MM1101: Material Science (3-0-0)

Dr. Anushree Dutta

UNIT-II

NIT Jamshedpur
 Syllabus

• Deformation of material, Mechanical properties of materials: Hardness (types of hardness measurements),

Tensile (stress-strain diagram, all properties derived from stress-strain curve: true stress-strain, elastic-plastic,
conversion from engineering to true stress-strain curve, yield point phenomenon, proof stress, measure of
ductility, effect of temperature on mechanical properties)
• Impact (Charpy and Izod test, energy absorbed vs. temperature curve, effect of variables on this transition
curve)
• Fatigue (Concept of fatigue, Failure process of fatigue, crack initiation, crack propagation and growth,
different cycle of loading, S-N curve, fatigue life concept)
• Creep of metals (Creep curve, different stages of creep, dependence on stress and temperature, creep rate,
variety of creep tests at constant load and constant stress, concept of creep mechanisms (dislocation, grain
boundary sliding, coble, NH creep
Text Books:
1. Material Science and Engineering by William D. Callister
2. Material Science and Engineering by V. Raghavan
3. Physical Metallurgy Principles by Abbaschian.R, Abbaschian.L, Reed Hill
R.E.
4. Mechanical Metallurgy by George E. Dieter
Reference Book:
1. Modern Physical Metallurgy by R. E Smallman and R. J. Bishop
 Stress-strain curve
➢ A stress-strain curve is a graphical representation of stress (Y-axis) vs strain (X-axis) to know how a
material behave when load is applied.

➢ This is an important test to understand the various properties of engineering materials. Load is applied
uniformly over a cross section.

➢ Parts or components in the real world have to withstand external forces during their lifetime
➢ Product designer should consider these external forces with a factor of safety during product design
➢ New parts are designed such as way that they can withstand these external forces
➢ Stress-strain curve represents the behavior of a material when an external force is applied.
➢ There are three principal ways in which a load may be applied:

- Tension (Increase of length along the direction of stress)

- Compression (specimen contracts along the direction stress)

- Shear (load imposed parallel to the upper and lower faces of the specimen)

However, in engineering practice many loads are torsional (produce a rotational motion) rather than pure
shear
 Uniaxial tension test
➢ One of the most common mechanical stress-strain test
➢ Specimen is subjected to a continually increasing uniaxial tensile force and observe elongation
➢ Used to ascertain several mechanical properties of materials
➢ Standard specimens - Circular or rectangular specimen cross section (Dogbone shaped to confine the
deformation to narrow center region)
Tension test
Tensile testing
 Specimen for Tensile testing

F F

ASTM E8 (American Society for Testing and Materials) – Tensile Testing of Metals
 Stress-strain curve

𝐹
• Engineering stress (σ) = , [where F = Instantaneous applied load, 𝐴0 = Initial/original cross-
𝐴0
sectional area
𝑙𝑖 − 𝑙0
• Engineering strain (𝜀) = , [where 𝑙0 = original length, 𝑙𝑖 = instantaneous length
𝑙0
 Different regions in the stress-strain curve
(1) Proportional Limit: The linear portion in the stress-strain (σ vs 𝜀) curve that obeys Hooke’s Law (σ
= E𝜀). The slope of linear line is called a proportionality constant known as Young’s modulus (E). The
proportional limit is the stress at which stress-strain curve deviates from linearity

(2) Elastic Limit: The maximum stress that the up to which the material can withstand without
experiencing a permanent strain (returns to its original position) when the load acting on it is completely
removed. Beyond this limit, the material doesn’t return to its original position, and a plastic deformation
starts.

(3) Yield Point: For engineering purposes the limit of usable elastic behavior is described by yield
strength (σy). The yield point is defined as the point at which the material starts to deform plastically.
The yield strength is defined as the stress which will produce a small amount of permanent deformation
(generally equals to a strain of 0.002)

(4) Ultimate tensile strength (σmax): The maximum load divided by the original area of the specimen.
For a ductile metal the diameter of the specimen begins to decrease rapidly beyond maximum load

(5) Fracture or Breaking Point: The point in the stress-strain curve (σf) at which the failure of the
material takes place.
 Yield stress and Proof stress
• 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 line parallel to the elastic part of the curve offset by a specified
strain (Fig).
• In the United States the offset is usually specified as a strain of 0.2 or 0.1 percent (𝜀 = 0.002 or 0.001).

𝜎𝑈𝑇𝑆 =

• A good way of looking at offset yield strength is that after a specimen has been loaded to its 0.2 percent
offset yield strength and then unloaded it will be 0.2 percent longer than before the test.

• The offset yield strength is often referred to in Great Britain as the proof stress, where offset values are
either 0.1 or 0.5 percent.

• The yield strength obtained by an offset method is commonly used for design and specification purposes
because it avoids the practical difficulties of measuring the elastic limit or proportional limit.

