MATERIALS TESTING

PA R T 1 | MECHANICAL TESTS

T O N I B E T H G U ATAT O L O P E Z
WHY ARE MATERIALS TESTED?
1. Ensure quality

2. Test properties

3. Prevent failure in use

4. Make informed choices in using materials

Factor of Safety is the ratio comparing the actual stress on a material and the safe
useable stress.
TWO FORMS OF TESTING
1. MECHANICAL TESTS – the material may be physically
tested to destruction. Will normally specify a value for
properties such as strength, hardness, toughness, etc.

2. NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTS (NDT) – samples or finished

articles are tested before being used.
 Hardness test
Impact test
Tensile test
Flexural test
MECHANICAL
TESTS Compression test
Fatigue test
Creep rupture test
Relaxation test
Cupping test
HARDNESS TESTING
Hardness is the ability to withstand indentation or scratches.

The application of hardness testing enables you to evaluate

a material’s properties, such as strength, ductility and wear
resistance, and so helps you determine whether a material
or material treatment is suitable for the purpose you
require.

Hardness testing is a test to determine the resistance a

material exhibits to permanent deformation by penetration
of another harder material.
Interpreting Hardness Test
evaluate the quantitative value in relation to:

1. The given load on the indenter

2. A specific loading time profile and a specific load duration
3. A specific indenter geometry
Mohs
Hardness
Scale
HOW DO HARDNESS TESTS WORK?
performed by pressing a specifically
dimensioned and loaded object
(indenter) into the surface of the
material you are testing. The hardness
is determined by measuring the depth
of indenter penetration or by
measuring the size of the impression
left by an indenter.
HARDNESS TEST METHODS
oHardness tests that measure the depth of indenter
penetration include: Rockwell, Instrumented Indentation
Testing, and Ball Indentation Hardness

oHardness tests that measure the size of the impression left

by the indenter include: Vickers, Knoop, and Brinell
HOW TO SELECT TEST METHOD?
üThe type of material to be hardness tested
üWhether compliance with a standard is required
üThe approximate hardness of the material
üThe homogeneity/heterogeneity of the material
üThe size of the part
üWhether mounting is necessary
üThe number of samples to be tested
üThe required accuracy of the result
THE FOUR MOST COMMON
INDENTATION HARDNESS TESTS
1. Rockwell hardness test
2. Vickers hardness test
3. Knoop hardness test
4. Brinell hardness test
Rockwell Hardness Test
Rockwell is a fast hardness test method developed for production
control, with a direct readout, mainly used for metallic materials.
The Rockwell hardness (HR) is calculated by measuring the depth
of an indent after an indenter has been forced into the specimen
material at a given load.
ØGenerally used for larger sample geometries

ØA ‘quick test’ mainly used for metallic materials

ØCan be used for advanced tests, such as the Jominy (end quench)
test (HRC)
Vickers hardness test
Vickers is a hardness test for all solid materials, including metallic
materials. The Vickers Hardness (HV) is calculated by measuring the
diagonal lengths of an indent in the sample material left by
introducing a diamond pyramid indenter with a given load. The
diagonals of the indent are measured optically in order to determine
the hardness, using a table or formula.

ØUsed for hardness testing of all solid materials, including metallic

materials

ØSuitable for a wide range of applications

ØIncludes a sub-group of hardness testing of welds
Knoop hardness
test
Knoop (HK) is an alternative to the Vickers test in the micro
hardness testing range. It is mainly used to overcome
cracking in brittle materials, as well as to facilitate the hardness
testing of thin layers. The indenter is an asymmetrical
pyramidal diamond, and the indent is measured by optically
measuring the long diagonal.

ØUsed for hard and brittle materials, such as ceramics

ØSuitable for small elongated areas, such as coatings

Brinell hardness test
The Brinell hardness test is used for hardness testing larger
samples in materials with a coarse or inhomogeneous grain
structure. The Brinell hardness test (HBW) indentation leaves a
relatively large impression, using a tungsten carbide ball. The size
of the indent is read optically.

ØUsed for materials with a coarse or inhomogeneous grain

structure

ØUsed for larger samples

ØSuitable for forgings and castings where the structural elements

are large
 Factors that
influence
hardness
testing
Simplified:

Ø
External factors such as light, dirt, vibrations,
temperature, and humidity should be
controlled

ØThe tester and stage should be secured on a

solid horizontal table, and the sample should
be clamped or held in a holder or anvil

ØThe indenter should be perpendicular to the

tested surface

ØIllumination settings should be constant during

the test when using Vickers, Knoop, or Brinell

ØThe tester should be recalibrated/verified

every time you change the indenter or
objective lens
SURFACE PREPARATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR
HARDNESS TESTING
Macro hardness testing

A ground surface is usually sufficient, and sometimes no

preparation is required.

Micro hardness testing

Due to the lower loads used during hardness testing, micro

hardness testing requires a polished or electropolished
surface. It is important that the borders/corners of an optically
evaluated impression are clearly visible. This can be
performed mechanically, chemically, or electrochemically. It is
important that heating or cold working does not change the
surface properties of the specimen.
 Officially, hardness testing loads are expressed in Newton (N).
However, historically, loads were expressed in kilogram-force (kgf),
DEFINITION OF gram-force (gf), or pond (p). The correlation between kgf, kp, and N
is: 1.0 kgf = 1,000 gf = 1.0 kp = 9.81 N.
HARDNESS TESTING The term micro hardness testing is usually used when indentation
loads are below or equal to 1 kgf
LOADS The term macro hardness testing is used when loads are higher than
1 kgf
 INDENT SPACING
During hardness testing, the indentation will
deform the surrounding material and alter its
properties. In order to avoid
misinterpretations of the perceived hardness,
the standards prescribe a certain distance
between multiple indentations.

