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Lab Report - Tensile Test

Makmal Sifat-Sifat Bahan (Universiti Sains Malaysia)

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Experiment 5

Title
Tensile Test

Objectives
To study the behaviour of materials under tensile load, and to obtain primary parameter values of
materials such as: yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, Young’s modulus and ductility.

Abstract
In this experiment, a tensile test is carried out on a mild steel sample. This experiment is
conducted to study the behaviour of the mild steel under tensile load and to obtain primary
parameter values of the material such as yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, Young’s
modulus and ductility. The test is run using a Universal Tensile Machine (UTM). The data
obtained is used to plot a stress-strain curve graph. Based on the curve plotted, Young’s modulus,
yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, fracture strength and ductility can be determined. The
value of Young’s modulus of the material tested is 6400 MPa. The yield strength is 330.40 MPa.
For ultimate strength, the value is 487.13 MPa. The fracture strength of the sample is 362.22
MPa and its elongation percentage is 42.52%.

Introduction
Nowadays, products with high durability are on demand. Some reasons are for safety and others
are for quality of products. Tensile properties of a material are important in building a
skyscraper, railway, ships, aircraft, bridges, and many more. Therefore, it is important to conduct
a tensile test on a material.

Tensile test involves methods that quantify and qualify the physical characterization of materials
such as tensile strength, yield strength and ductility of a material under tensile load. This
experiment is conducted using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). UTM can be used to test a
wide variety of materials. In this experiment, the tensile testing machine is designed to pull the
specimen of known geometry at a constant rate to failure. By gradually increasing the tensile
load, the specimen will be elongated. The resulting elongation with the instantaneous applied
load is continuously and simultaneously measured. The engineering stress-strain behaviour to
fracture can be observed and the Young’s modulus of the sample can be determined from the
graph plotted.

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Figure 1: Universal Testing Machine

Figure 2: Typical engineering stress-strain behaviour to fracture point. The circular inserts
represent the geometry of the deformed specimen at various point along the curve

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Figure 3: The determination of Young’s modulus

The stress value can be calculated using this formula,

𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 (𝑃)
Engineering stress, σ = 𝑂𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠−𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝐴 )
0
(1)

The strain value can be calculated using this formula,

𝐿
Engineering strain, ε = 𝐿−𝐿 (2)
0
Where L = instantaneous length under load P
L0 = original gauge length

The following information can generally be obtained from a tensile test:

1. Ultimate tensile strength (TS);
- The ratio of maximum load and original cross-sectional area
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥
- TS = (3)
𝐴0
2. Percent elongation (% EL)
𝐿𝑓 − 𝐿0
- % EL =
𝐿0
× 100 (4)

Where Lf = the fracture length

L0 = the original gauge length

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3. Percent reduction in area (% RA)

𝐴 0 − 𝐴𝑓
- % RA =
𝐴0
× 100 (5)

Where A f = the cross-sectional area at the point of fracture

A0 = the original cross-sectional area

4. Young’s modulus or known as modulus of elasticity;

- Determined from the slope of the initial segment of the linear elastic curve in the
stress-strain diagram

The stress applied to a material that causes permanent plastic deformation (Refer to Figure 4).

Figure 4: (a) Typical stress-strain behaviour for a metal showing elastic and plastic deformations,
the proportional limit P, and yield strength σy, as determined using the 0.002 strain offset method.
(b) Representative stress-strain behaviour found for some steels demonstrating the yield point
phenomenon

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Methodology
Materials and Apparatus
1. Mild steel or carbon steel
2. Copper metal
3. Aluminium alloy or pure aluminium metal
4. Universal Testing Machine (UTM)

Experimental Procedure
The original gauge length and original gauge area of the specimen were measured by using
Vernier caliper. A standard specimen for the tensile test was shown in Figure 5. The test was run
using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). A testing machine used was run under the supervision
of a technician. The data of percent elongation and percent reduction in area were obtained from
the experimentation. From the graphs plotted by both tensile testing machines, the graphs were
transformed into stress-strain curves. Values of yield strength, maximum tensile strength, 0.2%
offset yield strength (if necessary) and Young’s modulus for each specimen tested were
determined.

