8.

0 MATERIALS TESTING
8.1 Introduction
Testing of materials is necessary for many reasons, and the subject of materials testing is very
broad. Some of the purposes for the testing of materials are:
(a) To determine the quality of a material. This may be one aspect of process control in
production plant.
(b) To determine such properties as strength, hardness, and ductility.
(c) To check for flaws within a material or in a finished component.
(d) To assess the likely performance of the material in a particular service condition.
It is obvious that there is not one type of test that will provide all the necessary information about
a material and its performance capabilities, and there are very many different types of test that
have been devices for use in the assessment of materials. One of the most widely tests is the
tensile test to destruction. In this type of test a test-piece of standard dimensions is prepared, and
this is then stressed in an axial tension. Other tests that are often used for the determination of
strength data are compression, torsion, hardness, creep and fatigue tests. With the exception of
harness tests, these are all test of a destructive nature and they normally require the preparation
of test-pieces to certain standard dimensions.

For the detection of flaws or defects within part-processed stock material, or within finished
components, there are several non-destructive test techniques available. In addition, there are
many special tests that have been devised for the purpose of assessing some particular quality of
material, or for obtaining information on the possible behavior of component or assembly in
service.

8.2 Tensile test

The main principle of the tensile test; denotes the resistance of a material to a tensile load applied
axially to a specimen. There are a several tensile testing machine, as in figure 8.1 (a) shows a
popular bench-mounted tensile testing machine, whilst figure 8.1 (b) shows a more sophisticated
machine suitable for industrial and research laboratories, while in figure 8.1 (c) shows the
schematic drawing of a tensile – testing apparatus. These machines are capable of performing
compression, shear and bending tests as well as tensile tests

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 Figure 8.1 Tensile testing machines

It is very important for the tensile test to consider the standard dimensions and profiles. The
typical progress of tensile test can be seen in figure 8.2.

Figure 8.2 Typical progress of a tensile test: (1) beginning of test, no load; (2) uniform
elongation and reduction of cross-sectional area; (3) continued elongation, maximum load
reached; (4) necking begins, load begins to decrease; and (5) fracture. If pieces are put back
together as in (6), final length can be measured.

Let's now look at Figure 8.3. In this figure, the gauge length (L0) is the length over which the
elongation of the specimen is measured. The minimum parallel length (Lc) is the minimum

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length over which the specimen must maintain a constant cross-sectional area before the test load
is applied. The lengths L0. Lc, Li. and the cross-sectional area (A) are all specified.

Figure 8.3 Properties of tensile test specimens: (a) cylindrical; (b) flat.

The elongation obtained for a given force depends upon the length and area of the cross-section
of the specimen or component, since:

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Therefore if the ratio [L/A] is kept constant (as it is in a proportional test piece), and E remains
constant for a given material, then comparisons can be made between elongation and applied
force for specimens of different sizes.

8.2.1Tensile test results:

Let's now look at the sort of results we would get from a typical tensile test on a piece of
annealed low-carbon steel. The load applied to the specimen and the corresponding extension
can be plotted in the form of a graph, as shown in Figure 8.4 .

Figure 8.4 Load-extension curve for a low-carbon steel.

 From A to B the extension is proportional to the applied load. Also, if the load is
removed the specimen returns to its original length. Under these relatively lightly loaded
conditions the material is showing elastic properties.
 From B to C it can be seen from the graph that the metal suddenly extends with no
increase in load. If the load is removed at this point the metal will not spring back to its
original length and it is said to have taken a permanent set. Therefore, B is called "limit

