1.

Introduction
Often materials are subject to forces (loads) when they are used. Mechanical engineers
calculate those forces and material scientists how materials deform (elongate, compress,
twist) or break as a function of applied load, time, temperature, and other conditions.
Materials scientists learn about these mechanical properties by testing materials. esults
from the tests depend on the si!e and shape of material to be tested (specimen), how it is
held, and the way of performing the test. "hat is why we use common procedures, or
standards, which are published by the #$"M.
%. &oncepts of $tress and $train
"o compare specimens of different si!es, the load is calculated per unit area, also called
normali!ation to the area. 'orce di(ided by area is called stress. In tension and
compression tests, the rele(ant area is that perpendicular to the force. In shear or torsion
tests, the area is perpendicular to the a)is of rotation.
s * '+#, tensile or compressi(e stress
t * '+#, shear stress
"he unit is the Megapascal * 1,- .ewtons+m%.
"here is a change in dimensions, or deformation elongation, /0 as a result of a tensile or
compressi(e stress. "o enable comparison with specimens of different length, the
elongation is also normali!ed, this time to the length 0. "his is called strain, e.
e * /0+0
"he change in dimensions is the reason we use #, to indicate the initial area since it
changes during deformation. One could di(ide force by the actual area, this is called true
stress (see $ec. -.1).
'or torsional or shear stresses, the deformation is the angle of twist, 2 ('ig. -.1) and the
shear strain is gi(en by3
g * tg 2
4. $tress5$train 6eha(ior
7lastic deformation. 8hen the stress is remo(ed, the material returns to the dimension it
had before the load was applied. 9alid for small strains (e)cept the case of rubbers).
/eformation is re(ersible, non permanent
:lastic deformation. 8hen the stress is remo(ed, the material does not return to its
pre(ious dimension but there is a permanent, irre(ersible deformation.
In tensile tests, if the deformation is elastic, the stress;strain relationship is called <ooke=s
law3
s * 7 e
"hat is, 7 is the slope of the stress;strain cur(e. 7 is >oung=s modulus or modulus of
elasticity. In some cases, the relationship is not linear so that 7 can be defined
alternati(ely as the local slope3
7 * ds+de
$hear stresses produce strains according to3
t * ? g
where ? is the shear modulus.
7lastic moduli measure the stiffness of the material. "hey are related to the second
deri(ati(e of the interatomic potential, or the first deri(ati(e of the force (s. internuclear
distance ('ig. -.-). 6y e)amining these cur(es we can tell which material has a higher
modulus. /ue to thermal (ibrations the elastic modulus decreases with temperature. 7 is
large for ceramics (stronger ionic bond) and small for polymers (weak co(alent bond).
$ince the interatomic distances depend on direction in the crystal, 7 depends on direction
(i.e., it is anisotropic) for single crystals. 'or randomly oriented policrystals, 7 is
isotropic.
@. #nelasticity
<ere the beha(ior is elastic but not the stress;strain cur(e is not immediately re(ersible. It
takes a while for the strain to return to !ero. "he effect is normally small for metals but
can be significant for polymers.
A. 7lastic :roperties of Materials
Materials subject to tension shrink laterally. "hose subject to compression, bulge. "he
ratio of lateral and a)ial strains is called the :oisson=s ratio n.
n * elateral+ea)ial
"he elastic modulus, shear modulus and :oisson=s ratio are related by 7 * %?(1Bn)
-. "ensile :roperties
>ield point. If the stress is too large, the strain de(iates from being proportional to the
stress. "he point at which this happens is the yield point because there the material yields,
deforming permanently (plastically).
>ield stress. <ooke=s law is not (alid beyond the yield point. "he stress at the yield point
is called yield stress, and is an important measure of the mechanical properties of
materials. In practice, the yield stress is chosen as that causing a permanent strain of
,.,,% (strain offset, 'ig. -.C.)
"he yield stress measures the resistance to plastic deformation.
