MATERIAL TESTING

1. Tension testing

Also known as tensile test, it is probably the most fundamental type of

mechanical test you can perform on material. Tensile tests are simple, relatively
inexpensive, and fully standardized. By pulling on something, you will very quickly
determine how the material will react to forces being applied in tension. As the material
is being pulled, you will find its strength along with how much it will elongate.

2. Compression testing

A compression test is any test in which a material experiences opposing forces that
push inward upon the specimen from opposite sides or is otherwise compressed,
squashed, crushed, or flattened. The test sample is generally placed in between two
plates that distribute the applied load across the entire surface area of two opposite
faces of the test sample and then the plates are pushed together by a universal testing
machine causing the sample to flatten. A compressed sample is usually shortened in
the direction of the applied forces and expands in the direction perpendicular to the
force. A compression test is essentially the opposite of the common tension test.

─ COMPRESSION TESTING RESULTS:

o Compression strength
o Yield strength
o Ultimate strength
o Elastic limit
o Elastic modulus
o Stiffness
o Stress
o Strain

─ PURPOSE OF COMPRESSION TEST:

 The goal of a compression test is to determine the behavior or response of a
material while it experiences a compressive load by measuring fundamental variables
such as strain, stress, and deformation. By testing a material in compression the
compressive strength, yield strength, ultimate strength, elastic limit, and the elastic
modulus among other properties may all be determined. With the understanding of
these different parameters and the values associated with a specific material it may be
determined whether or not the material is suited for specific applications or if it will fail
under the specified stress.

3. Coefficient of thermal Expansion

Coefficient of thermal expansion is the measure of the change in length of a

material in response to a change in temperature. Within a small temperature changes,
the change in the length of a material is proportional to its change in temperature.
Materials expand as temperature increase and contract when decreasing
temperatures.

When a material is heated, the kinetic energy of that material increases and its
atoms and molecules move about more. This means that each atom will take up more
space due to bits movement so the material will expand. When it is cold the kinetic
energy decreases, so the atoms will take up less space and material contracts.

Some metals expand more than others due to differences in the force between
the atoms/molecules. In metals such as iron the forces between the atoms are stronger
so it is more difficult for the atoms to move around. In brass the forces are a little
weaker so the atoms are free to move around.

4. Beam Deflections

Deflection is the degree to which a structural element is displaced under a load. It

may refer to an angle or a distance.The deformation of a beam is usually expressed in
terms of its deflection from its original unloaded position. The deflection is measured
from the original neutral surface of the beam to the neutral surface of the deformed
beam. The configuration assumed by the deformed neutral surface is known as the
elastic curve of the beam. The deflection of beam depends upon its length, cross-
sectional shape, the material, where the deflecting force is applied, and how the beam
is supported. Through Beam Deflection, the bending strength and deformation of a
material is being measured.

5. Shear/Torsion Test:

Shear Test
─ Performed to determine the shear strength of a material. It measures the
maximum shear stress that may be sustained before a material will
rupture. Shear is typically reported as MPa (psi) based on the area of the
sheared edge.
─ Shear forces cause one surface of a material to move in one direction and
the other surface to move in the opposite direction so that the material is
stressed in a sliding motion.
─ Shear testing is commonly used with adhesives and can be used in either
a tensile or comprehensive method. Applied in bolts, pins and rivets

Torsion tests
─ Twist a material or test component to a specified degree, with a specified
force, or until the material fails in torsion. The twisting force of a torsion
test is applied to the test sample by anchoring one end so that it cannot
move or rotate and applying a moment to the other end so that the sample
is rotated about its axis. The rotating moment may also be applied to both
ends of the sample but the ends must be rotated in opposite directions.
─ The purpose of a torsion test is to determine the behavior a material or
test sample exhibits when twisted or under torsional forces as a result of
applied moments that cause shear stress about the axis. Measurable
 values include: the modulus of elasticity in shear, yield shear strength,
torsional fatigue life, ductility, ultimate shear strength, and modulus of
rupture in shear.

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS AND FATIGUE AND ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Impact Testing

The purpose of impact testing is to measure an object's ability to resist high-rate

loading. It is usually thought of in terms of two objects striking each other at high relative
speeds. A part, or material's ability to resist impact often is one of the determining
factors in the service life of a part, or in the suitability of a designated material for a
particular application. Impact resistance can be one of the most difficult properties to
quantify. The ability to quantify this property is a great advantage in product liability and
safety.

Destructive Testing

In destructive testing (or destructive physical analysis, DPA) tests are carried out
to the specimen's failure, in order to understand a specimen's performance or material
behaviour under different loads. These tests are generally much easier to carry out,
yield more information, and are easier to interpret than nondestructive testing.
Destructive testing is most suitable, and economic, for objects which will be mass-
produced, as the cost of destroying a small number of specimens is negligible. It is
usually not economical to do destructive testing where only one or very few items are to
be produced (for example, in the case of a building). Analyzing and documenting the
destructive failure mode is often accomplished using a high-speed camera recording
continuously (movie-loop) until the failure is detected. Detecting the failure can be
accomplished using a sound detector or stress gauge which produces a signal to trigger
the high-speed camera. These high-speed cameras have advanced recording modes to
capture almost any type of destructive failure. After the failure the high-speed camera
will stop recording. The capture images can be played back in slow motion showing
precisely what happen before, during and after the destructive event, image by image

Some types of destructive testing:

 Stress tests
 Crash tests
 Hardness tests
 Metallographic tests

Fatigue Testing

In materials science, fatigue is the weakening of a material caused by repeatedly

applied loads. It is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a
material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal maximum stress values that cause
such damage may be much less than the strength of the material typically quoted as the
ultimate tensile stress limit, or the yield stress limit.

Fatigue occurs when a material is subjected to repeated loading and unloading. If

the loads are above a certain threshold, microscopic cracks will begin to form at the
stress concentrators such as the surface, persistent slip bands (PSBs), interfaces of
constituents in the case of composites, and grain interfaces in the case of metals.[1]
Eventually a crack will reach a critical size, the crack will propagate suddenly, and the
structure will fracture. The shape of the structure will significantly affect the fatigue life;
square holes or sharp corners will lead to elevated local stresses where fatigue cracks
can initiate. Round holes and smooth transitions or fillets will therefore increase the
fatigue strength of the structure