2016

Tensile Test
Report
AME 4054/Projects and Systems
Tutor Name: Mr Yakub Mughal
Student No : 1510188

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Table of Contents
1.

2.

3.

Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.

Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 4

1.2.

Health and Safety ................................................................................................................. 5

Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 5

2.1.

Hookes Law.......................................................................................................................... 5

2.2.

Strain ...................................................................................................................................... 5

2.3.

Stress ..................................................................................................................................... 6

2.4.

Modulus of Elasticity ............................................................................................................ 6

2.5.

Proportional limit ................................................................................................................... 7

2.6.

Tensile strength .................................................................................................................... 7

Apparatus ...................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1.

Hounsfield Tensometer ....................................................................................................... 8

3.2.

Vernier Caliper ...................................................................................................................... 9

3.3.

Mild Steel ............................................................................................................................. 10

3.4.

Aluminium ............................................................................................................................ 11

4.

Procedure .................................................................................................................................... 11

5.

Observation ................................................................................................................................. 12

6. Calculation: ..................................................................................................................................... 18
6.1. Calculation for Mild steel: ...................................................................................................... 18
6.2. Calculation for Aluminium ..................................................................................................... 21
7. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 24
8.

Bibliography................................................................................................................................. 25

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List of figures
Figure 1.stress vs strain Graph .................................................................................. 6
Figure 2. Hounsfield Tensometer (self captured,2016 ) ............................................. 8
Figure 3. Vernier Caliper ( self captured, 2016) ......................................................... 9
Figure 4.Mild Steel sample ( self captured, 2016 ) ................................................... 10
Figure 5. Aluminum Sample ( self captured, 2016) .................................................. 11
Figure 6. brittle fracture ( self captured, 2016) ......................................................... 12
Figure 7. Ductile Fracture (self captured, 2016 ) ...................................................... 15

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List of Graphs
Graph 1.................................................................................................................................................. 13
Graph 2.................................................................................................................................................. 14
Graph 3.................................................................................................................................................. 16
Graph 4.................................................................................................................................................. 17
Graph 5.................................................................................................................................................. 21
Graph 6.................................................................................................................................................. 23

List of Table
Table 1................................................................................................................................................... 13
Table 2................................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 3................................................................................................................................................... 18

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1. Introduction
Mechanical testing plays an important role in evaluating fundamental
properties of engineering materials as well as in developing new materials and in
controlling the quality of materials for use in design and construction. If a material
is to be used as part of an engineering structure that will be subjected to a load, it
is important to know that the material is strong enough and rigid enough to
withstand the loads that it will experience in service. As a result engineers have
developed a number of experimental techniques for mechanical testing of
engineering materials subjected to tension, compression, bending or torsion
loading.

The most common type of test used to measure the mechanical properties of a
material is the Tensile Test. Tensile test is widely used to provide basic design
information on the strength of materials and is an acceptance test for the
specification of materials. The major parameters that describe the stress-strain
curve obtained during the tension test are the tensile strength (UTS), yield
strength or yield point (y), elastic modulus (E), percent elongation (L%) and the
reduction in area (RA%). Toughness, Resilience, Poissons ratio () can also be
found by the use of this testing technique.

1.1. Aims and Objectives

The main aim of this experiment was to:
Observe tensile tests on steel bars and calculate tensile stress, strain and
youngs modulus.
Compare mechanical and physical properties through load, extension and
position
To define result via graph.

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1.2. Health and Safety

The Hounsfield Tensometer Testing Machine will be operated by an experienced
technician.

Beware not to drop steel bars on toes.

Stand a suitable distance away from the equipment during testing.

Be careful of sharp serrated edges of fractured samples.

2. Literature Review
A tensile test is probably the most fundamental type of mechanical test you can
perform on material. Tensile tests are simple, relatively inexpensive, and fully
standardized. By pulling on something, you will very quickly determine how the
material will react to forces being applied in tension. As the material is being pulled,
you will find its strength along with how much it will elongate.
You can learn a lot about a substance from tensile testing. As you continue to pull on
the material until it breaks, you will obtain a good, complete tensile profile. A curve
will result showing how it reacted to the forces being applied. The point of failure is of
much interest and is typically called its Ultimate Strength or UTS on the chart.

