Chapter 8

Mechanical Properties of Metals

8.2 CONCEPTS OF STRESS AND STRAIN
If a load is static or changes relatively slowly with time and is applied uniformly over a cross section or

surface of a member, the mechanical behavior may be ascertained by a simple stress-strain

test; these are most commonly conducted for metals a room temperature. There are three principal ways
in which a load may be applied namely, tension, compression, and shear (Figures 8.l a, b, c). In
engineering practice many loads are torsional rather than pure shear; this type of loading is illustrated
Figure 8.l d.

Figure 8.1 (a) Schematic illustration of how a tensile load produces an elongation and positive linear.
(b) Schematic illustration of how compressive load produces contraction and negative linear strain. (c)
Schematic representation of shear strainγ, where γ = tan θ. (d) Schematic representation of torsional
deformation (i.e., angle of twist φ) produced by an applied torque T.

Tension Tests
One of the most common mechanical stress-strain tests is performed in tension. As will be seen, the
tension test can be used to ascertain several mechanical properties of materials that are important in
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design. A specimen is deformed, usually to fracture, with a gradually increasing tensile load that is
applied uniaxially along the long axis a specimen. A standard tensile specimen is shown in Figure 8.2.
Normally, the cross section is circular, but rectangular specimens are also used. This "dogbone"
specimen configuration was chosen so that, during testing, deformation is confined to the narrow
center region (which has a uniform cross section along its length) and also to reduce the likelihood of
fracture at the ends of the specimen. The standard diameter is approximately 12.8 mm, whereas the

reduced section length should be at least four times this diameter; 60 mm is common.

Figure 8.2 A standard tensile specimen with circular cross section.

Gauge length is used in ductility computations as discussed in Section 8.4; the standard value is 50
mm. The specimen is mounted by its ends into the holding grips of the testing apparatus (Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3 Schematic representation of the apparatus used to conduct tensile stress-strain tests. The
specimen is elongated by the moving crosshead; load cell and extensometer measure, respectively,
the magnitude of the applied load and the elongation.

The tensile testing machine is designed to elongate the specimen at a constant rate, and to
continuously and simultaneously measure the instantaneous applied load (with a load cell) and the

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resulting elongations (using an extensometer). A stress-strain test typically takes several minutes to
perform and is destructive; that is, the test specimen is permanently deformed and usually fractured.

The output of such a tensile test is recorded (usually on a computer) as load or force versus elongation.
These load-deformation characteristics depend on the specimen size. For example, it requires twice the
load to produce the same elongation if the cross-sectional area of the specimen is doubled. To minimize
these geometrical factors, engineering stress load and elongation are normalized to the respective

parameters of engineering stress and engineering strain. Engineering stress σ is defined by the

relationship

σ = F / Ao (8.1)
Definition of engineering stress (for tension and compression)

in which F is the instantaneous load applied perpendicular to the specimen cross section, in
units of newtons (N), and Ao is the original cross-sectional area before any load is applied (m2). The

units of engineering stress (referred to subsequently as just stress) are megapascals, MPa (SI)
(where 1 MPa = 106 N/m2).

Engineering strain ε is defined according to

𝒍𝒊 −𝒍𝒐 𝜟𝒍
ε= = (8.2)
𝒍𝒐 𝒍𝒐
Definition of engineering strain (for tension and compression)

In which lo is the original length before any load is applied and li is the instantaneous length.
Sometimes the quantity lo - li is denoted as 𝛥l and is the deformation elongation or change in length at
some instant, as referenced to the original length.

Engineering strain (subsequently called just strain) is unitless, but meters per meter or inches per
inch is often used; the value of strain is obviously independent of the unit system. Sometimes strain is
also expressed as a percentage, in which the strain value is multiplied by 100.

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Compression Tests
Compression stress-strain tests may be conducted if in-service forces are of this type. A compression
test is conducted in a manner similar to the tensile test, except that the force is compressive and the
specimen contracts along the direction of the stress. Equations 8.1 and 8.2 are utilized to compute
compressive stress and strain, respectively. By convention, a compressive force is taken to be negative,
which yields a negative stress. Furthermore, because lo is greater than li, compressive strains computed
from Equation 8.2 are necessarily also negative.

