THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

ENGR 2112/229
Experiment 2: Tension Test Part 2

Submitted by: Cherif Youssef Chokeir

SID: 900140712

Date of Submission: 5/10/2015

Dr. Djhan Hassan

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the mechanical behavior of a ductile
material (mild steel) and to determine some of its mechanical characteristics. The
determination of such properties is an essential engineering approach, since these
characteristics indicates the allowable conditions of loading and the response of the
materials to increasing loads and the corresponding deformations which is an
important step in the design of many engineering structures. In order to determine
the properties for the mild steel specimen, it has been subjected to a tension test.
After measuring its initial diameter at three different locations, the specimen was
subjected to increasing then decreasing load using a Universal Testing Machine
with a data acquisition system. At different load rates, the instantaneous diameter
of the specimen at the same three regions was measured until the necking occurred
in a region for which the diameter measurements have been recorded while the
other two regions were neglected. Similarly, the initial and final length of 10
divisions of the specimen were measured from which it was possible to calculate
the elongation. After the data was tabulated, the true stress-strain diagram was
obtained. Comparison to an engineering stress-strain diagram showed that both
curves are identical until the yield strength from which they diverge. While the
engineering stress decreases during the necking phase due to the decrease in the
load, there is no decrease in the true stress-strain diagram until fracture occurs
since the true stress keeps increasing since it is calculated using the instantaneous
area which decreases in the necking phase. The true stress-strain data also led to
the calculation of the strength coefficient and the strain hardening coefficient
important characteristic of the material. The study of the elongation showed that it
is maximum in the necking region where the stress is maximum.
List of figures
Fig.1 Mild steel specimen....7

Fig.2 Universal Testing Machine..8

Fig.3 Electromechanical Universal Testing Machine..10

Fig.4 Universal Testing Machine with a data acquisition system.10

Fig.5 Vernier Caliper..11

Fig.6 Schematic of the specimen .11

Fig.7 Necking region of the mild steel specimen 12

Fig.8 Measurement of the final length of the divisions .13

Fig.9 Necking of the mild steel specimen .15

Fig.10 True Stress-Strain Diagram for mild steel specimen.16

Fig.11 Engineering Stress-Strain Diagram for mild steel specimen ..17

Fig.12 Cup and cone fracture of mild steel specimen20

Fig.13 Combined Engineering and True Stress-Strain Diagrams for steel..20

Fig.14 Log () vs. Log () for mild steel specimen..21

Fig.15 Elongation vs. divisions for the mild steel specimen.24

Fig.16 Percentage Elongation vs. gage length for the mild steel specimen.24
List of Tables
Table.1 Characteristics of the specimen at different loads ..14

Table.2 Initial, final lengths and elongation of the 10 divisions23

Introduction
Mechanics of materials is the branch of engineering which studies the mechanical
behavior of the different materials under loading conditions. The importance of the
subject is related to the fact that the determination of the mechanical properties of
the materials like their capacity to withstand a specific load for a certain amount of
time is an essential engineering approach. Essential because the design of
structures like bridges, beams and cables is based on the determination of an
appropriate material and with appropriate design considerations like the length or
diameters, the geometry of the object etc. But also essential because it is important
to predict the deformations and the response of the material to increasing loads.
Therefore, engineers usually perform strength tests on specimens in order to
determine their mechanical properties. A test that is always performed on
specimens is tension test, or tensile test, in which the specimens are subjected to
increasing tensile loads until fracture. This test is usually performed with a
Universal Testing Machine.