2.1. Hookes Law

In most tensile testing of materials, you will notice that in the initial part of the test,
the relationship between the applied force and the elongation the specimen exhibits
is linear. In this linear region, the line obeys the relationship defined as Hooke's
Law where the ratio of stress to strain is a constant, or E = /e.
E is known as Modulus of Elasticity or Young's Modulus.

2.2. Strain
We will be able to find the amount of stretch or elongation the specimen undergoes
during tensile testing, this can be expressed as an absolute measurement in the
change in length.
Strain is the ratio of change in length to the original length.
e =change in length/original length (Strain has no units)
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2.3. Stress
Stress is the internal resistance, or counterforce, of a material to the distorting
effects of an external force or load. These counter forces tend to return the atoms to
their normal positions. The total resistance developed is equal to the external load.
This resistance is known as stress.
Stress can be equated to load per unit area or the force applied per cross-sectional
area perpendicular to the force.
= Load/ Unit Area

2.4. Modulus of Elasticity

The ratio of the stress applied to a body to the strain that result in the body in
response to it. The modulus of elasticity of a material is a measure of its stiffness
and for most materials remains constant over a range of stress.
Mathematically

There are three types of modulus:1) The ratio of the longitudinal strain to the longitudinal stress is
called Young's modulus.
2) The ratio of the stress on the body to the body's fractional decrease in
volume is the bulk modulus.
3) The ratio of the tangential force per unit area to the angular deformation in
radians is the shear modulus.

This is typical stress vs strain graph.

Figure 1.stress vs strain Graph

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2.5. Proportional limit

The greatest stress which a material is capable of sustaining without deviation from
proportionality of stress and strain (Hooke's Law) or the point on the stress-strain
curve at which stress ceases to be proportional to strain.

2.6. Tensile strength

The tensile strength of a material is the maximum amount of tensile stress that it can
take before failure, for example breaking.
There are three types of tensile strength:
I.

Yield strength

II.

Ultimate strength

III.

Breaking strength

Yield strength:
Its the point at which the material exceeds the elastic limit and will not return to its
original shape or length if the load is removed.

Ultimate strength:
This is the maximum load the specimen sustains during the test. The UTS may or
may not equate to the strength at break. This all depends on what type of material
you are testing, Brittle, ductile, or a substance that even exhibits both properties. And
sometimes a material may be ductile when tested in a lab, but when placed in
service and exposed to extreme cold temperatures, it may transition to brittle
behaviour.

Breaking strength:
The stress coordinates on the stress-strain curve at the point of rupture.

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Elastic Limit:
The point at which the material permanently starts deforming after removal of load is
known as elastic limit.

3. Apparatus
Hounsfield tensometer.
Vernier Caliper.
Mild Steel.
Aluminum.

3.1. Hounsfield Tensometer

Figure 2. Hounsfield Tensometer (self captured,2016 )

It is a mechanical device which is called Hounsfield tensometer. It is used for tensile

testing to evaluate the tensile properties of materials such as tensile strength and
young modulus. It is connected to computer and uses a software to plot a graph and
given values in the computer while testing a sample. It is a universal testing
machine. The specimen is loaded between the two grips and it is adjusted manually
to apply force to the specimen. It works on hydraulic ram or by driving screw. The
latter have the great advantage of being able to create much more complex loading
patterns, such as the cyclical loads needed for measurement of fatigue strength.
Materials which are to be tested must be cut in specific size and shape to fit in the
grips.

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3.2. Vernier Caliper

Figure 3. Vernier Caliper ( self captured, 2016)

A Vernier caliper is a device used to measure the distance between two opposing
sides of an object. It can be as simple as a compass with inward or outward-facing
points. First the tips of the caliper are adjusted to fit across the points to be
measured and the caliper is then removed and the distance between the tips is
measured using a ruler. The Vernier caliper is an extremely precise measuring
instrument; the reading error is 1/20 mm = 0.05 mm. The Vernier Caliper consists of
a main scale fitted with a jaw at one end. Another jaw, containing the Vernier scale,
moves over the main scale. When the two jaws are in contact, the zero of the main
scale and the zero of the Vernier scale should coincide. If both the zeros do not
coincide, there will be a positive or negative zero error.

