Part I: Understanding

Mechanical Properties
2. Measures and Evaluation of
Mechanical Properties

SS2019
Lecture Outline
1. Introduction

Part I: Understanding Mechanical Properties of (metallic)

Materials
2. Mechanical Properties: Measures and Evaluation
(“Stone Age”)
3. Crystal - and Microstructure of (metallic) Materials
(“Copper age”)
4. Phase equilibria and phase diagrams
(“Bronze Age”)
5. Phase transformations and microstructure formation
(“Iron Age”)

Part II: Electronic Properties of Materials

2
2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Property maps (“Ashby Charts”)

Ashby: Materials Selection in Mechanical Design

Stiffness vs. Strength.
3
2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Property maps (“Ashby Charts”)

Ashby: Materials Selection in Mechanical Design

Stiffness vs. Strength. The term strength comprises different
measures or methods of evaluation used for a certain type of material. 4
2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Property maps (“Ashby Charts”)

(http://teachingresources.grantadesign.com/Charts-overview) 5
2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Property maps (“Ashby Charts”)

(http://teachingresources.grantadesign.com/Charts-overview) 6
 2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Terminology: Mechanical properties

• measures for the type and magnitude of response of a material to a
mechanical load

Force
Properties:
kinds and magnitudes of
responses on specific
external stimuli:

FEM Simulation of Stress
dristirbution in the femur.
(http://biomechanics.stanford.
edu/Mechanics_of_growth)
mechanical: load/force
electrical: electric field
magnetic: magnetic field
optical: light / el.-mag. radiation
deteriorative: reaction w/
chemicals
X-Ray photograph of femur
showing denser+stronger and
weaker regions in the femur
(thigh bone).
(Truong et al. (2006) Arthritis Res.
Ther. 8, R188, doi: 10.1186/ar2101) 7
 2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Terminology: Mechanical properties

• measures for the type and magnitude of response of a material to a
mechanical load
Kinds of mechanical loading: • every kind of
(quasi) static loading dynamic loading mechanical loading
static quasi-static cyclic impact
causes temporary
loading loading loading loading and/or permanent
applied force

changes in shape of a
solid body, which are
referred to as elastic
and plastic
time deformations
respectively

8
 2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Terminology: Mechanical properties

• measures for the type and magnitude of response of a material to a
mechanical load
Kinds of mechanical loading: • every kind of
(quasi) static loading dynamic loading mechanical loading
static quasi-static cyclic impact
causes temporary
loading loading loading loading and/or permanent
applied force

changes in shape of a
solid body, which are
referred to as elastic
and plastic
time deformations
respectively

F
F F F F F

F
tension compression shear bending torsion
tensile stress/strain compressive… shear… bending…

9
 2. Measures and Evaluation of Mechanical Properties

Terminology: Mechanical properties

• measures for the type and magnitude of response of a material to a
mechanical load
Kinds of mechanical loading: • every kind of
(quasi) static loading dynamic loading mechanical loading
static quasi-static cyclic impact
causes temporary
loading loading loading loading and/or permanent
applied force

changes in shape of a
solid body, which are
referred to as elastic
and plastic
time deformations
respectively

F
F F F F F

F
tension compression shear bending torsion
tensile stress/strain compressive… shear… bending…

10
2.1 The Tensile Test

The tensile tester – terminology of stress and strain

• In a tensile tester, a rod-shaped or flat
piece of the material under
investigation is held between fixed
and a movable arm. A force is exerted
upon the test piece by slowly driving
the movable cross-head away from
the fixed arm.
• applied force F causes stress σ:
A0 … initial cross-
𝐹
σ= sectional area of
𝐴0 the sample

11
 2.1 The Tensile Test

The tensile tester – terminology of stress and strain

• In a tensile tester, a rod-shaped or flat
piece of the material under
investigation is held between fixed
and a movable arm. A force is exerted
upon the test piece by slowly driving
the movable cross-head away from
the fixed arm.
• applied force F causes stress σ:
A0 … initial cross-
𝐹
σ= sectional area of
𝐴0 the sample

• Tensile stress causes the rod to 𝑙 − 𝑙0 Δ𝑙

𝜀= =
become longer: 𝑙0 𝑙0 l0 l

• result: stress-strain diagram

F 12
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering)

What do you
already know?

How does it look

like?
Stress σ

Strain ε
Idealized stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal.

13
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering)

What do you
4?
already know?

2? 5? What‘s the reason for

σ reduction between
point 4 and 5?
Stress σ

How to determine the

permanent strain after
removing load at
point 4?

Strain ε
Idealized stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal.

14
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering)

Tensile strength
σT
What do you
already know?
Yield strength Breaking strength
σy σB
Stress σ

Δσ

Δε

permanent strain Strain ε

elastic strain
recovery

Idealized stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal.

