MATE 202

MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR AND TESTING OF

MATERIALS

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ozan ÖZKAN

Spring 2022-2023
 Plastic Deformation
Definitions

 Permenant change of shape/size in a solid body by the application of a load.

 Observed when the applied load exceeds the elastic limit of the material.

 From an atomic perspective, plastic deformation corresponds to the breaking of

bonds with original atom neighbors and then re-forming bonds with new
neighbors.

 Large numbers of atoms or molecules move relative to one another and upon
removal of the stress they do not return to their original positions.
 Plastic Deformation
1. Initial 2. Small load 3. Unload

bonds
planes
stretch
still
& planes
sheared
shear

d elastic + plastic d plastic

F
F
linear linear
elastic elastic
Plastic means permanent !
d
d plastic
 Plastic Deformation
 For most metallic materials, elastic deformation persists only to strains of about
0.005.

 As the material is deformed beyond this point, the stress is no longer proportional
to strain.

 Which means Hooke’s law ceases to be valid, and permanent, non-recoverable, or

plastic deformation occurs.

σ (stress)
E=
ε (strain)

 However, until the applied load is removed, the deformation is still a combination of
both elastic and plastic in nature.
 Plastic Deformation
(at lower temperatures, i.e. T < Tmelt/3)

Elastic+Plastic
engineering stress, s at larger stress

Elastic
initially
permanent (plastic)
after load is removed

ep engineering strain, e

plastic strain
 Plastic Deformation
TensionTest

 One of the most common mechanical stress–strain tests is performed in tension.

 Tension test can be used to ascertain several mechanical properties of materials that
are important in design.

 A specimen is deformed, usually to fracture,

with a gradually increasing tensile load that is
applied uniaxially along the long axis of a
specimen.
 Plastic Deformation
TensionTest

 The output of such a tensile test is recorded (usually on a computer) as load or

force versus elongation.

 The load and elongation are then normalized to the respective parameters of
engineering stress and engineering strain.

F
σ=
A

li − l0 ∆l
ε= =
l0 l0
 Yield Strength, sy
• Stress at which noticeable plastic deformation has occurred.

when ep = 0.002
tensile stress, s
sy sy = yield strength

Note: For a 20 cm sample

e = 0.002 = z/z
z = 0.04 cm or 0.4 mm

engineering strain, e
e p = 0.002
 Yield Strength, sy
 Most structures are designed to ensure that only elastic deformation will result
when a stress is applied.

 A structure or component that has plastically deformed, or experienced a

permanent change in shape, may not be capable of functioning as intended.

 It is therefore desirable to know the stress level at which plastic deformation begins,
or where the phenomenon of yielding occurs.

 This is important because it effectively gives us our design limits.

 We know the point at which the materials fail, so now we can design within those
limits.
 Yield Strength, sy

 For metals that experience gradual elastic–

plastic transition, the point of yielding may be
determined as the initial departure from
linearity of the stress–strain curve

 This is sometimes called the proportional

limit, as indicated by point P.
 Yield Strength, sy
 Some steels and other materials exhibit
the tensile stress–strain behavior shown in
figure.

 The elastic–plastic transition is very well

defined and occurs abruptly in what is
termed a yield point phenomenon.

 At the upper yield point, plastic

deformation is initiated with an apparent
decrease in engineering stress.
 Yield Strength, sy
 Continued deformation fluctuates slightly
about some constant stress value, termed the
lower yield point.

 Stress subsequently rises with increasing

strain.

 For metals that display this effect, the yield

strength is taken as the average stress that is
associated with the lower yield point, because
it is well defined and relatively insensitive to
the testing procedure.

 Thus, it is not necessary to employ the strain

offset method for these materials.
 Yield Strength, sy
 The first thing that we need to understand that this does not
happens for all the material.

 This is mainly associated with low carbon steel (like mild steel).

 Carbon or nitrogen in iron is present as interstitial impurities.

 But the size of interstitial impurities (C, N) is larger than the

interstitial space.

 Further, it produces large amount of compressive stress on host

iron atom.

 Due to this carbon & nitrogen atom tries to shift at comfortable

position in the microstructure and diffuse towards the dislocation
sites because it has a comparatively larger space.

 This produces a carbon rich atmosphere called Cottrell

atmosphere.
 Yield Strength, sy
 This Cottrell atmosphere is responsible for getting upper and lower points.

 Because, as the Cottrell atmosphere is developed, it produces strain field at dislocation sites.

 When the material starts deforming, the slightly higher stress is required to break this Cottrell atmosphere and
jumping the dislocation to new sites that's why Upper yield point appear in the material.

 Once the dislocation jumped to the new sites

there is no Cottrell atmosphere, and lesser
stresses are enough to keep the dislocation
moving and that’s the reason lower yield
point appear.

