Destructive tests

Destructive testing is undertaken in order to understand a specimen’s performance or material behaviour. Unlike with visual testing or digital
radiography, these procedures are carried out to the test specimen’s failure. Destructive testing procedures can either follow specific standards or
can be tailored to reproduce set service conditions.

Tensile test

Determine the tensile strength and elongation at fracture

The tensile test is the most important testing method in destructive materials testing. A standardised specimen with a known cross section is
loaded uniformly with relatively low increasing force in the longitudinal direction. A uniaxial stress state prevails in the specimen until
contraction commences. The ratio of stress to strain can be shown

from the plotted

loadextension diagram.
Brinell hardness Test
Hardness is a characteristic of a material, not a fundamental physical property. It is defined as the resistance to indentation, and it is determined
by measuring the permanent depth of the indentation.

More simply put, when using a fixed force (load) and a given indenter, the smaller the indentation, the harder the material. Indentation hardness
value is obtained by measuring the depth or the area of the indentation using one of over 12 different test methods.

The Brinell hardness test method as used to determine Brinell hardness. Most commonly it is used to test materials that have a structure that is
too coarse or that have a surface that is too rough to be tested using another test method, e.g., castings and forgings. Brinell testing often use a
very high test load and a 10mm diameter indenter so that the resulting indentation averages out most surface and sub-surface inconsistencies.

The Brinell method applies a predetermined test load (F) to a carbide ball of fixed diameter (D) which is held for a predetermined time period and
then removed. The resulting impression is measured with a specially designed Brinell microscope or optical system across at least two
diameters – usually at right angles to each other and these results are averaged (d). Although the calculation below can be used to generate the
Brinell number, most often a chart is then used to convert the averaged diameter measurement to a Brinell hardness number.

Common test forces range from 500kgf often used for non-ferrous materials to 3000kgf usually used for steels and cast iron. There are other
Brinell scales with load as low as 1kgf and 1mm diameter indenters but these are infrequently used.

Test Method Illustration

D = Ball diameter
d = impression diameter
F = load
HB = Brinell result

Rockwell Hardness test

The Rockwell test is generally easier to perform, and more accurate than other types of hardness testing methods. The Rockwell test method is
used on all metals, except in condition where the test metal structure or surface conditions would introduce too much variations; where the
indentations would be too large for the application; or where the sample size or sample shape prohibits its use.

The Rockwell method measures the permanent depth of indentation produced by a force/load on an indenter. First, a preliminary test force
(commonly referred to as preload or minor load) is applied to a sample using a diamond or ball indenter. This preload breaks through the surface
to reduce the effects of surface finish. After holding the preliminary test force for a specified dwell time, the baseline depth of indentation is
measured.

After the preload, an additional load, call the major load, is added to reach the total required test load. This force is held for a predetermined
amount of time (dwell time) to allow for elastic recovery. This major load is then released, returning to the preliminary load. After holding the
preliminary test force for a specified dwell time, the final depth of indentation is measured. The Rockwell hardness value is derived from the
difference in the baseline and final depth measurements. This distance is converted to a hardness number. The preliminary test force is removed
and the indenter is removed from the test specimen.
Test Method Illustration
A = Depth reached by indenter after application of preload (minor load)
B = Position of indenter during Total load, Minor plus Major loads
C = Final position reached by indenter after elastic recovery of sample material
D = Distance measurement taken representing difference between preload and major load position. This distance is used to calculate the
Rockwell Hardness Number.
A variety of indenters may be used: conical diamond with a round tip for harder metals to ball indenters ranges with a diameter ranging from
1/16” to ½” for softer materials.

Vickers hardness test

The Vickers hardness test method, also referred to as a microhardness test method, is mostly used for small parts, thin sections, or case depth
work.

The Vickers method is based on an optical measurement system. The Microhardness test procedure, specifies a range of light loads using
a diamond indenter to make an indentation which is measured and converted to a hardness value. It is very useful for testing on a wide type of
materials, but test samples must be highly polished to enable measuring the size of the impressions. A square base pyramid shaped diamond is
used for testing in the Vickers scale. Typically loads are very light,
The Microhardness methods are used to test on metals, ceramics, composites - almost any type of material.

