Table of Contents Page No

Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Introductory remarks 2
1.2 Copyright 2
1.3 Personal and general laboratory safety 2

Chapter 2 Laboratory Reports 3

Chapter 3 Tensile Test 4

Chapter 4 Impact Test (Charpy) 9

Chapter 5 Rockwell Hardness Test 13

Chapter 6 Brinell Hardness Test 17

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Introductory remarks
Welcome to the MT20422 (MT) laboratory, Testing of Materials. The laboratory manual
includes the theory and instructions for a number of experiments to be performed in
conjunction with the course. The report for each experiment includes its objective, an
equipment list, theoretical background, recommended procedure and finally results and
discussions. Most of the experiments are provided with data sheets and calculation sheets.
Even though this ease the student from separately preparing these, it does not lessen the
need to include the calculations and discussions in the laboratory reports. Students are
well-advised to read relevant sections of this manual before attending this Lab class.

1.2 Copyright
The laboratory experiments, manual, and discussion part are in a process of continuous
up gradation, therefore suggestions are welcome at any point of time during the semester.
Portions of this manual were taken directly from technical literature provided by the
commercial and web related sources. Further study related to each experiment and equipment
is highly encouraged. Under all other circumstances, no part of this manual may be
reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the
authority.

1.3 Personal and General Laboratory safety

1. Follow all safety instructions given in the class and in the laboratories.
2. Do not use any equipment unless you are trained and approved as a user
by your instructor/supervisor.
3. Clothing: When handling dangerous substances, wear gloves, laboratory
apron, and safety shield or glasses. Shorts and sandals should not be worn
in the lab at any time. If you have long hair or loose clothes, make sure it is tied back
or confined.
4. Disposal - Students are responsible for the proper disposal of used material
if any in appropriate containers.
7. Charpy machine can be lethal. Never leave the hammer in the up position
until ready to break a specimen.
10. Clean up your work area before leaving.
11. Wash hands before leaving the lab and before eating.

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 Chapter 2
General Guidelines for Laboratory Report
The main idea of an engineering laboratory report is to clearly convey to the reader
what was done during the experiment and what conclusions were derived from the
results. The report should be concise, well organized, thorough, and neat. A long report is
not necessarily the best report. Keep in mind that neatness, grammar, and spelling are taken
into account when grading the report.

The report must be written in the following format:

Title page or first page header: Include (a) experiment number, (b) experiment title,
(c) date of experiment, (d) date report submitted, (e) your name, (f) your group number, and
(g) list each members name.

Abstract: State the purpose of the experiment. Briefly discuss about the expected outcome
of your experiment and how it is relevant in view of other similar materials.

Background: Discuss the theoretical aspect (including origin and importance) of the
particular test. Provide all relevant equation and define each parameter in the equation with
the corresponding units.

Procedure: In this section take help from Laboratory manual for the exact procedure.
Students can write the experimental procedure in their own words too. However, be sure to
list any deviations from the manual's procedure. A sketch of the experimental set-up must be
provided and must be neat! Each component must be labelled and the important dimensions
should be provided in this section (i.e. anything you measured in the lab as far as lengths,
weights, material, etc.).

Raw Data and Calculations: This section should include the following sub-sections:

All of the recorded and measured values from the experiment. Be sure to rewrite this
information. Provide all of the required calculated data, plots, tables, etc. These calculations
are specified at the end of each laboratory section in the manual. The lab instructor may
revise or add to these calculations.

Results: Discuss the final resulting values and how they compare to theoretical
values. Are the results as expected? Explain. Discuss at least 5 sources of error which may
have affected the data with the entire group before the experiment is over.

Conclusions: State whether the resulting values were acceptable (no need to provide specific
numbers) and state suggested improvements to the laboratory (i.e. procedure, equipment,
etc.). Be sure to provide these and be specific!

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 Chapter 3
TENSILE TESTING
Objective
To perform and analysis Tensile Test of metallic materials

Introduction
Mechanical testing plays an important role in evaluating fundamental properties of
engineering materials as well as in developing new materials and in controlling the quality of
materials for use in design and construction. If a material is to be used as part of an
engineering structure that will be subjected to a load, it is important to know that the material
is strong enough and rigid enough to withstand the loads that it will experience in service. As
a result engineers have developed a number of experimental techniques for mechanical
testing of engineering materials subjected to tension, compression, bending or torsion
loading. The most common type of test used to measure the mechanical properties of a
material is the Tension Test. Tension test is widely used to provide basic design information
on the strength of materials and is an acceptance test for the specification of materials. The
major parameters that describe the stress-strain curve obtained during the tension test are the
tensile strength (UTS), yield strength or yield point (σy), elastic modulus (E), percent
elongation (∆L%) and the reduction in area (RA%). Toughness, Resilience, Poisson’s ratio
(ν) can also be found by the use of this testing technique.