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3.3. Mild Steel

Figure 4.Mild Steel sample ( self captured, 2016 )

The above shown image is the sample of mild steel which was provided for testing.
Its length was 30mm with a diameter of 3mm. Mild steel is a carbon steel typically
with a maximum of 0.25% Carbon and 0.4%-0.7% manganese, 0.1%-0.5% Silicon
and some + traces of other elements such as phosphorous, it may also contain lead
(free cutting mild steel) or Sulphur (again free cutting steel called re-sulphurised mild
steel). Mild steel is the most common form of steel as its price is relatively low while
it provides material properties that are acceptable for many applications. Mild steel
has a low carbon content (up to 0.3%) and is therefore neither extremely brittle nor
ductile. It becomes malleable when heated, and so can be forged. It is also often
used where large amounts of steel need to be formed, for example as structural
steel. Its length was 30mm with a diameter of 3mm.

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3.4. Aluminium

Figure 5. Aluminum Sample ( self captured, 2016)

The above shown image is the sample of aluminum which was provided for testing.
Aluminum is a popular metal that we use often in our everyday lives. Aluminum has
unlimited potential. It is a widely-used, attractive industrial material, and compared
to several alternative metals such as steel and copper, aluminum is lightweight, has
a high strength-to-weight ratio and is resistant to corrosion.

Aluminum can be

recycled repeatedly without any material decline in performance or quality.

4. Procedure
We have done this test in laboratory under the supervision of tutors and
lab assistant with safety precautions. First we fixed the load at zero, and
then sample materials were provided. Sample materials were measured
with the help of vernier caliper and its measurement was recorded then
place the material in the jaws of the machine after placing that we
rotated the rotator wheel in clock wise direction with uniform velocity until
the material breaks (fractures) to determine load, time and length.
Before and after the test we take dimension. The load we applied and
elongation by observing graph and by using Vernier caliper. By using
graph we can determine the displacement and load we applied.

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5. Observation
Mild steel
The original length of mild steel was 30.7mm with a 3 mm. After the test the length
increased to 32.7 mm and diameter decreased to 2.8mm. It was measured by using
vernier caliper.

Fracture Type:

Figure 6. brittle fracture ( self captured, 2016)

The above shown image is the sample of mild steel which was used for tensile test.
It experienced brittle fracture. Brittle fracture is the fracture of a metal or other
material without appreciable prior plastic deformation. It is a break in a brittle piece of
metal which failed because stress exceeded cohesion. Brittle fracture is a breakage
or cracking of a material into discernible parts, from which no deformation can be,
identified (a clean break). It is characterized by rapid crack propagation with low
energy release and without significant plastic deformation.

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LOAD VS EXTENSION GRAPH FOR MILD STEEL

Necking

Elactic Region

4
3.5

LOAD

3
2.5
2
1.5

Ultimate

Load

Fracture

0.5
06:49.3
06:50.3
06:51.4
06:52.4
06:53.5
06:54.5
06:55.5
06:56.6
06:57.6
06:58.7
06:59.7
07:00.8
07:01.8
07:02.8
07:03.9
07:04.9
07:06.0
07:07.0
07:08.0
07:09.1
07:10.1
07:11.2
07:12.2
07:13.2
07:14.3
07:15.3
07:16.4
07:17.4
07:18.4
07:19.5

DISPLACE MENT

Graph 1

Percentage Elongation of Mild Steel

Dia

Area

Peak

Peak

Break

Break

Strength at

Strength at

met

(Sq.mm)

Load

Elongation

Load

Elongation

Peak (

Break(

Elongation

Elongat

(kN)

(mm)

(kN)

(mm)

kN/Sq,mm)

kN/Sq,mm)

at Peak

ion at

er
(m

Break

m)
3

7.07

3.72

1.07

2.35

2.23

0.53

0.33

Table 1

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Stress vs Strain Graph for Mild Steel

STRESS VS STRAIN GRAPH FOR MILD STEEEL

4
3.5

LOAD

3
2.5
2
1.5

Load

1
0.5
0
06:44.6

06:49.0

06:53.3

06:57.6

07:01.9

07:06.2

07:10.6

07:14.9

07:19.2

07:23.5

DISPLACEMENT
Graph 2

Percentage Elongation of Mild Steel = Final length Initial length x 100

Initial length
= 32.23mm 30mm x 100
30mm
= 7.43 %

Percentage Reduction of Mild Steel = Original Area Area at failure x 100

Original Area
= 7.065 x 10-6 6.154 x 10-6 x 100
7.065 x 10-6
= 12.89 %

Tensile Strength at Peak = 0.53 KiloNewton/Sq.mm

Tensile Strength at Break = 0.33 KiloNewton/Sq.mm
% Elongation at Peak = 1.07
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% Elongation at Break = 2.23

Load at Break = 2.35 KN
Stress at Failure = Load at break / Area at failure
= 2.35 x 103 /6.154 x 10-6
= 381.86 x 106 Pa.