Tensile tests are more common because they are easier to perform; also, for most materials used in
structural applications, very little additional information is obtained from compressive tests.
Compressive tests are used when a material's behavior under large and permanent (i.e., plastic) strains
is desired, as in manufacturing applications, or when the material is brittle in tension.

Shear and Torsional Tests

For tests performed using a pure shear force as shown in Figure 8.1c, the shear stress τ is computed

𝑭
according to τ=𝑨 (8.3)
𝒐

Where F is the load or force imposed parallel to the upper and lower faces, each of which has an area

of Ao. The shear strain γ is defined as the tangent of the strain angle θ, as indicated in the figure. The

units for shear stress and strain are the same as for their tensile counterparts.

Torsion is a variation of pure shear in which a structural member is twisted in the manner of Figure
8.1d; torsional forces produce a rotational motion about the longitudinal axis of one end of the member
relative to the other end. Examples of torsion are found for machine axles and drive shafts as well as
for twist drills. Torsional tests are normally performed on cylindrical solid shafts or tubes. A shear

stress τ is a function of the applied torque T, whereas shear strain γ is related to the angle of twist, φ

in Figure 8.1d.

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8.3 ELASTIC DEFORMATION

Stress-Strain Behavior
The degree to which a structure deforms or strains depends on the magnitude of an imposed stress. For
most metals that are stressed in tension and at relatively low levels, stress and strain are proportional to
each other through the relationship

σ = Eε (8.5)
Hooke’s law- relationship between engineering stress and engineering strain for
elastic deformation (tension and compression)

This is known as Hooke's law, and the constant of proportionality E (Gpa) [1 GPa=
109N/mm2=103 MPa] is the modulus of elasticity, or Young's modulus.
For most typical metals, the magnitude of this modulus ranges between 45 GPa, for magnesium, and
407 GPa, for tungsten. Modulus of elasticity values for several metals at room temperature are
presented' elastic deformation Table 8.l.

Deformation in which stress and strain are proportional is called elastic deformation; a plot of stress
(ordinate) versus strain (abscissa) results in a linear relationship, as shown Figure 8.5. The slope of this
linear segment corresponds to the modulus of elasticity E. This modulus may be thought of as stiffness,
or a material's resistance to elastic deformation.

Figure 8.5 Schematic stress-strain diagram showing linear elastic deformation for loading and
unloading cycles.

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The greater the modulus, the stiffer is the material, or the smaller the elastic strain that results from the
application of a given stress. The modulus is an important design parameter for computing elastic
deflections.
Elastic deformation is nonpermanent, which means that when the applied load is released, the piece
returns to its original shape. As shown in the stress-strain plot (Figure 8.5), application of the load
corresponds to moving from the origin up and along the straight line. Upon release of the load, the line
is traversed in the opposite direction, back to the origin.
There are some materials (i.e., gray cast iron, concrete, and many polymers) for which this elastic
portion of the stress-strain curve is not linear (Figure 8.6); hence, is not possible to determine a
modulus of elasticity as described previously.

Figure 8.6 Schematic stress-strain diagram showing nonlinear elastic behavior and how secant and
tangent moduli are determined.

For this nonlinear behavior, either the tangent or secant modulus is normally used. The tangent
modulus is taken as the slope of the stress-strain curve at some specified level of stress, whereas the
secant modulus represents the slope of a secant drawn from the origin to some given point of the

σ-ε curve. The determination of these moduli is illustrated in Figure 8.6.

