Yield Strength, Tensile Strength, and Ductility

C
PART

CHAPTER 8

Yield Strength, Tensile Strength, and Ductility

CONTENTS
8.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................115 8.2 Linear and nonlinear elasticity ...........................................................................116 8.3 Loadextension curves for nonelastic (plastic) behavior ...................117 8.4 True stressstrain curves for plastic flow ...................................................119 8.5 Plastic work.....................................................................................................................121 8.6 Tensile testing...............................................................................................................121 8.7 Data......................................................................................................................................122 8.8 A note on the hardness test .................................................................................125 Examples ..................................................................................................................................127 Revision of terms and useful relations...................................................................129

8.1 INTRODUCTION
All solids have an elastic limit beyond which something happens. A totally brittle solid will fracture suddenly (e.g., glass). Most engineering materials do something different; they deform plastically or change their shapes in a permanent way. It is important to know when, and how, they do thisso we can design structures to withstand normal service loads without any permanent deformation, and rolling mills, sheet presses and forging machinery that will be strong enough to deform the materials we wish to form. To study this, we pull carefully prepared samples in a tensile testing machine, or compress them in a compression machine, and record the stress required to produce a given strain.
Engineering Materials I: An Introduction to Properties, Applications, and Design, Fourth Edition 2012, Michael F. Ashby and David R. H. Jones. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

115

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8.2 LINEAR AND NONLINEAR ELASTICITY

Figure 8.1 shows the stressstrain curve of a material exhibiting perfectly linear elastic behavior. This is the behavior that is characterized by Hookes law (Chapter 3). All solids are linear elastic at small strainsby which we usually mean less than 0.001, or 0.1%. The slope of the stressstrain line, which is the same in compression as in tension, is Youngs modulus, E. The area (shaded) is the elastic energy stored, per unit volume: we can get it all back if we unload the solid, which behaves like a spring. Figure 8.2 shows a nonlinear elastic solid. Rubbers have a stressstrain curve like this, extending to very large strains (of order 5 or even 8). The material is still
Tension (MN m2) 200 100 Area = elastic energy, U el stored in solid per unit volume, e de

Slope E

103 Compression 100 200

103

FIGURE 8.1 Stressstrain behavior for a linear elastic solid. The axes are calibrated for a material such as steel.

(MN m2)

1 0.5

Area = elastic energy, U el stored in solid per unit volume, e de

1 0.5 1

FIGURE 8.2 Stressstrain behavior for a nonlinear elastic solid. The axes are calibrated for a material such as rubber.

8.3 LoadExtension Curves for Nonelastic (Plastic) Behavior

117

elastic: if unloaded much of the energy stored during loading is recoveredthat is why catapults can be as lethal as they are.

8.3 LOADEXTENSION CURVES FOR NONELASTIC (PLASTIC) BEHAVIOR

Rubbers are exceptional in behaving elastically to high strains; as we said, almost all materials, when strained by more than about 0.001 (0.1%), do something irreversible: and most engineering materials deform plastically to change their shape permanently. If we load a piece of ductile metal (e.g., copper), in tension, we get the following relationship between the load and the extension (Figure 8.3). This can be demonstrated nicely by pulling a piece of plasticine modelling clay (a ductile non-metallic material). Initially, the plasticine deforms elastically, but at a small strain begins to deform plastically, so if the load is removed, the piece of plasticine is permanently longer than it was at the beginning of the test: it has undergone plastic deformation (Figure 8.4). If you continue to pull, it continues to get longer, at the same time getting thinner because in plastic deformation volume is conserved (matter is just flowing from place to place). Eventually, the plasticine becomes unstable and begins to neck at the maximum load point in the force-extension curve (see Figure 8.3). Necking is an instability which we shall look at in more detail in Chapter 11. The neck grows rapidly, and the load that the specimen can carry through the neck decreases until breakage takes place. The two pieces produced after breakage have a total length that is slightly less than the length just before breakage by the amount of the elastic extension produced by the terminal load.
F Tension F F

Slope E

A u l Ao

F=0 Io

F=0 F=0 F=0

FIGURE 8.3 Load-extension curve for a bar of ductile metal (e.g., annealed copper) pulled in tension.

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Reversible elastic deformation u Permanent plastic deformation

FIGURE 8.4 Permanent plastic deformation after a sample has yielded and been unloaded.

Compression

F=0 A0 l0

F A F l

F=0

FIGURE 8.5 Squashing of the specimen increases the load needed to keep it flowing.

