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MECH2300 - Structures and Materials

Materials Test 1 – PAPER B

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40 MINUTES FOR WORKING

THERE ARE 15 QUESTIONS IN TOTAL

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS

ALL QUESTIONS ARE OF EQUAL VALUE

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THE EXAMINATION SHEETS MUST BE HANDED IN AT THE END OF THE TEST PERIOD
Question 1.
Refer to the SN curves for different materials from Callister and Rethwisch below. The curves were
generated using rotating – bending and reverse cycle tests.

Which of the following is not correct?

a) A 1045 steel sample can be safely cycled to 105 cycles with a maximum stress of 350 MPa.
b) A 70Cu-30Zn brass will fail in fatigue if it is subjected to a cyclic stress with a stress maximum of
170 MPa after ~ 106 cycles.
c) A 4340 steel displays a fatigue threshold at a max stress of ~ 480 MPa.
d) If the design called for a very high number of cycles in the lifetime of the object (say 10 9 cycles)
and the max stress is ~ 470 MPa, it would be safer to use Ti-5Al-2.5 Sn alloy than a 4340 steel.
e) It is relatively safe to use a ductile cast iron under rotating bending for very long times provided
the max stress is below ~ 200 MPa.

Question 2.
Which of the following will not increase the fatigue life of an object?
a) Reducing the stress amplitude on the sample.
b) Increasing the mean stress while keeping the stress amplitude constant .
c) Grinding the surface to introduce compressive stresses in the surface of a component.
d) Polishing the surface of a component.
e) Increasing the yield stress of the material.
Question 3.
Which of the following is not correct regarding the failure mode of an object under mechanical
stress?
a) Crystalline ceramics often fail in a brittle fashion because plastic deformation is usually very
difficult in these materials.
b) The brittle failure stress of a material is determined by the fracture toughness and the flaw size
in the material.
c) With an increasing stress on the object, the failure mode that occurs at the lowest stress will be
the failure mode experienced.
d) All polymers fail in a ductile fashion because they have a lower yield stress than metals.
e) The failure mode experienced by an object made from a polymer may change with temperature
and the time under load.

Question 4.
The images below show the fracture surfaces of Charpy V-notch impact samples of an A36 steel
tested at varying temperatures. The photograph has the two separated halves of the notched
specimens arranged with the notched region (reflective flat feature in the centre of each sample
pair) together. The temperatures are listed above each surface in °C.

Which of the following statements is not correct?

a) The toughness of this steel would be lower at high temperature than at low temperatures.
b) The steel was ductile at 79 °C but brittle at -59°C.
c) Failure has initiated at the notch in these samples.
d) This steel is likely to have a BCC crystal structure.
e) There is evidence of shear failure on the fracture surfaces at 79 °C.
Question 5.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has a standard method for quantifying the
grain size of a metal. They define the grain size, n, by
N = 2 n-1
where N is the average number of grains per square inch on a polished and etched surface
magnified 100x.

Which of the following is most correct?

a) A metal with an ASTM grain size of 7 will have a higher yield stress and modulus than the same
metal with an ASTM grain size of 3.
b) A metal with an ASTM grain size of 3 will have a higher yield stress and modulus than the same
metal with an ASTM grain size of 7.
c) A metal with an ASTM grain size of 7 will have a higher yield strength than the same metal with
an ASTM grain size of 3.
d) A metal with an ASTM grain size of 3 will have a higher yield strength than the same metal with
an ASTM grain size of 7.
e) All of the above are incorrect as the yield strength and modulus are not governed by the grain
size.
Refer to the curves below for the next 3 questions.

Below is the tensile Engineering Stress -Engineering Strain curve for an aluminium alloy (7075-T6).
The curve was measured on a 0.5 inch diameter rod with a 2 inch gauge length cut from a plate. The
curve on the right is the linear part of the curve expanded. (note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm)

Question 6.
What is the yield strength of this material?
a) 1.2 GPa
b) 78 MPa
c) 153 GPa
d) 540 MPa
e) 600 MPa

Question 7.
What is the best estimate of the modulus of this material?
a) 1.2 GPa
b) 69 GPa
c) 78 MPa
d) 540 MPa
e) 600 MPa
Question 8.
What is the best description of the deformation of this alloy in the tensile test?
a) The tensile bar shows elastic behaviour before yielding and failure in a ductile fashion.
b) The modulus is too low so it elastically deforms too much before it fails.
c) The tensile bar deforms elastically until it breaks in a brittle fashion.
d) The tensile bar deforms plastically and finally fails in a brittle fashion.
e) The tensile bar deforms elastically until the yield point where it deforms plastically before
necking and failing in a brittle fashion.