On an atomic scale, macroscopic elastic strain is manifested as small changes in the interatomic
spacing and the stretching of interatomic bonds. As a consequence, the magnitude of the modulus of
elasticity is a measure of the resistance to separation of adjacent atoms, that is, the interatomic

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bonding forces. Furthermore, this modulus is proportional to the slope of the interatomic force-
separation curve (Figure 2.l0 a) at the equilibrium spacing:

E α (dF/dr)ro (8.6)
Figure 8.7 shows the force-separation curves for materials having both strong and weak interatomic
bonds; the slope at ro is indicated for each.
Values of the modulus of elasticity for ceramic materials are about the same as for metals; for polymers
they are lower (Figure 1.5). These differences are a direct consequence of the different types of atomic
bonding in the three materials types.

Figure 8.7 Force versus interatomic separation for weakly and strongly bonded atoms. The magnitude
of the modulus of elasticity is proportional to the slope of each curve at the equilibrium interatomic
separation ro.

Furthermore, with increasing temperature, the modulus of elasticity decreases, as shown for several
metals in Figure 8.8.

Figure 8.8 Plot of modulus of elasticity versus 400temperature for tungsten, steel, and aluminum.

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As would be expected, the imposition of compressive, shear, or torsional stresses also evokes elastic
behavior. The stress-strain characteristics at low stress levels are virtually the same for both tensile and
compressive situations, to include the magnitude the modulus of elasticity. Shear stress and strain are
proportional to each other through the expression

τ=Gγ (8.7)
Relationship between shear stress and shear strain for elastic deformation

Where G is the shear modulus, the slope of the linear elastic region of the shear stress-strain curve
Table 8.1 also gives the shear moduli for a number of com metals.

EXAMPLE PROBLEM 8.1

Elongation (Elastic) Computation

A piece of copper originally 305 mm long is pulled in tension with a stress of 276 MPa. If the
deformation is entirely elastic, what will be the resultant elongation?
Solution
Because the deformation is elastic, strain is dependent on stress according to Equation 8.5. σ = Eε
𝒍𝒊 −𝒍𝒐 𝜟𝒍
Furthermore, the elongation Al is related to the original length la through Equation 8.2. ε = =
𝒍𝒐 𝒍𝒐

Combining these two expressions and solving for 𝜟𝒍 yields

𝜟𝒍
σ = Eε = ( ) E 𝛥𝑙 = σ 𝑙𝑜 /E
𝒍𝒐

The values of σ and 𝑙𝑜 are given as 276 MPa and 305 mm, respectively, and the magnitude of E for
copper from Table 8.1 is 110 GPa. Elongation is obtained by substitution into the preceding expression
as 𝛥𝑙 = (276 MPa) (305 mm) / 110 x 103 MPa = 0.77mm

Elastic Properties of Materials

When a tensile stress is imposed on a metal specimen, an elastic elongation and accompanying strain εz
result in the direction of the applied stress (arbitrarily taken to be the z direction), as indicated in Figure
8.9. As a result of this elongation, there will be constrictions in the lateral (x and y) directions
perpendicular to the applied stress; from these contractions, the compressive strains εx and εy may
be determined. If the applied stress is uniaxial (only in the Z direction) and the material is isotropic,
then εx = εy.

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A parameter termed Poisson's ratio ν is defined as the ratio of the lateral and axial strains, or
ν = - εx / εz =- εy / εz (8.8)

Figure 8.9 Axial (z) elongation (positive strain) and lateral (x and y) contractions (negative strains) in
response to an imposed tensile stress. Solid lines represent dimensions after stress application;
dashed lines, before.

For virtually all structural materials, εx and εz will be of opposite sign; therefore, the negative sign

is included in the preceding expression to ensure that ν is positive.

Theoretically, Poisson's ratio for isotropic materials should be 0.25; furthermore, the maximum value

for ν (or the value for which there is no net volume change) is 0.50. For many metals and other alloys,

values of Poisson's ratio range between 0.25 and 0.35. Table 8.1 shows ν values for several common
metallic materials.

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For isotropic materials, shear and elastic moduli are related to each other and to Poisson's ratio
according to
E = 2G (1+ ν) (8.9)
Relationship among elastic parameters- modulus of elasticity, shear modulus,
Poisson's ratio
In most metals, G is about 0.4 E; thus, if the value of one modulus is known, the other may be
approximated.