If we load a material in compression, the force-displacement curve is simply the reverse of that for tension at small strains, but it becomes different at larger strains. As the specimen squashes down, becoming shorter and fatter to conserve volume, the load needed to keep it flowing rises (Figure 8.5). No instability such as necking appears, and the specimen can be squashed almost

8.4 True StressStrain Curves for Plastic Flow

119

indefinitely, only being limited by severe cracking in the specimen or plastic flow of the compression plates. Why this great difference in behavior? After all, we are dealing with the same material in either case.

8.4 TRUE STRESSSTRAIN CURVES FOR PLASTIC FLOW

The apparent difference between the curves for tension and compression is due solely to the geometry of testing. If, instead of plotting load, we plot load divided by the actual area of the specimen, A, at any particular elongation or compression, the two curves become much more like one another. In other words, we simply plot true stress (see Chapter 3) as our vertical coordinate (Figure 8.6). This method of plotting allows for the thinning of the material when pulled in tension, or the fattening of the material when compressed. But the two curves still do not exactly match, as Figure 8.6 shows. The reason is that a displacement of (for example) u l0/2 in tension and in compression gives different strains; it represents a drawing out of the tensile specimen from l0 to 1.5l0, but a squashing down of the compressive specimen from l0 to 0.5l0. The material of the compressive specimen has thus undergone much more plastic deformation than the material in the tensile specimen, and can hardly be expected to be in the same state, or to show the same resistance to plastic deformation. The two conditions can be compared properly by taking small strain increments de du dl l l 8:1

F/A = (true stress)

Tension

u = l0 /2

u = + l0 /2 u

Reflection of tensile curve

l0 Compression

FIGURE 8.6

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l0 Tension dt

Compression

dt

FIGURE 8.7

about which the state of the material is the same for either tension or compression (Figure 8.7). This is the same as saying that a decrease in length from 100 mm (l0) to 99 mm (l), or an increase in length from 100 mm (l0) to 101 mm (l) both represent a 1% change in the state of the material. Actually, they do not give exactly the same state in both cases, but they do in the limit de dl l 8:2

Then, if the stresses in compression and tension are plotted against   l dl l ln e l0 l0 l

8:3

the two curves exactly mirror one another (Figure 8.8). The quantity e is called the true strain (to be contrasted with the nominal strain u/l0 defined in Chapter 3) and the matching curves are true stress/true strain (s/e) curves. Now, a final catch. From our original load-extension or load-compression curves we can easily calculate e, simply by knowing l0 and taking natural logs. But how do we calculate s? Because volume is conserved during plastic deformation we can write, at any strain, A0 l0 Al provided the extent of plastic deformation is much greater than the extent of elastic deformation (volume is only conserved during elastic deformation if Poissons ratio v 0.5; and it is near 0.33 for most materials). Thus A A0 l 0 l 8:4

8.6 Tensile Testing

121

Necking begins Tension

Final fracture

and e in center of neck

Compression

e e Area = plastic work dissipated per unit volume in causing a permanent plastic strain e

FIGURE 8.8

and s F Fl A A0 l 0 8:5

all of which we know or can measure easily.

8.5 PLASTIC WORK

When metals are rolled or forged, or drawn to wire, or when polymers are injection molded or pressed or drawn, energy is absorbed. The work done on a material to change its shape permanently is called the plastic work; its value, per unit volume, is the area of the crosshatched region shown in Figure 8.8; it may easily be found (if the stressstrain curve is known) for any amount of permanent plastic deformation, e0 . Plastic work is important in metal and polymer forming operations because it determines the forces that the rolls, or press or molding machine must exert on the material.

8.6 TENSILE TESTING

The plastic behavior of a material is usually measured by conducting a tensile test. Tensile testing equipment is standard in engineering laboratories. Such equipment produces a load/displacement (F/u) curve for the material, which is then converted to a nominal stress/nominal strain, or sn/en, curve (see Figure 8.9), where sn F A0 8:6