Examples of indent spacing in the Vickers

hardness test for metallic materials

For steel, copper, and copper alloys: Spacing

between indents must be at least three
diagonal widths

Reference: https://www.struers.com/en/Knowledge/Hardness-testing#
IMPACT TEST
Toughness of metals is the ability
to withstand impact.

An impact test is used to observe

the mechanics that a material will
exhibit when it experiences a
shock loading that causes the
specimen to immediately deform,
fracture or rupture completely.
HOW DO IMPACT
TESTS WORK?
To perform this test the sample is placed
into a holding fixture with the geometry
and orientation determined by the type of
test that is used and then a known weight
generally but not always in the shape of a
pendulum is released from a known height
so that it collides with the specimen with a
sudden force.

This collision between the weight and

specimen generally results in the
destruction of the specimen but the
transfer of energy between the two is used
to determine the fracture mechanics of the
material.
Types of Impact tests
1.Charpy Impact test
2.Izod test
3.Tensile Impact test
 Dial Gauge

Charpy Impact Test Hammer

- 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.
V-notch – A V-shaped notch, 2mm deep, with 45° angle
and 0.25mm radius along the base.
U-notch or keyhole notch – A 5mm deep notch with Load
1mm radius at the base of the notch. Holder
Test Procedure
1. A Charpy V-notch specimen is placed across
parallel jaws in the impact-testing machine.

2. The pointer is set up to its maximum value(300 J).

3. The hammer is released from the initial height

downward towards the sample.

4. Observations and the energy absorbed are

recorded and tabulated.

5. Steps 1-3 are repeated for another specimen.

Factors Affecting Charpy Impact
Energy
ØYield strength and ductility - For a given material the impact energy will be seen to decrease if the
yield strength is increased, i.e. if the material undergoes some process that makes it more brittle and
less able to undergo plastic deformation.

ØNotches - The notch serves as a stress concentration zone and some materials are more sensitive
towards notches than others. The notch depth and tip radius are therefore very important.

ØTemperature and strain rate - Most of the impact energy is absorbed by the means of plastic
deformation during the yielding of the specimen. Therefore, factors that affect the yield behavior and
hence ductility of the material such as temperature and strain rate will affect the impact energy.

ØFracture mechanism - Metals tend to fail by one of the two mechanisms, micro-void coalescence or
cleavage. Cleavage can occur in body centered cubic materials, where cleavage takes place along
the crystal plane. Of the two fracture mechanisms, cleavage involved far less plastic deformation and
hence absorbs far less fracture energy.
 Test Result Interpretation
Impacted specimens with small fracture or with a very little plastic deformation are
said to be in a brittle manner whereas fracture of metal after extensive plastic
deformation is said to be in a ductile manner.
Brittle fracture looks clear, shiny with surfaces while ductile fracture looks greyish and
fibrous.
Some materials such as carbon steels undergo what is known as a ‘ductile to brittle
transition’. This behavior is obvious when impact energy is plotted as a function of
temperature. The resultant curve will show a rapid dropping off of impact energy as
the temperature decreases. If the impact energy drops off very sharply, a transition
temperature can be determined.

Reference: https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/material-testing/charpy-impact-test/1406/
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.
The Izod test is has become the standard
testing procedure for comparing the impact
resistances of plastics. While being the
standard for plastics it is also used on other
materials.
Sample
Preparation
0.125 x 0.50 x 2.5 in
dimension (3.2 x 12.8 x
63.5 mm)

With the notch machined

across the 0.125-in (32 mm)
face into the 0.50-in (12.8
mm) width
 Charpy vs. Izod

https://www.element.com/nucleus/2016/12/12/21/43/charpy-vs-izod-impact
Tensile Impact Test
A test method for determining energy required to fracture a specimen under shock
tensile loading.

Typically executed on a pendulum testing machine, the tensile impact strength test
was originally developed to overcome the deficiencies of flexural (both Izod and
Charpy) impact test.

All the test variables that have a high effect on the results, such as notch sensitivity,
toss factor and specimen thickness, are eliminated in the tensile impact test.

This test, on the contrary of Izod and Charpy types, which are limited to thick specimen
only, allows to determine the impact strength of very thin and flexible specimens.
Test Procedure
The thickness and width of the test
specimen is recorded.

The specimen is then clamped to the

crosshead and placed into the pendulum.
The pendulum is released and allowed to
strike the anvil breaking the specimen.

The tensile impact energy is recorded and

then corrected impact energy is calculated.
Sample Preparation
There are two types of test specimens which can be
used, long (L) and short (S). Both are 63.5mm (2.5")
long, but gauge length areas vary. Type L specimens,
with a gauge length of 9.53mm (0.375") provide a
greater differentiation between materials. Type S
specimens, which have no true gauge length (see the
picture above) provide a greater occurrence of brittle
failures.
Data
tensile impact energy is recorded
from the apparatus.

Corrected tensile impact energy is

calculated as scale reading of
energy minus a friction correction
plus the bounce correction factor.

All measurements are in ft-lbs/in2.