TERMINOLOGY FOR MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Mechanical Properties: How materials react to physical forces.

Stress: Force per unit area over which the force is acting.
Strain: Elongation per unit length.
Modulus of elasticity (E): Youngs modulus, or the slope of the linear part of the stressstrain curve in the
elastic region. It is a measure of the stiffness of the bonds of a material and is not strongly dependent upon
microstructure.
Plastic deformation or strain: Permanent deformation of a material when a load is applied, then removed.
Elastomers: Natural or synthetic plastics that are composed of molecules with spring-like coils that lead to large
elastic deformations (e.g., natural rubber, silicones).
Viscous material: A viscous material is one in which the strain develops over a period of time and the material
does not return to its original shape after the stress is removed.
Anelastic (viscoelastic) material: A material in which the total strain developed has elastic and viscous
components. Part of the total strain recovers similar to elastic strain. Some part, though, recovers over a period
of time. Examples of viscoelastic materials include polymer melts and many polymers. Typically, the term
anelastic is used for metallic materials.
Stress relaxation: Decrease in stress for a material held under constant strain as a function of time, which is
observed in viscoelastic materials. Stress relaxation is different from time dependent recovery of strain.
Viscosity (): Measure of the resistance to flow, defined as the ratio of shear stress to shear strain rate (units
Poise or Pa-s).
Newtonian: Materials in which the shear stress and shear strain rate are linearly related (e.g., light oil or water).
Non-Newtonian: Materials in which the shear stress and shear strain rate are not linearly related; these materials
are shear thinning or shear thickening (e.g., polymer melts, slurries, paints, etc.).
Shear thinning (pseudoplastics): Materials in which the apparent viscosity decreases with increasing rate of
shear.
Shear thickening (dilatant): Materials in which the apparent viscosity increases with increasing rate of shear.
Thixotropic behavior: Materials that show shear thinning and also an apparent viscosity that at a constant rate
of shear decreases with time.
Rheopectic behavior: Materials that show shear thickening and also an apparent viscosity that at a constant
rate of shear increases with time.
HARDNESS OF MATERIALS
Hardness is the relative capacity or resistance of a material to scratching or indentation. It can also be defines
as a qualitative measure of the strength of the material.
Measurements of hardness:
Scratch hardness is the measure of how resistant a sample is to fracture or permanent plastic deformation due
to friction from a sharp object.
Rebound hardness, also known as dynamic hardness, measures the height of the "bounce" of a diamond-
tipped hammer dropped from a fixed height onto a material.
Indentation hardness measures the resistance of a sample to material deformation due to a constant
compression load from a sharp object.
Hardness tests:
Rockwell hardness test uses a small-diameter steel ball for soft materials and a diamond cone which is called
a Brale, for harder materials. This testing machine automatically measures the depth of penetration of the
indentor and converts it to the Rockwell hardness number (HR). There are two variations of this test, the Rockwell
C (HRC) test which is used for hard steels and the Rockwell F (HRF) which is more suited for aluminium.
Brinell hardness test uses a hard steel sphere (usually 10mm in diameter) which is forced into the surface of
the material. The diameter of the impression is measured.
Knoop hardness test is a microhardness test, forming such small indentations that a microscope is required to
obtain the measurement. The load t apply should be less than 2N.
Vickers hardness test uses a diamond pyramid indentor.
STRAIN RATE EFFECTS AND IMPACT BEHAVIOR
An impact test is used to evaluate the brittleness of a material under these conditions. Note that the strain rates
in this test are much higher.
In the Izod test (usually for plastics), a heavy pendulum, starting at an elevation h0, swings through its arc, strikes
and breaks the specimen, and reaches a lower final elevation hf. Now, if we know the initial and final elevations
of the pendulum, we can calculate the difference in potential energy. This difference is the impact energy
absorbed by the specimen during failure.
Impact toughness is the ability of a material to withstand an impact blow.
Tensile toughness is the area under the true or engineering stress-strain curve.
Fracture toughness is the ability of the material containing flaws to withstand applied load.
Properties Obtained from Impact Test
Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT)
o the temperature at which a material changes from ductile to brittle fracture.
Notch Sensitivity
o this cause concentrating stress and reducing toughness of materials. The absorbed energies are
much lower in notched specimens if the material is notch-sensitive.
FRACTURE MECHANICS
Fracture mechanics is the discipline concerned with the behavior of materials containing cracks or other small
flaws.
Flaw refers to such features as small pores (holes), inclusions, or microcracks.
Fracture toughness measures the ability of a material containing a flaw to withstand an applied load.
A. A. Griffith is the pioneer of Fracture Mechanics for his famous 1920 paper that quantitatively relates the flaw
size to the fracture stresses.
Fracture mechanics is significant for its approach allows us to design and select materials while taking into
account the inevitable presence of flaws.
1. Selection of a Material: If we know the maximum size of flaws in the material and the magnitude of the
applied stress, we can select a material that has a fracture toughness KC or K1C large enough to prevent the
flaw from growing.
2. Design of a Component: If we know the maximum size of any flaw and the material (and therefore its
KC or K1C has already been selected), we can calculate the maximum stress that the component can withstand.
Then we can size the part appropriately to ensure that the maximum stress is not exceeded.
3. Design of a Manufacturing or Testing Method: If the material has been selected, the applied stress is
known, and the size of the component is fixed, we can calculate the maximum size of a flaw that can be tolerated.
A nondestructive testing technique that detects any flaw greater than this critical size can help ensure that the
part will function safely. In addition, we find that, by selecting the correct manufacturing process, we can produce
flaws that are all smaller than this critical size.
Brittle Fracture refers to any crack or imperfection limits the ability of a ceramic to withstand a tensile stress.
Griffith Flaw refers to a crack or flaw in a material that concentrates and magnifies the applied stress.