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n=

F A0

Onset of necking

Nominal stress

Final fracture

Nominal strain

en =

u l0

FIGURE 8.9

and en u l0 8:7

Naturally, because A0 and l0 are constant, the shape of the sn/en curve is identical to that of the load-extension curve. But the sn/en plotting method allows us to compare data for specimens having different (though now standardized) A0 and l0, and thus to examine the properties of material, unaffected by specimen size. The advantage of keeping the stress in nominal units and not converting to true stress (as shown before) is that the onset of necking can clearly be seen on the sn/en curve. Now, we define the quantities usually listed as the results of a tensile test. The easiest way to do this is to show them on the sn/en curve itself (Figure 8.10). They are:
n n

n n

sy yield strength (F/A0 at onset of plastic flow) s0.1% 0.1% proof stress (F/A0 at a permanent strain of 0.1%) (0.2% proof stress is often quoted instead; proof stress is useful for characterizing yield of a material that yields gradually, and does not show a distinct yield point) sTS tensile strength (F/A0 at onset of necking) ef (plastic) strain after fracture, or tensile ductility; the broken pieces are put together and measured, and ef calculated from (l l0)/l0, where l is the length of the assembled pieces

8.7 DATA
Data for yield strength, tensile strength, and tensile ductility are given in Table 8.1 and shown on the bar chart (Figure 8.11). Like moduli, they span a range of

8.7 Data

123

n TS

Slope is Youngs modulus, E

Onset of necking Final fracture

0.1% proof stress Yield strength

0.1% y

Tensile strength
TS

0.1% strain

en (Plastic) strain after fracture, e f

FIGURE 8.10

about 106: from about 0.1 MN m2 (for polystyrene foams) to nearly 105 MN m2 (for diamond). Most ceramics have enormous yield stresses. In a tensile test, at room temperature, ceramics almost all fracture long before they yield: this is because their fracture toughness, which we will discuss later, is very low. Because of this, you cannot measure the yield strength of a ceramic by using a tensile test. Instead, you have to use a test that somehow suppresses fracture: a compression test, for instance. The best and easiest is the hardness test: the data shown here are obtained from hardness tests, which we shall discuss in a moment. Pure metals are very soft indeed, and have a high ductility. This is what, for centuries, has made them so attractive at first for jewellery and weapons, and then for other implements and structures: they can be worked to the shape that you want them in; furthermore, their ability to work-harden means that, after you have finished, the metal is much stronger than when you started. By alloying, the strength of metals can be further increased, thoughin yield strengththe strongest metals still fall short of most ceramics. Polymers, in general, have lower yield strengths than metals. The very strongest barely reach the strength of aluminum alloys. They can be strengthened, however, by making composites out of them: GFRP has a strength only slightly inferior to aluminum, and CFRP is substantially stronger.

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Table 8.1 Yield Strength, sy, Tensile Strength, sTS, and Tensile Ductility, ef
Material Diamond Boron carbide, B4C Silicon carbide, SiC Silicon nitride, Si3N4 Silica glass, SiO2 Tungsten carbide, WC Niobium carbide, NbC Alumina, Al2O3 Beryllia, BeO Syalon (Si-Al-O-N ceramic) Mullite Titanium carbide, TiC Zirconium carbide, ZrC Tantalum carbide, TaC Zirconia, ZrO2 Soda glass (standard) Magnesia, MgO Cobalt and alloys Low-alloy steels (water-quenched and tempered) Pressure-vessel steels Stainless steels, austenitic Boron/epoxy composites Nickel alloys Nickel Tungsten Molybdenum and alloys Titanium and alloys Carbon steels (water-quenched and tempered) Tantalum and alloys Cast irons Copper alloys Copper Cobalt/tungsten carbide cermets CFRPs Brasses and bronzes Aluminum alloys Aluminum Stainless steels, ferritic Zinc alloys Concrete, steel reinforced Alkali halides sy (MN m2) 50,000 14,000 10,000 9600 7200 56008000 6000 5000 4000 4000 4000 4000 4000 4000 4000 3600 3000 1802000 5001900 15001900 286500 2001600 70 1000 5601450 1801320 2601300 3301090 2201030 60960 60 400900 70640 100627 40 240400 160421 200350 sTS (MN m2) (330) (200800) (200900) (110) (80710) (250550) (130280) (945) (128140) (100700) (5070) (100) 5002500 6802400 15002000 7601280 7251730 4002000 400 1510 6651650 3001400 5001880 4001100 4001200 2501000 400 900 670640 230890 300700 200 500800 200500 50200 f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.016 0.020.3 0.30.6 0.450.65 0.010.6 0.65 0.010.6 0.010.36 0.060.3 0.20.3 0.010.4 0.0.18 0.010.55 0.55 0.02 0.010.7 0.050.3 0.5 0.150.25 0.11.0 0.02 0