Many materials are elastically anisotropic; that is, the elastic behavior (i.e., the magnitude of E)
varies with crystallographic direction (see Table 3.3). For these materials, the elastic properties are

completely characterized only by the specification of several elastic constants, their number
depending on characteristics of the crystal structure.

Even for isotropic materials, for complete characterization of the elastic properties, at least two
constants must be given. Because the grain orientation random in most polycrystalline materials, these
may be considered to be isotropic; inorganic ceramic glasses are also isotropic. The remaining
discussion of mechani behavior assumes isotropy and polycrystallinity because this is the character of
m engineeririg.ma terials.

EXAMPLE PROBLEM 8.2

8.4 PLASTIC DEFORMATION

For most metallic materials, elastic deformation persists only to strains of about 0.005. As the material
is deformed beyond this point, the stress is no longer proportional to strain (Hooke's law, Equation 8.5,

ceases to be valid), and permanent, nonrecoverable, or plastic deformation occurs.

Figure 8.10 a plots schematically the tensile stress-strain behavior into the plastic region for a typical
metal. The transition from elastic to plastic is a gradual one for most metals; some curvature results at
the onset of plastic deformation, which increases more rapidly with rising stress.

From an atomic perspective, plastic deformation corresponds to the breaking of bonds with original
atom neighbors and then the re-forming of bonds with new neighbors as large numbers of atoms or
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molecules move relative to one another; upon removal of the stress, they do not return to their original
positions.

Figure 8.10 (a) Typical stress-strain behavior for a metal showing elastic and plastic deformations, the
proportional limit P, and the yield strength σy as determined using the 0.002 strain offset method. (b)
Representative stress-strain behavior found for some steels demonstrating the yield point
phenomenon.

The mechanism of this deformation is different for crystalline and amorphous materials. For crystalline
solids, deformation is accomplished by means of a process called slip, which involves the motion of
dislocations as discussed in Section 9.2. Plastic deformation in noncrystalline solids (as well as liquids)
occurs by a viscous flow mechanism, which is outlined in Section 14.8.

Tensile Properties

Yielding and Yield Strength

Most structures are designed to ensure that only elastic deformation will result when a stress is
applied. A structure or component that has plastically deformed-or experienced a permanent change in

shape-may not be capable of functioning as intended.

It is therefore desirable to know the stress level at which plastic deformation begins, or where the

phenomenon of yielding occurs.

For metals that experience this gradual elastic-plastic transition, the point of yielding may be

determined as the initial departure from linearity of the stress-strain curve; this is
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sometimes called the proportional limit, as indicated by point P in Figure 8.l0 a, and represents
the onset of plastic deformation on a microscopic level.
The position of this point P is difficult to measure precisely. As a consequence, a convention has been
established by which a straight line is constructed parallel to the elastic portion of the stress-strain
curve at some specified strain offset, usually 0.002. The stress corresponding to the intersection of this
line and the stress-strain curve as it bends over in the plastic region is defined as the yield strength σy.
This is demonstrated in Figure 8.l0 a. The units of yield strength are MPa.

For materials having a nonlinear elastic region (Figure 8.6), use of the strain offset method is not
possible, and the usual practice is to define the yield strength as the stress required to produce some
amount of strain (e.g., ε = 0.005).

Some steels and other materials exhibit the tensile stress-strain behavior shown in Figure 8.l0 b. The

elastic-plastic transition is very well defined and occurs abruptly in what is termed a yield point

phenomenon. At the upper yield point, plastic deformation is initiated with an apparent decrease in
engineering stress.
Continued deformation fluctuates slightly about some constant stress value, termed the lower yield

point; stress subsequently rises with increasing strain. For metals that display this effect, the yield
strength is taken as the average stress that is associated with the lower yield point because it is well
defined and relatively insensitive to the testing procedure. Thus, it is not necessary to employ the strain
offset method for these materials.
The magnitude of the yield strength for a metal is a measure of its resistance to
plastic deformation. Yield strengths may range from 35 MPa for low-strength aluminum to greater
than 1400 MPa for high-strength steels.

