MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF

MATERIALS

•Mechanical properties are obtained by mechanical

testing.
•Mechanical testing is used for developing design data,
maintaining quality control, assisting in alloy development
programs and providing data in failure analysis.

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 cont,.

 Mechanical testing is usually destructive and requires test

specimens of the material to be machined or cut to the
specific shape required by the test method.
 Mechanical Properties

 Describe material when a force is applied to it.

 Determined through testing, usually involving
destruction of material.
 Extremely important to consider in design.
Types of mechanical properties

a) Ductility
b) Toughnes
s
c) Brittleness
d) Hardness
e) Plasticity
f) Elasticity
g) Strength
 Ductility

 Ductility is a solid material's ability to deform under

tensile stress; this is often characterized by the
material's ability to be stretched into a wire.
Tensile test of an
AlMgSi alloy

The local necking and the cup and cone

fracture surfaces are typical for ductile
metals.
Schematic
appearance of round
metal bars after
tensile
a) testing.
Brittle fracture
b) Ductile fracture
c) Completely ductile fracture
 Toughness
•Toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and
plastically deform without fracturing
• Material toughness is defined as the amount of energy
per
volume that a material can absorb before rupturing.
•It is also defined as the resistance to fracture of a material when
stressed.
•Toughness requires a balance of strength and ductility.
 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.
 Breaking is often accompanied by a snapping sound. Brittle
materials include most ceramics and glasses (which do not deform
plastically) and some polymers, such as PMMA and polystyrene.
 Many steels become brittle at low temperatures (see ductile-brittle
transition temperature), depending on their composition and
processing.
Brittle fracture in cast iron tensile test
pieces
Graph comparing stress-strain
curves for ductile and brittle
materials.
 Hardness

 Hardness is the degree of resistance to indentation,

penetration, abrasion and wear.
 Indentation hardness measures the resistance of a sample
to permanent plastic deformation due to a constant
compression load from a sharp object; they are primarily
used in engineering and metallurgy fields. The tests work
on the basic premise of measuring the critical dimensions
of an indentation left by a specifically dimensioned and
loaded indenter.
 Common indentation hardness scales are Rockwell,
Vickers, Shore, and Brinell.
 Plasticity

 Plasticity is the propensity of a material to undergo

permanent deformation under load.
 Elasticity

 Elasticity (or stretchiness) is the physical property of

a material that returns to its original shape after the
stress (e.g. external forces) that made it deform or
distort is removed. The relative amount of
deformation is called the strain.
 Strength

 Strength is the ability of a material to withstand

various loads to which it is subjected during a test or
service.
 Materials Testing

 2 types of materials testing:

a) Destructive test
-results in the part being destroyed during the
quality control testing program.
b) Non destructive test
- is done in such a manner that the usefulness of the
product or part is not damaged or destroyed.
 Non Destructive Test

 Non destructive inspection techniques enable

inspectors to check properties critical to the safe
performance of metal parts without causing damage
to the parts themselves.
 This test is concerned with testing for cracks and
flaws
 Types of non destructive test

a) Dye penentrant test

b) Radiographic test
c) Magnetic particle test
d) Ultrasonic test
 Dye Penentrant Test

 It is easy to use and economical.

1) The specimen is coated with a red liquid dye which
soaks into the surface crack or flaw.
2) The liquid is then washed off and the part dried.
3) A developer is dusted or sprayed on the part.
4) Flaws and cracks show up red against the white
background of the developer.
Cracks in a
weld
 Radiographic test

 This test involves passing gamma rays (X-rays)

through a part and onto sensitive film to detect flaws
in the metal.
 The developed film has an image of the internal
structure of the part.
 A defect will show up on the film as a dark area.
 X-rays are very sensitive and are capable of inspection
any thickness of almost any kind of materials.
 Magnetic particle test

 This test is used to detect flaws on or near the surface of

iron-based metals.
1) The part is first magnetized.
2) It is then either dusted with fine iron powder or coated
with a solution in which iron particles are suspended.
3) Flaws in the workpiece cause the lines of magnetic
force
to become distorted and break through the surface.
4) There they attract concentrations of the iron particles,
which reveal defects in the metal.
 Cont.