Figure 5: A standard tensile specimen with circular cross section

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Result and Analysis

Table 1: Stress (MPa) and Strain (mm/mm) for Mild Steel

Stress (MPa) Strain (mm/mm)

62.4524 0.0098

124.9048 0.0246

249.8097 0.0443

312.2621 0.0492

362.2240 0.0541

330.3978 0.0591

405.9407 0.1083

468.3931 0.1772

480.8836 0.2461

487.1288 0.3051

468.3931 0.3740

418.4312 0.4134

362.2240 0.4232

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Figure 6: Stress-Strain graph of Mild Steel

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Based on the graph;

a) Young’s Modulus
250−90
= 0.04−0.015
= 6400 𝑀𝑃𝑎

b) Yield strength
Upper yield strength = 362. 22 𝑀𝑃𝑎
Lower yield strength = 330. 40 𝑀𝑃𝑎

c) Ultimate Tensile Strength

= 487. 13 𝑀𝑃𝑎

d) % of Elongation
72.4−50.8
= 50.8
× 100
= 42. 52%

e) Fracture Strength
= 362. 22 𝑀𝑃𝑎

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Discussion
The tensile data for stress and strain values that obtained from this experiment is by using
Universal Testing Machine (UTM). From the data obtained, an engineering stress-strain curve
for the sample used which is mild steel can be plotted. This curve shows the mechanical
properties of the sample under tensile load.

Based on the graph plotted, a steady increase in strain can be observed as the load (stress) keeps
increasing. From this, the gradient obtained corresponds to the modulus of elasticity or better
known as Young’s modulus. The value of Young’s modulus obtained is 6400 MPa.

Next, the stress drops abruptly and then continues to increase but the gradient is decreasing. The
points from the graph that started to drop and increase correspond to the upper and lower yield
strength respectively. The value of upper yield strength is 362.22 MPa while for lower yield
strength is 330.40 MPa. The drop of the stress is due to the locked dislocations being set free. In
low carbon steels or mild steels, the dislocation is locked because of the presence of carbon. The
value of lower yield strength is taken in calculation purpose as the yield strength of the material.
The material undergoes elastic deformation up until the yield strength point, and if the stress is
being removed, the material will regain its original length.

After the lower yield strength point, the graphs continue to increase then decrease until the
sample fracture. The maximum point of the curve is the ultimate tensile strength of the sample. It
means that the amount of the stress at the maximum point is what the material can endure. For
the mild steel sample, the value of ultimate tensile strength is 487.13 MPa.

The final point of the curve is the fracture point of the sample. It means that the sample had
failed and broke into two pieces. For the mild steel sample, the value of the fracture point is
362.22 MPa.

The fracture point also shows the ductility of the sample. The ductility value of the sample is
obtained from the calculation of the percentage of elongation which is 42.52%. From the lower
yield point until before the fracture point, the sample undergoes plastic deformation. When the
stress is removed during the process, the sample will not return to original length. The material
undergoes a necking process after the ultimate tensile strength point. Necking occurs when an
instability in the material causes its cross-sectional area to decrease when it undergoes tensile
deformation.

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Conclusion
In this experiment, the behaviour of mild steel sample tensile load by using Universal Testing
Machine (UTM) can be observed. The data of the sample that was obtained from UTM is used to
plot an engineering stress-strain curve. The primary parameter values of the sample can be
determined by studying the curve. The value of Young’s modulus of the mild steel sample is
6400 MPa. From the curve, there are two yield strengths which are upper and lower points.
However, the lower yield point is used as the yield strength and the value is 330.40 MPa. For
ultimate tensile strength, the value is 487.13 MPa. The value of the fracture strength of the
sample is 362.22 MPa. Lastly, the percentage of elongation that corresponds to the ductility is
42.52%.

Questions
1. Distinguish between elastic and plastic deformation.

Elastic deformation Plastic deformation

Temporary deformation under the action Permanent deformation under the action
of external loading of external loading

No changes in strength and hardness Increase in strength and hardness

Elastic up to the yield point Plastic beyond yield point

Temporary change in shape Permanent change in shape

Reversible Irreversible

2. What are the important factors which will influence the accuracy of the results?

One of the important factors that influence the accuracy of the results is the sample
preparation. The sample needs to be cut into a standard size precisely so that cracks can
be avoided. The present of cracks can lead to inaccuracy of the results obtained. Next,
another important factor is temperature. The higher the temperature, the lower the
material strength because of the dependency of material strength to temperature.

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