MEN 200

Mechanical Properties of
Metals

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Issues To Address

– Stress and strain: What are they and why are

they used instead of load and deformation?

– Elastic behavior: When loads are small, how much

deformation occurs? What materials deform least?

– Plastic behavior: At what point does permanent

deformation occur? What materials are most
resistant to permanent deformation?

– Toughness and ductility: What are they and how

do we measure them?

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain

Load types:
The mechanical behavior of a material is ascertained by a stress-strain
test by uniformly applying a load at the cross sectional area of a member
of the material and reading the corresponding deformation

Tension Compression Shear Torsion

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain

Tensile Test
– It is a stress strain test performed using a load in tension.
– One of the most common mechanical stress-strain tests Tension
– “Dogbone” specimen, deformation is confined to the narrow region
– Load is applied uniaxially along the length of the specimen
– The specimen is deformed with a gradually increasing load

Typical tensile specimen

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain
Tensile Test
– The tensile testing machine elongates the specimen at a constant rate
– The machine continuously and simultaneously measures the applied load
and the resulting elongation
– The output is recorded as Force versus elongation

extensometer specimen

Typical tensile specimen

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain
Tensile Test
normalized
Force vs. elongation stress vs. strain
F l  

Engineering Stress Engineering strain

F li  l0 l
  
A0 l0 l0

A0 is the original cross sectional area (no load applied)

F is the instantaneous load applied
Li is the instantaneous length
L0 is the original length (no load applied)
Compression Test
– Similar to tensile test (compressive force)
– Stress strain have negative signs
– Used when material are brittle in tension and when large strains are
desired 6
MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain
Shear test
– Performed using a pure shear force

Shear Stress Shear strain

F
   tan
A0
Shear

Torsional Test
– Structural member is twisted
– Ex: Machine axles and drive shafts

Shear Stress Shear strain


Tr   f  
J
Torsion
r is the radial distance
J is the polar moment of inertia
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress and Strain
Stress state is function of the orientation of the plane upon which the
stresses are taken to act

On planar faces
Engineering Stress
F

A0

Plane with an arbitrary

orientation θ

 1  cos 2 
 '   cos 2     
 2 
 sin 2 
 '   sin  cos     
 2 
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Common Stress States
Simple compression:

Ao

Canyon Bridge, Los Alamos, NM

F Note: compressive
Balanced Rock, Arches  structure member
National Park Ao (σ < 0 here).

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Common Stress States

Bi-axial tension: Hydrostatic compression:

Pressurized tank Fish under water

 >0


z > 0  h< 0
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Deformation
Deformation in which the piece returns to its original shape when the
applied load is released

Linear Elastic Deformation

Deformation in which stress strain are proportional

  E
  G

E: modulus of elasticity or Young’s modulus

It is like a stiffness of a spring the higher the
modulus of elasticity the stiffer the
material
Stress strain curve
G: is the shear modulus
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Deformation
Non-Linear Elastic Deformation
Deformation in which stress strain are not proportional

Modulus of elasticity is not defined

instead Tangent modulus secant modulus

Tangent modulus: is taken as the slop of the

stress strain curve at some specified level of
stress, σ2

Secant modulus: the slope of a secant drawn

from the origin to some given stress level, σ1 Stress strain curve
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Deformation
1. Initial 2. Small load 3. Unload

bonds
stretch

return to
initial
d
F
Linear
F elastic
On atomic scale, macroscopic elastic strain
is manifested as small changes in the
Non-Linear
interatomic bonds
elastic
d
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Deformation
On atomic scale, the Young’s modulus is proportional to the slope of the
interatomic force-separation curve.

  E

 dF 
E   
 dr  r0

interatomic force-separation curve

Anelasticity:
Elastic deformation will continue upon load release some finite time
before the material recovers its original shape
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Deformation
Elastic Properties
ν: Poisson’s ratio
The ratio of the lateral and axial strains

x y
  
z z

Isotropic material: shear and elastic

moduli are related
E  2 G (1  ) Strain response of an imposed tensile stress
Isotropic material: properties are the same in all directions
Anisotropic material: properties vary with crystallographic directions
•For an Isotropic material (ie a material with uniform properties in all directions), the range of Poisson’s
ratio is typically between -1 and 0.5
• For an Incompressible (constant volume) material, the Poisson’s ratio is very close to 0.5, although a
value of 0.5 is never attained in practice as it corresponds to an infinite bulk modulus. 15
MEN 200 Science of materials
 Plastic Deformation
Macroscopic Perspective
Deformation in which the piece does not recover its original shape when the
applied load is released

Stress strain for a metal showing

elastic and plastic deformation
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 Plastic Deformation
1. Initial 2. Small load 3. Unload

Bonds stretch
& planes shear Planes still
sheared

d plastic
d
elastic + plastic

F F
Atomic Perspective
Plastic deformation corresponds to the
breaking of bonds with original atom Linear Linear
neighbors and then reforming bonds with elastic elastic
d
new neighbors
dplastic 17
MEN 200 Science of materials
 Plastic Deformation
Simple tension test