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 of proportionality ", and if the force is increased beyond this point a stage is reached
where a sudden extension takes place with no increase in force. This is known as the "
yield point" C.
 The yield stress is the stress at the yield point; that is, the load at B divided by the original
cross-section area of the specimen. Usually, a designer works at 50 per cent of this figure
to allow for a 'factor of safety'.
 From C to D extension is no longer proportional to the load, and if the load is removed,
little or no spring back will occur. Under these relatively greater loads the material is
showing plastic properties.
 The point D is referred to as the 'ultimate tensile strength' when referred extension graphs
or the 'ultimate tensile stress' (UTS) when referred to stress-strain graphs. The ultimate
tensile stress is calculated by dividing the load at D by the original cross-sectional area of
the specimen. Although a useful figure for comparing the relative strengths of materials,
it has little practical value since engineering equipment is not usually operated so near to
the breaking point.
 From D to E the specimen appears to be stretching under reduced load conditions. In fact
the specimen is thinning out (necking) so that the 'load per unit area' or stress is actually
increasing. The specimen finally work hardens to such an extent that it breaks at E.
 In practice, values of load and extension are of limited use since they apply to one
particular size of specimen and it is more usual to plot the stress-strain curve.
Stress and strain are calculated as follows:

𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑
Stress (σ) =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
Strain (ε) =
𝑂𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

8.2.2 The tensile test experimental results on some materials:

The interpretation of tensile test data requires skill borne out of experience, since many factors
can affect the test results - for instance, the temperature at which the test is carried out, since the
tensile modulus and tensile strength decrease as the temperature rises for most metals and

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plastics, whereas the ductility increases as the temperature rises. The test results are also
influenced by the rate at which the specimen is strained.

Figure 8.5 shows a typical stress-strain curve for an annealed mild steel.
From such a curve we can deduce the following information.
(a) The material is ductile since there is a long plastic range.
(b) The material is fairly rigid since the slope of the initial elastic range is steep.
(c) The limit of proportionality (elastic limit) occurs at about 260 MPa.
(d) The yield point occurs at about 230 MPa.
(e) The ultimate tensile stress (UTS) occurs at about 400MPa.

Figure 8.5 Typical stress-strain curve for annealed mild steel

Figure 8.6 shows a typical stress-strain curve for a grey cast iron. From such a curve we can
deduce the following information.

(a) The material is brittle since there is little plastic deformation before it fractures.
(b) A gain of the material is fairly rigid since the slope of the initial elastic range is steep.
(c) It is difficult to determine the point at which the limit of proportionality occurs, but it is
approximately 200 MPa.
(d) The ultimate tensile stress (UTS) is the same as the breaking stress for this sample. This
indicates negligible reduction in cross-section (necking) and minimal ductility and
malleability. It occurs at approximately 250 MPa.

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 Figure 8.6 Typical stress-strain curve of grey cast iron.

The yield point, however, is possibly of greater importance to the engineer than the tensile
strength itself, so it becomes necessary to specify a stress which corresponds to a definite amount
of permanent extension as a substitute for the yield point. This is commonly called the "Proof
Stress", and is derived as shown in figure 8.7. A line BC is drawn parallel to the line of
proportionality, from a predetermined point B. the stress corresponding to C will be the proof
stress in the case illustrated it will be known as the "0.1 % Proof stress", since AB has been made
equal to 0.1 % of the gauge length. The material will fulfil the specification, therefore if, after the
proof force is applied for fifteen seconds and removed, a permanent set of not more than 0.1 %
of the gauge length has been produced. Proof lengths are commonly 0.1 % and 0.2 % of the
gauge length, depending upon the type of alloy. The time limit of 15 seconds is specified in order
to allow sufficient time for extension to be complete under the proof force.

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 Figure 8.7 Method used to obtain the 0.1 % proof stress.

Figure 8.8 shows a typical stress-strain curve for a wrought light alloy. From this curve we can
deduce the following information:
(a) The material has a high level of ductility since it shows a long plastic range.
(b) The material is much less rigid than either low-carbon steel or cast iron since the slope of
the initial plastic range is much less steep when plotted to the same scale.
(c) The limit of proportionality is almost impossible to determine, so the proof stress will be
specified instead. For this sample a 0.2 per cent proof stress is approximately 500 MPa
(the line AB).

