Class Code/ Title: ME107 Experimental and Laboratory Skills
Assignment Title: Material Characterisation and Testing
Student Number: 202101364
Date: 14/02/2022
Abstract
There are many materials used for all sorts of projects. Road work, Aircraft,
Robotics, the list goes on. With as many materials as there are, we need to be
able to understand how they act and react. To know the limits of materials, and
how best to utilise them. This experiment was all about studying these points,
their mechanical properties, and understanding how this relate to their real
word uses. After testing, the materials were found to all be unique, having
varying elasticity and maximum load baring capability.
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
Methodology .................................................................................................. 1
Results ........................................................................................................... 3
Discussion ..................................................................................................... 4
Conclusions ................................................................................................... 5
References..................................................................................................... 5
Table of Equations
Equation 1. Tensile Stress Formula ............................................................... 2
Equation 2, Tensile Strain Formula ................................................................ 2
Equation 3, Youngs Modulus Equation .......................................................... 3
Table of Figures
Figure 1. A Zwick Tensile Tester.................................................................... 1
Figure 2. An example of a dog bone shaped sample ..................................... 2
202101364
Introduction
Studying and understanding materials is essential to being able to properly
utilise them when producing anything. The chassis of a car is going to have
very different structural and mechanical needs than a water bottle. Yet
knowing what both require is the difficult part.
That in part is why testing every property of a material is essential. Steel, one
of the most used metals in the world and with a demand for almost 2000
tonnes (1) this year alone, has over four different categories separating the
many unique variants of steel that is produced globally. If the most common
alloy on earth can have such degrees of separation between alloys sharing
the same name, then completely different materials may find themselves with
equally different properties.
A car and a water bottle can both be made from steel, but you wouldn’t want
to drive around on a chassis made from water bottles. It’s this understanding
of the different properties’ materials have that makes studying them so
important. Of course, there are many things you can test a material for, and
even more ways to go about performing such tests. When testing the
mechanical properties of a material, you can perform hardness testing,
impact testing, fracture toughness testing (2), or tensile testing. And that last
one will be what we aim to test with this experiment.
With an array of varying samples consisting of Steel, Brass, Carbon Fibre
Composite and Aluminium, we will seek to test and study the tensile
properties of these materials so that we can compare them and understand
their uses. Finding links between our results and the materials uses will be
our main goal besides understanding the results.
Methodology
In order to test mechanical properties of these various metals we will need to
utilise a specialised piece of equipment, known as a Zwick Tensile Tester:
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Figure 1. A Zwick Tensile Tester
A Zwick Tensile Tester is used to determine a materials strength by applying
a load to stretch said material and measure its elongation. This is then used
to plot a stress/strain curve, which can show us the elastic and plastic
properties of various materials and compare them.
Firstly, we take dog-bone shaped pieces of the materials we wish to test
(Steel, Aluminium, Brass and Carbon Fibre Composite) and take its
dimensions for the machine to use, specifically its thickness and width. The
material is then placed and secured in the grips of the machine. Once the
material is in and the software has the measurements you can begin the
tensile test. The machine will begin applying an increasing load on the
material, and then plot a graph for Stress and Strain. Once the material has
snapped, you then end the test and stop the grips moving. You can then
remove the now broken material and place the next sample in ready to get a
new set of results.
Figure 2. An example of a dog bone shaped sample
Tensile Stress (written as σ in formula) is a measurement of an objects
resistance to forces that could tear it apart. Basically, how well the material
can hold itself together. A piece of paper is easy to tear and rip apart, so
would have a low tensile stress. Meanwhile, a brick is no easy thing to tear
apart and would have a high Tensile Stress. Tensile Strain (written as ε in
formula) is the ratio between somethings change in length and original
length. Both Tensile Stress and Tensile Strength are calculated from the
Zwick Tensile Tester using the load, change in the materials length and the
cross-sectional area (obtained from each samples thickness and width)
specifically with these two formula:
Equation 1. Tensile Stress Formula
𝐹
𝜎=
𝐴
Equation 2, Tensile Strain Formula
𝜀 = 𝛥𝐿 ∕ 𝐿
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With these two values, we can now calculate how easily each material
stretches and deforms. This ratio is given the name Youngs Modulus. As a
note, Youngs Modulus only quantifies the relationship between a materials
Tensile Stress and Tensile Strain up until a materials point of plastic
deformation because beyond this point the material would no longer return to
its original shape should it be released from the grips of the Tensile Tester.