Elastic + Plastic
At larger stress
Engineering Stress σ

permanent (plastic)
after load is removed
Elastic initially

p engineering strain, ε

plastic strain
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties

Yield Strength : the stress level at which plastic deformation begins

Tensile Strength: the stress at the maximum on the engineering

stress-strain curve

Ductility: is the measure of the degree of plastic deformation that

has been sustained at fracture

Resilience: is the capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is

deformed elastically and then, upon unloading, to
have this energy recovered

Toughness: Energy to break a unit volume of material

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Yield Strength: the stress level at which plastic deformation begins
P: the point of yielding initial departure from linearity
(It may not be determined precisely)
The yield strength σy is the intersection between the stress-strain
curve and a straight line constructed parallel to the elastic
portion at some specified offset, usually 0.002
(for nonlinear elastic regions, σy is defined as the stress required
to produce some amount of strain e.g., ε = 0.005)

When you have an upper yield

point and lower yield point the
yield strength is the average
stress that is associated with the
lower yield point

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Tensile Strength:
the stress at the maximum on the engineering stress-strain curve

– It corresponds to the maximum

engineering stress that can be
sustained by a structure in tension

– A small neck will start to form and

all deformation is confined at this
neck where fracture will occur

– This phenomenon is called necking

Strain Hardening: The phenomenon of

increasing strength with increasing
deformation, found in the region on the stress
Stress strain for a metal
vs. strain curve between the Y.S. and T.S.
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Ductility : is the measure of the degree of plastic deformation that has
been sustained at fracture

– Expressed as % elongation: it depends Ao

Lo Af Lf
on l0 because a significant portion of the
plastic deformation is confined to the
neck region. (l0 should be specified)

 l f  l0  smaller %EL, Brittle

% EL    100 Quantified as the

 l0  % Elongation at
failure
l f The fracture length
l0 The original length D = 100 x εfailure
larger %EL

– Expressed as % reduction in area

 A0  Af  
% RA    100 Engineering Stress strain curve for a metal
 A0  22
MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Resilience : is the capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed
elastically and then, upon unloading, to have this energy recovered

– Expressed as the area of the engineering stress strain curve taken to yielding

y
U r    d
0

– Assuming a linear elastic region

1  y  1  y
2
1
U r   y y   y   
2 2  E  2 E
Engineering Stress strain
curve for a metal
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Toughness: Energy to break a unit volume of material, approximated
by the area under the stress-strain curve. (static)

 small toughness (ceramics)

large toughness (metals)

very small toughness

Unreinforced polymers


Brittle fracture: elastic energy
Ductile fracture: elastic + plastic energy

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Hardness
Definition
RESISTENCE to permanently indenting the surface or to local plastic deformation

Large hardness means:

– resistance to plastic deformation or cracking in compression.
– better wear properties.

apply known force measure size of indent

e.g., after removing load
10 mm sphere

d Smaller indents mean

D
larger hardness

Most Brasses easy to Cutting Nitrided

plastics all alloys Machine steel file hard tools steels diamond

increasing hardness 25
MEN 200 Science of materials
 Hardness: Measurement
Rockwell Hardness Test (HR)
• A hard intender is forced into the surface of the metal to be tested
• No major sample damage
• An initial minor load is applied followed by a major load
• Two types of scales: Rockwell and superficial Rockwell
• Each scale runs to 130 but only useful in range 20-100 for accuracy

Rockwell Superficial Rockwell

– Minor load 10 kg – Minor load 3 kg
– Major load 60, 100, 150 kg – Major load 15, 30, 45 kg

Ex: 80 HRB Ex: 60 HR30W

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Hardness: Measurement
Brinell Hardness Test (HB)
– A hard intender is forced into the surface of the metal to be tested
– Loads range between 500 and 3000 kg

Conversion between HB and TS (tensile strength)

Example: Steel
– TS (psia) = 500 x HB
– TS (MPa) = 3.45 x HB

Knoop and Vickers Test (HV and HK)

– A very small diamond intender with pyramidal geometry is used
– Applied loads are much smaller than Rockwell and Brinell tests
– Referred as microindentation-testing (small indenter)
– Well suited for measuring the hardness of small specimen
– Knoop is used for testing brittle materials such as ceramics
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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Hardness: Measurement

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 True Stress and True Strain
Engineering
Stress Strain
Valid only to the
F l l
  i 0 onset of necking
A0 l0 Volume
conservation  T   1   
True
Stress Strain Aili  A0l0  T  ln 1   
F l 
T   T  ln  i 
Ai  l0 

A0 is the original cross sectional area

Ai is the instantaneous cross-sectional area
F is the instantaneous load applied
Li is the instantaneous length
L0 is the original length

Engineering and true stress strain curves of a metal

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 True Stress and True Strain
True Stress True Strain For some metallic alloys the region of the true stress-strain
F  li  curve from the onset of plastic deformation to the point at
T   T  ln   which necking begins may be approximated by:
Ai  l0 
 T  K Tn

Tabulation of n and K values for several alloys

Engineering and true stress strain curves of a metal

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Strain Recovery
Some Fraction of the total deformation is recovered as elastic strain
upon release of the load during the course of a stress-strain test