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 Figure 8.8 Typical stress-strain curve of a light alloy

It is important to determine the properties of polymeric materials which range from highly plastic
to the highly elastic. As in figure 8.9 the stress-strain curves for polymeric materials have been
classified into six main groups by Carswell and Nason.

Figure 8.9 Typical stress-strain curves for polymers

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A tensile test can also yield other important facts about a material under test. For
example, it can enable the elastic modulus (E) for the material to be calculated.
The physicist Robert Hooke found that within its elastic range the strain produced
in a material is proportional to the stress applied. It was left to Thomas Young to
quantify this law in terms of a mathematical constant for any given material.

This constant term (E) is variously known as 'Young's modulus', the 'modulus of elasticity' or the
'tensile modulus'. Thus:

Example 1 :
Calculate the modulus of elasticity for a material which produces the following data when
undergoing test:

Applied load = 35.7 kN, Cross-sectional area = 25mm2, Gauge length = 28 mm, Extension = 0.2
mm.

Where

35.7𝐾𝑁
Stress (σ) = = 1.428𝐺𝑃𝑎
25𝑚𝑚2

and

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 0.2𝑚𝑚
Strain (ϵ) = = 0.007
28𝑚𝑚

therefore

35.7 × 28
E= = 199.92𝐾𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
25 × 0.2

≈ 200𝐺𝑃𝑎

This would be a typical value for low-carbon steel.

Malleability and ductility are special cases of the types of plasticity.

a) Malleability: This refers to the extent to which a material can undergo deformation in
compression before failure occurs.
b) Ductility: This refers to the extent to which a material can undergo deformation in
tension before failure occurs.
All ductile materials are malleable, but not all malleable materials are ductile since they may lack
the strength to withstand tensile loading.
Therefore ductility is usually expressed, for practical purposes, as the percentage; Elongation in
gauge length of a standard test piece at the point of fracture when subjected to a tensile test to
destruction.

Figure 8.10 Elongation

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The increase in length is determined by fitting the pieces of the fractured specimen together
carefully and measuring the length at failure.

Increase in length (elongation) = length at failure — original length

Figure 8.10 shows a specimen for a soft, ductile material before and after testing. It can be seen
that the specimen does not reduce in cross-sectional area uniformly, but that server local necking
occurs prior to fracture. Since most of the plastic deformation and, therefore, most of the
elongation occurs in the necked region, doubling the gauge length does not double the elongation
when calculated as a percentage of gauge length. Therefore it is important to use a standard
gauge length if comparability between results is to be achieved.

Elongation is calculated as follows:

Example 2:
Calculate the percentage elongation of a 70/30 brass alloy, if the original gauge length (L 0) is 56
mm and the length at fracture (Lu) is 95.2 mm.

8.3 The compression test

Because of the presence of submicroscopic cracks, brittle materials are often weak in tension, as
tensile stress tends to propagate those cracks which are oriented perpendicular to the axis of
tension. The tensile strengths they exhibit are low and usually vary from sample to sample.
These same materials can nevertheless be quite strong in compression. Brittle materials are used
in compression, where their strengths are much higher. A schematic diagram of a typical
compression test is shown in figure 8.11.

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 Figure 8.11 Compression test of ductile material

Figure 8.12 Shows a comparison of the compressive and tensile strengths of gray cast iron and
concrete, both of which are brittle materials.

Figure 8.12 Tensile and compressive engineering stress-strain curves for gray cast iron and
concrete.

Because the compression test increases the cross-sectional area of the sample, necking never
occurs. Extremely ductile materials are seldom tested in compression because the sample is
constrained by friction at the points of contact with the plants of the apparatus. This constraint
gives rise to a complicated stress distribution which can only be analyzed in anapproximate
fashion.