In this study, the objective of the tension test is to obtain the true stress-strain
diagram of a ductile material, mild steel, in order to compare between engineering
and true stresses and strains for steel. In fact the difference between the two
concepts is related to the approximations and assumptions that are dealt with in
engineering: while true stresses and strains both reflect more accurately the
mechanical behavior of the specimen in a tension test, engineering stresses and
strains are the ones used by engineers in their calculations in design of structures
since they are based on the available data to them like the initial lengths and
diameters of the structures. (Beer, Johnston, DeWolf & Mazurek, 2012).
However, it is important to note that true and engineering stresses and strains are
not independent quantities: they are related by formulas such as = s (1+e) and

= ln (1+e) where s and e are engineering stress and strain and and are true
stresses and strain. (The Difference Between True Stress and Engineering Stress)

Another objective of this study was also to determine some characteristic criteria
of the mild steel specimen from the true stress-strain diagram, which are the
strength coefficient K of the specimen and its strain hardening coefficient n. The
strength coefficient K of the specimen is the value of its true stress when its true
strain equals 1.00. On the other hand, the strain hardening coefficient is a quantity
between 0 and 1 which measures the specimens resistance to deformation. A
strain hardening coefficient of 0 means the material is purely plastic, while a
coefficient of 1 means that the material is elastic. Other than just a measure of
ability to deform, the strain hardening coefficient measures the quality of
formation of the material. (Gedeon, 2013). It is therefore important to calculate
these characteristic criteria for the materials in order to be able to choose
appropriate material for specific loads. These characteristic are related to stress and
strain by the exponent relation:

=
Another and important objective of this study was to examine the elongation of the
mild steel specimen in order to understand its mechanical behavior in a tension test
as a typical ductile material.

However, the study didnt take into consideration some factors like the variation of
temperature or pressure and its effect on the materials. The limitations of the study
are further discussed in the conclusion section.
Methodology:
Material:

The tensile test was conducted on a mild steel specimen divided into 10
divisions of approximately 1cm each(fig.1), in order to determine some
characteristic criteria of ductile materials. Mild steel is a type of steel that is
composed of less than 0.25% of carbon. This increase its ductility. It is more
suitable for structures that do not support high stress like nuts, bolts and
shafts. (Mild Steel, 2015).

Fig.1 Mild steel specimen

Equipment:

The tensile test was conducted using a Universal Testing Machine (UTM)
(Fig.2). It is a device which could apply a centric load to a specimen. It is
used in many tests, but in the tension test it applies variable loads to the
specimen causing it to extend until fracture
It consists of
A Load frame which supports the UTM
A movable crosshead
Extensometer, or a mean of measuring the deformation of the specimen
Test fixtures, jaws which maintain the specimen used for the test. In this
experiment they were the V-shape grips.
A fixed head
Output device which presents the result of the test. In this experiment it is
the data acquisition system and the software installed on the computer
through which it is possible to follow the load that is applied to the specimen
(Universal Testing Machine)

Fig.2 Universal Testing Machine

There are two main types of UTMs: hydraulic powered UTM and
electromechanical UTM, like the one used in this experiment. This type of
UTM uses a motor which rotates the gear box and, by the means of screws,
moves the crosshead. In order to apply different loads to study the
mechanical behavior of the specimens, the UTM applies different speeds for
the crosshead. This could be achieved by varying the speed of rotation of the
motor (Ali et al.)

In this experiment, in order to measure the change in diameter of the

specimen at different loads, it is important to control the loading rate of the
machine. This was done by decreasing the speed of rotation of the motor, to
be able to extract the specimen from the UTM.

The difference between the UTM used in the first part of the tension test and
the one used in this experiment is a difference in the load capacity (100Kn
for the first part and 50 Kn for the second part).
The main parts of an electromechanical UTM are shown in fig.3 and the
interaction of the UTM with a data acquisition system is shown in fig.4

Fig.3 Electromechanical Universal Testing Machine

Fig.4 Universal Testing Machine with a data acquisition system

 Procedure:

The first step was to determine the geometric characteristics of the specimen
used in the experiment. Using a Vernier caliper (Fig.5), the initial diameter
of the specimen at three different locations was measured. Also, the initial
length of the 10 divisions of the specimen (the length between two
successive marks on the specimen) was measured .These geometric
characteristics are summarized on fig.6