• Some materials have essentially no linear portion to their stress-strain curve, for example, soft copper or
gray cast iron. For these materials the offset method cannot be used and the usual practice is to define the
yield strength as the stress to produce some total strain, for example, 𝜀 = 0.005.
Stress-strain curve of ductile, brittle and plastic material
 Ductile and Brittle Fracture

Types of fractures observed in metals subjected

to uniaxial tension. (a) Brittle fracture of
single crystals and polycrystals; (b) shearing fracture
in ductile single crystals; (c) completely ductile fracture
in polycrystals; (d) ductile fracture in poly-crystals.
 Mechanical properties derivable from the uniaxial tensile test

1. Strength: Yield strength (σy) and ultimate tensile strength (σUTS )

2. Stiffness: Young's Modulus = slope of stress-strain in the elastic region
3. Resilience: capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed
elastically and then, upon unloading, to have this energy recovered i.e. energy
absorbed per unit volume up to yield point under the stress strain curve
4. Toughness: energy absorbed per unit volume up to fracture = area under the
stress strain curve
5. Ductility: elongation up to fracture

Yield strength is ability to resists the plastic deformation, stiffness is ability to resists
the elastic deformation and ductility ability to undergo plastic deformation.
 STRESS–STRAIN BEHAVIOR
Elastic deformation Hooke’s law :
A relationship between engineering stress and engineering
strain for elastic deformation (tension and compression)
states that stress is proportional to strain

σ = Eϵ

E = σ/ ϵ

The constant of proportionality E (GPa or psi) 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.

However, there are some materials (e.g.,

gray cast iron, concrete, and many polymers)
Schematic stress–strain diagram showing linear for which this elastic portion of the stress–
elastic deformation for loading and unloading cycles. strain curve is not linear.
 Elastic deformation
Modulus of elasticity values for several metals at room temperature are presented
 Elastic deformation
• This modulus may be thought of as stiffness, or a material’s resistance to elastic deformation.
• The greater the modulus, the stiffer the material, or the smaller the elastic strain that results from the
application of a given stress i.e. more resistant to its deformation
• The modulus is an important design parameter used 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 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
• A parameter Poisson’s ratio (ν) is defined as the ratio of the lateral and axial strains
Elastic deformation

• Values of the modulus of elasticity for ceramic materials are about the same as for metals;
for polymers they are lower. These differences are a direct consequence of the different
types of atomic bonding in the three materials types.
• Furthermore, with increasing temperature, the modulus of elasticity diminishes, as is
shown for several metals in next Figure.
• 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 of the modulus of elasticity. Shear
stress and strain are proportional to each other through the expression

• where G is the shear modulus, the slope of the linear elastic region of the shear stress–
strain curve.
Plot of modulus of elasticity versus temperature for
tungsten, steel, and aluminum.
 Stress-strain behavior – 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, ceases to be valid)
➢ Permanent, nonrecoverable, or plastic
deformation occurs

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

➢ 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 sometimes called the proportional limit, as indicated by point P , 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 wherein 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.

➢ The units of yield strength are MPa or psi.

Plastic deformation
• 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 (5000 psi) for a low strength aluminum to over
1400 MPa (200,000 psi) for high-strength steels.
Plastic deformation
➢ From atomic perspective, plastic deformation corresponds to the breaking of
bonds with original atom neighbors and then re-forming bonds with new
neighbors as large numbers of atoms or molecules move relative to one another;

➢ upon removal of the stress they do not return to their original positions.

➢ 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
Necking

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.
 Tensile strength
• Tensile Strength
• After yielding, the stress necessary to continue plastic deformation in metals increases to
a maximum, point M in Figure, and then decreases to the eventual fracture, point F.
• The tensile strength TS (MPa or psi) is the stress at the maximum on the engineering
stress–strain curve (Figure). 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 up 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 This phenomenon is termed necking, and fracture ultimately
occurs at the neck.
• The fracture strength corresponds to the stress at fracture.
• Tensile strengths may vary anywhere from 50 MPa (7000 psi) for an aluminum to as high
as 3000 MPa (450,000 psi) for the high-strength steels.
 Ductility and toughness

Brittleness:
A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress,
it breaks without significant deformation (strain).

Brittle materials absorb relatively little energy

prior to fracture, even those of high strength

Toughness:

It may be defined as the property of a metal by virtue of

which it can absorb maximum energy before fracture
takes place
Schematic representations of
tensile stress–strain behavior for brittle Toughness is calculated in terms of area under stress
and ductile metals loaded to fracture strain curve
 Ductility
• Ductility is an 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.
• Ductility may be expressed quantitatively as either percent elongation or percent reduction in area.
The percent elongation %EL is the percentage of plastic strain at fracture, or

• where lf is the fracture length and l0 is the original gauge length as given earlier.
• 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 l0, the greater the fraction of total elongation from the neck and, consequently, the higher
the value of %EL.
• Therefore, when reporting %EL, the gauge length l0 always should be mentioned.
• Percent reduction in area %RA is defined as

where A0 is the original cross-sectional area and Af is the cross-sectional area at the point of fracture.

➢ Percent reduction in area values are independent of both l0 and A0.

