SPT 3202: Strength of Materials

Lecture 3

Mechanical Testing of Materials

• Farooq Kyeyune, PhD

• KyU Physics Department

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Why conduct material mechanical tests?
❑ The primary objective of material mechanical testing is to ensure product safety,
whether through characterizing material properties or validating final products.
➢ Quality Assurance: Testing materials ensures that they meet specified standards and
requirements. This is important in manufacturing processes to maintain consistent quality and
performance of products.
➢ Material Selection: Engineers need to select materials that are appropriate for specific
applications based on their mechanical properties. Testing helps in understanding how materials will
behave under different conditions such as stress, strain, temperature, and environmental factors.
➢ Research and Development: Testing provides valuable data for researchers and developers to
understand the behavior of materials under various conditions. This helps in the innovation and
improvement of materials for new applications or enhancing existing ones.
➢ Regulatory Compliance: Many industries have regulations and standards that dictate the
mechanical properties materials must meet to ensure safety and reliability. Testing ensures
compliance with these regulations.
➢ Safety: Testing materials helps ensure the safety of products and structures. Understanding the
mechanical properties of materials is essential for designing structures and products that can
withstand expected loads and conditions without failure.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Toughness Testing:
❑ Recall: Toughness is a measure of the ability of the material to absorb energy up to
fracture: For a material to be tough, it must display both strength and ductility
❑ Toughness testing can also be called Impact Testing or Notched Bar Testing.
❑ Impact testing refers to the resistance of a material to sudden applied loads.
❑ The notched test specimen is broken by the impact of a heavy pendulum or hammer
falling at a predetermined velocity through a fixed distance.
❑ Impact testing is used to measure the transfer of energy required to break a given
volume of material. We then measure the impact strength that indicates how well a
material can withstand shock loading.
❑ The two common methods of impact testing are;
➢ The Charpy Impact Test
➢ The Izod Test

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Mechanical Testing of Materials

Impact Testing or Notched Bar Testing.

❑ Procedure – Notched specimens are held in a vice
and are struck by a weighted pendulum.
❑ The energy absorbed in breaking the test piece is
measured and a value for toughness is given.
❑ The height that the pendulum swings to after breaking
the specimen indicates how much energy was
absorbed.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Specimen
Impact Testing or Notched Bar
Testing.
The Izod Test
❑ The Izod impact test is a dynamic test Notch
in which a V-notched specimen,
gripped vertically is broken by a single
blow of a freely swinging pendulum.
❑ Notch is facing the pendulum,
❑ Striking energy of 167 J is applied,
❑ ‘I’ for Izod and the specimen stands in
the vice-like an ‘I’.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Charpy Impact Test
❑ The specimen of size 55 mm to be
tested is held horizontally,
❑ Notch is facing away from the
pendulum Notch
Knife Edge Striker
❑ The striking energy used is about 300
J – greater than the Izod test since the
Specimen
pendulum is released from a higher
position,
❑ A different striker is fitted for this test
– a knife edge striker.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Hardness Testing
❑ The principal purpose of the hardness test is to determine the suitability of a
material for a given application or the particular treatment to which the material
has been subjected.
❑ Hardness is tested by measuring the material's resistance to indentation,
scratching, or wear on its surface.
❑ Hardness in metals may vary and can be changed by heat treatment.
❑ Hardness tests are based on finding a number, commonly known as a hardness
number. Higher numbers usually indicate increased hardness of the material.
❑ A hard piece of metal, called the indenter, is pressed against the surface of the
material being tested. The force used is measured and the indentation caused is
read directly. The softer the material, the deeper the indentation will be.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Hardness Testing
❑ There are three common types of hardness tests.
➢ The Brinell Test, which uses a ball indenter.
➢ The Vickers Test, which uses a diamond, square based pyramid
indenter
➢ The Rockwell Test, which uses a steel ball for soft materials
and a diamond cone for hard materials.
❑ Other hardness test methods are also available, such as Mohs,
Knoop, Share, etc.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Brinell Test
❑ Indenter: Hardened steel or Tungsten or Carbide
ball of 10 mm or 5 mm or 1 mm diameter.
❑ Procedure: The ball indenter is forced into the Downward
surface of the test piece by a load of 3000 kg, for a Force
specified period of time (10–30 s), producing an Diameter of
impression on the test piece. indentation
❑ For softer materials, e.g. copper and aluminum measured Ball
alloys, the load can be reduced to 1500 kg or 500 Indenter Test
kg to avoid excessive indentation.
Specimen
❑ The diameter of the indentation left in the material
is measured using a microscope and converted into
a Brinell hardness number.
❑ The test piece must be eight (8) times thicker than
the depth of the impression to prevent the table of
the test machine from absorbing the indenting
force.
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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Brinell Test
❑ Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) is given by
Downward
Applied load in kgf (1kgf = 9.81 N)
BHN = Force
Area of the spherical indentation in mm2 Diameter of
2𝐹 indentation
BHN= measured Ball
𝜋𝐷(𝐷− 𝐷2 −𝑑 2 )
Indenter Test
Specimen
Where, F is the applied load in kilogram force (kgf)
𝐷 is the diameter of the indenter
𝑑 is the diameter of indentation in the test piece.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Typical Brinell Test relationship between
indentation diameter and HB