Theoretical background
In this test the load is applied along only one axis, and the rate of loading is constant. This
test is done on a universal mechanical testing machine which is typically screw-driven or
hydraulically powered. In some cases the machine may be computer controlled. The primary
data generated are load vs. elongation which is to be converted into stress vs. strain data.
In modern tensile testers, load is measured using a load cell, in older or simpler testing
machines; a purely mechanical or hydraulical device may be employed for measuring the
load. Strain can be measured from the displacement of the crosshead or directly from the
specimen. Typical devices for measuring strain are mechanical dial indicators, electrically-
resistive strain gages attached to the specimen, or extensometers that employ an optical
device, a strain gage or an inductive or capacitive transducer. Strain transducers have the
advantage that they measure only the displacement in the gage length of the specimen. This
eliminates error due to the deformation in the ends of the specimen, slack in the load train,
and the stiffness of the testing machine.
There are different types of specimen depending on the type of the grips and on the form of
the available material (sheet, rod, etc.). Generally all specimens have two main parts, the
gage section and the ends. The dimensions of the specimens are standardized (TS, DIN,

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ASTM etc.) A good surface finish is required so that surface flaws do not provide stress
concentrations to cause premature failure.
Procedure

A servo-hydraulic or servo-mechanica
mechanical testing machine is used for the tensile test. Specimen
of known dimensions is loaded in the machine and a constant strain rate (expressed as
crosshead speed) is applied.
Load is measured through calibrated load cells and recorded automatically on a chart through
electronic sensors. The corresponding elongation of the specimen is also recorded
automatically from the movement of the machine crosshead. The load-elongation
load elongation curve so
obtained is then converted to the required stress-strain
stress curve at the chosen
osen strain rate. The
strain rate is usually expressed in units of s-1. After the specimen is broken, the final length
and diameter are measured. The fracture type and the fracture surface are investigated, in
order to determine the fracture mode.

Fig. 1 Specimen geometry for Tensile testing.

testing. (a) round and (b) square cross
cross-section

Fig. 2 Engineering Stress-Strain

Strain Curve in Tension

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Observation:

1. Material of the specimen =

2. Length of the specimen, L = mm
3. Diameter of the specimen, d = mm
4. Initial gauge length of the specimen Ii = mm
5. Final gauge length of the specimen Ii = mm
6. Diameter at neck dn = mm
7. Yield load. Py = KN
8. Ultimate load, Pu = KN
9. Breaking load, Pb = KN

Calculations

1) Yield stress σy = Yield load (Py)/Initial Area (Ai )

2) Ultimate stress σu = Ultimate load (Pu )/Initial Area (Ai)
3) Nominal breaking stress, σbn = Breaking load (Pb )/Initial Area (Ai)
4) Actual breaking stress, σbn = Breaking load (Pb )/ Neck Area (An)
5) % Elongation in length = [(Final gauge length (Ii) – Initial gauge length (Ii))]/ Initial
gauge length (Ii)] X 100
6) % Reduction in area = [(Initial area (Ai) – Neck area (An))]/ Initial gauge length (Ii)]
X 100
2
Where Ai = Initial Area = πd /4
An = Area at neck = πdn2/ 4

Final Results

1. Yield stress, σy = N/mm2

2. Ultimate stress, σu = N/mm2
3. Nominal breaking stress, σbn = N/mm2
4. Actual breaking stress, σbn = N/mm2
5. Percentage Elongation in length =
6. Percentage Reduction in area =

7. Plot a load - elongation curve for each specimen.

8. Determine the engineering stress-strain curve and the true stress- true strain
curve.
9. Identify the fracture mode, i.e. ductile or brittle and explain the reasons.

