FWB 24303

FUNDAMENTAL
METALLURGY
LABORATORY MANUAL

Fabrication and Joining Section

Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia France Institute
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LAB SHEET 1: TENSILE TEST

COURSE/CLASS : FUNDAMENTAL METALLURGY

Semester 4
SESSION : SEMESTER : Year 2

CODE/SUBJECT : SHEET NO : 1
NO OF STUDENTS : WEEK :

DURATION : VENUE :
LECTURER :

TOPIC : TENSILE TEST

1) To develop an understanding of stress-strain curve.

OBJECTIVES : 2) To evaluate the mechanical (tensile) properties of

selected metallic materials using the tensile test method
(i.e. how the material reacts when pulled apart).

Tensile testis the one of the most widely used mechanical test.
Various properties of materials that can be determine by tensile
INTRODUCTION test are yield stress, upper and lower yield points, tensile strength,
elongation, and reduction in area.

Tensile tests are carried out on specimens of standard size and

shape. This is to ensure repeatability from test to test and to allow
for comparisons to be made between different materials. The
specimen shape is normally dog-bone shaped as can be seen in
figure 1. The large ends of the specimen allow the specimen to be
rigidly gripped or held so that the gripping will not damage the
gauge length. The gauge length of the specimen is an important
dimension because it is used to calculate the engineering strain on
the specimen. The gauge length of standard specimens normally
ranges from 25mm up to 75mm.

THEORY

Figure 1. Example of a tensile test specimen (Refer ASTM E8

standard)

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In the context of a materials tensile test:

 Engineering Stress = , Unit = (N/mm2 or

Pascal)

 Engineering Strain =

Stress and strain are used to describe the effects of an increasing

tensile force on a material during a tensile lest. Stress relates the
force on a specimen to the cross-sectional area of that specimen.
From the formula for stress above we can see that if the area is
reduced the stress increases, or if the force goes up the stress
increases. Strain relates the elongation of a specimen to the
original gauge length of the specimen.

Figure 2: Typical engineering stress-strain behaviour to fracture.

At the beginning of the test, the force increases rapidly and

proportionately to strain: the stress-strain curve obeys Hooke’
law.

N
  E or Pa
m 2 

The proportionality constant ( the slope of the curve) is called the

elastic modulus or Young’s modulus, E.
N
E or Pa
 m 2 

Percent elongation is determined by setting a gauge length on a

specimen prior to loading and after tensile failure measuring the
final distance of these gauge marks.

Percent area reduction is calculated by putting the two ends of

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the fractured specimen together and measuring the diameter at
the break. Calculate the area at the break at this point of fracture.
The final area is then compared with the original area of the
specimen.

Reduction in area (%) = 100 x (Ao –A)/Ao

Figure 3: Metal rod in tension

1. Universal Testing Machine

2. Vernier caliper
3. Metal samples to be tested are as follows:
a. Brass
TOOLS /
b. Carbon Steel
EQUIPMENTS /
c. Mild Steel
MATERIALS :
d. Aluminum
e. Stainless Steel SS 316
f. Stainless Steel SS 304

1) In the lab, you will be testing two types of materials.

2) For each specimen, measure the width, wo, and the
thickness, to, using a calliper.
3) Draw with a permanent marker, two lines on the straight
section of the specimen so that the lines are two inches
apart. This will be the gage length, Lo
4) The testing machine has already been set up and calibrated
by the lab assistant.
5) Input all data into computer program.
6) Put the specimen in the top grip and tighten it in place.
7) Put the specimen in the bottom grip and tighten it in place.
PROCEDURES
Be careful not to bend the specimen while tightening.
8) The crosshead speed will be given to you by assistant. Be
sure to record it.
9) Start the test by pressing the ‘run’ button.
10) After the specimen has broken, press the stop button.
Then, remove the two halves of the specimen.
11) Measure the final width of the specimen, wf using caliper.
12) Measure the final thickness of the specimen, tf using
caliper. The final thickness is the minimum thickness,
which also occurs at the neck. This thickness is difficult to
measure accurately. You may want to ask the lab assistant

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to help you to measure this.
13) Put the two halves of the broken specimen together and
measure the distance between the lines that you scratched
on the specimen. This distance is the final length, Lf.
14) Take photos of neck and fracture region.
15) Print graph stress vs. strain and make photocopies.