8.4 Ductility testing

The percentage elongation, as determined by the tensile test, has already been discussed as a
measure of ductility. Another way of assessing ductility is a simple bend test. There are several

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ways in which this test can be applied, as shown in figure 8.13. The test chosen will depend upon
the ductility of the material and the severity of the test required.

(a) Close bend test: The specimen is bent over on itself and flattened. No allowance is made
for spring back, and the material is satisfactory if the test can be completed without the
metal tearing or fracturing.
(b) Angle bend test: The material is bent over a former and the nose radius of the former
and the angle of bend (θ˚) are fixed by specification. Again no allowance is made for
spring back.
(c) 1800 bend test: This is a development of the angle bend test using a flat former as shown.
Only the nose radius of the former is specified.

Figure 8.13 Bend tests: (a) close bend; (b) angle bend; (c) 180o bend.

8.5 Impact testing (toughness testing)

Impact tests consist of striking a suitable specimen with a controlled blow and measuring the
energy absorbed in bending or breaking the specimen. The energy value indicates the toughness
of the material under test.

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Figure 8.14 shows a typical impact testing machine which has a hammer that is suspended like a
pendulum, a vice for holding the specimen in the correct position relative to the hammer and a
dial for indicating the energy absorbed in carrying out the test in joules (J).

When the heavy pendulum, released from a known height, strikes and breaks the sample before it
continues its upward swing. From knowledge of the mass of the pendulum and the difference
between the initial and final heights, the energy absorbed in fracture can be calculated, the
schematic drawing of the impact test machine is shown in figure 8.15.

Figure 8.14 Typical impact testing machine.

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 Figure 8.15 Schematic drawing of standard impact-testing apparatus.

Figure 8.16 shows how a piece of high carbon steel rod will bend when in the annealed
condition, after hardening and lightly tempering, the same piece of steel will fracture when hit
with a different hammer.

Figure 8.16 Impact loading: (a) a rod of high-carbon (1.0%) steel in the annealed (soft)
condition will bend struck with a hammer (UTS 925 MPa); (b) after hardening and lightly
tempering, the same piece steel will fracture when hit with a hammer despite its UTS having
increased to 1285 MPa.

There are several types of the impact tests and the most famous type is the Izod test.

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In the Izod test, a 10mm square, notched specimen is used, it is preferred to use a specimen that
have a more than one or two and even three notched in the same specimen. The striker of the
pendulum hits the specimen with a kinetic energy of 162.72 J at a velocity of 3.8m/s. Figure 8.17
shows details of the specimen and the manner in which it is supported.

Figure 8.17 Izod test (all dimensions in millimeters); (a) detail of notch; (b) section of test piece
(at notch); (c) position of strike.

Since test use a notched specimen, useful information can be obtained regarding the resistance of
the material to the spread of a crack which may originate from a point of stress concentration
such as sharp corners, undercuts, sudden changes in section, and machining marks in stressed
components. Such points of stress concentration should be eliminated during design and
manufacture.

A second type of impact test is the Charpy test. While in the Izod test the specimen is supported
as a cantilever, but in the Charpy test it is supported as a beam. It is struck with a kinetic energy
of 298.3 J at a velocity of 5m/s. The Charpy impact test is usually use for testing the toughness
of polymers. Figure 8.18 shows details of the Charpy test: manner in which it is supported.

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 Figure 8.18 Charpy test (all dimensions in millimeters).

The effects of temperature on material toughness

The temperature of the specimen at the time of making the test also has an important influence
on the test results. Figure 8.19 shows the embrittlement of low-carbon steels at refrigerated
temperatures, and hence their unsuitability for use in refrigeration plant and space vehicles.

Figure 8.19 Effect of test temperatures on toughness.

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The impact test is also useful as a production tool in comparing manufactured materials with
others which have proved satisfactory in service. Steels, like most other BCC metals and alloys,
absorb more energy when they fracture in a ductile fashion rather than in a brittle fashion. On
this account the impact test is often used to assess the temperature of the transition from the
ductile to brittle state, which occurs as the temperature is lowered. The transition temperature is
also dependent on the shape of the notch in the specimen. For identical materials, the sharper the
notch, the higher the apparent transition temperature. The results of impact tests for several
materials are shown in figure 8.20.