➢ 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.
➢ A knowledge of the ductility of materials is important for at least two reasons.
- it indicates to a designer the degree to which a structure will deform plastically before fracture
- it specifies the degree of allowable deformation during fabrication operations such as rolling and
extrusion.

➢ Brittle materials are approximately considered to be those having a fracture strain of less than about 5%.
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, or

Resilient materials are those having high yield strengths

and low moduli of elasticity be used in spring applications.
 Resilience

Schematic representation showing how modulus

of resilience (corresponding to the shaded area) is determined
from the tensile stress–strain behavior of a material
 Toughness

• Toughness is a ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform

before fracturing.
• For the static (low strain rate) situation, a measure of toughness in metals
(derived from plastic deformation) may be ascertained from the results of a
tensile stress–strain test. It is the area under the – curve up to the point of
fracture.
• For dynamic (high strain rate) loading conditions and when a notch (or point of
stress concentration) is present, notch toughness is assessed by using an impact
test.
• The units are the same as for resilience (i.e., energy per unit volume of material).
For a metal to be tough, it must display both strength and ductility.
• Yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility for several common metals 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.
• The modulus of elasticity is determined by the binding forces between atoms. These
forces cannot be changed without changing the basic nature of the material
• E is one of the most structure insensitive of the mechanical properties
• It is only slightly affected by alloying
 Yield point phenomenon
• Many metals, particularly low-carbon steel, show a localized, heterogeneous type of transition from elastic to
plastic deformation which produces a yield point in the stress-strain curve. Rather than having a flow curve with a
gradual transition from elastic to plastic behavior (see Figure a)
• Metals with a yield Point have a flow curve similar to Figure b. The load increases steadily with elastic strain,
drops suddenly, fluctuates about some approximately constant value of load, and then rises with further strain.
The load at which the sudden drop occurs is called the upper yield Point.
• The constant load is called the lower yield point, and the elongation which occurs at constant load is called the
yield-point elongation.
• The deformation occurring throughout the yield-point elongation is heterogeneous.
 Yield point phenomenon

• At the upper yield point a discrete band of deformed metal, often readily visible with the eye, appears
at a stress concentration
• The band then propagates along the length of the specimen, causing the yield-point elongation.
• In the usual case several bands will form at several points of stress concentration.
• These bands are generally at approximately 45° to the tensile axis. They are usually called Luders
bands, Hartmann lines, or stretcher strains
• The yield-point phenomenon was found originally in low-carbon steel. A pronounced upper and lower
yield point and a yield-point elongation of over 10, percent can be obtained.
• More recently the yield point has come to be accepted as a general phenomenon, since it has been
observed in a number of other metals and alloys.
• In addition to low carbon steel, yield points have been observed in polycrystalline molybdenum,
titanium, and aluminum alloys and in single crystals of iron, cadmium, zinc, alpha and beta brass, and
aluminum.
 Yield point phenomenon
• Usually, the yield point can be associated with small amounts of interstitial or substitutional impurities.
• For example, it has, been shown that almost complete removal of carbon and nitrogen from low
carbon steel will remove the yield point. However; only about 0.001 percent of either of these elements
is required for a reappearance of the yield point.
• Serrated stress-strain curves or repeated yielding, due to high speed of diffusion of solute atoms to
catch and lock dislocations
 Effect of temperature on mechanical properties

Engineering stress–strain behavior for iron at three temperatures.

 Effect of temperature on mechanical properties

Effect of temperature on the reduction of area of Ta,

Effect of temperature on the yield strength of body-centered
W, Mo, Fe, and Ni.
cubic Ta, W, Mo, Fe, and face-centered cubic Ni.
 True stress-true strain curve

• Engineering stress-strain curve does not give a true indication of the deformation characteristics of a
metal because it is based entirely on the original dimensions of the specimen, and these dimensions
change continuously during the test

• The decline in the stress necessary to continue deformation past the maximum, point M, seems to
indicate that the metal is becoming weaker.

• The cross-sectional area is decreasing rapidly within the neck region, where deformation is occurring.

• The average stress based on original area decreases, and this produces the fall-off in the stress-
strain curve beyond the point of maximum load.

• The stress, as computed is based on the original cross-sectional area before any deformation occurs

• Actually, the metal continues to strain-harden all the way up to fracture, so that the stress
required to produce further deformation should also increase.
 True stress-true strain
➢ If the strain measurement is also based on instantaneous measurements, the curve which is
obtained is known as a true-stress—true-strain curve. This is also known as a flow curve since it
represents the basic plastic-flow characteristics of the material.
➢ True stress is defined as the load P divided by the instantaneous cross-sectional area A over
which deformation is occurring (i.e., the neck, past the tensile point)
 Conversion from engineering stress-strain to true stress-strain