RESULTS/DISCUSSION :

1. Record the data in the table below:

Tensile Specimen #1 (Material........................................ )

Before the test After the test

Initial thickness (mm) Final thickness (mm)

Initial Width (mm) Final Width (mm)

Initial Area (mm2) Final Area (mm 2)

Initial Gauge Length (mm) Final Gauge Length (mm)

Tensile Specimen #2 (Material........................................ )

Before the test After the test

Initial thickness (mm) Final thickness (mm)

Initial Width (mm) Final Width (mm)

Initial Area (mm2) Final Area (mm 2)

Initial Gauge Length (mm) Final Gauge Length (mm)

2. From the stress vs. strain curve determine:

a) Elastic region and plastic region
b) Maximum load
c) Tensile strength
d) Yield load by 0.2% offset
e) Yield strength by 0.2% offset
f) Young’s modulus
g) Elongation (%)
h) Reduction area (%)

3. Discuss on the mechanical properties of the tested specimens.

4. Compare and comment on the values of the above quantities between the different
samples.

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CONCLUSION :

1. Give an overall conclusion based on the obtained experimental results.

REFERENCE :

a) D.R. Askeland, The Science and Engineering of Materials, PWS Engineering,

1984,pp151-162, 194-197, 245-252, 258-259.
b) G.E. Dieter, Mechanical Metallurgy, McGraw-Hill 1961, pp. 237-248, 132-137.
c) L.H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, Addison-
Wesley, 1985,pp. 377-394.
d) L.H. Van Vlack and C.J. Osborn, Study Aids for Introductory Materials Courses,
Addison-Wesley, 1977, Chaps. 10& 11.
e) Callister, W. D. “Material Science & Engineering”, John Wiley, 6th Edition, (2003),
pages 63-64

Checked by :

Signature :

Name :
Designation :
Date :

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LAB SHEET 2: HARDNESS TEST

COURSE/CLASS : FUNDAMENTAL METALLURGY

Semester 4
SESSION : SEMESTER : Year 2

CODE/SUBJECT : SHEET NO : 2
NO OF STUDENTS : WEEK :

DURATION : VENUE :

LECTURER :

TOPIC : HARDNESS TEST

SUB-TOPIC : Rockwell and Vickers hardness tests.

1. To learn about principles and different methods of hardness
measurement.
2. To learn about the correlations among different types of
OBJECTIVES : hardness measurement and correlations of hardness with
tensile strength.
3. To acquire experience of using various types of hardness
testers.

Hardness is the resistance of a material to localized deformation.

Hardness measurements are widely used for the quality control of
materials because they are quick and considered to be non
destructive tests when the marks or indentations produced by the
test are in low stress areas.
INTRODUCTION
The manual contains some fundamental theory for understanding
the experiment, description of the apparatus and experimental
procedure for hardness.

General

Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a metal to permanent

(plastic) deformation. The hardness of the metal is measured by
loading an indenter into its surface. The indenter material which is
usually a ball, pyramid, or cone, is made of a material much harder
than the material being tested. For most standard hardness test a
known load is applied slowly by pressing the indenter at 90
THEORY degrees into the metal surface being tested. After the indentation
has been made, the indenter is withdrawn from the surface. An
empirical hardness is then calculated or read off a dial (or digital
display). This is based on the cross-sectional area of depth of the
indentation.

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Vickers Microhardness

The term microhardness is generally referring to the size of

indentation. In the test, a minute indenter and small constant loads
(not more than 1000 g) are usually employed.

The Vickers test involves a diamond indenter, in the form of a

square-based pyramid with an apex angle of 136oC, being
pressed under load for 10 to 15 seconds into the surface of the
specimen under test. The result is a square-shaped indentation.
After the load and indenter are removed the diagonals of the
indentation d (mm) are measured. The Vickers hardnes number
(VHN or VH) is obtained by dividing the size of the load F (kgf), is
applied by the surface area, A (mm2), of the indentation (Fig. 1).
Thus, the VHN or HV is given by

F F 2
VHN    1.854F / d
d 2
/ sin 68 o
 d 2
/1.854

Typically, a load of 30kg is used for steels and cast iron, 10kg for
copper alloys, 5 kg for pure copper and aluminum alloys, 2.5 kg for
pure aluminum and 1 kg for lead, tin, and tin alloys. Up to a
hardness value of about 300 HV, the hardness value number given
by the Vickers test is the same as that given by the Brinell test.

Fig.1: Vickers hardness test

Rockwell Hardness Test

The Rockwell test differs from the Brinell and Vickers test in not
obtaining a value for the hardness in terms of an indentation but
using the depth of indentation, this depth being directly indicated
by a pointer on a calibrated scale. The tests use either a diamond
cone or a hardened steel ball as the indenter.

The procedure for applying load to specimen is illustrated in Fig.