Tensile Test Questions

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1. Which modulus did you find from the initial portion of the stress-strain curve?
If did not use an extensometer but determined strain from the crosshead
movement, would the initial slope still allow you to determine an accurate
modulus ? Explain.
2. Write the definition using symbols for shear modulus, bulk modulus and
Poisson's ratio. Write the equations relating these two modulus to Young's
modulus.
3. What is the approximate value of Poisson's ratio for metals? What is the
physical significance of Poisson's ratio, i.e. what does it represent resistance
to?
4. What is the area under the stress-strain curve equivalent to? What does the
area under the elastic portion of the stress-strain represent?
5. What % elongation and % reduction in area measures of?
6. Explain the different deformation mechanisms which are active in the different
regions of the tensile stress-strain curve. (elastic, yielding, strain hardening,
necking etc.)

(a) (b)

Fig. 3 (a) A medium carbon steel specimen compared to (b) high carbon steel specimen.

Note the relatively large extent of necking and permanent increase in length of the medium
carbon steel specimen compared to that of the high carbon steel specimen [1].

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 Fig. 4 Low Carbon Steel Fracture Surface.

Note the dimpled interior structure indicating ductile failure and a surrounding smoother
“shell” which denotes a brittle failure across crystal planes. Most metals will exhibit this
mixed failure pattern in varying degrees [2].

1.00E+03
Millions

9.00E+02

8.00E+02

7.00E+02

6.00E+02
Stress / Pa

5.00E+02

4.00E+02

3.00E+02

2.00E+02

1.00E+02

0.00E+00
0.00E+00 5.00E-02 1.00E-01 1.50E-01 2.00E-01 2.50E-01 3.00E-01 3.50E-01 4.00E-01 4.50E-01 5.00E-01
Strain
0.02% C 0.18% C 0.41% C 0.54% C 0.8%C 3%C

Fig. 5 Stress-Strain plots for steels with various Carbon-content [3]

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 Chapter 4
Impact Test (Charpy)
Objective
To determine the toughness and notch sensitivity of metallic materials.

Introduction
A metal may be very hard (and therefore very strong and yet be unsuitable for applications in
which it is subjected to sudden loads in service. Materials behave quite differently when they
are loaded suddenly than when they are loaded more slowly as in tensile testing. Because of
this fact, impact test is considered to be one of the basic mechanical tests (especially for
ferrous metals). The term brittle fracture is used to describe rapid propagation of cracks
without any excessive plastic deformation at a stress level below the yield stress of the
material. Metals that show ductile behavior usually can, under certain circumstances, behave
in a brittle fashion. The stress needed to cause yield rises as the temperature falls. At very low
temperatures, fracture occurs before yielding. Impact tests are used not only to measure the
energy absorbing capacity of the material subjected to sudden loading; but also to determine
the transition temperature from ductile to brittle behavior.

Theory and specimen

Charpy impact test offers a practical assessment of brittle fracture of metals. It is also used
as an indicator to determine suitable service temperatures. The standard dimension for a
Charpy impact test sample is 10x10x55 mm3, with a 45° V-notch of 2 mm depth and a 0.25
mm root radius. To perform the test, the pendulum set at a certain height is released. The test
specimen broken by a single blow of a freely swinging pendulum as shown in figure. The
impact at the opposite end of the notch of the sample produces a fractured surface. The
absorbed energy required to produce two fresh fracture surfaces will be recorded in the unit
of Joule. Since this energy depends on the fracture area (excluding the notch area), thus
standard specimens are required for a direct comparison of the absorbed energy.

Test Setup and Procedure

The Charpy impact test method works by placing a notched specimen (with the notch facing
away from the point of contact) into a large machine with a pendulum of a known weight.
The pendulum is raised to a known height and allowed to fall. As the pendulum swings, it
impacts and breaks the specimen, rising to a measured height. A figure displaying the process
is shown below.

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1. Measure the length (l), breadth (b), & depth (d) of the given specimen.
2. Measure the position of notch (i.e. groove) from one end (lg ), depth of groove (dg )
and top width of the groove (wg ) in the given specimen.
3. Lift the pendulum and keep it in the position meant for charpy test.
4. Adjust the pointer to coincide with initial position (i.e. maximum value) in charpy
scale.
5. Release the pendulum using the lever and note down the initial reading in the
charpy scale.
6. Repeat the step 3 and 4.
7. Place the specimen centrally over the supports such that the groove in opposite to
the striking face.
8. Release the pendulum again using the lever and note down the final reading in the
charpy scale.

