Chapter one

Introduction
At the end of the chapter, the learners will be able to:
 Know classification of construction materials.
 Understand relationship between stress and strain properties.
 Understand properties of construction materials.
 Understand types and natures of construction materials.
1.1 Introduction
Dear learners as a material engineer, what do you know about construction
material?
The engineering structures are composed of materials. These materials are known as the
engineering materials or building materials or materials of construction. It is necessary for
the civil engineer to become conversant with the properties of such materials.
The service conditions of buildings demand a wide range of materials and various
properties such as water resistance, strength, durability, temperature resistance,
appearance, permeability, etc. are to be properly studied before making final selection of
any building material for a particular use.
1.2 Classification and Nature of construction Materials
Discuss classification and Natures of construction materials?
Construction materials can be classified:
1. According to their phases
2. According to their internal structure & chemical composition
1. Phase Classification
1. Gases: Air, oxygen, CO2
2. Liquids: Water, chemical admixtures
3. Semi-solids: Fresh pastes, mortars, asphalt
4. Solids: Metals, hardened concrete
2. According to Internal Structure & Chemical Composition Classification
1. Metals: (formed by metallic bonds)

1
 A. Ferrous (iron, cast iron, steel)
B. Non-ferrous (aluminum, copper, zinc, lead)
2. Polymers: (long chains having molecules of C, H, O, N which are formed by covalent
bonding. The chains are bound to each other either by covalent bonds or Van der Waal’s
forces.)
A. Natural (rubber, asphalt, resins, wood)
B. Artificial (plastics)
3. Ceramics: (mainly aluminosilicates formed by mixed bonding, covalent and ionic)
A. Structural clay products (bricks, tiles, pipes)
B. Porcelains
4. Composite Materials:
A. Natural (agglemerates)
B. Artificial (Portland cement, concrete)
5. Reinforced Composite Materials: (reinforced concrete, reinforced plastics)
One of the most important tasks of an engineer is to select the most suitable material for a
given civil engineering structure.
Dear learners as a material engineer, what types of factors do you consider
during selection of construction materials for any structures?
Factors Determining the Choice of Proper Material for a Structure
 Strength, rigidity & Durability Requirements
– Permanent loading → Creep Strength
– Repeated loading → Fatigue Strength
– Impact loading → Toughness & Resilience
– Surface loading → Hardness & Resistance to abrasion
 Environmental Requirements
– Temperature change → coefficient of thermal conductivity
– Moisture movement → permeability
– Chemical effects → chemical composition
 Economy
Choose the cheaper & available materials considering

2
 – Initial cost
– Useful life
– Frequency of maintenance
– Cost of maintenance
– Salvage value
– Comfortability
Table1.1 Example on Comparison of concrete pavement vs. asphalt pavement for economy.
Concrete Asphalt
Initial Cost – +
Useful Life + –
Frequency of Repair + –
Cost of Repair – +
Salvage Value + +
Comfortability – +

1.3 Properties of Materials

Dear learners, Discuss properties of construction material?
General Properties of Civil Engineering Materials are
a) Physical properties
b) Mechanical properties
c) Chemical properties
d) Other properties
 Thermal, Acoustical, Optical, Electrical
** Most Civil Engineering Applications Focus on Physical & Mechanical Properties.
a) Physical properties
Density specific gravity porosity
Permeability surface energy texture (micro, macro)
Other (color, thermal expansion, shape)
b) Chemical Properties
Chemical composition, potential reaction with environment

3
 o oxide content
o carbonate content
o acidity, alkalinity
o resistance to corrosion
c) Mechanical properties (Static stress-strain properties)
Dear learners as a material engineer, what are the purposes to study the
relationship between stress and strain properties of any construction material
that uses in construction industry?
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.
Application of forces on solid bodies under equilibrium results in the development of
internal resisting forces and the body undergoes deformations to a varying degree.
 Internal forces are called stresses.
 Internal deformations are called strains.
Depending upon the arrangement and direction of the external forces, the stress produced
in a body may be:
(a) Tensile stress
(b) Compressive stress
(c) Shearing stress
(d) Bending stress
(e) Torsional stress
(f) Various combination of the above stresses
A material is said to be elastic if it recovers its original form. On the contrary if it fails to
recover its original form it is said to be plastic. Most engineering materials are in part
elastic and in part plastic.
Materials used for building structures are said to be strong if they are capable of safely
supporting their own weight and any applied loads without distortion. Strength properties
vary with the rate and frequency of loading and, in non-homogeneous materials, with the