 The limitations of this technique are apparent when

the flaw is parallel to the lines of magnetic force.
 The flaw will not interrupt the force and no indication
of it will appear when magnetic particles are applied.
Concentration of the iron particle
shows defect in the metal
 Ultrasonic test

 This test use ultasonic sound waves to detect cracks

and flaws in almost any material that can conduct
sound.
 Sound waves can also be used to measure the
thickness from one side of the material.
 Cont.

 The human ear can hear sound waves with

frequencies ranging from 20 to 20,000 Hertz.
 Sound waves that vibrate with a frequency greater
than 20,000 Hz are inaudible and are called ultrasonic.
 Cont.

 These high frequency sound waves are produced by a

piezoelectric transducer.
 The transducer is electrically pulsed and then vibrates
at its own natural frequency.
1) In order to operate, the transducer must be joined to
the piece being tested by a liquid coupling such as a
film of oil, glycerin or water.
 Cont.

2) The high frequency sound wavesare

transmitted through the material.
3) The flaws reflect the sound waves and are detected
on an oscilloscope.

There is no size limitation on work that can be

tested by ultrasonic test.
Ultrasonic Test
DESTRUCTIVE TEST
 Destructive Testing

• Destructive testing is a costly and time consuming

technique. A specimen is selected at random from a
large number of pieces.
• Two types of destructive test:
a) Hardness test
b) Impact test
 Impact Test

• 2 types of impact test:

a) Charpy impact test
b) Izod impact test
 Charpy Impact Test

The Charpy specimen has a

square cross section
(10mm x 10mm) and
contains a 45C 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.
•The specimen is forced to
bend and fracture at a high
strain rate of the order 103 s-1.
Method of loading in Charpy and Izod
tests.
 Equipment
 Impact Testing Equipment
 Izod and Charpy are the most common tests.
 Both employ a swinging pendulum and conducted on small notched
specimens. The notch concentrated the load at a point causing failure.
Other wise without the notch the specimen will plastically deform
throughout.
 They are different in the design of the test specimen and the velocity at
which the pendulum strikes the specimen.
 Charpy: the specimen is supported as a single beam and held
horizontally.
Impacted at the back face of the specimen.
 Izod: the specimen is supported as a cantilever and help vertically.
Impacted at front face of the specimen.
 The principal measurement

 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 rending directly from a calibrated dial on
the impact tester.
 Hardness Test

• Indentation hardness measures the resistance of a

sample to permanent plastic deformation due to
a constant compression load from a sharp object.
• 4 types of hardness test:
a) Rockwell
b) Brinell
c) Vickers
d) Shore
 Rockwell Hardness Test

 The Rockwell hardness tester functions according to

the depth of penetration made in metal by a
specific kind of penetrator point forced by a given
load.
Various Rockwell Scales
 Operation

 The determination of the Rockwell hardness of a

material involves the application of a minor load
followed by a major load, and then noting the depth
of penetration.
 The hardness value directly taken from a dial, in which
a harder material gives a higher number.
Rockwell Hardness
Tester
 Cont.

 The Rockwell hardness test uses two loads that are applied
sequentially.
 A minor load of 10 kg is applied that helps seat the indenter
and remove the effect of surface irregularities.
 A major load which varies from 60 kg to 150 kg is then
applied.
 The difference in depth of indentation between the
major
and minor loads provides the Rockwell hardness
number.
 This number is taken directly from the dial on the
machine.
 Cont.

 To get a reliable reading the thickness of the test

piece should be at least 10 times the depth of the
indentation.
 The superficial Rockwell scales use lower loads and
shallower impressions on brittle and very thin
materials.
 Advantages

 1) its ability to display hardness values directly, thus

obviating tedious calculations involved in other
hardness measurement techniques.
 2) typically used in engineering and metallurgy
because of its speed, reliability, robustness,
resolution and small area of indentation.
 Brinell Hardness Tester

 Brinell hardness test use a machine to press a 10 mm

diameter, hardened steel ball into the surface of the
test specimen.
 This machine applies a load for a specific period of
time and causes an indentation that is used to
calculate hardness.
Cont.
 Cont.