𝑃 𝑃 𝐿 𝑑𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 − 𝐿𝑜
• 𝜎𝑇 = ; 𝜎= ; • 𝜖𝑇 = ‫𝐿 𝐿׬‬ = ln ;𝜖 =
𝐴 𝐴𝑜 0 𝐿𝑜 𝐿𝑜
𝑃 𝑃 𝐴 𝐿
• 𝜎𝑇 = = x 0; =
𝐿𝑜
-1
𝐴 𝐴𝑜 𝐴
𝐿
• By the constancy of volume relationship • = 𝜖 +1
𝐿𝑜
𝐴0 𝐿
• = = 𝜖 +1 • 𝝐𝑻 = ln (𝝐 +1)
𝐴 𝐿𝑜
• 𝝈𝑻 = 𝝈 (𝝐 +1)
A0 = original cross-sectional area
A = instantaneous cross-sectional area
P = load
σ = engineering stress
ϵ = engineering strain
ϵT = true strain
σT = true stress
 True stress-true strain

❑ The true-stress—true-strain curve is always

to the left of the engineering curve until
the maximum load is reached.
❑ However, beyond maximum load the high
localized strains in the necked region far
exceed the engineering strain.
❑ Frequently the flow curve is linear from
maximum load to fracture, while in other
cases its slope continuously decreases up
A comparison of typical tensile engineering stress–strain and to fracture.
true stress–strain behaviors. Necking begins at point M on the
engineering curve, which corresponds to M on the true curve. ❑ The formation of a necked region or mild
The “corrected” true stress–strain curve takes into account notch introduces triaxial stresses which
the complex stress state within the neck region. make it difficult to determine accurately
the longitudinal tensile stress on out to
fracture
 True stress-true strain

• Strain continues to rise past the tensile point M. 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).

• The corrected 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.

• 𝜎𝑇 = 𝐾𝜖 𝑇 𝑛 , K and n are constants. These values will vary from alloy to alloy and will also
depend on the condition of the material (i.e., whether it has been plastically deformed, heat-
treated, etc.).

• The parameter K is strength coefficient and n is often termed the strain hardening
exponent and has a value less than unity.

• A log-log plot of 𝜎𝑇 and 𝜖 𝑇 upto max stress will give straight line. The slope is n. n lies from
0 (perfectly plastic) to n =1 (elastic). For most metals, n has values between 0.10 to 0.50
 Strain hardening

• Strain hardening is the phenomenon whereby a ductile metal becomes harder and stronger as it
is plastically deformed.
• Sometimes it is also called work hardening, or cold working because the temperature at which
deformation takes place is “cold” relative to the absolute melting temperature of the metal.
• Most metals strain harden at room temperature. It is sometimes convenient to express the degree
of plastic deformation as percent cold work rather than as strain.
• Strain hardening is attributed to the interaction of dislocation with other dislocations
• Plastic deformation produces an increased number of dislocation
• Annealed structure possesses ~106 to 108 m-2. This can be increased to ~1010 to 1012 m-2 by
moderate cold working and to ~1014 to 1016 m-2 by heavy cold working
• As the deformation proceeds, the high density dislocations tangles form the cell walls. About 10%
of energy input in cold work process is stored in the lattice.
• High rate of strain hardening implies mutual obstruction of dislocations due to interfering effect.
Compressive, shear and torsional deformation

• Metals may experience plastic deformation under the influence of applied compressive,
shear, and torsional loads. The resulting stress–strain behavior into the plastic region will
be similar to the tensile counterpart

• However, for compression, there will be no maximum, because necking does not occur;
furthermore, the mode of fracture will be different from that for tension.
 Hardness test
• Another mechanical property that may be important to consider is hardness, which is a measure of
a material’s resistance to localized plastic deformation or the resistance to indentation (e.g., a
small dent or a scratch).

• There are three general types of hardness measurements depending on the manner in which the test
is conducted. These are (1) scratch hardness, (2) indentation hardness, and (3) rebound, or dynamic,
hardness.

• Only indentation hardness is of major engineering interest for metals.

• The depth or size of the resulting indentation is measured, which in turn is related to a hardness
number; the softer the material, the larger and deeper the indentation, and the lower the hardness
index number.

• Scratch hardness is of primary interest to mineralogists. With this measure of hardness, various
minerals and other materials are rated on their ability to scratch one another. Scratch hardness is
measured according to the Mohs’ scale.

• This consists of 10 standard minerals arranged in the order of their ability to be scratched. The
softest mineral in this scale is talc (scratch hardness 1), while diamond has a hardness of 10. range.

• Most hard metals fall in the Mohs’ hardness range of 4 to 8.

 Hardness test
➢Scratch hardness refers to the hardness of a material in terms of resistance to scratches
and abrasion by a harder material forcefully drawn over its surface

➢A different type of scratch-hardness test measures the depth or width of a scratch made by
drawing a diamond stylus across the surface under a definite load.

➢This is a useful tool for measuring the relative hardness of microconstituents, but it does not
lend itself to high reproducibility or extreme accuracy.

➢In dynamic-hardness measurements the indenter is usually dropped onto the metal
surface, and the hardness is expressed as the energy of impact.