4
direction of load. The moisture content (such as in timber) and temperature (such as in
plastics) also influence the strength properties.
Mechanical Tests
The classification made with reference to the arrangement and direction of external forces,
the following classification may be made:
(i) Tension test (Iv) Bending test
(ii) Compressive test (v) Torsion test
(iii) Shear test
The classification made with reference to the rate and duration of the load application, the
following classification may be made:
(i) Static tests: made with gradually increasing load.
(ii) Dynamic tests: made with suddenly applied loads.
(iii) Wear tests: made to determine resistance to abrasion and impact.
(iv) Long-time tests: made with loads applied for a long period of time.
(v) Fatigue tests: made with fluctuating stresses repeated a large number of times.
The classification made with reference to the effect of the test on the specimen, the
following classification may be made:
A. Destructive tests: tests on specimens.
B. Non-destructive tests: tests on existing structure.
The tension and compression tests are generally used to provide basic design information
on the strength of materials and as an acceptance test for the specification of materials.
When a specimen is subjected to a gradually increasing axial tensile force, it is assumed
that the stress is distributed uniformly on the cross section (perpendicular to the line of
action of the force)
P
t 
A0

Where, t = tensile stress

P = applied load
A0 = area of the section perpendicular to the line of action of the
applied force.
The unit is the Mega Pascal = 106 Nektons/m2

5
There is a change in dimensions, or deformation elongation, ΔL as a result of a tensile or
compressive stress. To enable comparison with specimens of different length, the
elongation is also normalized, this time to the length l o. This is called strain. So, Strain is
the ratio of change in length due to deformation to the original length of the specimen,
formally called engineering strain. Strain is unitless, but often units of m/m (or mm/mm)
are used
The strain used for the engineering stress-strain curve is the average linear strain, which is
obtained by dividing the elongation of the gage length of the specimen, by its original
length.
 lo L
  li 
l0 l o

Since both the stress and the strain are obtained by dividing the load and elongation
by constant factors, the load-elongation curve will have the same shape as the engineering
stress-strain curve. The two curves are frequently used interchangeably.
The shape and magnitude of the stress-strain curve of a metal will depend on its
composition, heat treatment, prior history of plastic deformation, and the strain rate,
temperature, and state of stress imposed during the testing. The parameters used to
describe stress-strain curve are tensile strength, yield strength or yield point, percent
elongation, and reduction of area. The first two are strength parameters; the last two
indicate ductility. The general shape of the engineering stress-strain curve requires further
explanation. In the elastic region stress is linearly proportional to strain. When the load
exceeds a value corresponding to the yield strength, the specimen undergoes gross plastic
deformation. It is permanently deformed if the load is released to zero. The stress to
produce continued plastic deformation increases with increasing plastic strain, i.e., the
metal strain-hardens. The volume of the specimen remains constant during plastic
deformation, A·L = A 0 ·L 0 and as the specimen elongates, it decreases uniformly along the
gage length in cross-sectional area. Initially the strain hardening more than compensates
for this decrease in area and the engineering stress (proportional to load P) continues
to rise with increasing strain.

6
Common types of nominal stress-strain diagrams.

Type a
Stress ,
Type b
Pa

Stress ,
Pa

Strain , mm/mm
Strain , mm/mm

(a) Ductile materials (b) Brittle material

Stres
s ,
Pa

Strain , mm/mm

(c) Non-metallic elastic materials (soft rubber)

Fig1.1 Common types of stress-strain diagram

Stress—Strain Behavior
A ductile material will exhibit a large deformation before complete failure whereas a brittle
material will fail without showing much deformation. For practical engineering purposes and many
engineering materials, the initial stress strain relations may be assumed to be linear.
 t ( p A0 ) PL0
 t
 E , or E   
 (l L0 ) A0 l
Constant E is known as the modulus of elasticity, or Young’s modulus. Measured in MPa and can
range in values from 4.5x104 - 40x107 MPa.
Stress-strain curve