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Advantages of Brinell Test
❑ Indentation made on the specimen can be seen and
measured using a microscope or eyepiece.
❑ Flat irregular surface does not affect the Brinell test
results.
❑ The test is less sensitive.
❑ It is used to measure hardness of components made
from powder and cast.
Disadvantages of Brinell Test
❑ The test is not suitable for small size objects due to
large indenter impression.
❑ Slightly inaccurate hardness measurement while
testing hard objects as ball indenter deforms.
❑ Not suitable for thin objects due to deep penetration.
❑ The test can be performed on only flat surfaces.
❑ The Brinell hardness test is slow, hence time-
consuming.
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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Vickers Test
❑ Indenter: Uses a 136° pyramidal diamond indenter that forms
a square indent. The diamond pyramid is less likely to distort
under high forces than the steel ball (BHT)
❑ Procedure: The diamond indenter is applied for 10–15 s into
the surface of the material being tested making a square
impression.
❑ The test uses a load varying between 1–120 kgf (1kgf =
9.81 N).
❑ The two diagonals of the indentation left in the surface of the
material after removal of the load are measured using a
microscope and their average is calculated. The area of the
sloping surface of the indentation is calculated.
❑ The hardness (Vickers Pyramid Number, VPN) is expressed as:
136°
2𝐹 sin 1.854𝐹
VPN= 𝑑2
2
= 𝑑2
where F is the load on the test specimen and d is arithmetic mean
of the two diagonals 𝑑1 and 𝑑2 .
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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
Advantages of Vickers hardness test
❑ The Vickers test method can be used with any and all
materials from soft to hard, as the procedure covers the
entire hardness range.
❑ There is only one type of indenter, which can be used for all
Vickers hardness tests.
❑ Non-destructive testing is possible, so the test specimen can
be used for other purposes.
Disadvantages of Vickers hardness test
❑ The surface quality of the specimen must be good, since the
indent is measured optically. Sample cleaning or polishing is
necessary.
❑ The process is rather slow (compared with the Rockwell
method).
❑ Due to the need to conduct optical indent evaluation, Vickers
hardness testers must be equipped with an optical system,
which makes it an expensive method.
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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Rockwell Test
❑ The Rockwell test is based on measuring the depth of
penetration instead of the diameter of indentation.
❑ Procedure: The indenter is pressed against the
surface of the test specimen;
❖ Initially with a minor load (10 kg) and the zero
reference position is determined (Case 1),
❖ Then a major load (60, 100, or 150 kg) is applied
for a few seconds (Case 2) and removed, leaving
the minor applied load (Case 3).
❖ Removal of the additional major load allows a
partial recovery, thus reducing the depth of
penetration.
❖ The permanent increase in depth of penetration,
resulting from the application and removal of the
additional major load is used to calculate the
Rockwell hardness number.

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Rockwell Test
❑ Rockwell test uses three scales.
❖ Rockwell A: for soft materials, Rockwell B: for
hardened material, and Rockwell C for hard
materials
❖ Diamond indenter, having a 120° included
angle, for Rockwell A and C, and hardened steel
ball indenter of 0.063 in diameter for Rockwell B
❑ The applied ranges from 60 kg to 150 kg
❖ 60 kg for Rockwell A
Ball Indenter Cone Indenter
❖ 100 kg for Rockwell B
❖ 150 kg for Rockwell C

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 Mechanical Testing of Materials
The Rockwell Test

❑ There are several considerations for the Rockwell

hardness test;
❖ Require clean and well-positioned indenter.
❖ The test specimen should be a clean, dry,
smooth, and oxide-free surface.
❖ The surface should be flat and perpendicular to
the indenter
❖ Low reading of hardness value might be
Cone Indenter
expected in cylindrical surfaces
❖ Specimen thickness should be 10 times higher
than the depth of the indenter.
❖ Regular calibration of the Rockwell testing machine is
crucial for maintaining accuracy. Improper calibration
can result in incorrect load application or depth
measurement, leading to inaccurate hardness readings.
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