Often the prepared samples are mounted in a plastic medium to facilitate the preparation and testing. The indentations should be as large as
possible to maximize the measurement resolution. (Error is magnified as indentation sizes decrease) The test procedure is subject to problems of
operator influence on the test results.

Opposing indenter faces are set at a 136 degree angle from one another.

Izod Impact Test

Izod impact measures energy required to break a specimen by striking a specific size bar with a pendulum. Izod normally refers to a notched
specimen impact. However, in some circumstances, unnotched specimens are tested. The data sheet will note that it is an unnotched bar or
unnotched Izod. The notch (needs to be machined and not molded into the bar) acts as a stress concentrator, forcing the bar to break at a specific
location. A specific size notch is machined into one side of a test bar at a specific distance from the end. As shown in Figure below, the notch is
placed in the clamp and a pendulum is released that impacts the bar, measuring the energy required to break the sample. How tightly the
specimen is clamped in the holder plus any flash or defects in the injection-molded specimen can affect the results. Izod samples are normally
3.2 × 12.8 × 63.5 mm in length, with the notch machined across the 3.2 mm face and into the 12.8-mm width. The notch has specific dimensions
and radius
Shore scleroscope hardness
A measure of hardness on a scale in which tempered steel is rated 100. Measurements are made by a device (the scleroscope) in which a
diamond-pointed hammer falls under its own weight within a graduated, vertical glass tube placed above the material whose hardness is to be
measured. When the hammer strikes the material it bounces off. The height of the rebound was taken as a measure of the hardness of the surface.
The tube was graduated in “shore units.” A.F. Shore invented the device and the Shore Instrument & Manufacturing Company made it.
The advantages of the Shore scleroscope were that it was portable, a workman could easily be trained to use it, and it was cheap relative to other
instruments for measuring hardness. In the late 20th century, however, it gradually fell out of use.
The Shore scleroscope should not be confused with the Shore durometer, which measures indentation and is used for testing rubbers and plastics.
Shore Scleroscope Hardness. — Height of rebound of diamond pointed hammer falling by its own weight on the object. The hardness is
measured on an empirical scale on which the average hardness of martensitic high carbon steel equals 100. On very soft metals a “magnifier”
hammer is used in place of the commonly used “universal” hammer and values may be converted to the corresponding “universal” value by
multiplying the reading by 4/7. The scleroscope hardness, when accurately determined, is an index of the tensile elastic limit of the metal tested.

Charpy Testing
Charpy impact testing is a high strain-rate test that involves striking a standard notched specimen with a controlled weight pendulum swung from
a set height. The impact test helps measure the amount of energy absorbed by the specimen during fracture.
The standard Charpy-V notch specimen is 55mm long, 10mm square and has a 2mm deep notch with a tip radius of 0.25mm machined on one
face.

In some circumstances, sub-size Charpy specimens can be tested with thickness less than 10mm. The specimen is supported at its two ends on an
anvil and struck on the opposite face to the notch by the pendulum. The amount of energy absorbed in fracturing the test-piece is measured and
this gives an indication of the notch toughness of the test material. The pendulum swings through during the test, the height of the swing being a
measure of the amount of energy absorbed in fracturing the specimen. Conventionally, three specimens are tested at any one temperature and the
results averaged. Alternatively, tests are carried out at a range of temperatures in order to generate a ductile to brittle transition curve.

Charpy tests show whether a metal can be classified as being either brittle or ductile. This is particularly useful for ferritic steels that show a
ductile to brittle transition with decreasing temperature. A brittle metal will absorb a small amount of energy when impact tested, a tough ductile
metal absorbs a large amount of energy. The appearance of a fracture surface also gives information about the type of fracture that has occurred; a
brittle fracture is bright and crystalline, a ductile fracture is dull and fibrous. The percentage crystallinity is determined by making a judgement of
the amount of crystalline or brittle fracture on the surface of the broken specimen, and is a measure of the amount of brittle fracture.

Lateral expansion is a measure of the ductility of the specimen. When a ductile metal is broken, the test-piece deforms before breaking, and
material is squeezed out on the sides of the compression face. The amount by which the specimen deforms in this way is measured and expressed
as millimetres of lateral expansion.

