MSE 232 EXPERIMENT 9

STRENGTHING MATERIALS BY COLD WORKING

Introduction:
This experiment continues the investigation of microstructure after cold working on the
mechanical properties of steel using a combination of tensile and hardness tests.
Although cold rolling of aluminum was demonstrated in MSE150 lab 4, this MSE232 lab
will study how reducing the thickness of a material by cold rolling increases the
dislocation density, which increases the yield stress and Rockwell hardness, but decreases
the total elongation to failure and ductility.
Definitions:
Dislocation - a crystalline imperfection in which a lattice distortion is centered around a
line.
Slip the process of dislocations gliding on a slip plane during permanent (plastic)
deformation of a metal.
Grain a single crystal in a polycrystalline aggregate.
Cold working permanent deformation of metals and alloys below the temperature at
which a strain-free microstructure is produced continuously (recrystallization
temperature). Cold working caused a metal to be strain-hardened.
Percent cold reduction - % cold reduction equals the change in cross-sectional area
divided by the original cross-sectional area x 100.
Strain hardening (strengthening) the hardening of a metal or alloy by cold working.
During cold working, dislocations multiply and interact, leading to an increase in strength
of the metal.
Hardness a measure of the resistance of a material to permanent deformation.
Background:
Cold Working
Ductile metals change their shape by the movement of linear defects called dislocations.
If this permanent deformation is performed at temperatures below the recrystallization
temperature (e.g., room temperature), the number of dislocations multiplies and
continued movement of these linear defects requires increased forces. This type of
processing, referred to as cold working, effectively increases the strength of the material
and is an inexpensive method to raise the yield stress for many materials, especially for
sheet or wire products. A rolling mill utilizes two steel rollers to reduce the cross-section
of a sheet product where the percent reduction in cross-sectional area determines the

amount of cold working. In addition to the increase in dislocation density and resulting
yield strength of the material, cold rolling sheets of metals and alloys changes the shape
and crystallographic orientation of the individual grains in the polycrystalline material.
Grains become pancake shaped and crystallographic textures develop with anisotropic
materials properties (i.e., the materials properties are different along different directions
like those in a sample of wood that has fibrous grain structure.). In body centered cubic
(BCC) materials such as steel, the predominate rolling texture consists of {100} planes
oriented parallel to the plane of the sheet with the <110> directions in the rolling
direction. Unfortunately, accompanying the increases in yield and ultimate tensile
strength from cold working is a decrease in the ductility of the material with reduced
strain to failure. Therefore a compromise must be found where the amount of cold
working produces greater strength but with sufficient ductility for the given application.
Hardness Testing
Tensile testing provides a means to determine the elastic modulus, yield strength,
ultimate tensile strength, and strain to failure. However, the hardness test is a faster
method to measure the strength of a material. The different hardness testing methods
shown in figure 1 all involve the use of an indenter to measure the resistance of a material
to permanent deformation. The Rockwell hardness test is a common method that uses
different scales depending upon the materials strength. A diamond cone or a steel
sphere is pressed into the material with a predetermined load. The depth of the indention
determines the hardness value on an empirical scale. Hardness measurements are related
to the yield strength of a material and in some cases such as for high strength steels
predict the ultimate tensile strength. Since the size of the indentations is small, this
essentially non-destructive method is used extensively in industry for quality control.
Procedure:
1. Divide into three groups.
2. Each group is responsible for cold rolling, hardness testing, and tensile testing of
one sample of 1008 steel.
3. Samples should be cold rolled to reduction in thickness of 5%, 10%, and 15%.
4. Measure the dimensions of the sample (cross section and gage length) after
rolling.
5. Measure the hardness after rolling on the Rockwell B scale (1/16 steel ball
indenter with a 10 kg minor load and 100 kg major load).
6. Perform tensile tests to determine the yield strength (0.2% offset) and the ultimate
tensile strength. Measure the total length of the sample after tensile testing to
calculate strain to failure.
7. Photograph the fracture surfaces.
8. Share the data with the other groups using blackboard.
Assessment:
1. Make a Table that summarizes the stress-strain data as a function of cold working for
the as-received sample and the three different cold worked materials:

a. Ultimate tensile strength,

UTS

b. 0.2% offset yield strength

c. Hardness
d. strain to fracture
e. percent elongation to failure (%)
2. Describe the facture surface topography and macroscopic deformation from the
photographs of the failed samples.
3. Plot the stress stain curves from the four samples, label the elastic region, plastic
region, yield point and ultimate tensile strength. Discuss any abnormal features
present.
5. Explain the differences in the mechanical properties for the different samples based on
changes in microstructure.
Equipment:
Rolling Mill, Rockwell Hardness Tester, Mechanical load frame and computerized
instrumentation, grips for sample, digital vernier calipers, and safety glasses.