"he reason for plastic deformation, in normal materials, is not that the atomic bond is
stretched beyond repair, but the motion of dislocations, which in(ol(es breaking and
reforming bonds.
:lastic deformation is caused by the motion of dislocations.
"ensile strength. 8hen stress continues in the plastic regime, the stress;strain passes
through a ma)imum, called the tensile strength (s"$) , and then falls as the material starts
to de(elop a neck and it finally breaks at the fracture point ('ig. -.1,).
.ote that it is called strength, not stress, but the units are the same, M:a.
'or structural applications, the yield stress is usually a more important property than the
tensile strength, since once the it is passed, the structure has deformed beyond acceptable
limits.
/uctility. "he ability to deform before braking. It is the opposite of brittleness. /uctility
can be gi(en either as percent ma)imum elongation ema) or ma)imum area reduction.
D70 * ema) ) 1,, D
D# * (#, ; #f)+#,
"hese are measured after fracture (repositioning the two pieces back together).
esilience. &apacity to absorb energy elastically. "he energy per unit (olume is the
area under the strain;stress cur(e in the elastic region.
"oughness. #bility to absorb energy up to fracture. "he energy per unit (olume is the
total area under the strain;stress cur(e. It is measured by an impact test (&h. E).
1. "rue $tress and $train
8hen one applies a constant tensile force the material will break after reaching the tensile
strength. "he material starts necking (the trans(erse area decreases) but the stress cannot
increase beyond s"$. "he ratio of the force to the initial area, what we normally do, is
called the engineering stress. If the ratio is to the actual area (that changes with stress)
one obtains the true stress.
E. 7lastic eco(ery /uring :lastic /eformation
If a material is taken beyond the yield point (it is deformed plastically) and the stress is
then released, the material ends up with a permanent strain. If the stress is reapplied, the
material again responds elastically at the beginning up to a new yield point that is higher
than the original yield point (strain hardening, &h. 1.1,). "he amount of elastic strain that
it will take before reaching the yield point is called elastic strain reco(ery ('ig. -. 1-).
C. &ompressi(e, $hear, and "orsional /eformation
&ompressi(e and shear stresses gi(e similar beha(ior to tensile stresses, but in the case of
compressi(e stresses there is no ma)imum in the s;e cur(e, since no necking occurs.
1,. <ardness
<ardness is the resistance to plastic deformation (e.g., a local dent or scratch). "hus, it is
a measure of plastic deformation, as is the tensile strength, so they are well correlated.
<istorically, it was measured on an empirically scale, determined by the ability of a
material to scratch another, diamond being the hardest and talc the softer. .ow we use
standard tests, where a ball, or point is pressed into a material and the si!e of the dent is
measured. "here are a few different hardness tests3 ockwell, 6rinell, 9ickers, etc. "hey
are popular because they are easy and non;destructi(e (e)cept for the small dent).
11. 9ariability of Material :roperties
"ests do not produce e)actly the same result because of (ariations in the test e2uipment,
procedures, operator bias, specimen fabrication, etc. 6ut, e(en if all those parameters are
controlled within strict limits, a (ariation remains in the materials, due to uncontrolled
(ariations during fabrication, non homogenous composition and structure, etc. "he
measured mechanical properties will show scatter, which is often distributed in a
?aussian cur(e (bell;shaped), that is characteri!ed by the mean (alue and the standard
de(iation (width).
1%. /esign+$afety 'actors
"o take into account (ariability of properties, designers use, instead of an a(erage (alue
of, say, the tensile strength, the probability that the yield strength is abo(e the minimum
(alue tolerable. "his leads to the use of a safety factor . F 1 (typ. 1.% ; @). "hus, a
working (alue for the tensile strength would be s8 * s"$ + ..
Important "erms3
#nelasticity
/uctility
7lastic deformation
7lastic reco(ery
7ngineering strain
7ngineering stress
<ardness
Modulus of elasticity
:lastic deformation
:oissonGs ratio
:roportional limit
$hear
"ensile strength
"oughness
>ielding
>ield strength