CHAPTER 3

Mechanic
al
propertie
s of
materials

Prepared by:
Eng. Rawan Aleghnimat
Mechanical properties of materials
 CONTENTS

3.1 The tension and compression test

3.2 Strain
3.3 stress–strain behavior of ductile and brittle
materials
3.1 THE TENSION AND COMPRESSIONTEST
The strength of a material depends on its
ability to sustain a load without undue
deformation or failure. This strength is
inherent in the material itself and must be
determined by experiment. One of the most
important tests to perform in this regard is
the tension or compression test. Once
this test is performed, we can then
determine the relationship between the
average normal stress and average normal
strain in many engineering materials such
as metals, ceramics, polymers, and
composites.
To perform a tension or
compression test:
• A specimen of the material is made into
a “standard” shape and size (a constant
circular cross section with enlarged
ends).
• Before testing, two small punch marks
are sometimes placed along the
specimen’s uniform length.

• A testing machine is designed to read

the load required to maintain uniform
stretching at a very slow, constant rate
until it fails.
• Measurements are taken of both the
specimen’s initial cross-sectional area,
A., and the gage-length distance L.
between the punch marks.
• At frequent intervals, data is recorded
of the applied load P. Also, the
elongation d = L – L. between the
punch marks on the specimen may be
measured, using either a caliper or a
mechanical or optical device called an
extensometer

• it is also possible to read the normal

strain directly on the specimen by using
an electrical-resistance strain gage.
3

3.2 THE STRESS–STRAIN DIAGRAM

Once the stress and strain data from the test are known, then the results
can be plotted to produce a curve called the stress–strain diagram.
This diagram is very useful since it applies to a specimen of the
material made of any size. There are two ways in which the stress–
strain diagram is normally described.
Conventional Stress–Strain Diagram.
The nominal or engineering stress is determined by dividing the
applied load P by the specimen’s original cross-sectional area A0.

Likewise, the nominal or engineering strain is found

directly from the
strain gage reading, or by dividing the change in the
specimen’s gage
length, d, by the specimen’s original gage length L0.
conventional stress–strain diagram.
 Hooke’s law
Because the curve is a straight line up to spl,
any increase in stress will cause a proportional
increase in strain. This fact was discovered in
1676 by Robert Hooke, using springs, and is
known as Hooke’s law. It is expressed
mathematically as

Here E represents the constant of

proportionality, which is called the modulus of
elasticity or Young’s modulus, named after
Thomas Young, who published an account of it
in 1807.
True Stress–Strain Diagram.

Instead of always using the original cross-

sectional area A0 and specimen length L0 to
calculate the (engineering) stress and strain,
we could have used the actual cross-sectional
area A and specimen length L at the instant
the load is measured.

The values of stress and strain found from

these measurements are called true stress
and true strain, and a plot of their values is
called the true stress–strain diagram.
Steel. A typical conventional stress–strain
diagram for a mild steel specimen is shown in
Fig. 3–6.
Steel alloys have different carbon contents

Most grades of steel, from the softest rolled

steel to the hardest tool steel, have about this
same modulus of elasticity, as shown in Fig. 3–
7.
 3.3 STRESS–STRAIN BEHAVIOR OF DUCTILE AND BRITTLE
MATERIALS
Materials can be classified as either being
ductile or brittle, depending on their stress–
strain characteristics.

Ductile Materials. Any material that can be

subjected to large strains before it fractures is
called a ductile material. Mild steel is a typical
example.
One way to specify the ductility of a material is to
report its percent elongation or percent
reduction in area at the time of fracture.

