Mechanical Properties

• From an applications standpoint, one of the most important topics

within Materials Sc. & Eng. is the study of how materials respond to
external loading or deformation.
Outline • Most components, even if used primarily for other property
(electronic substrate) have to fulfil certain mechanical functions as
well.
• Introduction • Important mechanical properties are strength, hardness, stiffness and
ductility.
• Mechanical testing
• Tensile test • Laboratory testing to measure mechanical properties attempts to
replicate the service conditions.
• Elastic deformation
• Consistency is accomplished by using standardised test, so people
are measuring same thing in the same way
• American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) maintains and
updates standards for mechanical properties.
• Several other standards organizations exist, e.g. SAE, ANSI, DIN….

Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/1 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/2

Mechanical testing of metals Tensile Test

Loading can take any of the following forms: • The material’s response to the applied
tensile or compressive load is a change
…………. …………….. ……….. ……….. in length.
• We can monitor the change in length
very precisely with an instrument called
an extensometer.
li −lo Δl
A typical tensile test machine ε= = We call this quantity strain
lo lo

Where:
squeezing/ sliding twisting l = instantaneous length
Pulling/ squashing
lo = initial length
Stretching
A typical standard tensile Strain is a dimensionless quantity (or, can
Different tests measure different types of loading conditions test specimen be reported as m/m or in./in.)
Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/3 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/4
 Engineering Strain Tensile Test

• Tensile strain: ε = δ δ/2

Typically, loading is normalized to cross sectional area:
Lo
Lo
−δ
We refer to this ratio as the applied stress
wo
• Lateral strain: εL = L when normalized to initial area, this is
wo δ/2 σ =
F
engineering stress.
δL/2 Ao
δL/2 when normalized to actual area, this is
• Shear strain: true stress.
θ/2

γ = tan θ Tensile test

• Load - elongation testing
π/2 - θ • But thin wire of same material breaks at lower load than thicker
Strain is always dimensionless. material of same material
π/2 θ/2 • engineering stress (σ) - engineering strain (ε)

Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/5 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/6

Engineering Stress Elastic Deformation

Tensile stress, σ: Shear stress, τ: 1. Initial 2. Small load 3. Unload
Ft Ft F
bonds
stretch
Area, A Area, A Fs
return to
initial
Fs δ
F Ft
σ= t F Ft F
F
τ= s F Linear-
Ao Ao elastic
original area Elastic means reversible! Non-Linear-
before loading elastic
Stress has units: N/m2 or lb/in2 δ
Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/7 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/8
 Stress-Strain Behaviour - Elastic Response Stress-Strain Behaviour - Elastic Response
Initially, stress and strain are directly proportional to each other
In the elastic region a material returns
• Rationale: atoms can be thought of as masses connected to each other
through a network of springs. to its original dimensions when load
released, and we can write
According to Hooke’s law, the extension of a
spring, x, and the applied force, F, are related or
by the spring contant, k:
Example:
F = - kx
A steel wire with a cross sectional area of
The constant of proportionality, Young’s 0.55 mm2 and length of 10 m is extended elastically 1.68 mm by a force
modulus or modulus of elasticity, is a measure of 17.24 N. What is the modulus of elasticity for this steel specimen?
of the material’s stiffness.

Materials possessing high stiffness: W, Ta, Mo …….. slope

Materials possessing low stiffness: Al, Cu, Ag ……… slope
Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/9 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/10

Young’s modulus or modulus of elasticity

Tangent and Secant Modulus
So E tells us how much something will stretch elastically when
loaded, i.e. the STIFFNESS of that material
High E value - very stiff Ceramics 300 GPa • Some materials do not show linear
Steel 207 GPa elastic region; their elastic region is
Medium E value Copper 110 GPa non-linear. Cast iron, concrete,
Low E value: - (not stiff) plastics 3 GPa some polymers.
In this case E is harder to define:
• Can use Tangent modulus which
is slope of tangent at a particular
In general, the a material’s modulus stress level, or,
(or stiffness) decreases with increasing
temperature. • Secant modulus which is slope of
the line joining origin with some
Can you think of why this happens?
specified stress level.

Temperature dependence of elastic moduli

Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/11 Dr. M. Medraj Mech. Eng. Dept. - Concordia University Mech 221 lecture 10/12
 Compression, Shear and Torsion Tests Common States of Stress
Compression Simple tension: cable
• by convention, stress and strain are negative
• used for measuring strength of brittle F F
materials and for calculating forces required Ao = cross sectional
in manufacturing processing which involve Area (when unloaded)
compressive deformation F
Shear σ= σ σ
Ao
• shear stress is τ = F/Ao and γ (shear Ski lift (photo courtesy P.M. Anderson)

strain) is tangent of shear angle, θ Torsion: drive shaft

M
• τ = G γ, G is shear modulus Ac
• shear tests are often used to measure
adhesive bonding, riveted joints etc
M
Torsion 2R
• torsion is a variation of shear occurring in
machine axles, drive shafts and twist drills Simple compression:
Canyon Bridge, Los Alamos, NM
• T = f(τ ) and γ = f (φ) (photo courtesy P.M. Anderson)

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Poisson’s Ratio Elastic Deformation: Anelasticity

• When pulled in tension (Z), a sample gets time dependence of elastic deformation
longer and thinner, i.e., a contraction in the
width (X) and breadth (Y) • So far we have assumed that elastic deformation is time
• if compressed gets fatter …………….. (i.e. applied stress produces instantaneous
• Poisson’s ratio defines how much elastic strain)
strain occurs in the lateral directions (x • However, in reality elastic deformation takes time and
& y) when strained in the (z) direction: continues after initial loading, and after load release. This
lateral strain time dependent elastic behavior is known as anelasticity.
υ =-
longitudinal strain • The effect is normally small for metals but can be
εx εy significant for polymers (“visco-elastic behavior”).
ν = − = −
εz εz
• Typical values = 0.2 to 0.5 Next topic:
Some materials are anisotropic so E &
• For isotropic materials G vary with direction (e.g. composite Plastic Deformation
E = 2G(1+ν ) materials and single crystals)
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