions about when,
where, and how to use a given material. Tensile tests are performed on universal testing
machines, also known as tensile machines or tensile testing machines. Universal testing
machines come in a wide variety of force capacities and can be configured with different fixtures
to test any product, component, or material.
Tensile specimens are commonly machined or die cast in the shape of dog bones, which provide
'shoulders' designed to be held by the grips of the testing machine and a 'gauge length' where the
tensile properties will be measured. The dimensions of these shoulders, the gauge length between
them, and the length and width of the entire specimen are all prescribed by the testing standard.
Figure 3: Tensile specimen
For most materials, the initial portion of the test will exhibit a linear relationship between the
applied force or load and the elongation exhibited by the specimen. In this linear region the line
obeys the relationship defined as Hooke's Law, where the ratio of stress to strain is a constant. E
is the slope of the line in this region where stress (σ) is proportional to strain (ε) and is called
the modulus of elasticity or young's modulus represented mathematically as:
σ
E=
ε
There are different types of stresses:
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Figure 4: Type of Stresses
In a tensile test, a specimen is subjected to a controlled tensile force, and its deformation is
measured. The key concepts involved are stress and strain:
Stress is the internal force experienced by a material per unit area when subjected to an external
load. It is expressed in units of force per unit area (e.g., Pascals, MPa).
Strain (ε): Strain is the measure of deformation representing the elongation per unit length. It is a
dimensionless quantity.
The modulus of elasticity is a measure of the material's stiffness that only applies in the initial
linear region of the curve. Within this linear region the tensile load can be removed from the
specimen and the material will return to the exact same condition it had been in prior to the load
being applied. At the point when the curve is no longer linear and deviates from the straight-line
relationship, Hooke's Law no longer applies, and some permanent deformation occurs in the
specimen. This point is called the elastic or proportional limit. From this point on in the tensile
test, the material reacts plastically to any further increase in load or stress. It will not return to its
original, unstressed condition if the load is removed.
A material's yield strength is defined as the stress applied to an elastic material at which plastic
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deformation starts to occur. Poisson’s ratio is the ratio between the change in width and the
change in length in the direction of the stretching force. Reduction of area is the comparison of
the initial cross-sectional area of a specimen and the smallest cross-sectional area of the same
specimen after complete fracture. This serves as an indicator of how much a material deforms
under tensile load.
One of the most important properties we can determine about a material is its ultimate tensile
strength (UTS). This is the maximum stress that a specimen sustains during the test before
fracture. The UTS may or may not equate to the specimen's strength at break, depending on
whether the material is brittle, ductile, or exhibits properties of both. Sometimes a material may
be ductile when tested in a lab, but, when placed in service and exposed to extreme cold
temperatures, it may transition to brittle behavior.
It is possible to find the amount of stretch or elongation that the specimen undergoes during
tensile testing. This can be expressed as an absolute measurement in the change in length or as a
relative measurement called "strain." Strain itself can be expressed in two different ways, as
"engineering strain" and "true strain." The true strain is similar but based on the instantaneous
length of the specimen as the test progresses, where Li is the instantaneous length and L0 the
initial length. Engineering strain is probably the easiest and the most common expression of
strain used. It is the ratio of the change in length to the original length:
∆L
ε=
L
An example of the engineering stress-strain curve for a typical engineering alloy is shown in Figure
4. From it some very important properties can be determined. The elastic modulus, the yield strength,
the ultimate tensile strength, and the fracture strain are all clearly exhibited in an accurately
constructed stress strain curve.
The relationship between stress and strain is typically represented by a stress-strain curve, which
provides crucial information about the material's mechanical properties. Key points are shown on the
curve.
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Figure 5: Tensile Testing Machine Components
3 PROCEDURE
1. The material is first cut into the specimen length and overall width with a guillotine machine.
2. To prepare a material ready for testing, the material is filed to resemble a “dumbbell to gives
the grips a pair of “shoulders” to hold onto to pull apart the specimen as shown in Figure 6
below.
3. The tensile testing machine is extended to the specimen length.
4. The specimen is then loaded into the tensile testing machine.
5. The system is started and the machine applies tensile force to the specimen until yield stress is
reached and it automatically stops.
6. After the test is complete the specimen is removed and the data recorded.
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4 DIAGRAMS
Figure 5: Tensile Test Specimen Drawing
Figure 6: Workpiece Drawing
5 CALCULATIONS
Assuming that the cross-sectional area ‘A’ is constant throughout where it is defined as:
A=l× b
L = 100 mm
B = 15 mm
A=100× 15
2
A=1500 mm
Table 1: Readings
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S/N Load Extension Stress Strain
F(N) (mm) (N/mm2) ∆L
ε=
L
1 60 2 0.04 0.02
2 202 4 0.13 0.04
3 876 6 0.58 0.06
4 2968 8 1.98 0.08
5 6090 10 4.06 0.10
6 9733 12 6.49 0.12
Load / Extension
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
Load
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Extension
Figure 7: Load Against Extension Graph
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Stress Strain Curve
7.00
6.00
5.00 f(x) = 64.8771428571429 x − 2.32706666666667
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12
Stress Strain Curve Linear (Stress Strain Curve)
Figure 8: Stress Against Strain Graph
1) Ultimate tensile stress:
Maximum Load
Ultimate tensile stress=
Area
9733
Ultimate tensile stress=
1500
Ultimate tensile stress=6.49
2) Yield Stress:
From the yield point on the stress strain curve in graph 2 the yield stress is also 6.49 N/mm2
3) Percentage elongation:
∆L
Percentage elongation= × 100
L
12
Percentage elongation= × 100
100
Percentage elongation=12 %
4) Young modulus:
Stress
Young modulus=
Strain
Young modulus = 64.77 MPa
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6 PRECAUTIONS
1) Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, workshop coat, and boots
were worn during material preparation.
2) Cutting, filing and polishing to remove any surface defects or irregularities.
3) The condition and calibration of the testing equipment and the specimen was checked.
4) Installation of the specimen securely and correctly in the testing equipment.
5) Stopped the test when the specimen reached the its maximum load to avoid destructing it.
7 OBSERVATIONS
1) The machine automatically stopped when maximum load was reached.
2) The machine could not stress a larger specimen with a wider gauge width.
3) The stress strain curve is mostly linear.
8 CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the stress-strain curve from a mild steel tensile test was acquired in order to assess
the material's elasticity and strength. When comparing the data to the achieved value of 42 MPa
and the standard value of 210 GPa for mild steel, the test findings are restricted. The test
demonstrated the linear connection between load and elongation and established Hooke's law of
elasticity.
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