– During the unloading cycle, the curve

traces a near straight line path from the
point of unloading parallel to the initial
elastic portion of the curve

– When the load is reapplied, the curve will

traverse the same linear portion in the
direction opposite to unloading

– Yielding stress will change

– There will also be an elastic strain recovery

associated with fracture

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Design or Safety Factors
Design uncertainties we do not push the limit.
Factor of safety, N
Often N is between
y 1.2 and 4
 working 
N
Example: Calculate a diameter, d, to ensure that yield does not occur in the
1045 carbon steel rod below. Use a factor of safety of 5.

y d
 working 
N 1045 plain
 y  310 MPa Lo
carbon steel:
5 TS  565 MPa
220,000 N

 d2 /4  d = 0.067 m = 6.7 cm F = 220,000N

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress – Strain Behavior
Problem 6.6:
Consider a cylindrical nickel wire 2.0 mm (0.08 in.) in diameter and 3×104
mm (1200 in.) long. Calculate its elongation when a load of 300 N (67 lbf) is
applied. Assume that the deformation is totally elastic.

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress – Strain Behavior
Problem 6.6:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress – Strain Behavior
Problem 6.11:
As noted in Section 3.15, for single crystals of some substances, the physical
properties are anisotropic; that is, they are dependent on crystallographic
direction. One such property is the modulus of elasticity. For cubic single
crystals, the modulus of elasticity in a general [uvw] direction, Euvw, is
described by the relationship
 1  2 2
1

1
Euvw E 100
 3 
1
 E 100 E 111

     2 2   2 2


 
Where E<100> and E<111> are the moduli of elasticity in [100] and [111]
directions, respectively; α, β, and γ are the cosines of the angles between
[uvw] and the respective [100], [010], and [001] directions. Verify that the
E<110> values for aluminum, copper, and iron in Table 3.3 are correct.

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress – Strain Behavior
Problem 6.11:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Stress – Strain Behavior
Problem 6.11:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Properties of Materials
Problem 6.14:
A cylindrical specimen of steel having a diameter of 15.2 mm (0.60 in.) and
length of 250 mm (10.0 in.) is deformed elastically in tension with a force of
48,900 N (11,000 lbf). Using the data contained in Table 6.1, determine the
following:
a – The amount by which this specimen will elongate in the direction of the
applied stress.
b – The change in diameter of the specimen. Will the diameter increase or
decrease.
Table 6.1

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Properties of Materials
Problem 6.14:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Properties of Materials
Problem 6.19:
A brass alloy is known to have a yield strength of 240
Mpa (35,000 psi), a tensile strength of 310 Mpa (45,000
psi), and a elastic modulus of 110 Gpa (16.0 106 psi). A
cylindrical specimen of this alloy 15.2 mm (0.60 in.) in
diameter and 380 mm (15.0 in.) long is stressed in
tension and found to elongate 1.9 mm (0.075 in.). On
the basis of the information given, is it possible to
compute the magnitude of the load that is necessary to
produce this change in length? If so, calculate the load. If
not, explain why.

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Properties of Materials
Problem 6.19:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic Properties of Materials
Problem 6.19:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Problem 6.26:
A load of 140,000 N (31,500 lbf) is applied to a cylindrical
specimen of a steel alloy (displaying the stress – strain
behavior shown in Figure 6.21) that has a cross-sectional
diameter of 10 mm (0.40 in.).
a – Will the specimen experience elastic and/or plastic
deformation? Why?
b – If the original specimen length is 500 mm (20 in.),
how much will it increase in length when this load is
applied?

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Problem 6.26:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties
Problem 6.26:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties of Materials
Problem 6.29:
A specimen of magnesium having a rectangular cross section of dimensions
3.2 mmx19.1 mm ( in. in.) is deformed in tension.
Using the load–elongation data tabulated as follows, complete parts (a)
through (f).
(a) Plot the data as engineering stress versus engineering strain.
(b) Compute the modulus of elasticity.
(c) Determine the yield strength at a strain
offset of 0.002.
(d) Determine the tensile strength of this alloy.
(e) Compute the modulus of resilience.
(f) What is the ductility, in percent elongation?

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Tensile Properties of Materials
Problem 6.29:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 True stress and true strain
Problem 6.38:
For some metal alloy, a true stress of 345 MPa (50,000 psi) produces a
plastic true strain of 0.02. How much will a specimen of this material
elongate when a true stress of 415 MPa (60,000 psi) is applied if the
original length is 500 mm (20 in.)? Assume a value of 0.22 for the strain
hardening exponent n.

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 True stress and true strain
Problem 6.38:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 True stress and true strain
Problem 6.38:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic recovery
Problem 6.45:
A steel alloy specimen having a rectangular cross section of dimensions 19
mm X 3.2 mm has the stress–strain behavior shown in Figure 6.21. If this
specimen is subjected to a tensile force of 110,000 N (25,000 lbf) then
(a) Determine the elastic and plastic strain values.
(b) If its original length is 610 mm (24.0 in.), what will be its final length
after the load in part (a) is applied and then released?

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic recovery
Problem 6.45:

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MEN 200 Science of materials
 Elastic recovery
Problem 6.45:

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