Aluminium

Figure 7. Ductile Fracture (self captured, 2016 )

Before the test when the aluminum sample was measured using vernier caliper its
length was 30mm with a diameter of 3mm. after the test when it was measured again
its length was 33mm with diameter 1.9mm.

Fracture Type:
The above shown image is the sample of aluminum sample which was used for
tensile test. It experienced the ductile fracture. Ductile fracture is a type of fracture
characterized by extensive deformation of plastic or "necking." This usually occurs
prior to the actual fracture. The term "ductile rupture" refers to the failure of highly
ductile materials. In such cases, materials pull apart instead of cracking. In ductile
fracture, there is absorption of massive amounts of energy and slow propagation
before the fracture occurs.

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Load vs extension Graph for Aluminium

Elastic

1.2

LOAD VS EXTENSTION GRAPH FOR ALUMINIUM

Strain hardening

Necking

LOAD

0.8
0.6
0.4

Load

Ultimate Strenght

Yeild strenght

0.2

Fracture
29:31.7
29:33.0
29:34.2
29:35.5
29:36.8
29:38.1
29:39.4
29:40.7
29:41.9
29:43.3
29:44.5
29:45.8
29:47.0
29:48.4
29:49.6
29:50.9
29:52.2
29:53.5
29:54.8
29:56.0
29:57.3
29:58.6
29:59.8
30:01.2
30:02.5
30:03.7
30:05.0
30:06.3
30:07.6
30:08.9
30:10.1
30:11.4
30:12.7

DISPLACMENT
Graph 3

Percentage Elongation of Aluminium

Diam

Area

Peak

Peak

Break

Break

Strength at

Strength at

eter

(Sq.

Load

Elongation

Load

Elongation

Peak (

Break(

Elongation

Elongati

(mm)

mm)

(kN)

(mm)

(kN)

(mm)

kN/Sq,mm)

kN/Sq,mm)

at Peak

on at
Break

7.065

0.99

1.77

0.24

2.91

0.14

0.03

5.9

9.7

Table 2

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Stress vs strain Graph for Aluminium

1.2

STRESS VS STRAIN GRAPH FOR ALUMINIUM

LOAD

0.8
0.6
0.4

Load

0.2
0
29:25.4

29:34.1

29:42.7

29:51.4

30:00.0

30:08.6

30:17.3

DISPLACEMENT

Graph 4

Percentage Elongation of Aluminum = Final length Initial length x 100

Initial length
= 33mm 30mm x 100
30mm

= 10 %

Percentage Reduction of Aluminum = Original Area Area at failure x 100

Original Area
= 7.065 x 10-6 2.835 x 10-6 x 100
7.065 x 10-6
= 59.87 %
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Tensile Strength at Peak = 0.14 KiloNewton/Sq.mm

Tensile Strength at Break = 0.03 KiloNewton/Sq.mm
% Elongation at Peak = 5.9
% Elongation at Break = 9.7
Load at Break = 0.24 KN
Stress as Fracture = Load at break / Area at Failure
= 0.24 x 103/ 2.835 x 10-6
= 84.65x10

6. Calculation:
6.1. Calculation for Mild steel:
Original Length

= 30 mm

Final Length

= 32.23 mm

Original Diameter = 3 mm
Final Diameter

Load
No.

(KN)

= 2.23 mm

Stress(P/A)
(Pa)

Extension

Strain(L/L)

Youngs
modulus(E=/e)

(mm)

Average
E (Pa)

(Pa)

0.12 16.985x106

0.03

1.00x10-3

1.698x1010

0.21 29.702x106

0.06

2.00x10-3

1.485x1010

0.33 46.709x106

0.09

3.00x10-3

1.556x1010

1.687x1010

Table 3

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Explain the behaviour of the samples under the applied tensile load up to and
including the point of fracture.
The fracture occurred to mild steel sample was brittle fracture. The elastic material of
mild steel was very less compared to aluminum sample which can be seen in graph.