Figure 8.20 Impact test results for several alloys over a range of testing temperatures.

8.6 Creep test

Even at constant stress, materials continue to deform for indefinite period of time. This time –
dependent deformation is called creep. At temperatures less than 40 percent of the absolute
melting point, the extent of creep is negligible, but at temperatures higher than this it becomes
increasingly important. It is for this reason that the creep test is commonly thought of as a high-
temperature test.

The majority of creep testing is conducted in the tensile mode, and the type of test-piece used is
similar to the normal tensile test-piece. Most creep testing is carried out under constant-load
conditions and utilizes dead weights acting through a simple lever system. In the creep testing an

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extension-meter readings are noted at regular time intervals until the required amount of data has
been obtained, or until the test-piece fractures, depending on whether the object of the test is to
determine the creep rate or to determine the total creep strain.

One of the difficulties in creep testing is that a single test may take a very long time to complete
(10000 hours ≈ 417 days), and there are serious difficulties in attempting to extrapolate from the
results of comparatively short-term tests to assess the probable behavior of a material over a 10
or 20 year period of service.

Modern creep-testing laboratories may contain several hundred creep-testing machines in

continuous use.

Also creep is sensitive to both the applied load and the testing temperature, as shown in figure
8.21: increasing stress raises the level of the creep, and increasing temperature also increases the
creep rate.

Figure 8.21 The effects of stress and temperature on creep behavior.

8.7 Hardness testing

Hardness is defined as the resistance of a material to indentation or abrasion by another hard
body (good hardness generally means that the material is resistant to scratching and wear). It is
by indentation that most hardness tests are performed. A hard indenter is pressed into the
specimen by a standard load, and the magnitude of the indentation (either area or depth) is taken
as a measure of hardness.

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Hardness tests are commonly used for assessing material properties because they are quick and
convenient. However, testing methods vary due to differences in hardness among different
materials. The most well known hardness tests are Brinell and Rockwell.

8.7.1 The Brinell hardness test

In this test, hardness is measured by pressing a hard steel ball into the surface of the test piece,
using a known load. It is important to choose the combination of load and ball size carefully so
that the indentation is free from distortion and suitable for measurement. The relationship of the
Brinell hardness [HB] which is between load P (kg), the diameter D (mm) of the hardened ball
indenter and the diameter d (mm) of the indentation on the surface is given by the expression:

Figure 8.22 shows how the Brinell hardness value is determined. The diameter of the indentation
is measured in two directions at right angles and the average taken. The diameter is measured
either by using a microscope scale, or by a projection screen with micrometer adjustment.

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 Figure 8.23 Principle of the Brinell hardness test.

To ensure consistent results, the following precautions should be observed.

(a) The thickness of the specimen should be at least seven times the depth of the indentation
to allow unrestricted plastic flow below the indenter.
(b) The edge of the indentation should be at least three times the diameter of the indentation
from the edge of the test piece.
(c) The test is unsuitable for materials whose hardness exceeds 500 HB, as the ball indenter
tends to flatten.
8.7.2 The Vickers hardness test
This test is preferable to the Brinell test where hard materials are concerned, as it uses a diamond
indenter. (Diamond is the hardest material known - approximately 6000 HB.) The diamond
indenter is in the form of a square-based pyramid with an angle of 136˚ between opposite faces.
Since only one type of indenter is used the load has to be varied for different hardness ranges.
Standard loads are 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 kg. It is necessary to state the load when specifying
a Vickers hardness number. For example, if the hardness number is found to be 200 when using
a 50 kg load, then the hardness number is written as HV (50) = 200.

