Introduction:

Tensile tests are very useful for learning the basic mechanical behavior of materials.
Specifically, tensile tests relate uniaxial stress and strain. In other words, this means the
relationship between an applied tensile load and the deformation in the direction of that load.
The basic tensile test is conducted by loading a test specimen in tension and gradually
increasing the tensile force until the specimen fractures apart. An extensometer is used to
measure the specimens elongation. From this data, a stress-strain curve is generated, and the
materials Youngs Modulus, yield stress, ultimate stress, and fracture stress can be calculated.
Furthermore, additional qualitative information is available by looking at the relative shape of
the stress-strain curve generated, such as whether the material is more ductile or brittle, and
tough or weak. For these reasons, the tensile test is very useful to engineers and scientists
working on the design, manufacture, or use of materials for many purposes. It is important for
those working with materials to know the basic mechanical characteristics of these materials
and how they compare with other materials. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment is to
evaluate and compare the tensile behaviors of several common engineering materials.
Theory:
Quite simply, stress is defined as force per area and strain is defined as a change in
length per length. However, there are two methods of defining stress and strain; engineering
stress/strain and actual stress/strain. Engineering stress/strain calculations use the original
specimen dimensions, whereas actual stress/strain calculations use the materials actual
dimensions as it is changing over the duration of the test.
eq. 1 eq. 2

eq. 3 eq. 4
For the purposes of generating stress-strain curves from the tensile test, engineering
stress/strain calculations are used. Besides this difference, there is other some other
differences in how stress and strain are defined. In three-dimensions, there are infinitely many
possible combinations of stress and strain. To simplify all these combinations into one
definition, stress and strain are both tensors that are defined in a given coordinate system in
terms of their direction and the cross sectional area theyre acting on. For the purposes of the
basic tensile test, things are kept simple and the only stress and strain combination studied is
the normal strain and normal stress in one dimension. To accomplish this, the test specimen is
fixed into position in line with the direction of applied force and can only move in the direction
of applied force. This is very important to ensure that relevant measurements are obtained,
namely the one-dimensional stress and strain in the direction of applied force. Furthermore, to
ensure other mechanical effects, such as strain rate, are not affecting the results, the testing
machine carefully and slowly stretches the specimen, in small increments until fracture occurs.
Strain is the independent variable because it is important to keep level, precise, and evenly
spaced increments of strain for good material data. Throughout the course of the test, the
machine records the applied load and an extensometer measures the specimens deformation.
For each stretch increment, engineering stress and strain are calculated using equations 1 and
2. From this data, a stress-strain curve is generated.
Once the stress-strain curve is generated, the materials Youngs Modulus, yield stress,
ultimate stress, and fracture stress is calculated, and the materials qualitative characteristics
are discerned. The stress-strain curve has an initial linear region, known as the elastic region,
a non-linear curved region, known as the plastic region, and then a fracture point where the
curve ends. The slope of the linear elastic region is the materials Youngs Modulus and
represents the constant in Hookes Law (in 1-Dimension). The yield point separates the linear
elastic region from the non-linear plastic region. To ensure uniformity across all materials, and
to reflect the fact that theres no real point where the curve instantly changes from linear to
non-linear, the yield point is calculated using a 0.2% offset; (following a line with a slope of the
Youngs Modulus up from a strain of 0.002 to where the line intersects the stress-strain curve).
The stress at this intersection is the Yield Stress. The Ultimate Stress is simply the maximum
engineering stress measured in the material, and the fracture stress is the engineering stress
when the material fractures. Besides these data points, the relative shape of the stress-strain
curve shows whether a material is ductile or brittle and strong or weak. A ductile material has a
large plastic region, whereas a brittle material has a small or non-existent plastic region. A
strong material has large area under the curve, whereas a weak material has a small area under
the curve.
Measurement Methods:
Testing machineused to apply the load
Extensometerused to measure the strain
Materialsacrylic, aluminum, steel and copper.
The testing machine is zeroed, then the material is securely loaded into the testing machine,
and then, the is extensometer placed on the material, and finally the test proceeds until
material fracture.
Results/Analysis:
(See attached graphs and spreadsheets)
In general, there is a direct relationship between density and tensile strength. The
denser a material is, the greater its tensile strength, but not always. An aerospace engineer is
typically most concerned with a materials strength-to-weight ratio, as high strength and low
weight are very important for airplanes to ensure theyre strong enough to travel at high
speeds, yet light enough to save on fuel costs.
Also, steel and aluminum alloys can have a varying range of mechanical properties and
stress-strain relationships depending upon the manufacturing method. Cold Working processes
such as strain hardening result in a greater Youngs Modulus and greater yield strength, but a
smaller plastic region, hence a more brittle material. Hot Working Processes such as annealing
result in a decreased Youngs Modulus and decreased yield strength, but a larger plastic region,
hence a more ductile material. Besides the strength to weight ratio, an engineer designing an
aerospace or mechanical system has other parameters to consider when choosing materials,
such as the environmental factors (operating temperature, oxygen levels, smooth or turbulent
air flow) and mechanical factors (steady state system or cyclic system). For example, airplane
wings have to be designed to handle stresses that result from turbulent airflow. As long as the
maximum stress that could result from this airflow is less than the yield stress, a strain
hardened material would probably handle better in this situation than a cold-worked material,
since the cold worked material will deform too easily.
Discussion:
The lab met the expectations of performing a tensile test of common engineering
materials, constructing reasonably accurate stress-strain curves from the data, and evaluating
and comparing the tensile behaviors these materials. While there is some variance between the
experimental and theoretical values of yield strength, ultimate strength, and Youngs Modulus,
the stress-strain curves have the correct character for the respective materials. The results are
indeed consistent with other relevant, published data. The variances in experimental and
theoretical values were mostly within the accepted ranges, according to matweb.com.
Importantly, variances in experimental and theoretical values are expected in a tensile test,
since there are so many different kinds of steel, aluminum, copper, and acrylic. In particular,
theres not really any such material as acrylic, and theres over a hundred different kinds of
materials classified as acrylic. Depending upon chemical impurities and the manufacturing
process (whether the material is hot worked or cold worked, rolled or extruded, etc.), there are
a range of excepted values.
There are a few possible sources of error in this experiment. Most important, is the
placement of the test specimen. A tiny angle between the direction of applied force and the
direction of the test specimen can have a drastic effect on the data obtained. Also, the
misalignment or miscalibration of the extensometer or the testing machine itself can cause
errors through inaccurate length and force measurements. Another source of error is sample
selection. Instead of mostly metals, other types of materials, such as more plastics, or even
ceramics would have allowed more extensive comparison of stress-strain curves, as metals are
mostly ductile and strong, ceramics mostly brittle and strong, and plastics obviously very plastic
and typically the weaker of these three types of materials.
The lab can definitely be improved if the exact kind of material is known as there are so
many different varieties of steel, copper, aluminum, and especially acrylic.
Most materials failed due to necking, except acrylic which failed in a brittle manner. In
necking failure, you can see a reduction in final cross-sectional area, and in brittle failure you
observe a rougher surface and small pieces of material that actually broke off from the
specimen.
Conclusion:
The lab was definitely a success in being able to construct reasonably accurate stress-
strain curves, and evaluate and compare the tensile properties of different engineering
materials. These curves could then be used to select a material based upon the desired design
properties.