When reporting the results of a Charpy test, the absorbed energy (in J) is always reported, while the percentage crystallinity and lateral expansion
are optional on the test report. It should be emphasised that Charpy tests are qualitative, the results can only be compared with each other or with
a requirement in a specification - they cannot be used to calculate the fracture toughness of a weld or parent metal.
 Fig.1. Charpy testing machine and specimen arrangement

Fig.2. Standard Charpy-V notch specimen

Fatigue testing
Is defined as the process of progressive localized permanent structural change occurring in a material subjected to conditions that produce
fluctuating stresses and strains at some point or points and that may culminate in cracks or complete fracture after a sufficient number of
fluctuations.
Usually the purpose of a fatigue test is to determine the lifespan that may be expected from a material subjected to cyclic loading, however
fatigue strength and crack resistance are commonly sought values as well. The fatigue life of a material is the total number of cycles that a
material can be subjected to under a single loading scheme. A fatigue test is also used for the determination of the maximum load that a sample
can withstand for a specified number of cycles. All of these characteristics are extremely important in any industry where a material is subject to
fluctuating instead of constant forces.

Types of Fatigue Failure:

1. Mechanical Fatigue - fluctuations in externally applied stresses or strains.

2. Creep Fatigue - Cyclic loads at high temperatures.
3. Thermo mechanical Fatigue - fluctuations in temperature as well as
stresses and strains.
4. Corrosion Fatigue - Cyclic loads in a chemically aggressive or embrittling
environment.
5. Fretting Fatigue - Cyclic loads combined with frictional sliding.
Fatigue Endurance Limit and Fatigue Strength
 Cyclic
loading
generally
produces
failure however
low the stress
may be.
However, with
some materials
the S-N
curve levels off,
suggesting that
for these
materials a limit
of stress (load)
can be specified
- known as the
fatigue limit -
below which
infinite life can
be expected.

The fatigue life is thought to be associated with the phenomenon of strain ageing.
Most non ferrous alloys do not show a fatigue limit. Instead their S-N curves continue to drop at a slow rate (dotted line).

For these types of materials, the fatigue strength is quoted. This is the value of stress to which the material can be subjected to for a given number
of cycles (10,000,000 cycles is the value often used).
Strain-Life Approach

Low cycle, high stress fatigue with appreciable plastic deformation. Uses the cyclic strain range versus number of
cycles to failure.

Total life = crack initiation + crack propagation (90% of

life can be crack initiation).

Failure = Typically a crack of predefined size.

The strain-life relationship is as follows:

Creep Test

Creep is high temperature progressive deformation at constant stress. "High temperature" is a relative term dependent upon the materials
involved. Creep rates are used in evaluating materials for boilers, gas turbines, jet engines, ovens, or any application that involves high
temperatures under load. Understanding high temperature behavior of metals is useful in designing failure resistant systems.

The creep test is conducted using a tensile specimen to which a constant stress is applied, often by the simple method of suspending weights from
it. Surrounding the specimen is a thermostatically controlled furnace, the temperature being controlled by a thermocouple attached to the gauge
length of the specimen, Fig.2. The extension of the specimen is measured by a very sensitive extensometer since the actual amount of
deformation before failure may be only two or three per cent. The results of the test are then plotted on a graph of strain versus time to give a
curve similar to that illustrated in Fig.3.
 Fig.2. Schematic of a creep test

Fig.3. Typical creep curve for steel

The test specimen design is based on a standard tensile specimen. It must be proportional (see Connect Article No. 69) in order that results can be
compared and ideally should be machined to tighter tolerances than a standard tensile test piece. In particular the straightness of the specimen
should be controlled to within some ½% of the diameter. A slightly bent specimen will introduce bending stresses that will seriously affect the
results. The surface finish is also important - the specimen should be smooth, scratch free and not cold worked by the machining operation. The
extensometer should be fitted on the gauge length and not to any of the other load carrying parts as it is difficult to separate any extension of these
parts from that in the specimen.

Testing is generally carried out in air at atmospheric pressure