➢The Shore scleroscope, which is the commonest example of a dynamic-hardness tester,

measures the hardness in terms of the height of rebound of the indenter.
➢It consists of a steel ball dropped from a fixed height. The hardness value is derived from the
energy loss of a defined impact body after impacting on a metal sample.
➢However, Rebound hardness frequently is used to investigate strength characteristics of
concreate
Ref: Mechanical Metallurgy by George E. Dieter
Indentation hardness

The depth or size of the resulting indentation is measured, which in

turn is related to a hardness number; the softer the material, the larger
and deeper the indentation, and the lower the hardness index number.
• Brinell hardness
• Vickers hardness
• Rockwell hardness
• Microhardness
 Brinell hardness
➢ First widely accepted and standardized indentation-hardness test proposed by J. A. Brinell in 1900.
➢ The Brinell hardness test consists in indenting the metal surface with a 10-mm-diameter steel ball at a
load of 3,000 kg.
➢ For soft metals the load is reduced to 500 kg to avoid too deep an impression, and for very hard metals
a tungsten carbide ball is used to minimize distortion of the indenter.
➢ The load is applied for a standard time, usually 30 s, and the diameter of the indentation is measured
with a low-power microscope after removal of the load.
➢ The average of two readings of the diameter of the impression at right angles should be made. The
surface on which the indentation is made should be relatively smooth and free from dirt or scale.
➢ The Brinell hardness number (BHN) is expressed as the load P divided by the surface area of the
indentation. This is expressed by the formula:

where P = applied load, kg

D = diameter of ball, mm
d = diameter of indentation, mm
units of BHN is kilograms per
t = depth of the impression, mm
square millimeter

Ref: Mechanical Metallurgy by George E. Dieter

Schematic figure of a Brinell-hardness tester
 Vickers hardness
➢ The Vickers hardness test uses a square-base diamond pyramid as the indenter.
➢ The included angle between opposite faces of the pyramid is 136°.
➢ This angle was chosen because it approximates the most desirable ratio of indentation diameter to
ball diameter in the Brinell hardness test.
➢ Because of the shape of the indenter, this is frequently called the diamond-pyramid hardness test.
➢ The diamond-pyramid hardness number (DPH), or Vickers hardness number (VHN, or VPH), is
defined as the load divided by the surface area of the indentation.
➢ In practice, this area is calculated from microscopic measurements of the lengths of the diagonals of
the impression. The DPH may be determined from the following equation

where P= applied load, kg

L= average length of diagonals, mm
θ= angle between opposite faces of diamond =136°
Fig. Vickers indenter and the shape of indentation, D
= diagonal of indentation, h = depth of indentation.
 Vickers hardness
• The Vickers hardness test has received fairly wide acceptance for research work because it
provides a continuous scale of hardness, for a given load, from very soft metals with a DPH of 5 to
extremely hard materials with a DPH of 1500.

• The Vickers hardness test is described in ASTM Standard E92-72.

• With the Rockwell hardness test, or the Brinell hardness test, it is usually necessary to change either
the load or the indenter at some point in the hardness scale, so that measurements at one extreme
of the scale cannot be strictly compared with those at the other end.

• Because the impressions made by the pyramid indenter are geometrically similar no matter what
their size, the DPH should be independent of load. This is generally found to be the case, except at
very light loads.

• The loads ordinarily used with this test range from 1 to 120 kg, depending on the hardness of the
metal to be tested.

• In spite of these advantages, the Vickers hardness test has not been widely accepted for routine
testing because it is slow, requires careful surface preparation of the specimen, and allows
greater chance for personal error in the determination of the diagonal length.
• A perfect indentation made with a perfect diamond-pyramid indenter would be a square.
 Vickers hardness
• However, anomalies are frequently observed with a pyramid indenter (Fig).
• The pincushion indentation is the result of sinking in of the metal around the flat faces of
the pyramid.
• This condition is observed with annealed metals and results in an overestimate of the
diagonal length. The barrel-shaped indentation in Fig. c is found in cold-worked metals. It
results from ridging or piling up of the metal around the faces of the indenter.
• The diagonal measurement in this case produces a low value of the contact area so that
the hardness numbers are erroneously high. Empirical corrections for this effect have been
proposed.

Types of diamond-pyramid indentations.

(a) Perfect indentation; (b) pincushion
indentation due to sinking in; (c) barreled
indentation due to ridging.
 Rockwell hardness
• The most widely used hardness test in the United States is the Rockwell hardness test.

• Its general acceptance is due to its speed, freedom from personal error, ability to distinguish small
hardness differences in hardened steel, and the small size of the indentation, so that finished heat-
treated parts can be tested without damage.

• This test utilizes the depth of indentation, under constant load, as a measure of hardness.

• A minor load of 10 kg is first applied to seat the specimen. This minimizes the amount of surface
preparation needed and reduces the tendency for ridging or sinking in by the indenter.

• The major load is then applied, and the depth of indentation is automatically recorded on a dial gage
in terms of arbitrary hardness numbers.

• The dial is reversed so that a high hardness, which corresponds to a small penetration, results in a
high hardness number.