Tensile Strength

After yielding, the stress necessary to continue plastic deformation in metals increases to a maximum,

point M in Figure 8.11, and then decreases to the eventual fracture, point F. The tensile strength
TS (MPa) is the stress at the maximum on the engineering stress-strain curve (Figure 8.11).

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Figure 8.11 Typical engineering stress-strain behavior to fracture, point F. The tensile strength TS is
indicated at point M. The circular insets represent the geometry of the deformed specimen at various
points along the curve.

This corresponds to the maximum stress that can be sustained by a structure in tension; if this stress is

applied and maintained, fracture will result. All deformation to this point is uniform
throughout the narrow region of the tensile specimen.

However, at this maximum stress, a small constriction or neck begins to form at some point, and all
subsequent deformation is confined at this neck, as indicated by the schematic specimen insets in
Figure 8.11. This phenomenon is termed necking, and fracture ultimately occurs at the neck. The
fracture strength corresponds to the stress at fracture.

Tensile strengths vary from 50 MPa for an aluminum to as high as 3000 MPa for the high-strength
steels. Typically, when the strength of a metal is cited for design purposes, the yield strength is used
because by the time a stress corresponding to the tensile strength has been applied, often a structure has
experienced so much plastic deformation that it is useless. Furthermore, fracture strengths are not
normally specified for engineering design purposes.
EXAMPLE PROBLEM 8.3

Mechanical Property Determinations from Stress-Strain Plot

Refer to text book. Page 223

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Ductility
Ductility is another important mechanical property. It is a measure of the degree of plastic
deformation that has been sustained at fracture. A metal that experiences very little or no plastic

deformation upon fracture is termed brittle. The tensile stress strain behaviors for both ductile and
brittle metals are schematically illustrated in Figure 8.13.

Figure 8.13 Schematic representations of tensile stress-strain behavior for brittle and ductile metals
loaded to fracture.

Ductility may be expressed quantitatively as either percent elongation or percent reduction in area.
Percent elongation (%EL) is the percentage of plastic strain at fracture, or
𝑙𝑓 −𝑙𝑜
% EL = ( ) x 100 (8.11)
𝑙𝑜
Ductility, as percent elongation

Where lf is the fracture length and lo is the original gauge length as given earlier. In asmuch as a

significant proportion of the plastic deformation at fracture is confined to the neck region, the

magnitude of % EL will depend on specimen gauge length. The shorter lo, the greater the fraction of

total elongation from the neck and, consequently, the higher the value of % EL. Therefore, lo should be

specified when percent elongation values are cited; it is commonly 50 mm.

Percent reduction in area (% RA) is defined as

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 𝐴𝑜 −𝐴𝑓
% RA = ( ) x 100 (8.11)
𝐴𝑜
Ductility, as percent reduction in area

Where Ao is the original cross-sectional area and Af is the cross-sectional area at the point of fracture.

Values of percent reduction in area are independent of both lo and Ao. Furthermore, for a given

material, the magnitudes of %EL and %RA will, in general, be different. Most metals possess at least a
moderate degree of ductility at room temperature; however, some become brittle as the temperature is
lowered.
Knowledge of the ductility of materials is important for at least two reasons. First, it indicates to a

designer the degree to which a structure will deform plastically before fracture. Second, it specifies
the degree of allowable deformation during fabrication operations.

We sometimes refer to relatively ductile materials as being "forgiving," in the sense that they may
experience local deformation without fracture, should there be an error in the magnitude of the
design stress calculation.
Brittle materials are approximately considered to be those having a fracture strain of less than about
5%.
Thus, several important mechanical properties of metals may be determined from tensile stress-strain
tests. Table 8.2 presents some typical room-temperature values of yield strength, tensile strength, and
ductility for several common metals. These properties are sensitive to any prior deformation, the
presence of impurities, and/or any heat treatment to which the metal has been subjected. The modulus
of elasticity is one mechanical parameter that is insensitive to these treatments.

