MECH 331 Lab 1: Bonding, Modulus, and Tensile Testing

Background:
The elastic modulus of a material is an inherent, and largely unmodifiable, material property that is
directly related to the springy-ness of atomic bonds. Atomic bond energy may be determined by
integrating the force-distance curves of bonding, much like the storage of potential energy in a spring.
We will evaluate stiffness using compression/tension testing of springs along with tensile testing of
various alloys. Each group will be responsible for testing all the available materials.

Objectives:
1. To understand the force and energy relationships in atomic bonding of alloys.
2. To determine modulus data from tension testing with extensometers.
3. To compare known moduli of the given alloys with measured properties.

Experiments:
All experiments in this lab will be performed using the Mark-10 tensile testing systems. The 1st section
of the lab will measure compression and tension forces as functions of displacement on coil springs of
known spring rate. Determination of the potential energy storage will be performed in the lab session
as well. The 2nd session of the lab will involve tensile testing of several alloys to determine Elastic
Modulus.
1st Session Procedure:
1. Put on safety glasses.
2. The specimens (200 lb/in springs) are already loaded appropriately. Inspect for appropriate
fixation.
3. Turn on the Mark-10 controls if they are not on already. You will zero the load readout, but do
not use the zero function on the load cell. The spring you are testing is rigidly affixed at both
ends, so you will manually zero your load for this experiment by adjusting the position of the
lower platform.
4. Open the LabView VI for testing/recording
a. Follow TA directions precisely. The VI will not correctly save your data if an appropriate
file directory is not entered prior to hitting runDo not save any data directly to the
network drive. Network interruptions will crash your VI and ruin your data collection.

b. With a filename assigned, run the VI

5. With the VI running, use the zero force, zero displacement, and clear force- disp charts
commands to set all VI readouts to zero and reset the real time display.

6. When your group is ready to proceed, hit record data to begin data collection.

7. Steadily crank the wheel to compress the spring up to 100lbf.

8. Reverse the direction of cranking and extend the spring up to 100lbf in tension.
9. Stop data collection and save with the lower right stop command.

10. Stop the operation of the VI.

11. Verify that your data was correctly saved.

12. Repeat the test 4x to establish repeatability.

2nd Session Procedure:

1. Put on safety glasses.
2. Measure and record gage thickness, width, and length of a tensile specimen.
3. Load specimen into the grip connected to the load cell, making sure to square its long axis with
the grip. When closed, the jaws should cover as much of the wider tab region of the dogbone as
possible without covering the shoulder.
4. Extend lower grip up to sample and clamp the tensile tab in the grip.
5. Mount the extensometer to the specimen. Be extraordinarily careful with these as they are
quite expensive and somewhat fragile. It is important to locate the extensometer fully within
the gage region of the sample. Most likely you will use rubber bands to hold each knife-edge in
place on the specimen.
6. Rezero the Mark-10 readouts (use the load cell zero function). Be sure that your specimen is
firmly gripped, and that it is at no time placed in compression.
7. Open the LabView VI for testing/recording
a. Follow all VI setup steps before hitting run to avoid damaging extensometers
b. Check that you have correctly entered a value into the gage length field of the VI.
This value is used to interpret extensometer data. Measure the distance between
the knife edges of your extensometer attached to the specimen and enter this
value, in millimeters.

c. Check your file path for saving test data. Be sure you are not saving to a network
drive, and that you will be able to find and distinguish your (clearly labeled) files.

d. Verify with your TA, then hit run to turn on your VI

8. With the VI running, use the zero force, zero displacement, and clear force- disp charts
commands to set all VI readouts to zero and reset the real time display.

9. With both the VI and the load cell reading zero force, and when your lab group is ready to
proceed, hit record data to begin data collection and slowly turn the hand crank to apply
tension to the specimen.

10. If the extensometer was correctly set up and gage length was correctly input, the VI will be
accurately calculating a real time strain

When this reaches a critical value your VI will alert you with a blinking alarm light. Stop turning

the hand crank and use the red stop command in the bottom right of your VI to cease data
collection and save your experiment to the previously selected directory.

11. Stop the operation of the VI entirely with the upper left stop sign found in the command bar.
12. Repeat Steps 2-11 for each specimen.

Analysis:
Address the following in your report regarding Part 1 data:
1. Plot the load-displacement curves and perform a best fit analysis for each of the Part 1 spring
trials. Report your calculated spring constant.
2. Generate plots of stored elastic energy vs displacement by integrating your force-displacement
data. Explain your method. Perform best fit analysis. Does this match the answer you would
expect to find analytically?
Address the following in your report regarding Part 2 data:
1. Plot stress-strain curves (not force-disp) for all of your trials using displacement data from the
extensometer. Use this data to report the elastic modulus of each specimen. Report the percent
error between your measured modulus and an existing published value for the same material.
Provide citation for the published value you use.
2. Repeat the above question, but use your crosshead displacement data instead of the
extensometer to build stress strain curves. Report this second set of elastic moduli and their
respective errors from published values. Why is there a discrepancy between your calculations
relying on crosshead displacement vs those relying on extensometer displacement? Which is
more accurate?
3. List, highest to lowest, the alloy melting temperatures and elastic moduli. How is this related to
atomic bonding?