6 Materials testing

Introduction
gunt
Mechanical testing methods

Materials testing studies the behaviour of materials under dif-

ferent loads. In particular, the relationship between the acting
in quality assurance. There is a range of standardized testing
methods to characterize the mechanical properties of materials
Tensile test to determine the tensile strength and elongation at fracture
forces and the resulting deformation and the limit stresses that as precisely as possible: The tensile test is the most important testing method in state prevails in the specimen until contraction commences.
lead to failure of components are considered. destructive materials testing. A standardised specimen with The ratio of stress to strain can be shown from the plotted load-
The characteristic values obtained from the testing process a known cross section is loaded uniformly with relatively low extension diagram.
are used for materials development, designing components and increasing force in the longitudinal direction. A uniaxial stress

Mechanical property Testing method

Elasticity, plasticity Selection of specimen forms

Tensile test, compression test, for tensile tests according
Stiffness, material behaviour under static load bending test, torsion test to DIN 50125

Creep behaviour Creep rupture test

Hardness Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers

Toughness Impact test

Fatigue behaviour, fatigue strength Wöhler fatigue test

Test process of a classic tensile test

The fracture behaviour is used to characterise the material.
The summary below shows a relationship between failure mechanism and stress: F force, a low-deformation fracture, b ductile fracture,
c completely ductile fracture
Fracture type Fracture mechanism Stress

Forced fracture Static overstress Tensile test, Stress-strain diagram

• occurs abruptly a) low-deformation cleavage fracture impact test
• matte or glossy crystalline and partially fissured occurs when the largest direct stress
The stress-strain diagram shows clearly the
surface over the entire cross section; in ductile exceeds the cleavage fracture stress
different behaviour of the individual materials σ
fractures, shear lips often occur at the edge b) ductile fracture (microscopic honey-
and provides the characteristic values for tensile
comb fracture) occurs when the largest
strength Rm, yield strength Re, proportional limit Rp,
shear stress exceeds the yield stress
elongation at fracture A and the elastic modulus E.
c) a low-deformation intergranular frac-
ture can occur with a reduction of the
grain boundary cohesion under the
influence of direct stress Rp Re Rm
Fatigue fracture Dynamic overstress Wöhler fatigue
• can develop following repeated stress under the Starting from notches or imperfections, test Δσ
influence of shear or direct stress oscillatory cracks propagate through the Δσ
E = Δε Δε
• low-deformation fracture material. When the material strength is
exceeded, the remaining surface fractures
by way of a forced fracture. A ε
Creep fracture Static stress, e.g. increased Creep rupture
• continuous time-dependent process temperature test
• sets in at higher temperatures and eventually leads Countless cracks form independently of Every material has a characteristic profile of
to fracture, although the material is loaded below each other stress and strain.
the hot yield point
• pores on grain boundaries lead to material damage

Honeycomb Fatigue Cleavage fracture

low-strength steel: very high elongation,

low tensile strength
aluminium alloy: low elastic modulus
ε

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6 Materials testing
Introduction
gunt
Mechanical testing methods

Compression test to determine flow curves Various methods for determining hardness
Compression tests are less significant for testing metallic Hardness refers to the mechanical resistance with which a body opposes the intrusion of another body. .
materials compared to tensile tests. However, when study-
ing building materials such as natural stone, brick, concrete,
wood etc., the compression test is fundamentally import-
ant. A standardised specimen with a known cross section is Principle of the Brinell hardness test
loaded uniformly with low increasing force in the longitudinal In this test method, a standardised test body – a hard
direction. A uniaxial stress state prevails in the specimen. metal sphere – is pressed into the workpiece under defined
The ratio of stress to compression can be shown from the conditions. The surface of the lasting impression is then
plotted force-path diagram. The stress-compression dia- measured optically. The impression surface is calculated
gram shows clearly the different behaviour of the various from the impression diameter and the sphere diameter.
separate materials and provides the characteristic values A triaxial stress state develops in the specimen,
for compression strength, 0,2% offset yield point and the
compression yield stress.
The Brinell hardness is calculated from the test load and
impression surface of the spherical segment.
Test process and optical measurement of