As with modulus of elasticity, the magnitudes of both yield and tensile strengths decline with
increasing temperature; just the reverse holds for ductility-it usually increases with temperature. Figure
8.14 shows how the stress-strain behavior of iron varies with temperature.

15
8.14 Engineering stress-strain behavior for iron at three temperatures.

Resilience
Resilience is the capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon

unloading, to have this energy recovered. The associated property is the modulus of resilience,
Ur which is the strain energy per unit volume required to stress a material from an unloaded state up to
the point of yielding.
Computationally, the modulus of resilience for a specimen subjected to a uniaxial tension test is just the
area under the engineering stress-strain curve taken to yielding (Figure 8.15), or
𝜺
Ur = ∫𝟎 𝒚 𝝈 𝒅𝜺 (8.13 a)

Assuming a linear elastic region, we have

Ur = ½ σy εy (8.13 b)

In which εy is the strain at yielding.

8.15 Schematic representation showing how modulus of resilience (corresponding to the shaded area)
is determined from the tensile stress-strain behavior of a material.
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The units of resilience are the product of the units from each of the two axes of the stress-strain plot.
For SI units, this is joules per cubic meter (J/m3, equivalent to Pa). The area under the stress-strain
curve represents energy absorption per unit volume (in cubic meters) of material.

Incorporation of Equation 8.5 [σ = Eε] into Equation 8. 13 b yields

σ𝑦 𝜎𝑦2
Ur = ½ σy εy = ½ σy = (8.14)
𝐸 2𝐸

Modulus of resilience for linear elastic behavior, and incorporating

Hooke's law

Thus, resilient materials are those having high yield strengths and low moduli of elasticity; such
alloys are used in spring applications.

Toughness
Toughness is a mechanical term that may be used in several contexts. For one, toughness (or more
specifically, fracture toughness) is a property that is indicative of a material's resistance to fracture
when a crack (or other stress-concentrating defect) is present (as discussed in Section 10.5). Because it
is nearly impossible (as well as costly) to manufacture materials with zero defects (or to prevent
damage during service), fracture toughness is a major consideration for all structural materials.
Another way of defining toughness is as the ability of a material to a absorb energy and
plastically deform before fracturing. For dynamic (high strain rate) loading conditions and when a
notch (or pint of stress concentration) is present, notch toughness is assessed by an using an impact
test.

True Stress and Strain

From Figure 8.11, the decline in the stress necessary to continue deformation past the maximum -point
M -seems to indicate that the metal is becoming weaker. This is not at all the case; as a matter of fact, it
is increasing in strength. However, the cross-sectional area is decreasing rapidly within the neck region,
where deformation is occurring. This results in a reduction in the load-bearing capacity of the
specimen. The stress, as computed from Equation 8.1 σ=F/Ao, is on the basis of the original cross-

17
sectional area before any deformation and does not take into account this reduction in area at the
neck.

Sometimes it is more meaningful to use a true stress-true strain scheme. True stress σT is defined
as the load F divided by the instantaneous cross-sectional area Ai over which deformation is occurring
(i.e., the neck, past the tensile point), or

σT =F/Ai (8.15)
Definition of true stress

Furthermore, it is occasionally more convenient to represent strain as true strain εT, defined by
𝒍
εT = ln 𝒍 𝒊 (8.16)
𝒐

Definition of true strain

If no volume change occurs during deformation - that is, if

Aili = Aolo (8.17)

- Then true and engineering stress and strain are related according to

σT = σ (1+ε) (8.18 a)
Conversion of engineering stress to true stress

εT = ln (1+ε) (8.18 b)
Conversion of engineering strain to true strain

Equations 8.18a and 8.18b are valid only to the onset of necking; beyond this point,
true stress and strain should be computed from actual load, cross-sectional area, and gauge
length measurements.

A schematic comparison of engineering and true stress-strain behaviors is made in Figure 8.16. It is
worth noting that the true stress necessary to sustain increasing strain continues to rise past the tensile
point M'.