Three ways of applying a force to enable a crack to propagate:
Mode I Fracture Mode II Fracture Mode III Fracture



Opening mode (a tensile
stress normal to the
plane of the crack)
Sliding mode (a shear stress
acting parallel to the plane of
the crack and perpendicular
to the crack front)
Tearing mode (a shear stress
acting parallel to the plane of the
crack and parallel to the crack
front)

MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES OF FRACTURE IN METALLIC MATERIALS
Fracture - propagation of crack across a loaded section.
Fracture can either be ductile or brittle.
A. Ductile Fracture
- normally occurs in a TRANSGRANULAR manner in metals that have good ductility and toughness.
*TRANSGRANULAR- through the grains.*
- usually caused by simple overloads, or by applying too high a stress to the material.
MICROVOIDS
- formed when a high stress causes separation of the metal at grain boundaries or interfaces between the
metal and small impurity particles.
- development of small holes in a material.
- are round, or equiaxed when a normal tensile stress produces the failure and oval shaped or elongated
on the shear lip.

B. Brittle Fracture
- occurs in high-strength metals and alloys or metals and alloys with poor ductility and toughness.
- frequently observed when impact, rather than overload causes failure.
- in some cases, the crack may take an INTERGRANULAR path particularly when segregation or
inclusions weaken the grain boundaries. *INTERGRANULAR- in between grains or along the grain
boundaries.*

MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES OF FRACTURE IN CERAMICS, GLASSES, AND COMPOSITES
Ceramic Materials
- Ionic or covalent bonds permit little or no slip. Consequently, failure is a result of brittle fracture.
- Most crystalline ceramics fail by cleavage along widely spaced, closely packed planes.
- Fracture surface is typically smooth and frequently no characteristic surface features point to the
origin of the fracture.



