Chapter 6

metal
properties and
destructive
testing
introduction

In today’s world, there are thousands of different metals

available to serve construction materials as both base metals
and filler metals. It was noted in Chapter 1 that one of the
responsibilities of the welding inspector may be to review
documenta tion related to the actual properties of base and
filler met- als. Another purpose of this chapter is to provide a
base for the information which will be discussed in Chapter 8,
“Welding Metallurgy for the Welding Inspector.”
Key terms and definition
 austenite—a metal phase found in steels at elevated temperature and stainless steels at room temperature.
 ASTM—American Society for Testing and Materials.
 Brinell—a type of macrohardness test.
 Charpy—a type of impact test.
 elongation—the stretching of a material, either elastic or plastic. Percent elongation is a measure of a
metal’s ductility.
 ferrite—a phase found in steels; also referred to as alpha.
 Knoop—a type of microhardness test.
 ksi—strength or pressure in thousands of pounds per square inch. A 70 000 psi tensile strength can also be
written as 70 ksi.
 martensitic—a term applied to a group of stainless steels whose room temperature stable phase is mar-
tensite.
 mil—linear measure; one mil equals 0.001 in.
Mechanical Properties of Metals

 Destructive Testing  Toughness

 Strength  Toughness Testing
 Tensile Testing  Fatigue Strength
 Ductility  Soundness Testing
 Hardness and
Hardness Testing
Destructive Testing

It is important for the welding inspector to

understand each of these tests. Once it is
recognized that metal properties are
important to the suitability of a metal or a
weld, it becomes neces- sary to determine the
actual values.
Strength
 Strength is defined as, “the ability of
a material to with- stand an applied
load.” There are numerous types of
strength, each dependent upon how
100 lb
the load is applied to the material:
100 lb
tensile strength, shear strength, 100 lb

torsional strength, impact strength 100 lb 100 lb 100 lb

and fatigue strength.

Stretch, in 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0
300 Load, lb 0 100 200 300 0

200
Load
(lb.)

100
Figure 6.1—Illustration of Elastic Behavior
of Metals
0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006
 Both the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength are normally determined by a
“tensile test.” A specimen of known cross section is loaded so the stress, in pounds per
square inch, can be determined. The specimen is loaded to failure and it is then
possible to determine its load-car- rying capacity in pounds per square inch (psi). The
examples which follow show how this relationship works for one material. Tensile
Strength from tensile test is 60 000 psi.
 The max- imum load which this metal can support is 60 000 psi ´ cross-sectional area.
1. For a 1 in ´ 1 in member (1 in2 area):
2. Maximum Load = 60 000 psi ´ 1 in2
3. Maximum Load = 60 000 pounds
4. For a 2 in ´ 2 in member (4 in2 area):
5. Maximum Load = 60 000 psi ´ 4 in2
6. Maximum Load = 240 000 pounds
 Table 6.1
Mechanical Properties of Some Metals
    Yield Strength     Tensile Strength   Elongation  
              % in 2 in
[50 mm] Hardness
Base Metal or Alloy lb/in2 MPa kg/mm2 lb/in2 MPa kg/mm2 BHN