Final results

Find the impact strength of the given specimen by using the following relation:
Impact strength = (Final charpy scale reading – Initial charpy scale reading)

The difference in the initial and final heights is directly proportional to the amount of energy
lost due to fracturing the specimen. The total energy of fracture is determined by

Γtotal = mg(ho – hf)

where Γtotal is the total energy, m is the mass, g is gravitational acceleration, ho is the original
height, and hf is the final height.

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 Fig. 6 Charpy Impact Testing machine [4]

Fig. 7 Configuration of Test specimen and anvils [4]

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Fig. 6 Various types of Fracture surface on macro and micro scale

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 Chapter 5
Rockwell Hardness Test
Objective
To determine the Bulk hardness values of metallic materials.

Introduction
Hardness is the property of a material that enables it to resist plastic deformation, usually by
penetration. However, the term hardness may also refer to resistance to bending, scratching,
abrasion or cutting.

Theoretical background
The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a diamond
cone or hardened steel ball indenter. The indenter is forced into the test material under a
preliminary minor load F0 (Fig. 7A) usually 10 kgf. When equilibrium has been reached, an
indicating device, which follows the movements of the indenter and so responds to changes
in depth of penetration of the indenter is set to a datum position. While the preliminary minor
load is still applied an additional major load is applied with resulting increase in penetration
(Fig. 7B). When equilibrium has again been reach, the additional major load is removed but
the preliminary minor load is still maintained. Removal of the additional major load allows a
partial recovery, so reducing the depth of penetration (Fig. 7C). The permanent increase in
depth of penetration, resulting from the application and removal of the additional major load
is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.

Fig. 7 Schematic illustration of Rockwell hardness testing

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F0 = preliminary minor load in kgf
F1 = additional major load in kgf
F = total load in kgf
e = permanent increase in depth of penetration due to major load
F1 measured in units of 0.002 mm
E = a constant depending on form of indenter: 100 units for diamond indenter, 130 units for
steel ball indenter
HR = Rockwell hardness number
D = diameter of steel ball

Procedure:
1. Identify the material of the given specimen
2. Know the major load, type of indenter and scale to be used for the given test specimen
from the following table.

Material type Major load Indenter Scale

Hardened steel 150kg Diamond cone 120º C
Mild steel 100kg 1.58mm dia, steel ball B
Aluminum 100kg 1.58mm dia, steel ball B
Brass 100kg 1.58mm dia, steel ball B
Copper 100kg 1.58mm dia, steel ball B

3. Fix the indentor and place the given specimen on the anvil of the machine.
4. Select the major load from the knob available on the right of the machine.
5. Raise the anvil using the rotating wheel till the specimen touches the indentor and then
slowly turns the wheel till the small pointer on the dial reaches the red mark
position. Now the specimen is subjected to a minor load of 10kg.

6. Push the loading handle in the forward direction to apply the major load to the
specimen and allow the load to act on the specimen for 15 seconds.
7. Release the major load by pushing the loading handle in the backward direction and
keep the minor 10kg load still on the specimen.
8. Read the Rockwell hardness number either from ‘C’ or ‘B’ scale, as the case may be,
directly on the dial and record it.
9. Release the minor load of 10kg by rotating the hand wheel and lowering the screw bar.
10. Repeat the experiment to obtain at least 3 different sets of observations for the given
specimen by giving a gap of at least 3mm between any two adjacent indentations
and 1.5 mm from the edge.
11. Find the average value, which will be the rckwell hardness number for the given
specimen.

Observation:
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 Rockwell hardness
S.I No Material Major load Indentor Scale number (RH-C or RH-
B)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Final Result:
The Rockwell hardness number for the given specimen = RHC ----------- (or) RHB -------

Typical Application of Rockwell Hardness Scales

HRA . . . . Cemented carbides, thin steel and shallow case hardened steel

HRB . . . . Copper alloys, soft steels, aluminium alloys, malleable irons, etc

HRC . . . . Steel, hard cast irons, case hardened steel and other materials harder than 100 HRB

HRD . . . . Thin steel and medium case hardened steel and pearlitic malleable iron

HRE . . . . Cast iron, aluminium and magnesium alloys, bearing metals

HRF . . . . Annealed copper alloys, thin soft sheet metals

HRG . . . . Phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, malleable irons

HRH . . . . Aluminium, zinc, lead

HRK . . . . } HRL . . . . } HRM . . . .} . . . . HRP . . . . } HRR . . . . } HRS . . . . } HRV . . . .