Test process in the compression test 0,102 · F 0,102 = =

HB = 9,81 g 1 hard metallic sphere, 2 specimen,
AB 90°

HB Brinell hardness value, F test load in N, AB impression surface

Stress-compression diagram in mm2, g= 9,81 gravitational acceleration

Principle of the Vickers hardness test

The test method is similar to the Brinell hardness test.
Unlike the Brinell method, a pyramid-shaped diamond
is used as the test body. The impression diagonal is
determined by measuring the two diagonals d1 and d2 and
by taking the average. The Vickers hardness is the quotient
of the test load and impression surface.
σy σF

d2
Test process and optical measurement of the permanent indentation
Stress-compression diagram
1 pyramid-shaped diamond, 2 specimen, F test load, d1 and d2 diagonals
d1
σ stress, ε compression, s 0,2% offset yield point,
ε σy compression yield stress, σF compression strength,
s = 0,2% 1 elastic region, 2 fracture
Principle of the Rockwell hardness test
Rockwell's hardness test method allows the hardness to be
Every material has a characteristic profile of read directly on a dial gauge as the
compression and stress. difference of the depths F0+ F1
of penetration.

d
b
c
I II III

Test process and measurement of the depth of penetration

1 diamond cone, 2 specimen, I test pre-load F0 is applied to the test body and the dial gauge is set to zero, II additional test load F1 is applied

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6 Materials testing
Introduction
gunt
Mechanical testing methods

Bending tests for the study of deformation behaviour Shear test to study the load capacity against shearing
The most frequently studied bending load in materials testing between the load of a bending beam and its elastic deformation. The shear test is applied when testing screws, rivets, pins and means of external shear forces until the specimen shears off.
is the three-point bending test. Using this method, a beam The effects of modulus of elasticity and second moment of area parallel keys in order to determine the shear strength of the The resistance of a material against the shear stress can be
mounted on two supports is studied under a single force applied are shown. material or the behaviour of the material under shear strain. determined by two different methods, the single-shear and the
to the center. The bending test demonstrates the relationship To do this, the shear stresses are produced in the specimen by double-shear testing method.

Q(x)

M(x) x
Shear strength in the
F double-shear method
τ=
2·A τ shear strength, F force,
A shearing surface

Test process in the three-point bend test Test process in the double-shear test
1 pressure piece, 2 specimen, 3 two supports on which the beam is mounted, F test load Q shear force, M bending moment, x distance 1 pull strap, 2 specimen, 3 housing, F test load

Cupping test to determine the cupping capacity (cold formability)

of sheets and strips Torsion test to study the plastic behaviour of materials
Sheets and strips are subject to high demands in terms of their The cupping test checks the cold formability in sheets. Components that are subjected to rotary movements are for the load capacity of the material. This method is applied
cold formability for deep drawing. No cracks are allowed to twisted. This twisting is referred to as torsion. The torsional in shafts, axles, wires and springs and to assess the impact
occur when working with these thin sheets. stiffness determined in the torsion test serves as orientation behaviour of tool steels.

The cupping specimen to be tested is clamped between a In the torsion test, a specimen is clamped at one end and
blank holder and die and is indented with a hardened spherical subjected to the load of a steadily increasing moment, known
stamp (cupped) until the specimen cracks. The depth achieved as the twisting moment or torsional moment. The twisting
is considered a standard of comparison for the cold formabil- moment causes shear
ity. In addition, the type of crack and the surface structure of
the sagging area are analysed.
F

γ φ τ

Test process in the cupping test 1 rigid clamping, 2 specimen, 3 rotating clamping, 4 drive;
Mt twisting moment, γ shearing angle, φ twisting angle,
1 stamp, 2 specimen, 3 die, 4 crack, F test load τ shear stress

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6 Materials testing
Introduction
gunt
Mechanical testing methods

Impact test to determine the toughness property Notched-bar impact work-temperature diagram

The impact test is a method with sudden loading and is suit- the material does not depend on the material alone, but also on
able primarily for determining the cleavage fracture tendency other external conditions such as temperature or stress state.
or toughness property of a material. This test method does not
Different testing methods are used to determine the notched-
provide any values of material characteristics. The determined
bar impact strength. In the Charpy test, the test body is
values of the impact test, the notched-bar impact strength, do
mounted on two sides and a pendulum strikes the centre of the
not fit directly into calculations on strength. Rather, they help
test body at the height of the notch. In the Izod and Dynstat
only with a rough selection of materials for a specific task.
tests, the test body is upright and a pendulum strikes the free
The deformation behaviour is often an important criterion for end of the test body above the notch.
the selection of materials. It can be used to identify quickly which
of the selected materials are brittle or tough. The brittleness of