Fig.5 Vernier Caliper

Fig.6 Schematic of the specimen

Then, based on these measurements the appropriate conditioning of loads for
the test was set by the control software installed on the computer.
Then the specimen was placed in the UTM which applied at first increasing
speed of the motor and thus increasing loads causing the specimen to extend,
then the load decreased progressively until fracture.
The diameter of the specimen at the same three regions was measured during
the experiment at different loading rates, by decreasing the speed of the
rotation of the motor and extracting the specimen to measure the diameter
using the Vernier Caliper. This procedure was repeated many times until
necking phase begun to occur in the vicinity of one of the three regions
(fig.7). From this point, the measurement of the diameter is only done on
this region where the necking occurred (region 3, or the lower region) and
measurements of the two other portions were neglected.

Fig.7 Necking region of the mild steel specimen

Then the final length of the 10 divisions of the specimens were measured
using the Vernier caliper (fig.8)

Fig.8 Measurement of the final length of the divisions

From the above measurements, it is possible to plot the true Stress vs. Strain
diagram for the mild steel specimen to determine some of its mechanical
properties and to compare between the results of this experiment and the
first part of the tension test that was conducted before. Data are presented
and analyzed using graphs and tables. This will be discussed in further detail
in the Results and discussion section.
Results and Discussion:

At first, the measurements of the instantenous diameter Dinst of the

specimen in the necking region for different loads were tabulated ( Table.1).
From these measurements, it is possible to calculate the instantaneous area
A inst (i.e. the area of the specimen at the corresponding loading condition).
Dividing the load by the instantenous area gets the true stress true. It is also

possible to calculate the true strain true of the specimen at these loading

conditions. All these results are presented in table.

A inst (m2) true true =

Load P Dinst (MPa)

(Kn) (mm) = ( )
=

/4*(8*10^(-3)
0 8.0 0 2 ln(8/8)=0
)^2=5.03*10^-5
13 8.0 5.03*10^-5 258.63 0
19 8.0 5.03*10^-5 377.99 0
22 8.0 5.03*10^-5 437.68 0
28 8.0 5.03*10^-5 557.04 0
30 8.0 5.03*10^-5 596.83 0
32 7.95 4.96*10^-5 644.65 0.01254
31 7.95 4.96*10^-5 624.51 0.01254
29.9 7.3 4.19*10^-5 714.39 0.1831
28 7.0 3.85*10^-5 727.57 0.267
27 6.7 3.53*10^-5 765.82 0.355
25.2 6.4 3.22*10^-5 783.34 0.446
24 6.1 2.92*10^-5 821.22 0.542
23.8 5.4 2.29*10^-5 1039.2 0.786

Table.1 Characteristics of the specimen at different loads

The analysis of table.1 shows, at first that during the test, the load increased
until a maximum value (around 32 Kn) and then the cross-sectional area of
the specimen begun to decrease during the necking phase(fig.9) while the
load decreased.

Fig.9 Necking of the mild steel specimen

These calculations help to plot the true stress-vs. strain diagram for the
specimen (fig.10)

True Stress-strain diagram for mild steel specimen

true (MPa)
1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 true

Fig.10 True Stress-Strain Diagram for mild steel specimen

Fig.11 Engineering Stress-Strain Diagram for mild steel specimen

Comparing fig.10 (True stress-strain diagram of a mild steel specimen in a

tensile test) to fig.11 (Engineering stress-strain diagram of a mild steel
specimen in a tensile test), it is possible to identify the similarities and
differences between true and engineering stresses and strains.

At first, for both curves, the initial portion of the diagram is a straight line,
indicating that the specimen extends linearly with increasing stress until the
elastic limit. This shows that, below this limit value for stress, if the load is
removed the specimen returns back to its original shape. Similarly, both
curves present a horizontal portion indicating the yield strength. After the
yield strength, the specimen undergoes large deformations (important
increase in strain) with relatively small increase in stress. This phase, known
as the strain-hardening phase is present in both curves.
However, the difference between true and engineering stresses and strains
appear at the end of this phase when necking begins to occur.