 This is called yield point phenomena: higher

stress is required start the yielding than to
continue the yielding.
 Graphite/
Metals/ Composites/
Ceramics/ Polymers
Alloys fibers
Semicond
2 0 00
Steel (4140) qt

10 00
Ti (5Al-2.5Sn) a
s y (MPa)
W (pure)
7 00
6 00 Cu (71500) cw
5 00 Mo (pure)
Steel (4140) a
4 00
Steel (1020) cd
3 00

in ceramic matrix and epoxy matrix composites, since

Al (6061) ag

in tension, fracture usually occurs before yield.

since in tension, fracture usually occurs before yield.
2 00 Steel (1020) hr
¨
Ti (pure) a

Hard to measure,
Hard to measure
Ta (pure)
Cu (71500) hr
Yield strength,

100
dry
70 PC
60 Nylon 6,6
Al (6061) a PET
50 humid
40 PVC
PP
30 H DPE

20

LDPE
Tin (pure)
10
 Tensile Strength, TS
• Maximum stress on engineering stress-strain curve.

TS
F = fracture or
sy
ultimate
strength
engineering
stress

Neck – acts
Typical response of a metal
as stress
concentrator
strain
engineering strain
• Metals: occurs when noticeable necking starts.
• Polymers: occurs when polymer backbone chains are aligned and about to break.
 Tensile Strength, TS
 After yielding, the stress necessary to continue plastic deformation in metals
increases to a maximum, point, and then decreases to the eventual fracture.

 The tensile strength TS (MPa or psi) is the stress at the maximum on the
engineering stress–strain curve.

 This corresponds to the maximum stress that can be sustained by a structure in

tension; if this stress is applied and maintained, fracture will result.

 All deformation up to this point is uniform throughout the narrow region of the
tensile specimen.
 Tensile Strength, TS
 However, at this maximum stress, a small constriction or neck begins to form at some point,
and all subsequent deformation is confined at this neck.

 This phenomenon is termed necking, and fracture ultimately occurs at the neck.

 The fracture strength corresponds to the stress at fracture.

 When the strength of a metal is cited for design purposes, the yield strength is used.

 This is because by the time a stress corresponding to the tensile strength has been applied,
often a structure has experienced so much plastic deformation that it is useless.
 Tensile Strength, TS
So, why is it important?

 Yield strength is considered when the material is used in the final product, so that the
material doesn't deform plastically and remain within the elastic regime.

 Ultimate tensile strength is considered during material forming and processing, so that the
material is in the flow regime and doesn't cross the necking point.

 Because non-uniform plastic deformation starts at necking (or UTS).

 So it depends on the application: If we talk about rolling (or roll forming) we need to be
above the yield and below the ultimate. If we talk about structures we need to be below the
yield stress.
 Graphite/
Metals/ Composites/
Ceramics/ Polymers
Alloys fibers
Semicond
5000 C fibers
Aramid fib
3000 E-glass fib
2000 qt
Steel (4140)
A FRE (|| fiber)
(MPa)
1000 W (pure) Diamond GFRE (|| fiber)
Ti (5Al-2.5Sn) a C FRE (|| fiber)
Steel (4140) a
Cu (71500) cw Si nitride
Cu (71500) hr Al oxide
Steel (1020)
300 Al (6061) ag
Ti (pure) a
200 Ta (pure)
Al (6061) a
strength, TS

100 Si crystal wood(|| fiber)

<100> Nylon 6,6
Glass-soda PC PET
40 PVC GFRE ( fiber)
Concrete PP
30 C FRE ( fiber)
A FRE( fiber)
H DPE
20 Graphite
L DPE

10
Tensile

wood ( fiber)

1
 Ductility
 Ductility is another important mechanical property.

 It is a measure of the degree of plastic deformation that has been sustained at fracture.

 A material that experiences very little or no

plastic deformation upon fracture is termed
brittle.

 On the contrary, a material that experiences

a significant amount of plastic deformation
before fracture is termed ductile.
 Ductility
 Ductility may be expressed quantitatively as either percent elongation or percent
reduction in area.

 Most metals possess at least a moderate degree of ductility at room temperature;

however, some become brittle as the temperature is lowered
 Ductility
Why is it important?

 A knowledge of the ductility of materials is important for at least two reasons.

 First, it indicates to a designer the degree to which a structure will deform plastically before
fracture.

 Second, it specifies the degree of allowable deformation during fabrication operations.

 We sometimes refer to relatively ductile materials as being “forgiving,” in the sense that they
may experience local deformation without fracture should there be an error in the magnitude
of the design stress calculation.

 Brittle materials are approximately considered to be those having a fracture strain of less than
about 5%.
 Resilience, Ur

 Resilience is the capacity of a material to absorb

energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon
unloading, to have this energy recovered.

 The associated property is the modulus of resilience,

Ur, which is the strain energy per unit volume
required to stress a material from an unloaded state
up to the point of yielding.
 Resilience, Ur
 Computationally, the modulus of resilience for a specimen subjected to a uniaxial
tension test is just the area under the engineering stress–strain curve taken to
yielding.