• This is in agreement with the other hardness numbers described previously, but unlike the Brinell and
Vickers hardness designations, which have units of kilograms per square millimeter

• One combination of load and indenter will not produce satisfactory results for materials with a wide
range of hardness.
Rockwell hardness
 Rockwell hardness
• A 120° diamond cone with a slightly rounded point, called a Brale indenter, and 1.6- and 3.2 mm-
diameter steel balls are generally used as indenters.
• Major loads of 60, 100, and 150 kg are used.
• Since the Rockwell hardness is dependent on the load and indenter, it is necessary to specify the
combination which is used.
• This is done by prefixing the hardness number with a letter indicating the particular combination of
load and indenter for the hardness scale employed.
• A Rockwell hardness number without the letter prefix is meaningless.
• Hardened steel is tested on the C scale with the diamond indenter and a 150-kg major load.
• The useful range for this scale is from about RC, 20 to RC 70.
• Softer materials are usually tested on the B scale with a 1.6 mm-diameter steel ball and a 100-kg
major load.
• The range of this scale is from RB , 0 to RB 100.
• The A scale (diamond penetrator, 60-kg major load) provides the most extended Rockwell hardness
scale, which is usable for materials from annealed brass to cemented carbides. Many other scales are
available for special purposes.
• The Rockwell hardness test is a very useful and reproducible one provided that a number of simple
precautions are observed.
 Microhardness
• Many metallurgical problems require the determination of hardness over very small areas.
• The measurement of the hardness gradient at a carburized surface, the determination of the
hardness of individual constituents of a microstructure, or the checking of the hardness of a delicate
watch gear might be typical problems.
• The use of a scratch-hardness test for these purposes was mentioned earlier, but an indentation-
hardness test has been found to be more useful.
• The development of the Knoop indenter by the National Bureau of Standards and the introduction of
the Tukon tester for the controlled application of loads down to 25 g have made microhardness testing
a routine laboratory procedure.
• The Knoop indenter is a diamond ground to a pyramidal form that produces a diamond-shaped
indentation with the long and short diagonals in the approximate ratio of 7:1 resulting in a state of
plane strain in the deformed region.
• The Knoop hardness number (KHN) is the applied load divided by the unrecovered projected area of
the indentation.

where P= applied load, kg

A, = unrecovered projected area of indentation, mm’
L= length of long diagonal, mm
C= constant for each indenter supplied by manufacturer.
 Microhardness

• The low load used with microhardness tests requires that extreme care be taken in all stages of
testing. The surface of the specimen must be carefully prepared.
• Metallographic polishing is usually required. Work hardening of the surface during polishing can
influence the results.
 Hardness at elevated temperatures
➢ Interest in measuring the hardness of metals at elevated temperatures has been accelerated by
the great effort which has gone into developing alloys with improved high-temperature strength.
➢ Hot hardness gives a good indication of the potential usefulness of an alloy for high-temperature
strength applications.
➢ Some degree of success has been obtained in correlating hot hardness with high-temperature
strength properties.
➢ Hot-hardness testers using a Vickers indenter made of sapphire and with provisions for testing in
either vacuum or an inert atmosphere have been developed
➢ In an extensive review of hardness data at different temperatures Westbrook showed that the
temperature dependence of hardness could be expressed by

➢ where H = hardness, kgf mm-2

➢ T = test temperature, K
➢ A, B = constants
Temperature dependence
of the hardness of copper.
 Plastic deformation

➢ The usual method of plastic deformation in metals is by the sliding of blocks of the crystal
over one another along definite crystallographic planes, called slip planes.
➢ If slip is assumed to occur by the translation of one plane of atoms over another, it is
possible to make a reasonable estimate of shear stress required for such a movement in
a perfect lattice.
➢ Shear stress is assumed to act in slip plane along the slip direction.
 ❑ The shear modulus of metals is in the range 20 – 150 GPa

G
m ❑ The theoretical shear stress will be
2 in the range 3 – 30 GPa

❑ Actual shear stress is 0.5 – 10 MPa

❑ (Shear stress)theoretical > 100 times of (Shear stress)experimental !!!!

mechanism other than bodily

shearing of planes of atoms is
responsible for slip.
DISLOCATIONS

Dislocations weaken the crystal

 Slip by dislocation movement

Slip occurs on closed packed plane along the closed packed direction
 Slip by dislocation movement

➢ The concept of the dislocation was first introduced to explain the discrepancy between the
observed and theoretical shear strengths of metals.
➢ For the dislocation concept to be valid it is necessary to show
(1) that the motion of a dislocation through a crystal lattice requires a stress far
smaller than the theoretical shear stress
(2) that the movement of the dislocation produces a step, or slip band, at the free
surface
 Slip Systems
➢ Dislocations move more easily on specific planes and in specific directions.
➢ Ordinarily, there is a preferred plane (slip plane), and specific directions (slip direction) along
which dislocations move.
➢ The combination of slip plane and slip direction is called the slip system.
➢ The slip system depends on the crystal structure of the metal.
➢ The slip plane is the plane that has the most dense atomic packing (the greatest planar
density).
➢ The slip direction is most closely packed with atoms (highest linear density).