8.8 A Note on the Hardness Test

125

Table 8.1 Contd

Material Zirconium and alloys Mild steel Iron Magnesium alloys GFRPs Beryllium and alloys Gold PMMA Epoxies Polyimides Nylons Ice Pure ductile metals Polystyrene Silver ABS/polycarbonate Common woods (|| to grain) Lead and alloys Acrylic/PVC Tin and alloys Polypropylene Polyurethane Polyethylene, high density Concrete, non-reinforced Natural rubber Polyethylene, low density Common woods (? to grain) Ultrapure f.c.c. metals Foamed polymers, rigid Polyurethane foam sy (MN m2) 100365 220 50 80300 34276 40 60110 30100 5290 4987 85 2080 3470 55 55 1155 4548 745 1936 2631 2030 2030 620 110 0.210 1 sTS (MN m2) 240440 430 200 125380 100300 380620 220 110 30120 100 (6) 200400 4070 300 60 3555 1470 1460 3336 58 37 (15) 30 20 410 200400 0.210 1 f 0.240.37 0.180.25 0.3 0.060.20 0.020.10 0.5 0.030.05 0 0.51.5 0.6 0.20.8 0.30.7 0 8.0 1.2 0.11 0.11

Note: Bracketed sTS data for brittle materials refer to the modulus of rupture sr (see Chapter 15).

8.8 A NOTE ON THE HARDNESS TEST

We said in Section 8.7 that the hardness test is used for estimating the yield strengths of hard brittle materials. It is also widely used as a simple nondestructive test on material or finished components to check whether they meet the specified mechanical properties. Figure 8.12 shows how one type of test works (the diamond pyramid test). A very hard (diamond) pyramid indenter (with a standardized angle of 136 between opposite faces) is pressed into the

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105

Ceramics

Metals

Polymers

Composites

Diamond

104

SiC Si3N4 Silica glass Al2O3, WC TiC, ZrC Soda glass MgO

103

y (MN m

2)

Alkali halides 102 Ice

Low-alloy steels Cobalt alloys Nimonics Stainless steels Ti alloys Cu alloys Mild steel Al alloys

BFRP CFRP Drawn PE Drawn nylon Kevlar PMMA Nylon Epoxies PS PP Polyurethane Polyethylene Reinforced concrete GFRP Woods, II grain

Cement (non-reinforced) 101

Commercially pure alloys Lead alloys

Woods, grain

Ultra-pure metals

1 Foamed polymers

0.1

FIGURE 8.11 Bar chart of data for yield strength, sy.

surface of the material with a force F. Material flows away from underneath the indenter, so when the indenter is removed again, a permanent indent is left. The diagonals of the indent are measured with a microscope, and the total surface (or contact) area A of the indent is found from look-up tables. The hardness H is then given by H F/A. Obviously, the softer the material, the larger the indents. The yield strength can be estimated from the relation (derived in Chapter 11) H 3 sy 8:8

When flowing away from the indenter, the material experiences an average nominal strain of 0.08. This means that Equation (8.8) is only accurate for

Examples

127

Hard pyramidshaped indenter

Contact area A H = F/A

Plastic flow of material away from indenter

View of remaining indent, looking directly at the surface of the material after removal of the indenter

FIGURE 8.12 The hardness test.

materials which do not work harden. For materials that do, the hardness test gives the yield strength of material that has been work hardened by 8%. Good correlations can also be obtained between hardness and tensile strength. For example, sTS 0:33H holds well (to 10%) for all types of steel. The indentation hardness is defined slightly differentlystill as H F/A, but A is now the area of the indent measured at the surface of the material (which is slightly less than that measured on the faces of the indentation). 8:9

EXAMPLES
8.1 Nine strips of pure, fully annealed copper were deformed plastically by being passed between a pair of rotating rollers so that the strips were made thinner and longer. The increases in length produced were 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 100%, respectively. The diamondpyramid hardness of each piece was measured after rolling. The results are given in the following table:
Nominal strain Hardness (MN m2) 0.01 423 0.1 606 0.2 756 0.3 870 0.4 957 0.5 1029 0.6 1080 0.7 1116 1.0 1170

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Assuming that a diamondpyramid hardness test creates a further nominal strain, on average, of 0.08, and that the hardness value is 3.0 times the true stress, construct the curve of nominal stress against nominal strain. [Hint: Add 0.08 to each value of nominal strain in the table.] 8.2 Using the plot of nominal stress against nominal strain from Example 8.1, find: a. The tensile strength of copper b. The strain at which tensile failure commences c. The percentage reduction in cross-sectional area at this strain d. The work required to initiate tensile failure in a cubic metre of annealed copper Answers (a) 217 MN m2; (b) 0.6 approximately; (c) 38%, (d) 109 MJ. 8.3 Why can copper survive a much higher extension during rolling than during a tensile test? 8.4 The following data were obtained in a tensile test on a specimen with 50 mm gauge length and a cross-sectional area of 160 mm2.