In the case of engineering stress-strain curve, after the stress has reached a
maximum value called Ultimate Strength U beyond which necking occurs,
the stress decreases while the specimen is still extending until fracture
occurs at a value of stress called Fracture Strength B. .This is represented
by the last portion in fig.11

On the other hand, the value of stress doesnt decrease during necking phase
in a true stress-strain curve (fig.10) The stress continues to increase with the
extension of the specimen until fracture occurs.

These differences could be explained by the fact that the formulas used to
calculate the engineering and true stresses and strains are different in nature.
In fact, the engineering stress is calculated by dividing the load P by the
initial cross-sectional area A0 of the specimen before any change occurred.

= . Thus when necking occurs, the calculation of stress doesnt reflect

the change in area. Since is only affected by the load in this case, the
decrease in the load which occurs during the necking phase causes the stress
to decrease while the specimen still extends until fracture occurs. Thats
why, the engineering stress-strain curve decreases during necking process.
On the other hand, the true stress is calculated by dividing the load P by the

instantaneous area true = . Thus, during the necking phase the

stress is now proportional to P (which decreases) but it is also inversely
proportional to Ainst which decreases and thus causes the stress to increase
with the strain until the specimen fractures. Therefore, there is no decrease
in the stress during necking phase in a true stress-strain diagram and the last
portion of the curve is not decreasing.

Now, the calculation of strain is also different : the engineering strain =
0
is obtained by dividing the elongation L by the initial length L0, the true
strain is obtained by summing, or integrating the elongation L by the

instantaneous length Linst. = = ln(Linst/L0).
0

These formulas show that the true stress and strain are quantities that reflects
the actual stress and strain that occur in material since it take into
consideration the variation in parameters such as the area and the length. On
the other hand the engineering stress and strain are so called as they are the
one used by engineers who need to work in their calculations with known
values for structures like the initial area or diameter. Thus the true-stress
strain curve is the one which reflects the actual behavior of the material.
(Beer, Johnston, DeWolf & Mazurek, 2012)

It is important to note, however, that the mild steel specimen had a similar
behavior to the steel specimen in tension test part (1), as it broke after the
necking phase in a cup and cone shape fig 12
Fig.12 Cup and cone fracture of mild steel specimen

Fig.13 helps to compare true and engineering stress-strain curves

Fig.13 Combined Engineering and True Stress-Strain Diagrams for steel

It is possible to determine the Strain hardening coefficient (n), which
measures the resistance to deformation, and the strength coefficient (K) of
the mild steel specimen through the exponent relationship

= (1)
Equation (1) could also be written as ln() = ln( ) + () (2)
Neglecting some extreme values, the graph of log () vs. log () is close to a
straight line (fig.14)

Log () vs Log() Log ()

9.05

9
y = 0.2348x + 9.0013
8.95

8.9

8.85

8.8
-0.8 -0.7 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0

Log()
Fig.14 Log () vs. Log () for mild steel specimen
From equation (2), the strain hardening coefficient (n) of mild steel, which
measures its resistance to deformation, corresponds to the slope of the line
so from fig. n = 0.23. The values of the strain hardening coefficient range
between 0 and 1. A value close to 0 means the material is plastic, while a
value of 1 indicates it is behaving elastically. (Strain hardening
coefficient). Therefore, the results show that mild steel behaves more
plastically than elastically, i.e. it has a high ability to resist to deformation
and not easily stretched.(Strain Hardening Exponent)

From equation 2 also, the Y-intercept corresponds to log (k). K is the

strength coefficient, which is the value of stress when =1 . From fig.
log (k) =9, so K=109 =1 GPa.

