Material Science Memorandum

To:
From:
Date:
Subject:

Dr. Mathew Cathell

Brandon Simon
October 14, 2014
Aluminum Alloy Mechanical Properties

Abstract
The objective of the lab was to determine the mechanical properties of a certain aluminum alloy.
This was done using Tinius Olsen Universal Testing Machine. The data found was used in
determining Youngs, shear, and bulk moduli, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength,
resilience and toughness, and Density. The values found were within an error of about 10%.
Procedure
To begin, we used a Tinius Olsen Universal Testing Machine (UTM), which measures
the force and difference in length of the material, and extensometer, which measures the percent
strain. The material, the Aluminum specimen, was loaded into the UTM with the extensometer. At
the approximate point of deformation the extensometer was removed for the safety of the
extensometer. The tension was then applied until failure. The UTM functions by having the
specimen attached to two platforms via clamps and is then put into tension using two screw
mechanisms to lower the bottom platform. The extensometer, which operates by clamping on to
the specimen parallel to the tension applied, measures the change in length and calculates the
axial strain from the difference. The extensometer adds a high degree of accuracy for the elastic
portion of deformation. The values collected by the UTM was force (kN) and position (mm), or
difference in position. The extensometer collected the strain (%) values.
Results and Discussion
Young
s
Shear
Modul
Modul
us
us
(GPa)
(GPa)
Cal
c
67.925 25.536
Act
68.9
26
Err
%
1.414
1.785

Bulk
Modul
us
(GPa)
66.593
68
2.067

Densit
y
(g/cm^
3)

Ultimate
Yield
Tensile
Resilien
Strengt Strength
ce
h (MPa) (MPa)
(J/m^3)
301.56
2.756
9
328.105
1.248
2.7
276
310
1.124
2.088

9.264

5.840

Toughne
ss
(J/m^3)
35.4739
97
-

11.026 -

Table 1

The results found paralleled the mechanical properties of Aluminum 6061-T6 with a high
degree of accuracy. Table 1 demonstrates the minimal error found between the calculated values
(calc) and the literature values (act). The only literature value not found was toughness, due to the
more commonly used fracture toughness, a toughness determined by a materials tendency to have
a crack propagate.
From the initial data collected: force, position, and strain, from here on called S 0, we
determined the stress and strain that occurred on the aluminum specimen over the course of the
test. To do this, the first value to be converted was force to stress. The stress, found by this
equation:
= F / A0
(1)

where F is the force, A0 is the cross sectional, and is the stress value. The strain percent from S 0
was then converted into actual strain by multiplying it by 100. These values, initially negative
from slippage, were used until the values became negative for second time. The strain was then
calculated via the position, using the equation:
=P/L
(2)
with P being the position, L being the initial length of the specimen under tension, and being the
strain value. When plotted we obtain the following graph.

Graph 1

From Graph 1 we see, even though there is a gap, the strain values follow the same general slope
when we transition.
The Youngs Modulus (E) was calculated by taking the average of the slopes of all the
data points within the portion of elastic deformation. Due to the extensometer being removed at
the approximate point of initial plastic deformation, only the data collected by the extensometer
was used in calculating the E. When determining the E for the collected data, however, it was
determined that the values were wildly varied.To compensate, basic statistical analysis was used
to exclude outliers from the data collected when finding the average. The E, 67.9 GPa, was then
used to determine the yield strength via the 0.2% rule. As seen by graph 2, the point of
intersection is most closely approximated to 301 MPa.
The shear modulus and bulk modulus were both found using E and poissons ratio, , a
given value that is the negative ratio of the longitudinal strain to the axial strain. Poissons ratio is
equal to 0.33. The equations used for determining shear modulus and bulk modulus are:
K = E / (2*(1+ ))
(3)
G = E / (3*(12*))
(4)
Respectively.
The ultimate tensile strength was found by determining the highest point of stress acted
on the specimen. The value had a slightly more significant error of 5%, however the MPa
difference in the empirical and actual value almost coincides with the difference in yield strength,
an error that maybe accounted for by the slippage.
The modulus of resilience and the toughness were both found using similar methods: e.g.
to find the value with a trapezoidal Riemann sum.
The density was determined using the volume, V, and the mass, M, in the equation:

d=M/V
in which M is equal to 47 g, and V is equal to 17.0514 cm3.

(5)

Conclusion
The error found in most cases were minimal. Resilience, Ultimate tensile strength, and
yield strength where the only values to experience a percent error beyond 3%. The error in
resilience was most likely dependent on the error in yield strength. The error in yield strength and
ultimate tensile strength could be accounted for a certain amount by slippage and error in the
UTMs measurement of position or force.
Appendix
Stress
= F / A0

(1)

=P/L

(2)

K = E / (2*(1+ ))

(3)

G = E / (3*(12*))

(4)

d=M/V

(5)

Strain
Shear Modulus
Bulk Modulus
Density

Graph 2