7
The stress-strain curve characterizes the behavior of the material tested. It is most often
plotted using engineering stress and strain measures, because the reference length and
cross-sectional area are easily measured. Stress-strain curves generated from tensile test
results help engineers gain insight into the constitutive relationship between stress
and strain for a particular material. In addition to providing quantitative information
that is useful for the constitutive relationship, the stress-strain curve can also be used to
qualitatively describe and classify the material. Typical regions that can be observed in a
stress-strain curve are:
1. Elastic region
2. Yielding
3. Strain Hardening
4. Necking and Failure
A stress-strain curve is a graph derived from measuring load (stress - σ) versus
extension (strain - ε) for a sample of a material. The nature of the curve varies from
material to material. The following diagrams illustrate the stress-strain behavior of typical
materials in terms of the engineering stress and engineering strain where the stress and
strain are calculated based on the original dimensions of the sample and not the
instantaneous values. In each case the samples are loaded in tension although in many
cases similar behaviour is observed in compression.

8
 Fig 1.2 Various regions and points on the stress-strain curve.
Brittle and Ductile Behavior
The behavior of materials can be broadly classified into two categories; brittle and ductile.
Steel and aluminum usually fall in the class of ductile materials. Glass, ceramics, plain
concrete and cast iron fall in the class of brittle materials. The two categories can be
distinguished by comparing the stress-strain curves, such as the ones shown in Fig 3.

Fig. 1.3 Ductile and brittle material behavior

9
The material response for ductile and brittle materials are exhibited by both
qualitative and quantitative differences in their respective stress-strain curves. Ductile
materials will withstand large strains before the specimen ruptures; brittle materials
fracture at much lower strains. The yielding region for ductile materials often takes up the
majority of the stress-strain curve, whereas for brittle materials it is nearly nonexistent.
Brittle materials often have relatively large Young's moduli and ultimate stresses in
comparison to ductile materials.
Yield strength
The yield point, is defined in engineering and materials science as the stress at
which a material begins to plastically deform. Prior to the yield point the material will
deform elastically and will return to its original shape when the applied stress is removed.
Once the yield point is passed some fraction of the deformation will be permanent and non-
reversible. Knowledge of the yield point is vital when designing a component since it
generally represents an upper limit to the load that can be applied. It is also important for
the control of many materials production techniques such as forging, rolling, or pressing. In
structural engineering, yield is the permanent plastic deformation of a structural member
under stress.
Elastic Limit - The lowest stress at which permanent deformation can be measured.
This requires a complex interactive load-unload procedure and is critically dependent on
the accuracy of the equipment and the skill of the operator.
Proportional Limit - The point at which the stress-strain curve becomes non-linear.
In most metallic materials the elastic limit and proportional limit are essentially the
same.
Offset Yield Point (proof stress) - Due to the lack of a clear border between the elastic
and plastic regions in many materials, the yield point is often defined as the stress at some
arbitrary plastic strain (typically 0.2%). This is determined by the intersection of a line
offset from the linear region by the required strain. In some materials there is essentially
no linear region and so a certain value of plastic strain is defined instead. Although
somewhat arbitrary this method does allow for a consistent comparison of materials and is
the most common.

10
If the stress is too large, the strain deviates from being proportional to the stress. The point
at which this happens is the yield point because there the material yields, deforming
permanently (plastically). Yield stress. Hooke’s law is not valid beyond the yield point.
The 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 0.002, which called as proof stresss. The yield stress
measures the resistance to plastic deformation. The yield strength is the stress required to
produce a small-specified amount of plastic deformation. The usual definition of this
property is the offset yield strength determined by the stress corresponding to the
intersection of the stress- strain curve and a line parallel to the elastic part of the curve
offset by a specified strain. In the United States the offset is usually specified as a strain of
0.2 or 0.1 percent (e = 0.002 or 0.001).
Elastic Properties of Materials
When the stress is removed, the material returns to the dimension it had before the load
was applied. Valid for small strains (except the case of rubbers).
 Deformation is reversible, non-permanent
Materials subject to tension shrink laterally. Those subject to compression, bulge. The ratio
of lateral and axial strains is called the Poisson's ratio. When a material is placed under a
tensile stress, an accompanying strain is created in the same direction.
Poisson’s ratio is the ratio of the lateral to axial strains.

   x 
 y

 z  z

The elastic modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio are related by E = 2G(1+ ν)
 Theoretically, isotropic materials will have a value for Poisson’s ratio of 0.25.
 The maximum value of ν is 0.5
 Most metals exhibit values between 0.25 and 0.35
Elasticity
Here the behavior is elastic but not the stress-strain curve is not immediately
reversible. It takes a while for the strain to return to zero. The effect is normally small for
metals but can be significant for polymers.