After discussing the true stress vs. strain curve and the corresponding
characteristics of the mild steel specimen, it is now important to consider the
elongation of the specimen under tensile load. Table.2 presents the
measurements of the initial and final lengths of the 10 divisions on the
specimen, from which it was possible to calculate the corresponding
elongation (L) of the divisions.
 L0 Lf %
Accumulated
No. of (initial (final L=Lf L0 Elongation
Gage length
division length) length) (mm) =
l0 (mm)
(mm) (mm) (L/L)*100

1 9.4 9.4 L=9.4- (0/9.4)*100=0

9.4
9.4= 0
2 10.45 10.75 0.3 19.85 1.51
3 9.90 10.0 0.1 29.75 1.34

4 10.0 10.6 2.52

0.6 39.75
5 9.6 10.0 0.4 49.35 2.84
6 10.0 10.5 0.5 59.35 3.20
7 10.1 11.3 1.2 69.45 4.46
8 10.0 11.0 1 79.45 5.16
9 10.0 11.55 1.55 89.45 6.32
10 9.4 13.7 4.3 98.85 10.1
Table.2 Initial, final lengths and elongation of the 10 divisions

From table.2 it is possible to plot elongation vs. divisions (fig.15), but also
elongation percent vs. gage length (fig.16)
 Elongation vs. divisions
Elongation L for the mild steel specimen
(mm)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No. of division

Fig.15 Elongation vs. divisions for the mild steel specimen

Percentage Elongation vs. Gage Length

% Elongation
12

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Length
(mm)

Fig.16 Percentage Elongation vs. gage length for the mild steel specimen
The analysis of table.2 with figs.15 and.16 shows that the mild steel
specimen extended under increasing load (Lfinal > Linitial ). It is important to
observe that the different divisions extended differently. While the first six
divisions undergo a relatively small deformation (L < 0.5 mm), the
deformation is more important near the necking region (10th division) with

L=4.3 mm. This is due to the fact that = with P the applied load in

N, L the length in m and A, area in m2 and E modulus of elasticity in Pa.
Thus the deformation is maximum when the area is minimum which occurs
in the necking region. This is characteristic of ductile material for which
necking occur at tension tests.
Conclusion and Recommendations
To sum up, the main objective of this study was to determine some
mechanical properties for a ductile material (mild steel) and to compare between
true and engineering stresses and strains under tension loading and to study the
mechanical behavior of a ductile material.

After measuring the diameter of the specimen at different load rates, it had
been possible to calculate true stress and strains and to obtain true stress vs. strain
curve. Comparing it to an engineering stress-strain diagram of steel, it appeared
that both curves are identical for elastic portion. Then after the yield strength, the
curves diverge: while the true stress-strain diagram increases until fracture,
engineering stress-strain diagram decreases after the ultimate strength during the
necking phase. The reason is that the true stress is calculated using the
instantaneous area which decreases during necking, causing the stress to increase
unlike to engineering stress. From true stress-strain data it had also been possible
to determine some characteristic criteria of the specimen like the strength
coefficient K, value of stress when the strain equals 1 and the strain hardening
exponent n, which measures the ability of the material to resist to deformation. For
the studied specimen (n=0.23) so its a typical brittle material which isnt easily
stretched, it resists to deformation. The observation of the elongation of the
specimen showed that it elongated under increasing load but that the elongation is
maximum near the necking region which is characteristic of ductile materials under
tension.

The determination of these mechanical properties and behavior of ductile

material is useful in many engineering applications. For example the design of
structures such as buildings, bridges and beams for specific loading conditions
requires the knowledge of the conditions under which a structure would fail in
order to choose an appropriate material with appropriate dimensions. The
knowledge of the strain hardening coefficient is important to know the ability of
the material to resist to deformation which is an essential approach in engineering
problems.

However, the study presented some limitations and weaknesses. At first, the
data obtained could not be very accurate. In fact, there are many possible errors in
these experiments like the reading errors of the gage length and diameter of the
specimen. At second, some parameters were not included in this study and they
might affect the materials, like the change in temperature, pressure etc.

As a recommendation, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the study by

measuring the diameter many times and averaging the values. Also the use of
standard specimens (i.e., for which the diameters are priory determined with great
accuracy) could help improve the study.
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