} Soft bearing metals, plastics and other very soft materials

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 5 mm carbide Ball indenter
Fig. 8 Photographs of various carbide ball indenter

A) A diamond sphero-conical penetrator (Brale Penetrator), having an included angle of 120

degree, with a spherical tip having a radius of 0.2 mm. The diamond penetrator is used for
hardened steels and cemented carbides.
B) Steel ball penetrators of different diameter: 1/16, 1/8 , 1/4 and 1/2

Fig. 9 Steel ball penetrators of different diameter Fig. 10 Mechanism of testing

Fig. 11 Schematic diagram of the Rockwell hardness tester

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 Chapter 6
Brinell Hardness Test
Objective
To determine the Bulk hardness values of metallic materials

Introduction
The Brinell hardness test is an indentation hardness test that can provide useful information
about metallic materials. This information may correlate to tensile strength, wear resistance,
ductility, or other physical characteristics of metallic materials, and may be useful in quality
control and selection of materials. Brinell hardness tests are considered acceptable for testing
of commercial shipments, and have been used extensively in various industries for this
purpose. However, Brinell hardness testing at a specific location on a machine element may
not always symbolize the physical characteristics of the whole part or end product.

Theoretical background
The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm
diameter hardened steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 3000 kg. For softer materials
the load can be reduced to 1500 kg or 500 kg to avoid excessive indentation.

The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds in the case of iron and steel and for at
least 30 seconds in the case of other metals. The diameter of the indentation left in the test
material is measured with a low powered microscope. The Brinell hardness number is
calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.

F: Applied load, kg
D: Diameter of the ball indenter, mm
d: Mean diameter of impression, mm

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 Fig. 8 Mechanism of testing

Different ball diameter and load values can be used for the Brinell Test as long as the
ratio “F/D2 ” is a constant value where;

Selection of test load: The load in the standard Brinell test is 3000, 1500, or 500 kg. The
load should be selected to keep the ratio of the indentation to the diameter of the ball (d/D),
greater than 0.25 and less than 0.60.

The lower limit is dictated by the diameter of the indentation. If the diameter is very small,
the edges of the impression are not defined well enough. For a ratio greater than 0.60, the test
becomes supersensitive.

To meet these requirements, the following load ranges are suggested for materials of different
hardness for 10 mm ball:

– 3000 kg BHN 96 to 600 (F/D2 = 30)

– 1500 kg BHN 48 to 300 (F/D2 = 15)
– 500 kg BHN 16 to 100 (F/D2 = 5)

Thickness: of the test piece must be such that no bulge or other marks should appear on the
other side. The thickness (t) must be at least ten times the depth (h) of indentation.

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Spacing of indentation: The distance of the center of indentation from the edge of the
specimen or edge of another indentation should be at least 2.5 times the diameter of
indentation. Distance >2.5 d

Procedure:
1. Insert ball of dia ‘D’ in ball holder of the m/c.
2. Make the specimen surface clean by removing dust, dirt, oil and grease etc.
3. Make contact between the specimen surface and the ball by rotating the jack
adjusting wheel.
4. Push the required button for loading.
5. Pull the load release level and wait for minimum 15 second. The load will
automatically apply gradually.
6. Remove the specimen from support table and locate the indentation so
made.
7. View the indentation through microscope and measure the diameter‘d’ by
micrometer fitted on microscope.
8. Repeat the entire operation, 3-times.

OBSERVATION AND CALCULATION :

Following observation are recorded from a test on steel specimen using a hardened steel ball
as indentor.

BHN = Load Applied (kgf.)/ Spherical surface area indentation (in mm.)

2P/πD(D-√D2 – d2)

Diameter of
Ball indentation
Load applied
S.I. No diameter ‘d’ (mm) P/D2 BHN
P in kgf.
‘D’ in mm

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VIVA-QUESTIONS:-

1. What is the limitation of Brinell hardness test and why ?

2. Which is the hardest material? why ?
3. Can we predict the tensile strength of a material if its hardness in known ?
4. What is the unit of B.H.N?
5. Which ball size is recommended for Brinell test?

References:
[1-3] Oxford Materials, Tensile Testing Resource

[4] http://me.aut.ac.ir/staff/solidmechanics/alizadeh/Impact%20Test.htm

Books for Further Reading:

1. G.E. Dieter, Mechanical Metallurgy, McGraw Hill.

2. E.D. Dowling, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Prentice-Hall.
3. Marc André Meyers, Krishan Kumar Chawla, Mechanical Behavior of Materials,
Cambridge University Press.

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