Glass
- also fracture in a brittle manner.
CONCHOIDAL FRACTURE
- Fracture surface containing a very smooth mirror zone near the origin of the fracture, with tear
lines comprising the remainder of the surface.
Polymers
- Fail by either a ductile or brittle mechanism.
Composites
- Fracture in fiber-reinforced composite materials is more complex.
- These composites contain strong, brittle fibers surrounded by a soft, ductile matrix, as in boron-
reinforced aluminum.
FATIGUE
Fatigue: is the lowering of strength or failure of a material due to cyclic loading.
Fatigue Life: The number of cycles permitted at a particular stress before a material fails by fatigue.
Fatigue Test: Measures the resistance of a material to failure when the stress below the yield strength is
repeatedly applied.
Fatigue Strength: the stress required to cause failure by fatigue in a given number of cycles, such as 500
million cycles.
S-N Curve (Whler Curve) : a graph showing stress as a function of number of cycles in fatigue.
Endurance Ratio: Endurance limit divided by the tensile strength of the material. The ratio is about 0.5 for
many ferrous metals.
Endurance limit: An older concept that defined a stress below which a material will not fail in a fatigue test.
Tensile strength (TS) or ultimate strength, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being
stretched or pulled before failing or breaking.
Initiation is the most complex stage of fatigue fracture and is the stage most rigorously studied by
researchers.
The propagation stage of fatigue causes the microcrack to change direction and grow perpendicular to the
tensile stress. The second, or propagation, stage of fatigue is usually the most readily identifiable area of a
fatigue fracture.
Rapid Fracture Crack - As the propagation of the fatigue crack continues, gradually reducing the cross-
sectional area of the part or test specimen, it eventually weakens the part so greatly that final, complete
fracture can occur with only one more load application..
Mean Stress: increasing the mean stress level leads to a decrease in fatigue life.
Surface Effects
For many common loading situations, the maximum stress within a component or structure occurs at its
surface. Consequently, most cracks leading to fatigue failure originate at surface positions, specifically at
stress amplification sites.
Design Factors
The design of a component can have a significant influence on its fatigue characteristics. Any notch or
geometrical discontinuity can act as a stress raiser and fatigue crack initiation site; these design features
include grooves, holes, keyways, threads, and so on.
Surface Treatments
During machining operations, small scratches and grooves are invariably introduced into the work piece
surface by cutting tool action.
Case Hardening is a technique by which both surface hardness and fatigue life are enhanced for steel alloys.
This is accomplished by a carburizing or nitriding process whereby a component is exposed to a carbonaceous
or nitrogenous atmosphere at an elevated temperature.
Thermal fatigue is normally induced at elevated temperatures by fluctuating thermal stresses; mechanical
stresses from an external source need not be present.
Corrosion fatigue Failure that occurs by the simultaneous action of a cyclic stress and chemical attack.
CREEP

Creep - a time dependent, permanent deformation at high temperatures, occurring at constant load or constant
stress.
Creep test - measures the resistance of a material to deformation and failure when subjected to a static load
below the yield strength at an elevated temperature.
Creep rate - the rate at which a material deforms when a stress is applied at a high temperature.

Creep rate =




Stages of Creep

1. Primary stage of creep of metals, many dislocations climb away from obstacles equals the rate at
which the dislocations are blocked by other imperfections.
2. Steady-state creep is the most understood stage wherein the steady-state portion of the creep curve is
the creep rate.
3. Tertiary creep, necking begins, the stress increases, and the specimen deforms at an accelerated rate
until failure occurs.

STRESS RUPTURE AND STRESS CORROSION

Stress Rupture is the sudden and complete failure of a material held under a definite constant load for a given
period of time at a specific temperature. In stress rupture testing, loads may be applied by tensile bending,
flexural, biaxial or hydrostatic methods.

Ductile stress-rupture failures occurs at high creep rates and relatively low exposure temperatures and have
short rupture times.

Brittle stress-rupture failures show only little necking and occur more often at smaller creep rates and high
temperatures.

Stress Rupture Test (SRT) determines the tendencies of materials that may break under an overload.

Stress Corrosion is a phenomenon in which materials react with corrosive chemicals in the environment.

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the growth of crack formation in a corrosive environment.

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) results from the combined action of three factors:
1. Tensile stresses in the material
2. A corrosive medium - especially chloride-bearing or hydrogen-sulphide (H2S) media. Chloride-induced
SCC normally occurs above 60C (140F).
3. The use of material susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC)

Methods of minimizing stress corrosion
By selecting a material that is not susceptible
By controlling stresses through careful design and minimizing stress
By keeping concentrations below the critical value
By reducing stresses through heat treatments and careful design for manufacturing
By using corrosion inhibitors during cleaning operations
By coating the material and effectively isolating the material from the environment