2. A minor load of 10 kg is applied to press the indenter into contact
with the surface. A major (additional) load is then applied and
causes the indenter to penetrate into the specimen. The major load
is then removed and there is some reduction in depth of the
indenter due to the deformation of the specimen not being entirely
plastic. The difference in the final depth of the indenter
and the initial depth, before the major load was applied, is

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determined. This is the permanent increase in penetration e due
to the major load. The Rockwell Hardness number (HR) is then
given by:

HR = E-e

Where E is arbitrary constant which is dependent on the type of

indenter. For the diamond cone indenter E is 100, for the steel ball
130. There are a number of Rockwell scales (Table 1), the scales
being determined by the indenter and the major load used. A
variation of the Rockwell test has to be used for thin sheet, this test
being referred to as the Rockwell Superficial Hardness Test.
Similar loads are used and the depth of indentation which is
correspondingly smaller is measured with a more sensitive device.
The number of Rockwell Superficial scales also is given in Table
1.

Fig. 2: Rockwell principle

Table 1: Rockwell Hardness Scales

Minor Load Major Load Total Load
Value of
Scale Indenter F0 F1 F
E
kgf kgf kgf

A Diamond cone 10 50 60 100

B 1/16" steel ball 10 90 100 130
C Diamond cone 10 140 150 100
D Diamond cone 10 90 100 100
E 1/8" steel ball 10 90 100 130
F 1/16" steel ball 10 50 60 130
G 1/16" steel ball 10 140 150 130
H 1/8" steel ball 10 50 60 130
K 1/8" steel ball 10 140 150 130
L 1/4" steel ball 10 50 60 130
M 1/4" steel ball 10 90 100 130
P 1/4" steel ball 10 140 150 130
R 1/2" steel ball 10 50 60 130
S 1/2" steel ball 10 90 100 130
V 1/2" steel ball 10 140 150 130

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TOOLS /
1. Rockwell and Vickers hardness tester
EQUIPMENTS /
2. Mild steel, aluminum and etc.
MATERIALS :
1. Polish the surface of specimens and make sure it is flat and
smooth.
2. Put specimen on the anvil of hardness test machine.
3. Choose and setting the suitable load.
4. Select the location of the test.
5. Push button load.
PROCEDURES 6. Measure the diagonal length.
7. Repeat the test at different location till 3 times.

*Note: If software program is needed, it will be set up by lecturer

or Technical assistance (TA).

RESULTS/DISCUSSION :

1. Complete the following data tables.

2. Vickers micro hardness machine, using a 100gf indenter force.

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Vickers Microhardness Results

Material Diagonal Diagonal Vickers Hardness Average
Length 1 length 2 (VHN) Hardness
(mm) (mm)

3. Rockwell hardness test

Material Indenter Rockwell Hardness Average Hardness

force/kgf

4. Discuss on the obtained results for each tested specimens.

5. Give a critical discussion on why hardness test needs to perform in engineering
practice.

CONCLUSION :

1. Give an overall conclusion based on the obtained experimental results.

REFERENCE :

a) ASM Metal’s Handbook

b) Mechancial Testing of Materials, A.J. Fenner, Philosophical Library Inc., 1965.
c) Pollack, H. W., Materials Science and Metallurgy, Reston Pub. Co., Reston:1981.
d) Van Vlack, L.H., Materials Science for Engineers, Addison Wesly Pub. Co.,
Mass: 1970.
e) Standards:
 Conversion : ASTM E 140: 1956
 Brinell : DIN 50351, ASTM E 10-73, BS 240: Parti: 1961, TS 189.
 Vickers : DIN 50133, ASTM E 92-72, BS 427 : Part 1: 1961, TS 207
 Rockwell : DIN 50103, ASTM E 18-74, BS 4175: Part 1: 1967, TS 140.

Checked by :

Signature :

Name :
Designation :
Date :

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LAB SHEET 3: HEAT TREATMENT

COURSE/CLASS : FUNDAMENTAL METALLURGY

Semester 4
SESSION : SEMESTER : Year 2

CODE/SUBJECT : SHEET NO :

NO OF STUDENTS : WEEK :

DURATION : VENUE :
LECTURER :

TOPIC : HEAT TREATMENT

SUB-TOPIC: Normalizing, Quenching and Tempering
1. To study the effect of heat treatment on mechanical
OBJECTIVES :
properties of metals.

In general, heat treatment can be defined as an operation, or the

combination of operations that involve heating and cooling of a
metal in solid phase to obtain certain required properties.
The ferrous materials can be heated to above transformation
temperature and can be heat - treated to obtain different structure.
The different heat treatment processes are based on heating the
material to certain temperature and employing different cooling
rates. In this process, heating temperature and rate of cooling
adopted plays an important role.