Question 9.
In a constant strain rate tensile test, the load displacement curve often continues to increase after
the yield point. Which of the following is the best reason for this?
a) Cracks are forming in the sample which interrupt slip planes and so disrupts dislocation motion.
b) The sample necks, reducing the cross sectional area and therefore the load increases to
continue the deformation.
c) As the metal deforms, the dislocation density increases and the dislocations are closer
together. This means that the stress fields of the dislocations interact more strongly and the
stress required for moving dislocation increases.
d) Deformation at the yield point decreases the grain size and so the strength goes up.
e) Dislocation have moved to the edge of the sample creating a step on the surface, so there are
no more dislocations in the sample and it takes higher loads to generate more.

Question 10.
The melting point of lead is 327°C. Lead samples tested at room temperature (~23°C) do not strain
harden. Which of the following is the best reason why this occurs?
a) Lead is non crystalline so it does not have dislocations.
b) Lead is a heavy metal so dislocation do not form and the material just flows like a liquid.
c) Lead always has a very large grain structure so there are few grain boundaries to impede
dislocation motion.
d) Lead is very dense so it has many closed packed planes on which slip can occur easily.
e) Because of its low melting point, the sample can recrystallise as it deforms at room
temperature.

Question 11.
Which of the following is not correct?
a) The driving force for recrystallisation is a reduction in the internal energy of the deformed grains.
b) Hot working allows recrystallisation to occur while the material is being deformed.
c) The recrystallisation temperature decreases with % cold work.
d) The recrystallisation temperature increases with alloying addition.
e) All deformed metals will undergo recrystallisation.
Question 12.
We wish to make a 2 mm thick sheet of copper with yield strength of 400 MPa by rolling a thicker
sheet of annealed copper. Using the graphs below, with what thickness sheet do we need to start?

a) 2.5 mm
b) 3.3 mm
c) 5.1 mm
d) 11 mm
e) 25 mm

Question 13.
Which of the following is not correct?
a) Homogeneous nucleation requires very high undercooling to form stable nuclei so solidification
in most industrial casting operations occur with heterogeneous nucleation that lowers the
critical free energy to form the stable nuclei.
b) The free energy for nuclei to form has two components, one related to the latent heat of fusion
and the other related to the surface energy of the new solid forming.
c) A phase transformation can only occur spontaneously if by undergoing the transformation, the
system increases its free energy.
d) Homogeneous nucleation refers to a process that leads to a phase transformation in which
atoms or molecules of the material in the melt randomly stick together to form a nuclei of
sufficient size that it can continue to grow.
e) In a metal solidifying from the melt, the critical size of nuclei for them to spontaneously grow
decreases as the temperature decreases below the equilibrium melting temperature.

Question 14.
Which of the following will not increase the yield strength of a metal?
a) Reducing the grain size by adding inoculants just before casting.
b) Cold working the metal through a die to reduce its cross section.
c) Adding an alloying element that forms a solid solution with the metal.
d) Hot rolling the metal to reduce its cross section.
e) Cold rolling and partially recrystallising the metal without significant grain growth.
Question 15.
The diagram below is a schematic drawing of the grain structure of a metal cast into a cold mould.

Which of the following is the best description of how this microstructure develops?
a) Many grains nucleate heterogeneously at the mould surface. These grow along the
temperature gradient to form the columnar grains.
b) Grains nucleate homogeneously within the liquid. These grains form the columnar zone which
grows towards the surface of the mould where it impacts on the mould wall to form the chill
zone.
c) The large number of grains within the microstructure is a sign that inoculants have been added
to the melt.
d) Many grains nucleate at the surface of the mould due to very high undercooling here but some
of them remelt due to the latent heat of fusion so only a few grains grow towards the centre of
the mould.
e) The grains nucleate at the top surface of the casting. Since they are more dense than the liquid
they sink to the bottom of the casting allowing more grains to form at the top.

END OF TEST