For printing+learning. 15
 2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Elastic part,

modulus of elasticity
(Linear) elastic part
Hummel: Understanding Materials Science

elastic deformation means

reversible deformation!
Stress σ

• characterized by linear
relationship between σ and ε
(elongation of the rod
Δσ
responds to applied stress in
linear fashion)
Δε
• the slope of the corresponding
line is called modulus of
Strain ε
elasticity
Stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal Δ𝜎
𝐸=
Δ𝜀
• alternatively: “Young’s
modulus”, “modulus” 16
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Elastic part,

modulus of elasticity
Comparison of the elastic behavior of
steel and aluminum:

For a given stress, aluminum deforms

elastically three times as much as does
steel
Δ𝜎
𝐸=
Δ𝜀

𝐸Steel ≈ 3 × 𝐸Al In MSE, the modulus of elasticity is

generally interpreted as a measure of
stiffness of a material.
(This is, however, not to be confused with the
term (geometric) stiffness used in mechanical
engineering which defines the rigidity of a
structure, thus being dependent on the shape
and size of the object.)
17
 2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Elastic part,

yield strength
Yield strength σy:
Hummel: Understanding Materials Science

Yield strength
• critical stress until which
σy
deformation is reversible upon
Stress σ

relief of the load

• separates elastic region from
plastic region
• provides limit for how much a
structural component can be
stressed before unwanted
permanent deformation
Strain ε
occurs
Stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal

18
 2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Plastic part

Plastic part:
Hummel: Understanding Materials Science

plastic deformation means

irreversible/permanent
Stress σ

deformation!

Characteristics:
• until reaching tensile strength:
stress with increasing plastic
strain, reason: work hardening
Strain ε

Stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal

• after exceeding tensile strength: stress seems to decrease despite

increasing plastic deformation, reason: necking
19
2.1 The Tensile Test

Elastic vs. plastic deformation

Figure courtesy of http://www.ahoefler.de/.

Elastic deformation: Plastic deformation:

• structure regains initial shape • atoms stay displaced after load
after load is removed is removed, structure = sheared,
• atomic bonds stretched surface steps created

20
 2.1 The Tensile Test
Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Plastic part, tensile
strength

Tensile strength Tensile strength σT:

σT
Hummel: Understanding Materials Science

• stress at the maximum on the

engineering stress-strain
Stress σ

curve
• it corresponds to the
maximum stress that can be
sustained by a structure in
tension
• up to this point deformation is
uniform throughout the
Strain ε
sample
Stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal

21
 2.1 The Tensile Test
Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Plastic part, tensile
strength
Hummel: Understanding Materials Science

Breaking strength:
Breaking strength stress when material breaks
σB
• end of the measurement…
fracture
Stress σ

stress-strain curve ends here

• arrow tip marks strain at

fracture (permanent strain
after elastic relief, note: the
arrow is drawn parallel to the
linear elastic region)
Strain ε
elastic strain recovery

Stress-strain diagram of a ductile metal strain at fracture is commonly

used as a measure of the
ductility of a material

22
 2.1 The Tensile Test
Engineering stress-strain diagram vs. true stress-
strain diagram

the decrease in the stress necessary to

continue deformation past the yield
strength seems to indicate that the
material is becoming weaker

Engineering
𝐹
σ=
𝐴0
Stress

Strain

23
 2.1 The Tensile Test
Engineering stress-strain diagram vs. true stress-
strain diagram

True the decrease in the stress necessary to

𝐹 continue deformation past the yield
σ=
𝐴𝑖 strength seems to indicate that the
material is becoming weaker
a view in the true stress-strain curve
Engineering reveals: this is not the case, in fact it is
𝐹
σ= increasing in strength
𝐴0
Stress

Reason: due to necking, the load-

bearing capacity of the specimen
reduces
Engineering stress: calculated from the
initial cross-sectional area A0, does not
take into account the reduction of area at
the neck
Strain True stress: is defined as the load F
divided by instantaneous cross-sectional
area Ai that varies during deformation

24
 2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Necking, fracture

3 4
2
σT
1
engineering stress

Necking:
neck acts as
stress
concentrator Fracture:
fracture/
breaking/
ultimate
strength
strain
(Callister: Materials Science and Engineering)

Photograph of test pieces from several

stages of plastic deformation.
25
2.1 The Tensile Test
Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Strain at fracture,
ductility

brittle?

vs

ductile?
Stress

Strain
26
2.1 The Tensile Test
Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Strain at fracture,
ductility

brittle
breaks before yield strength is
reached

ductile
Stress

pronounced plastic region

strain at fracture is commonly

used as a measure of the
ductility of a material

Strain
27
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Toughness

low toughness?
vs
high toughness?
Stress

Strain
28
2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Toughness

low toughness

high toughness
Stress

Strain
29
 2.1 The Tensile Test

Stress-strain diagram (engineering): Toughness

Toughness:
ability of a materials to absorb energy by plastic deformation before fracturing,
tensile toughness can be evaluated from the area under the stress-strain curve

other measures of toughness:

• fracture toughness: material's resistance to fracture when a crack is present,
generally low for brittle materials (bending test, hardness indentation)
• notch/impact toughness: material's ability to absorb energy in dynamical loading
conditions with a point of stress concentration being present (impact tester)
30
 2.2 The impact test
The Charpy impact tester: Impact toughness, ductile-
brittle transition
Impact test:
Ashby: Essentials of Materials Science

