Physical and Mechanical Properties

Learning Objective:
Students should be able: Describe the stress and strain diagram. Differentiate between elastic and plastic deformation. Define the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, ductility. Describe the hardness and toughness properties

Physical Properties
Physical properties can be observed or measured without changing the composition of matter. Physical properties are used to observe and describe matter. Physical properties include: appearance, texture, color, odor, melting point, boiling point, density, electrical conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion. and many others.

Mechanical Properties
Properties obtain from a response or deformation due to an applied load or force. Example: Strength, hardness, toughness, elasticity, plasticity, brittleness, and ductility and malleability

Engineering Stress
Tensile stress, s: Shear stress, t:

Ft s Ao
original area before loading

Stress has units: N/m2 or lb/in2

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Common State of Stress

Simple tension: cable

F s Ao
Simple shear: drive shaft
Ski lift
(photo courtesy P.M. Anderson)

Fs t Ao
Note: t = M/AcR here.
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Other common stress

Simple compression:

Ao

Canyon Bridge, Los Alamos, NM

(photo courtesy P.M. Anderson)

Balanced Rock, Arches National Park

(photo courtesy P.M. Anderson)

Note: compressive structure member (s < 0 here).

Engineering Strain
Tensile strain: Lateral strain:

/2

wo
Shear strain:

Lo
/2 L /2

L /2

/2

= tan
/2 - /2

Strain is always dimensionless.

/2
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Stress and Strain Testing

Typical tensile specimen Typical tensile test machine

Adapted from Fig. 6.2, Callister 6e.

Other types of tests:

--compression: brittle
materials (e.g., concrete) --torsion: cylindrical tubes, shafts.

Stress and Strain diagram

These diagrams are used to determine how material will react under a certain load

Stress and Strain Diagram

Elastic Range: material will resume its original dimension after load is removed Linear elastic: straight line section from which E is defined (Stiffness) Nonlinear elastic: material behaviors nonlinearly and ends at a point called elastic limit

Plastic Range: there is permanent deformation after load is removed Yield point is the starting point of this range and it also defines the materials yield strength Yield strength is an important failure criterion Ultimate strength: the largest stress the material can bear Strain at fracture gives ductility.

Elastic Deformation
1. Initial 2. Small load
bonds stretch return to initial

3. Unload

F
Elastic means reversible!

Plastic Deformation (METALS)

1. Initial 2. Small load 3. Unload

Plastic means permanent!

Stress and Strain : Ductile Material

Materials that undergo large strains before failure are classified as ductile. Ductile materials include mild steel, aluminum and some of its alloys, copper, magnesium, lead, molybdenum, nickel, brass, bronze, nylon, teflon and many others

Macrostructure changes
Adapted from Fig. 6.11, Callister 6e.

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Stress and Strain Diagram: Brittle material

Materials that fail in tension at relatively low values of strain are classified as brittle materials. Examples are concrete, stone, cast iron, glass, ceramic materials, and many common metallic alloys.

DUCTILITY, %EL
L f Lo x100 Plastic tensile strain at failure: %EL Lo

Ao A f Another ductility measure: %AR x100 Ao

Note: %AR and %EL are often comparable.

--Reason: crystal slip does not change material volume. --%AR > %EL possible if internal voids form in neck.

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Toughness
Energy to break a unit volume of material Approximate by the area under the stress-strain curve.
Engineering tensile stress, s
smaller toughness (ceramics)
larg er toughness (metals, PMCs) smaller toughnessunreinforced polymers

Engineering tensile strain,

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Hardness
Resistance to permanently indenting the surface. Large hardness means:
--resistance to plastic deformation or cracking in compression. --better wear properties.

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Hardness Measurement Methods

hardness

quantitative

qualitative

micro

macro

Mohr scale

Vickers

Rockwell

Knoop

Brinell

Mohrs Scale

Hardness: Rockwell
a hardness measurement based on the net increase in depth of impression as a load is applied. Hardness numbers have no units and are commonly given in the R, L, M, E and K scales. The higher the number in each of the scales means the harder the material.

Indenter type: steel ball or a spherical diamondtipped cone of 120 angle and 0.2 mm tip radius, called Brale

HR = E - e

See table..

Hardness: Brinell
Brinell hardness is determined by forcing a hard steel or carbide sphere of a specified diameter under a specified load into the surface of a material and measuring the diameter of the indentation left after the test. The Brinell hardness number, or simply the Brinell number, is obtained by dividing the load used, in kilograms, by the actual surface area of the indentation, in square millimeters. The result is a pressure measurement, but the units are rarely stated

Hardness: Vickers
the surface is subjected to a standard pressure for a standard length of time by means of a pyramid-shaped diamond. The diagonal of the resulting indention is measured under a microscope . For very hard surfaces

HV = 2Fsin 136o/2 d2

HV = 1.854(F/d2)

Hardness: Knoop
Indenter: diamond indenter in the shape of an elongated four-sided pyramid.

HK =14.229 (F/l 2)

SUMMARY
Stress and strain: These are size-independent measures of load and displacement, respectively. Elastic behavior: This reversible behavior often shows a linear relation between stress and strain. To minimize deformation, select a material with a large elastic modulus (E or G). Plastic behavior: This permanent deformation behavior occurs when the tensile (or compressive) uniaxial stress reaches sy. Toughness: The energy needed to break a unit volume of material. Ductility: The plastic strain at failure. Hardness: The ability of material to resist the deformation
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