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Figure 8.16 A comparison of typical tensile engineering stress-strain and true stress-strain behaviors.
Necking begins at point M on the engineering curve, which corresponds to M' on the true curve. The
"corrected" true stress-strain curve takes into account the complex stress state within the neck
region.
Coincident with the formation of a neck is the introduction of a complex stress state within the
neck region (i.e., the existence of other stress components in addition to the axial stress). As a
consequence, the correct stress (axial) within the neck is slightly lower than the stress computed
from the applied load and neck cross-sectional area. This leads to the "corrected" curve in Figure 8.16.

For some metals and alloys the region of the true stress-,train curve from the onset of plastic
deformation to the point at which necking begins may be approximated by

σ T = K εT n (8.19)
True stress-true relationship in the plastic region of deformation (to the
point of necking)
In this expression, K and n are constants; these values vary from alloy to alloy and also depend on the
condition of the material (whether it has been plastically deformed, heat-treated, etc.). The parameter n
is often termed the strain-hardening exponent and has a value less than unity. Values of n and K for
several alloys a given in Table 8.4. See table page 229
EXAMPLE PROBLEM 8.5

Calculation of Strain-Hardening Exponent

Compute the strain-hardening exponent n in Equation 8.19 for an alloy in which a true stress of 415
MPa produces a true strain of 0.10; assume a value of 1035 MPa for K.

Elastic Recovery after Plastic Deformation

Upon release of the load during the course of a stress-strain test, some fraction of the total deformation
is recovered as elastic strain. This behavior is demonstrated in Figure 8.17, a schematic engineering

19
stress-strain plot. During the unloading cycle, the curve traces a near straight-line path from the point of
unloading (point D), and its slope is virtually identical to the modulus of elasticity, or parallel to the
initial elastic portion of the curve

Figure 8.17 Schematic tensile stress-strain diagram showing the phenomena of elastic strain recovery
and strain hardening. The initial yield strength is designated as σ Yo; σ Yi is the yield strength after
releasing the load at point D and then upon reloading.

The magnitude of this elastic strain, which is regained during unloading, corresponds to the strain
recovery, as shown in Figure 8.17. If the load is reapplied, the curve will traverse essentially the same
linear portion in the direction opposite to unloading; yielding will again occur at the unloading stress
level where the unloading began. There will also be elastic strain recovery associated with fracture.

8.5 Hardness
Another mechanical property that may be important to consider is hardness, which is a measure of
a material's resistance to localized plastic deformation (e.g., a small dent or a scratch). Quantitative
hardness techniques have been developed over the years in which a small indenter is forced into the
surface of a material to be tested under controlled conditions of load and rate of application. The depth
or size of the resulting indentation is measured and related to a hardness number; the softer the
material, the larger and deeper the indentation, and the lower the hardness index number. Measured
hardnesses are only relative (rather than absolute), and care should be exercised when comparing
values determined by different techniques.
Hardness tests are performed more frequently than any other mechanical test for several reasons:
1. They are simple and inexpensive-typically, no special specimen need be prepared, and the testing
apparatus is relatively inexpensive.

20
2. The test is nondestructive-the specimen is neither fractured nor excessively deformed; a small
indentation is the only deformation.
3. Other mechanical properties often may be estimated from hardness data, such as tensile strength (see
Figure 8.19).

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Correlation between Hardness and Tensile Strength
Both tensile strength and hardness are indicators of a metal's resistance to plastic deformation.
Consequently, they are roughly proportional, as shown in Figure 8.19, for tensile strength as a function
of the HB for cast iron, steel, and brass. The same proportionality relationship does not hold for all
metals, as Figure 8.19 indicates. As a rule of thumb, for most steels, the HB and the tensile strength are
related according to
TS (MPa) = 3.45 x HB (8.20)
For steel alloys, conversion of Brinell hardness to tensile strength

Figure 8.19 Relationships between hardness and Rockwell hardness tensile strength for steel, brass,
and cast iron.

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