Aluminum 5000 34.5 3.5 13 000 89.6 9.1 35 23

Copper (deoxidized) 10 000 68.9 7.0 33 000 227.5 23.2 40 30

Iron, cast — — — 25 000 172.4 17.5 0.5 180

Iron, wrought 27 000 186.1 19.0 40 000 275.8 28.1 25 100

Steel, low alloy 50 000 344.7 35.1 75 000 517.1 52.7 28 170

Steel, high carbon 90 000 620.5 63.2 140 000 965.2 98.4 20 310

Steel, low carbon 36 000 218.2 25.3 60 000 413.6 42.2 35 120

Steel, manganese (14 Mn) 75 000 517.1 52.7 118 000 813.5 82.9 22 200

Steel, medium carbon 52 000 358.5 36.5 87 000 599.8 61.2 24 170

Steel, stainless (Austenitic) 40 000 275.8 28.1 90 000 620.5 63.2 23 160

Titanium 40 000 275.8 28.1 60 000 413.6 42.2 28 —

Tensile Testing
This one test provides us with a great amount of informa- tion about a metal.
Some of the properties that can be determined as the result of the tensile test
include:
Ultimate Tensile Strength
Yield Strength
Ductility
Percent Elongation
Percent Reduction of Area
Modulus of Elasticity
Proportional Limit
Elastic Limit
Toughness
Three features in order that valid results can be
obtained:

1. The entire length of the reduced section must be a uni- form cross
section.
2. The cross section should be a configuration which can be easily
measured so a cross-sectional area can be calculated.
3. The surfaces of the reduced section should be free of surface
irregularities, especially if perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of
the specimen.
 For these reasons, as well as the actual mechanics of pre-
paring a specimen, the two most common cross-sectional
configurations for tensile specimens are circular and
rectangular.

Figure 6.2—Tensile Specimen with Reduced

Section
Figure 6.3—Tensile Testing Apparatus
Stress is proportional to strength, since it is the applied load
at any time divided by the cross-sectional area. The strain is
the amount of stretch apparent in a given length.
Conventional Stress

Maximum Load
Upper Yield Point

B. Lower Yield Point

  Point Elongation
Yield
Uniform Elongation

Total Elongation

Extension (%)

 
Figure 6.4—Typical Stress-Strain Curve for Mild
Steel
 Unit stress psi (or Pa)
True
Engineer's Yeild point
Unit Stress, psi (or Pa)

Deformation Unit Deformation

  Figure 6.7—Determination of Yield
Figure 6.5—Comparison of True and
Engineer’s Stress-Strain Diagrams Point by Offset Method
 
 
Figure 6.6—Typical Stress-Strain
Diagram for Less Ductile Steel
 H ig h C a rb o n S p rin g S te e l

S tru ctu ra l S te e l
Stress

Strain e
Ductility
 Ductility is a term which relates to the ability of a
mate- rial to deform, or stretch, under load without
failing. The more ductile a metal is, the more it will
stretch before it breaks. Ductility is an important
property of a metal because it can affect whether
the metal fails gradually or suddenly when loaded.
 Ductility is the property which
permits several members which
may be of slightly different lengths
to uniformly support some load
without one of those members
becom- ing overloaded to the point
of failure.

Figure 6.9—Brittle Versus Ductile Failure

Hardness and Hardness Testing

 Hardness is the ability of a metal to resist

penetration or indentation. A metal’s hardness also
permits an approxi- mation of its tensile strength.
Consequently, hardness tests are performed using
some type of penetrator which is forced against the
surface of the test object.
 0.2 mm R

Figure 6.11—Rockwell
Figure 6.10—Hardness Tests,
Diamond Brale Indenter
Indenters, and Shapes of
Indentations
The steps used in the microhardness testing of a sample
would be as follows:

 Prepare test surface.

 Place specimen in holding fixture.
 Locate area of interest, using microscope.
 Make indentation.
 Measure indentation using microscope.
 Determine hardness using tables or calculation.
 DIAL IS IDLE

STEP 2.
STEP

WEIGHT FOR
SUPPLEMENTARY WEIGHT
LATER
NOT YET APPLIED
APPLICATION
MINOR LOAD APPLIED
MINOR LOAD NOT
YET APPLIED THIS PICE HAS A FIRMA
SEATING DUE
TO MINOR LOAD
STEEL BALL
1/16 in. B
DIAMETER
PIECE BEING TESTED

PIECE BEING
TESTED
WHEEL TURNED BRINGING WORK UP
AGAINST BALL UNTIL INDEX ON DIAL
READS ZERO. THIS APPLIES MINOR LOAD
Hardness and Hardness Testing