Principle of the Charpy notched-bar impact test

In the notched-bar impact test, a pendulum
hammer falls down from a maximum height.
At its lowest point, the hammer strikes the rear
of a notched specimen according to Charpy's
principle. If the abutment penetrates or passes
through the specimen, the hammer dissipates
its impact energy to the specimen. The residual
energy of the hammer is reduced when swinging
through the lowest possible point (zero point)
and the hammer decelerates. When the ham-
mer swings through the zero point, the trailing T
pointer is dragged along and the applied work
for the notched-bar impact is displayed on a
scale.
H The shape of the notched-bar specimen is stan-
dardised.
The necessary notched-bar impact work is the Average-value curve with distribution area
force needed to penetrate a defined notched
specimen. The notched-bar impact strength
determined from the notched-bar impact work
is a measure of the brittleness of the material.

bent specimen

Low-deformation fracture
(tough materials)
ductile deformation, fracture due
destroyed specimen to grains
matte, heavily deformed fracture
surface
glossy, practically deforma-
1 pendulum hammer, 2 axis of rotation, 3 scale with trailing pointer,
4 notched specimen; H height of fall, h height of rise, F force

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6 Materials testing
Introduction
gunt
Mechanical testing methods

Material fatigue Creep rupture test to study creep

Materials behave differently under lasting static loads at without an increase in load lead to a slow but steady irreversible
Fatigue strength test increased temperatures than they do under the same load at plastic deformation, also known as creep. After a sufficiently
room temperature. After a certain amount of time, increased long, even load time, this leads to fracture of the specimen.
The fatigue strength defines the load limit up to which a material high number of load cycles with stresses that are far below the temperatures under stresses below the hot yield point and
that is loaded dynamically withstands without breaking. Moving yield point and far below the fracture stress.
machine parts in particular are subject to dynamic loads, caused
by vibrations for example. In this case, a fracture occurs after a Principle of the creep rupture test
In the creep rupture test, a specimen is subjected to load at a characteristic curve, which is known as the creep curve.
constant stress and constant temperature. This experiment is The creep rupture test determines the characteristic values for
F F MB n performed multiple times with different stresses, but always at the creep strength and the various strain values.
the same temperature. The plastic deformations are measured
in continuous intervals. All measured values can then be
Differently loaded specimens transferred to a creep diagram. The measured elongation shows
1 specimen with tensile and compression stress, 2 specimen with stress from alternating bending,
3 specimen with stress from rotary bending; F force, MB bending moment, n speed

Creep curve
Principle of the fatigue strength test with stress on rotary bending If the elongation is plotted over time, we get the creep curve.

In the fatigue strength test, a rotating, cantilever-mounted

specimen is subjected to a bending moment. In the cylindrical
specimen, this creates an alternating stress due to rotary creep strain limit): mechanical stress, which
bending. After a certain number of load cycles, the specimen
fractures because of material fatigue. Strain values: creep, permanent elongation,

In the creep curve we differentiate between

Analysis of the fracture surface following the fatigue
strength test
Phase 1, the primary creep with decrease of
the initially very high creep rate. Here, the influ-
ε ence of the material strength prevails (rapid
creep).
Wöhler diagram for analysis of the experiment
Phase 2, the secondary creep with virtually
The relationship between load change until fracture and the associated stress load constant creep rate. The dislocation climb
is plotted in a Wöhler diagram. when overcoming flow obstacles is located in a
steady-state equilibrium.

The Wöhler diagram contains three regions:

σ (log)

K b Phase 3 can be very short in the case of

Fatigue strength: with increasing load, there a

Z is a decreasing number of load cycles until
fracture of the specimen

specimen can endure indefinitely and without

D

K Z ND D NG N (log) Change in the specimen over time

Service life: Number N of load cycles until
4 specimen fracture, a elastic deformation, b plastic deformation
D endurance strength, ND number of load cycles from endurance strength
is given, NG limit load cycles