The ease with which a material is capable of plastic deformation is a function of

dislocation mobility—that is, restricting dislocation motion leads to increases
hardness and strength.
 Number of slip systems: FCC

4 planes  3 directions on each plane = 12 independent slip systems

 Number of slip systems: BCC

Slip direction is fixed

= <111>

6 planes  2 directions + 24 planes  1 direction + 12 planes  1 direction =

48 independent slip systems
 Number of slip systems: HCP

1 plane  3 directions on each plane = 3 independent slip systems. Five (5)

independent slip system is however, required for a metal to be ductile.
➢ Metals with FCC or BCC crystal structures have a relatively large number of slip systems (at least 12).
These metals are quite ductile because extensive plastic deformation is normally possible along
various systems. Conversely, HCP metals, having few active slip systems, are normally quite brittle.
➢ FCC are more ductile than BCC.Why?
➢ With regard to the process of slip, a Burgers vector’s direction corresponds to a dislocation’s slip
direction, whereas its magnitude is equal to the unit slip distance (or interatomic separation in this
direction).
➢ Both the direction and the magnitude of b will depend on crystal structure, and it is convenient to
specify a Burgers vector in terms of unit cell edge length (a) and crystallographic direction indices.
➢ Burgers vectors for face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic, and hexagonal close packed crystal
structures are given as follows:
 Impact (Charpy and Izod test)

• Impact test conditions were chosen to represent those most severe relative to the potential
for fracture namely, (1) deformation at a relatively low temperature, (2) a high strain rate
(i.e., rate of deformation), and (3) a triaxial stress state (which may be introduced by the
presence of a notch).

• Charpy test and Izod test are used to measure the impact energy or notch toughness of
a standard notched specimen.

• An impact blow is imparted to the specimen by means of a weighted pendulum.

• One of the primary functions of Charpy and Izod tests is to determine whether a material
experiences a ductile-to-brittle transition with decreasing temperature and, if so, the
range of temperatures over which it occurs
 Notched-Bar Impact tests
Various types of notched-bar impact tests are used to determine the tendency of a material
to behave in a brittle manner. This type of test will detect differences between materials
which are not observable in a tension test.

Sketch showing method of loading in Charpy and Izod impact

 Impact test
➢ The principal measurement from the impact test is the energy absorbed in fracturing the specimen.
➢ After breaking the test bar, the pendulum rebounds to a height which decreases as the energy
absorbed in fracture increases. The energy absorbed in fracture, usually expressed in joules, is read
directly from a calibrated dial on the impact tester. The energy required for fracture of a Charpy
specimen is often designed Cv, for example, Cv, 30 J.
➢ Common measurement obtained from the Charpy test results from the examination of the fracture
surface to determine whether the fracture is fibrous (shear fracture), granular (cleavage fracture), or a
mixture of both.
➢ Charpy bar/ Charpy V-notch (CVN) technique are used most commonly in the United States, while the
Izod specimen is favored in Great Britain.
➢ The Charpy specimen has a square cross section (10 X 10 mm) and contains a 45° V notch, 2 mm
deep with a 0.25-mm root radius. The specimen is supported as a beam in a horizontal position and
loaded behind the notch by the impact of a heavy swinging pendulum
➢ A third measurement that is sometimes made in the Charpy test is the ductility.
➢ The notched-bar impact test is most meaningful when conducted over a range of temperature so that
the temperature at which the ductile-to-brittle transition takes place can be determined.
(a) Specimen used
for Charpy and Izod
impact tests. (b) A
schematic drawing of
an impact testing
apparatus. The
hammer is released
from fixed height h
and strikes the
specimen; the energy
expended in fracture
is reflected in the
difference between h
and the swing height
h. Specimen
placements for both
Charpy and Izod
tests are also shown.
[Figure (b)
 Energy absorbed vs. temperature

❑ The notch toughness of low- and medium-strength

bcc metals, as well as Be, Zn, and ceramic
materials is strongly dependent on temperature.
❑ At low temperature the fracture occurs by cleavage
while at high temperature the fracture occurs by
ductile rupture.
❑ There is a transition from notch brittle to notch
tough behavior with increasing temperature.
❑ In metals this transition occurs at 0.1 to 0.2 of the
absolute melting temperature (Tm)
❑ In ceramics. transition occurs at ~ 0.5 to 0.7 Tm.
Effect of temperature on notch toughness (schematic)
 Fatigue

❑ August Wöhler identified the number of cycles of time-varying stress as

the culprit (after 20 years of research in 1867)

❑ He found the existence of an endurance limit for steels i.e. a stress level
that would be tolerable for millions of cycles of fully reversed stress.