Equation 3, Youngs Modulus Equation
𝐸 =𝜎∕𝜀
Using each materials Tensile Stress, Tensile Strain, and Youngs Modulus we
can compare each material to see how elastic, brittle or durable each
material is.
Results
Table 1, Load vs Elongation
Load=f(Elongation)
800
700
600
500
Load (N)
400
300
200
100
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Elongation (mm)
Steel Load (N) Brass Load (N)
Carbon Fibre composite Load (N) Aluminium Load (N)
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Table 2, Stress vs Strain
Stress vs Strain
45
40
35
30
25
Stress (GPa)
Stress Steel
20 Brass
15 CarbonFibre
Aluminium
10
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
-5
Strain
Table 3, Young's Modulus Calculations
Material Stress/Strain Youngs
Modulus
Steel 80mmx421.33n/2mmx10mmx7.2mm 2.34GPa
Brass 80mmx372n/2mmx10mmx8.2mm 1.81GPa
Carbon Fibre 80mmx794n/2mmx10mmx11.1mm 2.86GPa
Composite
Aluminium 80mmx232n/2mmx10mmx3.9mm 2.37GPa
Discussion
Firstly, I would like to comment on the similarities between the Load and
Elongation graphs, and the Stress vs Strain graphs. Specifically how each
material has the same shaped graph for both. (Though the scales are wildly
different). This does make sense however, as Stress and Strain are both
derived from Load and Extension, so the graphs being similar if not identical
in shape simply shows this. This also means that Youngs Modulus, which is
Stress/Strain, can be found by finding the gradient of either graph up until the
point of plastic deformation.
Next, how brittle and ductile each material is. Aluminium and Carbon Fibre
both have short climbs on their graphs, before quickly falling off. Carbon Fibre
however can take a much greater load without breaking, yet when it reaches
such a point it is a near instant process unlike the more gradual deformation
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the other 3 materials have. These short climbs show the materials are brittle,
allowing minimal to no extension past their maximum. In the case of Carbon
Fibre, this could be desirable over other such materials. It can undergo great
loads without suffering any plastic deformation, at the cost however of instantly
breaking should it exceed its maximum load. Steel and Brass are a lot more
ductile than the other materials. Both reach elastic deformation long before
Carbon Fibre does, yet they can hold far more before reaching plastic
deformation and completely breaking. Steel for example can, despite being
past the point of elastic deformation, holds nearly 5x the load that carbon fibre
can handle before breaking. Useful for manufacturing products that require
long lasting and durable materials that can afford to be flexible. This increase
in flexibility allows for a greater capacity, though would not do for projects
where rigidity is required.
Bridge construction is one such example where a ductile material such as steel
would be superior to carbon fibre, despite it baring a greater load than steel
without moving. A bridge needs to be able to bare great weights, and be
flexible enough to expand and contract during high and low temperatures, plus
move with winds to prevent being damaged. Steel is capable of these
requirements thanks to its ductile nature giving it great load capacity and
flexibility.
Conclusions
Overall, we were able to find the many differences between the metals and
identify their mechanical properties by utilising the Tensile Tester. Tensile
stress and strain are incredibly important in understanding a materials
strengths and weakness. Knowing if it is flexible or rigid, ductile or brittle. Our
goal was to compare the various materials and understand how they were
different, and I believe we have met that goal by being able to see the
relation between Tensile Strength, Tensile Stress and the Youngs Modulus.
Going forward, repeating the experiment with a larger variety of materials
would allow us to find the mechanical properties of more materials, and
identify materials with unique uses due to their varying points of Elastic and
Plastic deformation, and Young Modulus’ values.
References
1 - https://worldsteel.org/media-centre/press-releases/2021/worldsteel-short-range-
outlook-october-2021/
2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022509673900082
Figure 1, Tensile Tester
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.zwickroell.com
%2Fproducts%2Fstatic-materials-testing-machines%2Funiversal-testing-
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machines-for-static-applications%2Ftensile-
tester%2F&psig=AOvVaw3ABjThhO9_ASpvn4dMV-
Me&ust=1644910010024000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwo
TCMCn_sbV_vUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Figure 2, Dog-Bone Sample
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.researchgate.
net%2Ffigure%2FDog-bone-samples-before-and-after-
testing_fig1_240632698&psig=AOvVaw2fcGoTH_UJ8ZPXIaIMst7h&ust=164
4912982344000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCID1-
87g_vUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
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