Figure 8.24 shows the measuring screen for determining the distance across the corners of the
indentation. The screen can be rotated so that two readings at right angles can be taken and the

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average is used to determine the hardness number (HD). This is calculated by dividing the load
by the projected area of the indentation:

where P is the load in Kg and d (mm) is the diagonal of the impression made by the indenter
made by the diamond.

Figure 8.24 The Vickers hardness test method: (a) universal hardness-testing machine; (b)
measuring screen showing magnified of Vickers impression.

8.7.3. The Rockwell hardness test

Although not as reliable as the Brinell and Vickers hardness tests for laboratory purposes, the
Rockwell test is widely used in industry as it is quick, simple and direct reading. Universal
electronic hardness testing machines are now widely used, which at the turn of a switch, can

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provide either Brinell, Vickers or Rockwell tests and shows the hardness number as a digital
read-out automatically. They also give a "hard copy' printout of the test result together with the
test conditions and date.

In principle the Rockwell hardness test compares the difference in depth of penetration of the
indenter when using forces of two different values. That is, a minor force is first applied (to take
up the backlash and pierce the skin of the component) and the scale is set to read zero. Then a
major force is applied over and above the minor force and the increased depth of penetration is
shown on the scales of the machine as a direct reading of hardness without the need for
calculation or conversion tables. Figure 8.25 shows a typical Rockwell hardness testing machine.
The standard Rockwell test cannot be used for very thin sheet and foils and for these the
Rockwell superficial hardness test is used.

Figure 8.25 The Rockwell hardness test.

8.7.4. Shore Scleroscope

The scleroscope is not like other types of hardness tests, based on the measure of the ratio of
applied load divided by the resulting impression [like Brinell and Vicker well] or by the depth of
impression [ like Rock well].

The scleroscope is an instrument that measures the rebound height of a hammer dropped from a
certain distance above the surface of the material to be tested. The hammer consists of a weight
with diamond indenter attached to it. The scleroscope therefore measures the mechanical energy
absorbed by the material when the indenters strikes the surface. The energy absorbed gives an

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indication of resistance to penetration, which matches our definition of hardness. As shown in
figure 8.26.

The primary use of the scleroscope seems to be in measuring the hardness of large parts of steel,
large rolls, casting and gears. And since the scleroscope can be carried to the work piece, it is
useful for testing large surfaces and other components which could not easily be placed on the
testing tables of any other testing machines.

Figure 8.26 Shore scleroscope.

8.7.5 Micro-hardness Test (Knoop Hardness Test)

The term micro-hardness test usually refers to static indentations made with loads not exceeding
1 kgf. The indenter is either the Vickers diamond pyramid or the Knoop elongated diamond
pyramid. The procedure for testing is very similar to that of the standard Vickers hardness test,
except that it is done on a microscopic scale with higher precision instruments. The surface being
tested generally requires a metallographic finish; the smaller the load used, the higher the surface
finish required. Precision microscopes are used to measure the indentations; these usually have a
magnification of around X500 and measure to an accuracy of +0.5 micrometres. Also with the
same observer differences of +0.2 micrometres can usually be resolved. It should, however, be
added that considerable care and experience are necessary to obtain this accuracy.

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Figure 8.27 The Knoop hardness number KHN is the ratio of the load applied to the indenter, P
(kgf) to the unrecovered projected area A (mm2)

KHN = F/A = P/CL2

Where:
F = applied load in kgf
A = the unrecovered projected area of the indentation in mm2

L = measured length of long diagonal of indentation in mm

C = 0.07028 = Constant of indenter relating projected area of the indentation to the square of the
length of the long diagonal.
8.7.6 The Durometer
The Durometer is a popular instrument for measuring the indentation hardness of rubber and
rubber-like materials. The most popular testers are the Model A used for measuring softer
materials and the Model D for harder materials. The operation of the tester is quite simple. The
material is subjected to a definite pressure applied by a calibrated spring to an indenter that is
either a cone or sphere and an indicating device measures the depth of indentation.

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