STRENGTH OF MATERIALS

Introduction
Any machine or a structure must have sufficient strength to avoid collapse when full design
or probable loading is imposed. The collapsing may be in different manners involving the entire
solid, or localized and confined to one portion. Though solids may have sufficient strength, they
may exhibit excessive deflection. Strength of material is a branch of mechanics that deals with
analytical methods for determining the strength (stresses), stiffness (strains and deformations) and
stability (slenderness and buckling loads).

Mechanical Properties of Materials

Anyone using the mechanical materials need to know their mechanical behavior. These
types of behaviors when they are subjected to loads can be determined by performing various
experiments in the laboratory. The usual procedure is to place small specimens of the material in
testing machines, apply the loads, and then measure the resulting deformations (such as changes
in length and diameter). Most material-testing laboratories are equipped with machines capable of
loading specimens in variety of ways, including both static and dynamic loading in tension and
compression.

Ductile and Brittle Materials

Metallic engineering materials are commonly classified as ductile or brittle materials. A
ductile material is one having relatively a large tensile strain up to the point of rupture such as
structural steel, aluminum). A brittle material has a relatively small strain up to the point of rupture
such as cast iron, concrete, etc.

Stress – Strain Diagram

A stress and strain relation for a material gives us an idea
about the nature of material under various stresses. Different
materials behave differently under the application of same type of
stress. Test results generally depend upon the dimensions of the
specimen being tested.

Strength characteristics of Materials

Proportional Limit
The ordinate of the point P is known as proportional limit.
The maximum stress that may be developed during a simple
tension test such that the stress is a linear function of strain is
simply a proportional limit.

Elastic Limit
The ordinate of a point almost coincident with P is known as the elastic limit, i.e. the
maximum stress that may be developed during a simple tension test such that there is no permanent
or residual deformation when the load is entirely removed.
Elastic and Plastic Ranges
That region of the stress – strain curve extending from the origin to the proportional limit
is called the elastic range. The region of the stress – strain curve extending from the proportional
limit to the point of rupture is called the plastic range.

Yield Point
The ordinate of the point Y at which there is an increase in strain with increase in stress is
known as the yield point of the material.

Tensile Strength
The ordinate of the point U, the maximum ordinate to the curve, is known as tensile strength
of the material.

Breaking Strength
The ordinate of the point B is called the breaking strength of the material.

Stress – Strain Relationship

A stress and strain relation for a material gives us an idea about the nature of material under
various stresses. Different materials behave differently under the application of same type of stress.

Stress-strain relationship for Brittle material

Brittle materials have almost zero ductility. These materials cannot withstand large tensile
stress. They break instantly as soon as the elastic limit is exceeds. Hence we cannot use normal
tensile test to determine the exact stress strain relationship for brittle material. Instead we use the
compression test for determining the stress and strain relationship for brittle materials.

For example we consider a brittle material like concrete for the compression test. The
sample of concrete is poured and left for 28 days to harden. Then it is used for the compression
test. The following result is obtained for the stress and strain relationship of the concrete.

The stress strain diagram has a

straight line from origin to point A
indicating a linear relationship between the
stress and strain for the material. As the
stress is increased beyond point A, the
stress-strain curve begins to deviate off to
the right of the straight line. The deviation is
produced by the cracking of the material.
The ultimate compressive strength of the
concrete is reached at point B. Here the O
concrete fails in compression by crushing.
The load at which the concrete cylinder Fig. Stress-Strain Relationship for brittle material
crushes is called the cylinder strength.
Cylinder strength depends upon the kind and the quality of the cement and the aggregate, the purity
of the water and, most important, the water/cement ratio.
The modulus of elasticity of the material can be determined from the slope of the line OA.
Stress-strain relationship for ductile material
Ductile materials are those material which shows plastic elongation after exceeding yield
point. The plasticity of the material depends on the nature of the material. Some materials are
highly ductile like Copper, Silver, etc. whereas some are brittle. Ductile nature of material enables
us to draw thin wire of such material by application of tensile stress along the axial line of the
cylindrical form of the material.