The percent elongation is the specimen’s

fracture strain expressed as a percent. Thus,
if the specimen’s original gage length is L0
and its length at fracture is Lf , then

The percent reduction in area is another way to

specify ductility.
It is defined within the region of necking as follows:
In most metals and some
plastics,
however, constant yielding
will
not occur beyond the elastic
range. One metal where this
is the
case is aluminum, Fig. 3–8.
Actually, this metal often
does not have a well -
defined yield point, and
consequently it is standard
practice to define a yield
strength using a graphical
procedure called the offset
method.
Normally for structural
Brittle Materials.
Materials that exhibit little or no yielding
before failure are referred to as brittle
materials. Gray cast iron is an
example, having a stress–strain diagram in
tension as shown by the curve AB in Fig. 3–
10.
Concrete is classified as a brittle material,
and it also has a low strength capacity in
tension Fig. 3–12.
concrete is almost always reinforced with
steel bars or rods whenever it is designed to
support tensile loads.
It can generally be stated that
most materials exhibit both
ductile and brittle behavior. For
example, steel has brittle
behavior when it contains a high
carbon content, and it is ductile
when the carbon content is
reduced. Also, at low
temperatures materials become
harder and more brittle, whereas
when the temperature rises they
become softer and more ductile.
This effect is shown in Fig.
3–13 for a methacrylate plastic.
Stiffness. The modulus of elasticity is a
mechanical property that indicates the
stiffness of a material. Materials that are
very stiff, such as steel, have large values
of E [Est = 29(103) ksi or 200 GPa],
whereas spongy materials such as
vulcanized rubber have low values [Er =
0.10 ksi or 0.69 MPa].
if the stress in the material is greater than
the proportional limit, the stress–strain
diagram ceases to be a straight line, and
so Hooke’s law is no longer valid.
Strain Hardening. If a specimen of ductile
material, such as steel, is loaded into the
plastic region and then unloaded, elastic
strain is recovered as the material returns to
its equilibrium state. The plastic strain
remains, however, and as a result the
material will be subjected to a permanent
set.
 3.4 STRAIN ENERGY
As a material is deformed by an
external load, the load will do
external work, which in turn will be
stored in the material as internal
energy. This energy is related to
the strains in the material, and so
it is referred to as strain energy.

The Vertical Displacement =

The work done on the element

by the force is equal to the
average force magnitude (ΔF/2)
times the displacement (ℇΔz).
By definition, work is determined by the product
of a force and displacement in the direction of
the force.

and so during the displacement the work done

on the element by the force is equal to the
average force magnitude (ΔF/2) times the
The conservation
displacement of energy requires this
(ℇΔz).
“external work” on the element to be
equivalent to the “internal work” or strain
energy stored in the element, assuming that no
energy is lost in the form of heat.
The strain energy is:
For engineering applications, it is often
convenient to specify the strain energy per
unit volume of material. This is called the
strain energy density, and it can be
expressed as:

Finally, if the material behavior is linear

elastic, then Hooke’s law applies, s = Ee, and
therefore we can express the elastic strain
energy density in terms of the uniaxial
stress s as:
Modulus of Resilience. When the
stress in a material reaches the
proportional limit, the strain energy
density, as calculated by Eq. 3–6 or 3–7, is
referred to as the modulus of resilience.
It is

Physically the modulus of resilience

represents the largest amount of strain
energy per unit volume the material
can absorb without causing any
permanent damage to the material.
Certainly this property becomes
important when designing
bumpers or shock absorbers.
Modulus of Toughness. Another
important property of a material is its
modulus of toughness, ut. This quantity
represents the entire area under the stress–
strain diagram.
and therefore it indicates the maximum
amount of strain energy per unit volume the
material can absorb just before it fractures.
Certainly this becomes important when
designing members that may be
accidentally overloaded.
By alloying metals, engineers can change
their resilience and toughness. For
example, by changing the percentage of
carbon in steel, the resulting stress–strain
diagrams in Fig. 3–17 show how its
resilience and toughness can be changed.
3.5 POISSON’S RATIO
Poisson’s ratio is a dimensionless quantity, that its
maximum possible value is 0.5, so that 0 < v < 0.5.

For most nonporous solids it has a value that is

generally between 0.25 and 0.355.
 3.6 THE SHEAR STRESS–STRAIN DIAGRAM

For most engineering materials, like the one

just described, the Elastic behavior is linear,
and so Hooke’s law for shear can be written as
Here G is called the shear modulus of
elasticity or the modulus of rigidity.
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