The different processes are:

Annealing
Stress-relief annealing.
Process annealing.
Spheroidising.
INTRODUCTION Full annealing.
Normalizing
Hardening
Tempering

Annealing:
Annealing primarily is the process of heating a metal which is in a
metastable or distorted structural state, to a temperature which will
remove the instability or distortion and then cooling it to the room
temperature so that the structure is stable and/or strain free.
The material is then allowed to cool very slowly so that the equilibrium
microstructure is obtained. In most cases this means the material is
allowed to furnace cool (the furnace is turned off and the steel is let
cool down inside) but in some cases it is air cooled.

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Purpose of Annealing:
o Removal of residual stress.
o Refining and homogenizing the structure and to give a coarse
o pearlite structure.
o Improving machinability.
o Improving cold working characteristics for facilitating further cold
work.
o Producing desired microstructure.
o Removing residual stresses.
o Improving mechanical, physical, electrical and magnetic properties.
o Reducing hardness.

Normalizing:
Normalizing is the process of raising the temperature to over 60ºC
which is above A3 line or ACM line fully into the Austenite range.

It is held at this temperature to fully convert the structure into

Austenite, and then removed from the furnace and cooled at room
temperature under natural convection.

Purpose of Normalizing:
o Refining the grain structure and giving a fine pearlite structure.
o Producing a uniform structure.
o Achieving the required strength and ductility in a steel that is too
soft and ductile for machining.
o Improving structures in welds.
o In general, improving engineering properties of steels.

Hardening: (By Quenching)

Hardening is performed on metals to obtain desired hardness and
structure. It involves:
Heating the metal above transformation temperature,
around 900°C
Holding at that temperature for 15 to 30 minutes per 25mm
of cross-section.
Quenching it immediately in a suitable cold medium (brine
solution, Water, oil etc.)
Hardness obtained will depend upon the Composition of
the material, nature and properties of quenching medium
and quenching temperature.

Properties obtained by hardening are:

o Desired hardness can be obtained.
o Strength of material is increased.
o Wear resistance is increased.
o Martensite structure is obtained.

Tempering:
Hardening of metal produces Martensite structure with some
retained austenite. The martensite structure makes the metal very
hard and brittle. The retained austenite is unstable and it
will change with time. This transformation of retained austenite
even at room temperature leads to distortion of metal. Due to

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these factors the hardened metal cannot be used as it is. Hence
tempering is carried out on the metals.

Tempering treatment involves:

Heating the metal just above Martensite structure
temperature (50 0C),
Holding it at that temperature for some time and then
cooling either rapidly or slowly. The purpose of tempering
is to remove brittleness and improve ductility in the
material.

The Properties obtained after Tempering are:

o Improvement in ductility and toughness.
o Slight reduction in hardness.
o Increase in tensile strength.
o Reduction in internal stress.

1. Furnace
TOOLS /
2. Rockwell Hardness
EQUIPMENTS /
3. Materials : mild steel
MATERIALS :
1. Cut four (6) specimens of mild steel for your study.
2. Measure the hardness of all specimens using the Rockwell B
scale.
3. Heat all specimens in one furnace at 870 + 15ºC for 30
minutes.
4. Remove two (3) specimens from the furnace and cool it in air
on a brick.
5. Turn off the furnace with the two (3) remaining specimens.
Allow the samples to remain in the furnace for one hour.
6. The air-cooled and furnace-cooled specimens can be cooled
in water after one hour.
7. Remove one of the air-cooled and furnace-cooled specimens
and quickly drop them into ambient temperature of water; the
transfer should take less than one second.
8. Be careful not to touch the specimens before they are cooled
in water.
PROCEDURES
9. Measure Rockwell hardness of the quenched specimens
before the next step.
10. Temper 1 each of the quenched specimens for 30 minutes at
315ºC.
11. After tempering, the specimens can be cooled in water.
12. Measure hardness of all 6 samples using the Rockwell A, B
or C scales.

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RESULTS/DISCUSSION :

1. Record the hardness value in the table below:

Specimen Indenter Rockwell Hardness Average Hardness

force/kgf
Air-Cooled

Furnace-Cooled

Air-Cooled + Water
Quenched

Furnace-Cooled +
Water Quenched

Air-Cooled + Water
Quenched +
Tempered
Furnace-Cooled +
Water Quenched +
Tempered

2. Discuss the effect of different heat treatment on the hardness value of materials.

CONCLUSION :

1. Give an overall conclusion based on the obtained experimental results.

REFERENCE :

1. D. Callister Jr, Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering, J. Wiley &

Sons, NY, 3rd Ed. 2008,
2. Flinn and Trojan, Engineering Materials and Their Applications, Chapter 6 Deiter,
Mechanical Metallurgy
3. ASM Handbook on Heat Treatment, Vol. 2

Checked by :

Signature :

Name :
Designation :
Date :

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LAB SHEET 4: MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION

COURSE/CLASS : FUNDAMENTAL METALLURGY

Semester 4
SESSION : SEMESTER : Year 2

CODE/SUBJECT : SHEET NO :

NO OF STUDENTS : WEEK :

DURATION : VENUE :
LECTURER :

TOPIC : MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION

OBJECTIVES : To study the microscopic structures of metals.