Extension (mm) Load (kN)

0.050 0.100 0.150 0.200 0.250 0.300 1.25 2.50 3.75 5.00 6.25 7.50 12 25 32 36 40 42 63 80 93 100 101 90

The total elongation of the specimen just before final fracture was 16%, and the reduction in area at the fracture was 64%. Find the maximum allowable working stress if this is to equal a. 0.25 tensile strength b. 0.6 0.1% proof stress Answers (a) 160 MN m2; (b) 131 MN m2 8.5 One type of hardness test involves pressing a hard sphere (radius r ) into the test material under a fixed load F, and measuring the depth, h, to which the sphere sinks into the material, plastically deforming it. Derive an expression for the indentation hardness, H, of the material in terms of h, F, and r. Assume h ( r. Answer H F 2prh

Revision of Terms and Useful Relations

129

8.6

The following diagram shows the force-extension characteristics of a bungee rope. The length of the rope under zero load is 15 m. One end of the rope is attached to a
30.0 30 kN breaking force Z 2.5 2.0 Force (kN) 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 0 5 10 Extension (m) 15
Loa din g din g loa

Un

bridge deck, and the other end is attached to a person standing on the deck. The person then jumps off the deck, and descends vertically until arrested by the rope. a. Find the maximum mass of the person for a successful arrest, mmax. b. The diagram shows that the unloading line is 0.5 kN below the loading line. Comment on the practical significance of this to bungee jumping. Answer (a) 89.2 kg

REVISION OF TERMS AND USEFUL RELATIONS

sn, nominal stress sn F/A0 s, true stress s F/A
A0 F=0 F=0 F F A

en, nominal strain en u l l0 l , or or 1 l0 l0 l0

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F=0

F=0

F l

l0

Relations between sn, s, and n Assuming constant volume (valid if u 0.5 or, if not, plastic deformation ) elastic deformation): A0 l0 Al; Thus s F F 1 en s n 1 en A A0 A0 Al A 1 e n l0

e, true strain and the relation between e and en   l dl l ln e l l 0 l0 Thus e ln1 en Small strain condition For small en e % en , from e ln1 en s % sn , from s sn 1 en Thus, when dealing with most elastic strains (but not in rubbers), it is immaterial whether e or en, or s or sn, are chosen. Energy The energy expended in deforming a material per unit volume is given by the area under the stressstrain curve.

Revision of Terms and Useful Relations

131

Energy required to cause plastic deformation up to point of final fracture (plastic work at fracture) Elastic energy released when specimen breaks
n n

Total energy (elastic plus plastic) required to take specimen to point of necking
n

Onset of necking

Work per unit volume U = U pl + U el =

o n n

n / n)

=
o

For linear elastic strains, and only linear elastic strains & 2' sn dsn sn E, and U el sn den sn en E 2E
n

2 n

2E

n=

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Elastic limit In a tensile test, as the load increases, the specimen at first is strained elastically, that is reversibly. Above a limiting stressthe elastic limitsome of the strain is permanent; this is plastic deformation. Yielding The change from elastic to measurable plastic deformation. Yield strength The nominal stress at yielding. In many materials this is difficult to spot on the stressstrain curve and in such cases it is better to use a proof stress. Proof stress The stress that produces a permanent strain equal to a specified percentage of the specimen length. A common proof stress is one that corresponds to 0.2% permanent strain. Strain hardening (work-hardening) The increase in stress needed to produce further strain in the plastic region. Each strain increment strengthens or hardens the material so that a larger stress is needed for further strain. sTS, tensile strength (ultimate tensile strength, or UTS)
n

F A0
TS =

TS

maximum F A0
n

f, strain after fracture, or tensile ductility The permanent extension in length (measured by fitting the broken pieces together) expressed as a percentage of the original gauge length. & ' lbreak l0 100 l0 Reduction in area at break The maximum decrease in cross-sectional area at the fracture expressed as a percentage of the original cross-sectional area.

Revision of Terms and Useful Relations

133

Strain after fracture and percentage reduction in area are used a measures of ductility, that is the ability of a material to undergo large plastic strain under stress before it fractures.
A0 Abreak A0 100 Abreak A