S-N curve or Wöhler diagram August Wöhler

(Stress –life diagram) (1819-1914)
 Fatigue
• Failure of a component subjected to cyclic loading at a stress considerably lower than the
yield stress of a static loading of that material

• Metal subjected to a repetitive or fluctuating stress will fail at a stress much lower than that
required to cause fracture on a single application of load

• Failure criterion is not yield stress or ultimate tensile stress, but fatigue

• Failures occurring under conditions of dynamic loading are called fatigue failures,

• It is generally observed that these failures occur only after a considerable period of service

• it is often stated that fatigue accounts for at least 90 percent of all service failures due to
mechanical causes.

• Fatigue failures occur when metal is subjected to a repetitive or fluctuating stress and will fail at
a stress much lower than its tensile strength.

• Fatigue failures occur without any plastic deformation (no warning)

Cyclic stress
Completely
𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 = − 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 reversed cycle

∆𝜎 = 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛

∆𝜎 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝜎𝑎 = 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 = =
2 2

𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝜎𝑚 = 0 =
2

𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
R (stress ratio) = = -1
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥
 Stress Cycle

Amplitude/alternating stress (σa)

Mean stress (σm)

Stress Ratio (R) and Amplitude ratio (A)

Typical fatigue stress cycles. (a) Reversed stress; (b)

repeated/asymmetric stress; (c) irregular or random stress cycle.
Type of time varying stresses
 Three stages of fatigue failure
Crack initiation
▪ First stage involves a very short duration
▪ Crack initiate due to stress raisers such as notches
▪ Important for ductile materials due to local yielding

Crack propagation
▪ Second stage involves the most of the life of the part
▪ Tensile stress open the crack and compressive stresses close the
crack
▪ Crack propagation growth rate are small, i.e. 10-8 to 10-4 in per
cycle

Sudden fracture due to unstable crack growth

▪ This stage is instantaneous
Fracture Surface
 S-N Curve
➢ Basic method of presenting engineering fatigue data is by means of the S-N curve
➢ A plot of stress S against the number of cycles to failure N. A log scale is almost always used for N.
➢ The value of stress that is plotted can be σa , σmax , or σmin

Fatigue limit or endurance limit occurs for

some materials (some Fe and Ti-alloys). The
fatigue limit is a maximum stress amplitude
below which the material never fails, no matter
how large the number of cycles is.

Fatigue strength:
Stress at which fracture occurs after specified
number of cycles (e.g.107)

Fatigue life:
Number of cycles to fail at specified stress level
 S-N Curve

Typical fatigue curves for ferrous and nonferrous metals.

• Tensile Test – YouTube
• https://youtu.be/tpGhqQvftAo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhUclxBUV_E&t=80s
• https://youtu.be/o-6V_JoRX1g
• https://youtu.be/WSRqJdT2COE
 Creep - Introduction

Definition of Creep in dictionary:

“Move slowly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed”

Creep is the plastic deformation generally happens so slowly that it remains imperceptible
by and large but could suddenly surprise with the enormity of its damage unless it is closely
studied, monitored and accounted for.

The progressive deformation of a material at constant stress is called creep.

 Creep - Introduction

❑ Creep is time dependent plastic deformation that could happen under constant
load or stress conditions and is generally reparented by plots of strain vs. time

❑ Time dependent is a result of the deformation process being governed by first

order kinetics

❑ Deformation rate or strain rate

❑ Regular tensile test: 10-5 to 10-1 /s

❑ Regular creep test: 10-8 to 10-5/s

 Creep curve

Stage III delayed at

Constant stress (σ) test

t=0
Typical creep curve showing the three steps of creep.
Curve A: constant-load test; curve B: constant-stress test.
 Creep

• Effect of Temperature:
• Creep is a high temperature phenomenon

Material Tm (°C) Tm (K) 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎

𝑻𝒎
(in K)
Al 660 933 0.32
Pb-Sb solder 183 456 0.66
eutectic
Ni 1455 1755 0.17

Accordingly high temperature test for Pb-Sb solder but not for Al and Ni
 Effect of stress on creep curves at constant temperature

Schematic representation of the effect of stress on creep curves at constant

temperature.
 Effect of stress and temperature on creep curves
And Effect of stress and temperature on creep rate

Three well-defined stages of the creep curve only for certain combinations of σ and T, e.g. low σ
at relatively low T → no tertiary creep observed
Effect of stress and temperature on steady state strain rate

𝑄
𝜀𝑠𝑠ሶ 𝑇, 𝜎 = 𝐶𝜎 𝑛 exp −
𝑅𝑇
𝑑𝜀
• 𝜀𝑠𝑠ሶ 𝑇, 𝜎 = Steady state strain rate ( ) at T and σ
𝑑𝑡
• T = Test temperature in K
• 𝜎 = Test stress
• C = Constant
• n = Stress exponent (~ 3 to 8)
• Q = Activation energy
• R = gas constant
Creep mechanisms
Following are the deformation mechanism by creep
• Climb process
• Dislocation glide
• Dislocation creep
• Diffusion creep
- Nabarro-Herring creep i.e. lattice diffusion
- Coble creep i.e. grain boundary diffusion
• Grain boundary sliding
Deformation mechanisms maps