The properties of metals highly depend on their structures. The

internal structures determine how the materials perform under a
given applications. The effects of most industrial processes
applied to metals to control their properties can be explained by
studying their microstructures. The branch of materials science
dealing with microscopic examination of metals is called
metallography.

The most common method used to examine the structures of

materials is optical technique. A specimen about 20 mm on an
edge is cut from the metal to be examined. In some cases where
the subject is small or unhandy like razor blade, it is embedded in
a plastic case. A mirror polish is produced on one face of the
specimen by grinding on successively fine emery (sand) papers
and polishing on revolving cloth wheels with fine abrasives such
as diamond or alumina powder. To reveal the structural details
such as grain boundaries, phases and inclusions this polished
INTRODUCTION
surface is etched with chemical solutions. The etchant attacks
various parts of the specimen at different rates and reveals the
structure. A metallographic microscope is used to examine the
microstructure.

In order to examine a metal microscopically, a small specimen

must be cut and a plane surface free from any irregularities must
be prepared by grinding, which is performed by starting with emery
paper no. 1 and going on successively finer grades such as 240,
320, 400, 600 and 800. It is important that the specimen must be
cleaned during transfer to successively finer abrasive papers to
prevent carry-over of coarse abrasive particles. The removal of
striations from coarser abrasive is achieved more readily if the
specimen is rotated 90o during transfer. Washing the specimen
prior to polishing also contributes to successful
preparation. Final removal of irregularities is accomplished by
polishing the specimen on a rotating cloth which is covered with

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extremely fine abrasive usually applied as a liquid suspension
(Al2O3- water) until mirror-like surface is obtained. At this stage
microscopic examination will reveal the presence of any cracks,
seams, non-metallic inclusions and similar scale inhomogenities.

In order to reveal the crystalline structure of the specimen, the

polished surface is etched by a proper etchant. For steels Nital (3%
HN03 – ethyl alcohol) is used. This step is represented by
differential chemical attack depending upon chemical
compositions, energy content, and grain orientation. Thus, the
grain boundaries are attacked at a greater rate than the proper
grain due to higher energy content of the grain boundaries. In
addition, the presence of chemically different phases results in
variations in the rate of chemical attack. These changes in the rate
of chemical attack produce deviations both in angle and depth of
certain portions of the surface. Thus, the light is reflected in
varying amounts depending on the angle and depressions of the
portion of the surfaces resulting in light and dark regions. In this
manner the crystalline microstructure of the specimens are
revealed.

1. Microscope
TOOLS /
2. Etching solution
EQUIPMENTS /
3. Material : mild steel
MATERIALS :
1. Cut the specimen to 50 mm length.
2. Prepare the cold resin.
3. Put the specimen into the mould. Refer Figure 1.
4. Pour the resin into mould.
5. Wait till it is cool and remove the specimen.
6. Polish the surface of metal specimen till 1m grade.
7. Etching by dripping the etcher or dipping the specimen into
etcher.
8. Wash the specimen by using water and follow by ethanol.
9. Observe your specimen microstructure under the optical
microscope.

PROCEDURES

Fig. 1: Specimen placement in the mould

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RESULTS/DISCUSSION :

1. Label the particular microstructure you have observed in the lab and explain.
2. Explain the effect of the microstructure that you have labeled on mechanical
properties of material.

CONCLUSION :

1. Give an overall conclusion based on the obtained experimental results.

REFERENCE :

1) D.R. Askeland, The Science and Engineering of Materials, PWS Engineering,

1984.
2) L.H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, Addison-
Wesley, 1985.
3) L.H. Van Vlack and C.J. Osborn, Study Aids for Introductory Materials Courses,
Addison-Wesley, 1977.
4) Philip, M. and Bolton, B. Technology of Engineering Materials. Butterworth-
Heinemann, 2002.
5) Callister, W.D. Materials Science and Engineering. An Introduction. Sixth Edition.
John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2002.

Checked by :

Signature :

Name :
Designation :
Date :

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