To find the stress-strain relationship for the ductile material we use the tensile test. The
stress-strain relation for the ductile material is show in the figure below:

Initially on application of stress the

strain increase linearly shown by the line OA
in the graph. A is called the elastic limit of
the material; body recovers its original shape
if the deforming force is removed within this
region. On further application of deforming
stress the strain starts to deviate towards the
right and reaches the yield point. If the
deforming force is removed at this stage than
O the body doesn’t recover its original shape
and has a permanent deformation called
Fig. Stress-Strain Relationship for ductile material
permanent set.

Beyond the yield point B, there is large increase in the strain produced in the material for
a small increase in the stress. This region accounts for the plasticity/ductility of the material and
the material starts to elongate. For ductile materials this regions is large and body deforms greatly
without breaking. But after point C the material starts to develop necking and finally breaks. The
breaking point of the material is D.

Thus ductile material has wide range for the plastic behaviors and deforms under constant
stress.
Universal Testing Machine
A universal testing machine is specially designed to carry out all type of testing like, tensile
test, compressive test, torsion test, shear test etc.
The simple design of a universal testing machine is given below.

Fig. Universal Testing Machine

There are many type of universal testing machine available today. Some of them operate
mechanically, some are electronically controlled and some are hydraulically driven. Commonly
used are the hydraulically driven universal testing machines.
Hydraulic testing machine are easy to operate and can perform most tests on most materials.
Although technology has surpassed them, it is incorrect to call them obsolete. They are still the
appropriate machine for most quality control tests.

The machine mainly consists of two units:

1. Testing unit:
It is meant for putting load on the specimen under test.
2. Control unit:
It is to measure continuously and preciously the load applied during the process of
straining.

These machines provide a controlled method of giving desired load to the testing material
and recording the corresponding data. Usually all type of materials can be tested for their various
properties.
Compression Testing Machine
A compression test determines behavior of materials under crushing loads. The specimen
is compressed and deformation at various loads is recorded. Compressive stress and strain are
calculated and plotted as a stress-strain diagram which is used to determine elastic limit,
proportional limit, yield point, yield strength and, for some materials, compressive strength.

Fig. Compression Testing Machine

Axial compression testing is a useful procedure for measuring the plastic flow behavior
and ductile fracture limits of a material. Measuring the plastic flow behavior requires frictionless
(homogenous compression) test conditions, while measuring ductile fracture limits takes
advantage of the barrel formation and controlled stress and strain conditions at the equator of the
barreled surface when compression is carried out with friction. Axial compression testing is also
useful for measurement of elastic and compressive fracture properties of brittle materials or low-
ductility materials. In any case, the use of specimens having large L/D ratios should be avoided to
prevent buckling and shearing modes of deformation.

The following materials are typically subjected to a compression test.

 Concrete
 Metals
 Plastics
 Ceramics
 Composites
 Corrugated Cardboard
Hardness Testing Machine

The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on indentation hardness of a material. The
Rockwell hardness test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of penetration of an
indenter under a large load compared to the penetration made by a preload. There are different
scales, denoted by a single letter, that use different loads or indenters. The result is a dimensionless
number noted as HRA, where A is the scale letter.

When testing metals, indentation hardness correlates linearly with tensile strength. The
simple graphical structure of a Rockwell hardness testing machine is given below:

The determination of the Rockwell hardness of a

material involves the application of a minor load followed
by a major load, and then noting the depth of penetration,
the hardness value directly from a dial, in which a harder
material gives a higher number. The chief advantage of
Rockwell hardness is its ability to display hardness values
directly, thus obviating tedious calculations involved in
other hardness measurement techniques.

It is typically used in engineering and metallurgy.

Its commercial popularity arises from its speed, reliability,
robustness, resolution and small area of indentation.

In order to get a reliable reading the thickness of

the test-piece should be at least 10 times the depth of the
indentation. Also, readings should be taken from a flat
perpendicular surface, because convex surfaces give
lower readings. A correction factor can be used if the
hardness of a convex surface is to be measured.

Hardness Tester in Kathmandu University

The hardness tester installed in KU mechanical lab is of Model No. RAB – 250 and is
manually operated. It is suitable for testing hardness of metals and alloys of all kinds hard or soft,
flat, round or of irregular shape. The tester is simple in design and easy to operate and is sensitive
and accurate. The machine is of bigger capacity and can be used in schools, laboratories, tool-
rooms, inspection, heat treatment departments, factories, etc. The diamond holder is guided in a
set of two-ball cage, which enables testing of small pins having diameter less than 6 mm (up to 3
mm diameter).