 Assuming a linear elastic region,

 The units of resilience are the product of the units from each of the two axes of the
stress–strain plot.

 For SI units, this is joules per cubic meter (J/m3, equivalent to Pa).
 Resilience, Ur
Why is it important?

 If we incorporate modulus of resilience for linear elastic behavior, and Hooke’s law:

 As can be seen from this equation, resilient materials are those having high yield strengths and
low modulus of elasticity.

 That means they require a significant amount of load before permanently deformed, and they
show significant amount of elastic deflection (resist less to elastic deformation).

 Therefore, such materials would be used in spring applications.

 Toughness
• Energy to break a unit volume of material
• Approximate by the area under the stress-strain curve.

E ngineering small toughness (ceramics)

tensile
stress, s large toughness (metals)

Adapted from Fig. 6.13, Callister

7e. very small toughness
(unreinforced polymers)

Engineering tensile strain, e

Brittle fracture: elastic energy

Ductile fracture: elastic + plastic energy
 Toughness
Why is it important?

 The ability of a metal to deform plastically and to absorb energy in the process before fracture is
termed toughness.

 Recall that ductility is a measure of how much

something deforms plastically before fracture, but
just because a material is ductile does not make it
tough.

 The key to toughness is a good combination of

strength and ductility.

 A material with high strength and high ductility

will have more toughness than a material with low
strength and high ductility.
 True Stress and True Strain
 From figure, the decline in the stress necessary to continue deformation past the maximum,
point M, seems to indicate that the metal is becoming weaker.

 This is not at all the case; as a matter of fact, it is increasing in strength.

 However, the cross-sectional area is

decreasing rapidly within the neck region,
where deformation is occurring.

 This results in a reduction in the load-

bearing capacity of the specimen.
 True Stress and True Strain
 The stress and the strain, as computed from the below equations, is on the basis of the
original cross-sectional area and length before any deformation and does not take into
account real time reduction in area and elongation.

F li − l0 ∆l
σ= ε= =
A l0 l0
 But sometimes, it is more meaningful to use a true stress–true strain scheme.

 True stress, sy, is defined as the load F divided by the instantaneous cross-sectional area Ai
over which deformation is occurring (i.e., the neck, past the tensile point)

F
σT =
Ai
 True Stress and True Strain
 In that case it is also occasionally more convenient to represent strain as true strain.

li
εT = ln
l0

 It is worth noting that the true stress necessary to sustain increasing strain continues to rise
past the tensile point M'.
 True Stress and True Strain
 Also, assuming that no volume change occurs during deformation; which means,

Ai ∙ li = A0 ∙ l0
true and engineering stress and strain are related according to,

σT = σ 1 + ε

εT = ln 1 + ε
 However, these equations are valid only to the onset of necking.

 Beyond this point true stress and strain should be computed from actual load, cross-sectional
area, and gauge length measurements.
 True Stress and True Strain
 For some metals and alloys the region of the true stress–strain curve from the onset
of plastic deformation to the point at which necking begins may be approximated
by;

σT = K ∙ εT n

 In this expression, K and n are constants; these values will vary from alloy to alloy
and will also depend on the condition of the material (i.e., whether it has been
plastically deformed, heat-treated, etc.).

 The parameter n is often termed the strain hardening exponent and has a value
less than unity.
 True Stress and True Strain
Why is it important?

 In a tension test, true stress is larger than engineering stress and true strain is less than
engineering strain.

 That means, the material is actually enduring more stress and deforming less, in real life.

 Measuring true values are more complex.

 The difference also provides a certain level of

design safety.

 Also, n is a measure of a material's strain

hardening behavior.

 Materials with a higher n have a greater

resistance to necking.
 Design / Safety Factor
 There will always be uncertainties in characterizing the magnitude of applied loads and their
associated stress levels for in-service applications

 Simple load calculations are only approximate.

 Consequently, design approaches must be employed to protect against unanticipated failure.

 The protocol was to reduce the applied stress by a design safety factor.

 For less critical static situations and when tough materials are used, a design stress, σd, is taken
as the calculated stress level σc (on the basis of the estimated maximum load) multiplied by a
design factor, N.

σd = N ∙ σc
 Design / Safety Factor
 So, when N is greater than unity, the material to be used for the particular application
is chosen so as to have a yield strength at least as high as this value of σd.

 Alternatively, a safe stress or working stress, σw, is used instead of design stress.

 This safe stress is based on the yield strength of the material and is defined as the yield
strength divided by a factor of safety, N.

σy
σw =
N
 Design / Safety Factor
 The choice of an appropriate value of N is necessary.

 If N is too large, then component overdesign will result.

 Which means, either too much material or an alloy having a higher-than-necessary

strength will be used.

 Values normally range between 1.2 and 4.0.