Sample calculation:
Area = /4 (d)2
Area = (/4) x (3x10-3)2
Area = 7.065 mm2
For Stress
Stress

1st Stress

= 0.12x103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

=16.985x106

2nd Stress

= 0.17 x 103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

= 24.045x106

3rd Stress

= 0.33 x 103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

= 46.709x106

For Strain

Strain

1st Strain

= 0.03/ 30
= 1.00x10-3

2nd Strain

= 0.06 / 30 = 2.00x10-3

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= 0.09 / 30
= 3.00x10-3

For youngs Modulus

Youngs Modulus
1st Value

= 16.985x106/ 1.00x10-3
= 1.698x1010 Pa.

2ND Value

= 29.702x106/ 2.00x10-3
= 1.485x1010

3rd Value

= 46.709X106 / 3.00x10-3
= 1.556x1010

Average of E

=
10

A = 1.687x10

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STRESS VS STRAIN SAMPLE GRAPH

50

STRESS

40

46.709

29.702

30
16.985

20
10

0
0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

STRAIN

Graph 5

6.2. Calculation for Aluminium

Original length

= 30mm

Final Length

= 33mm

Original Diameter = 3mm

Final diameter

= 1.9mm

Youngs
No

Load

Stress(P/A)

Extensio

Strain(L/L

modulus(E=/e

Average

(kN)

(Pa)

E (Pa)

(mm)

(Pa)

0.12

16.985x106

0.04

1.33x10-3

1.277x1010

0.16

22.64x106

0.06

2.00x10-3

1.132x1010

0.22

31.39x106

0.08

2.66x10-3

1.18x1010

1.169x1010

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Sample calculation:

Area = /4 (d) 2
Area = (/4) x (3x10-3)2
Area = 7.065 mm
For Stress
Stress

1st Stress

= 0.12x103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

=16.985x106

2nd Stress

= 0.16 x 103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

= 22.646x106

3rd Stress

= 0.22 x 103 / 7.065 x 10-6 m2

= 31.39x106

For Strain
Strain

1st Strain

= 0.04/ 30
= 1.33x10-3

2nd Strain

= 0.06 / 30
= 2.00x10-3

3rd Strain

= 0.08 / 30
= 2.66x10-3

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For youngs Modulus

Youngs Modulus
1st Value

= 16.98x106/ 1.33x10-3
= 1.277x1010 Pa.

2nd Value

= 22.64x106/ 2.00x10-3
= 1.132x1010 pa

3rd Value

= 31.39x106/ 2.66x10-3
= 1.18x1010 pa

Average of E

1.169x1010

STRESS VS STRAIN SAMPLE GRAPH FOR ALUMINIUM

35
30

STRESS

25
20
15
10
5
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

STRAIN
Graph 6

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7. Conclusion
Tensile test is very important in engineering because every material we are using
has its own strength. With the help of tensile test we can determine which material
have better strength and to what range that material can tolerate the load. We can
easily verify the suitability of material for the work to be used.
In this test we calculate strength of both Mild steel and Aluminium. In this test we
observe that mild steel have more strength than aluminium it has more elastic limit
and more young's modulus. It means mild steel can tolerate more load than
aluminium. We have also observed that each material has different fractures such as
mild steel has brittle while aluminium has ductile.

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8. Bibliography
Google

Books.

2016.

Matter

and

Interactions.

[online]

Available

at:

http://books.google.ae/books?id=8oyNPd5QbYgC&pg=PA147&dq=definition+of+
stress,strain+young+modulus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7WucUqiJLOy70wX08YDgCQ&v
ed=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=definition%20of%20stress%2Cstrain%20you
ng%20modulus&f=false [Accessed: 17 March 2016].
Google

Books.

2016. Tensile

Testing.

[online]

Available

at:

http://books.google.ae/books?id=5uRIb3emLY8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=tensil
e+testing&hl=en&sa=X&ei=39ecUsmRMOWm0AWUv4GABw&ved=0CDQQ6AE
wAA#v=onepage&q=tensile%20testing&f=false [Accessed: 18 March 2016].
Ndt-ed.org. 2016. Tensile Properties. [online] Available at: http://www.ndted.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/Tensile.ht
m [Accessed: 18 March 2016].
Sciencedaily.com.

2016.

Tensile

strength.

[online]

Available

at:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/t/tensile_strength.htm [Accessed: 21 March

2016].

Shawn.

2016.

STEDU.

[ONLINE]

Available

at:

http://www.sv.vt.edu/classes/MSE2094_NoteBook/97ClassProj/exper/ballard/ww
w/ballard.html. [Accessed 24 March 2016].

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