11
Tensile strength.
When stress continues in the plastic regime, the stress-strain passes through a
maximum, called the tensile strength (s TS ) , and then falls as the material starts to develop
a neck and it finally breaks at the fracture point. Note that it is called strength, not stress,
but the units are the same, MPa. For 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.
The tensile strength, or ultimate tensile strength (UTS), is the maximum load divided
by the original cross-sectional area of the specimen.
Ductility
The ability to deform before braking. It is the opposite of brittleness. Ductility can be given
either as percent maximum elongation e max or maximum area reduction. At our present
degree of understanding, ductility is a qualitative, subjective property of a material. In
general, measurements of ductility are of interest in three ways:
1. To indicate the extent to which a metal can be deformed without fracture in metal
working operations such as rolling and extrusion.
2. To indicate to the designer, in a general way, the ability of the metal to flow plastically
before fracture. A high ductility indicates that the material is "forgiving" and likely to
deform locally without fracture should the designer err in the stress calculation or the
prediction of severe loads.
3. To serve as an indicator of changes in impurity level or processing conditions.
Ductility measurements may be specified to assess material quality even though no direct
relationship exists between the ductility measurement and performance in service.
Resilience
The resilience of the material is the triangular area underneath the elastic region of the
curve. Resilience generally means the ability to recover from (or to resist being affected by)
some shock, insult, or disturbance. However, it is used quite differently in different fields.
In physics and engineering, resilience is defined as the capacity of a material to absorb
energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy
recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per volume that can be elastically

12
stored. It is represented by the area under the curve in the elastic region in the Stress-
Strain diagram.
Modulus of Resilience, Ur, can be calculated using the following formula:

2

 
U   0.5  0.5  
E
r
2E
Where σ is yield stress, E is Young's modulus, and ε is strain.
The ability of a material to absorb energy when deformed elastically and to return it when
unloaded is called resilience. This is usually measured by the modulus of resilience, which
is the strain energy per unit volume required to stress the material from, zero stress to the
yield stress.
The ability of a material to absorb energy when deformed elastically and to return it when
unloaded is called resilience. This is usually measured by the modulus of resilience, which
is the strain energy per unit volume required to stress the material from, zero stress to the
yield stress s. Table 1 gives some values of modulus of resilience for different materials.

Table 1.2 Modulus of resilience for various materials

Plastic deformation
When the stress is removed, the material does not return to its previous dimension but
there is a permanent, irreversible deformation. For metallic materials, elastic deformation

13
only occurs to strains of about 0.005. After this point, plastic (non-recoverable)
deformation occurs, and Hooke’s Law is no longer valid.
Toughness
The area underneath the stress-strain curve is the toughness of the material- i.e. the energy
the material can absorb prior to rupture. It also can be defined as the resistance of a
material to crack propagation.
In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the resistance to fracture of a material
when stressed. It is defined as the amount of energy that a material can absorb before
rupturing, and can be found by finding the area (i.e., by taking the integral) underneath the
stress-strain curve.

Fig. 1.4 Comparison between resilience and toughness of metals

Material Types
Brittle materials such as concrete or ceramics do not have a yield point. For these materials
the rupture strength and the ultimate strength are the same. Ductile material (such as
steel) generally exhibits a very linear stress-strain relationship up to a well-defined
yield point . The linear portion of the curve is the elastic region and the slope is the
modulus of elasticity or Young's Modulus. After the yield point the curve typically
decreases slightly due to dislocations escaping from Cottrell atmospheres. As deformation
continues the stress increases due to strain hardening until it reaches the ultimate
strength. Until this point the cross-sectional area decreases uniformly due to Poisson
contractions. However, beyond this point a neck forms where the local cross-sectional area
decreases more quickly than the rest of the sample resulting in an increase in the
true stress. On an engineering stress-strain curve this is seen as a decrease in the stress.
Conversely, if the curve is plotted in terms of true stress and true strain the stress will

14
continue to rise until failure. Eventually the neck becomes unstable and the specimen
ruptures (fractures).
Exercise 1
Q1. What is the r/ship between stress and strain? ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q2. Whate is the difference between elastic and plastic properties of construction material?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q3. Discuss the stress and strain curves of construction materials? _______________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q4. Discuss properties of construction material? ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q5. What types of factors do you consider during selection of construction materials?

15