A pendulum swings on its track and strikes

a notched, cantilevered plastic sample.
The energy lost (required to break the
sample) as the pedulum continues on its
path is measured from the distance of its
follow through.
and Engineering

Ashby: Essentials of Materials Science and Engineering

quantitative result:
energy needed to fracture material…
impact toughness (confusingly often
called impact strength)
qualitative result:
ductile-brittle transition temperature
measurement repeated several times at
different temperatures of the specimen
31
 2.2 The impact test
The Charpy impact tester: Impact toughness, ductile-
brittle transition
Ashby: Essentials of Materials Science

Figure courtesy of http://www.ahoefler.de/.

and Engineering

ductile fracture

quantitative result:
energy needed to fracture material…
impact toughness (confusingly often
called impact strength)
qualitative result:
ductile-brittle transition temperature brittle fracture
measurement repeated several times at
different temperatures of the specimen
32
2.3 The Bending Test

Bending tests: Three point bending test

F Bending test - analogy to tensile test:

• flexural stress and strain
• stress-deflection curves
• modulus of elast. in bending
F/2 deflection F/2 • flexural stiffness
 often used for measuring the strength
of brittle materials
3 point

3 point bending test:

• maximum bending moment
directly under central
bearing
• can be used to determine
fracture toughness using a
notched sample
33
2.3 The Bending Test

Bending tests: four point bending test

Bending test - analogy to tensile test:

F/2 F/2
• flexural stress and strain
• stress-deflection curves
• modulus of elast. in bending
flaw • flexural stiffness
F/2 F/2  often used for measuring the strength
of brittle materials

4 point 4 point bending test:

• applies maximum bending
moment to larger portion of
beam
• important for brittle materials
such as ceramics: higher
probability of flaw to be
exposed to maximum stress
34
 2.4 Hardness testing

Schematic of a hardness test

Hardness:
F • resistance of a material to indentation
of a harder body
• high hardness means:
• resistance to localized plastic
d
deformation in compression
• good wear resistance

wikipedia.org
apply known force measure size of indent
after removing load
Hardness testing Techniques: 100μm
Name Indenter micrograph of a (bad) Vickers indent
Brinell Steel-Ball / WC-Ball testing brittle materials cracks may
Rockwell Diamond cone form (indicated by lines), these can
Vickers Diamond pyramid be measured and used for
estimation of fracture toughness
35
 2.5 Other Methods

fatigue test – cyclic load

• there exists a wide variety of test: depending on the operational conditions
of the material, test were/can be developed simulating these conditions

• the weakening of a materials by repeatedly applied loads is called fatigue

• applying a large number of tension and compression
cycles, materials may break even when stressed below
yield strength (i.e. in the elastic region)
• reason = stress concentrators:
σ (N/m2)
 cracks at surface, surface roughness,
grain interfaces, sharp corners
 persistent slip bands (“slip steps”, later…)
• cracks grow under cyclic loading and
eventually a crack will reach a critical size
and propagate suddenly → collapse
The stress field around a
• the fatigue test measures the number of load cycles cracktip.
(Rudraraju et al. (2014) Comput.
that need to be applied until failure occurs Method. Appl. M. 278, 705,
• important for: aircraft, train, automobiles 10.1016/j.cma.2014.06.015)

36
2.5 Other Methods

creep test – high temperature operation (T > 0.3 Tm)

• there exists a wide variety of test: depending on the operational

conditions of the material, test were/may be developed simulating these
conditions

• measures continuous deformation of materials

at high temperature, when stressed with a
constant load below the room temperature
yield strength
• important for: air craft (turbine), forming of
poorly malleable materials

Calculated temperature distribution in a

turbine blade.
(Verstraete & Braembussche (2009). Proceedings of
International Symposium on Heat Transfer in Gas
Turbine Systems,
doi: 10.1615/ICHMT.2009.HeatTransfGasTurbSyst.570)
37
Summary
• Stress and strain:
 size independent measures of load and change of shape

• Elastic behaviour:
 reversible deformation, often shows linear relation between
stress and strain
 the slope of the linear elastic part in a stress-strain diagram is
called modulus of elasticity E (=stiffness)

• Plastic behaviour:
 permanent deformation, starts after applied stress reached
yield strength (=elastic limit)

38
Summary
Do not confuse…
• stiffness with strength:
 the (yield) strength of a material is the amount of force it can
withstand and still recover its original shape (upper limit of elastic part
in stress-strain curve)
• stiffness with hardness:
 the hardness of a material defines the relative resistance that its
surface imposes against localized plastic deformation (the penetration
of a harder body)
• strength with toughness:
 toughness is the amount of energy that a material can absorb before
fracturing
• material stiffness with geometric stiffness:
 geometric stiffness depends on shape, e.g. stiffness of an I beam is
much higher than that of a wire made from the same material, hence
both structures have an equal E

39