 The load applied to the steel ball depends on the type

of metal under test.
 The load is usually applied for 10 to 15 seconds.
 The diameter of the indentation is measured to ±0.5
mm using a low magnification portable
microscope.
The Brinell hardness number is found by measuring the
diameter of the indentation and then finding the
hardness number on a calibrated chart.
 Vickers Hardness Tester

 The Vickers hardness test is similar in principle to the

Brinell hardness test.
 The major difference is that the indenter in the
Vickers hardness test is a 136 square base diamond
cone.
 The load varies from 1 kg to 120 kg.
 Procedure
 The specimen is placed on an anvil and raised by a
screw until it is close to the point of the indenter.
 The starting lever is tripped, allowing the load to be
slowly applied to the indenter.
 The load is released, the anvil lowered and a filar
microscope is swung over to measure the diagonals
of the square indentation to ±0.001 mm.
 Diagonal measurements are averaged and the
Vickers hardness number is followed by the letters
HV.
 Advantages

 Extremely accurate readings can be taken.

 one type of indenter covers all types of metals
and surface treatment.
 Stress-Strain Relationships

• Three types of static stresses to which materials can

be subjected:
1. Tensile - tend to stretch the material
2. Compressive - tend to squeeze it
3. Shear - tend to cause adjacent portions of
material to slide against each other
• Stress-strain curve - basic relationship that
describes mechanical properties for all three types

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tensile Test
• Most common test for
studying stress-strain
relationship, especially
metals
• In the test, a force pulls
the material,
elongating it and
reducing its diameter

Figure 3.1 - Tensile test: (a) tensile force applied in (1) and
(2) resulting elongation of material

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
ASTM (American Society
for Testing and Materials)
specifies preparation of
test specimen

Figure 3.1 - Tensile test: (b) typical test specimen

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Figure 3.1 - Tensile test: (c) setup of the tensile test

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Figure 3.2 - Typical progress of a tensile test: (1) beginning of test, no
load; (2) uniform elongation and reduction of cross-sectional
area;
(3) continued elongation, maximum load reached; (4) necking
begins, load begins to decrease; and (5) fracture. If pieces are put
back together as in (6), final length can be measured

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Engineering Stress

Defined as force divided by original area:

F
e 
Ao
where e = engineering stress, F = applied force, and Ao
= original area of test specimen

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Engineering Strain

Defined at any point in the test as

L  Lo
e
Lo

where e = engineering strain; L = length at any point

during elongation; and Lo = original gage length

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Figure 3.3 - Typical engineering stress-strain plot
in a tensile test of a metal
©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Two Regions of Stress-Strain Curve

• The two regions indicate two distinct forms of

behavior:
1. Elastic region – prior to yielding of the
material
2. Plastic region – after yielding of the
material

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Elastic Region in Stress-Strain Curve
• Relationship between stress and strain is linear
• Material returns to its original length when stress is
removed

Hooke's Law: e = E e

where E = modulus of elasticity

• E is a measure of the inherent stiffness of a
material
• Its value differs for different materials

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Yield Point in Stress-Strain Curve

• As stress increases, a point in the linear relationship

is finally reached when the material begins to yield
 Yield point Y can be identified by the change in
slope at the upper end of the linear region
 Y = a strength property
 Other names for yield point = yield strength, yield
stress, and elastic limit

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Plastic Region in Stress-Strain Curve

• Yield point marks the beginning of plastic deformation

• The stress-strain relationship is no longer guided by
Hooke's Law
• As load is increased beyond Y, elongation proceeds
at a much faster rate than before, causing the slope
of the curve to change dramatically

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tensile Strength in Stress-Strain Curve

• Elongation is accompanied by a uniform reduction in

cross-sectional area, consistent with maintaining
constant volume
• Finally, the applied load F reaches a maximum value,
and engineering stress at this point is called the
tensile strength TS or ultimate tensile strength
Fmax
TS =
Ao

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Ductility in Tensile Test

Ability of a material to plastically strain without fracture

Lf
 Lo
EL  Lo

where EL = elongation; Lf = specimen length at fracture;

and Lo = original specimen length
Lf is measured as the distance between gage marks after
two pieces of specimen are put back together

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 True Stress

Stress value obtained by dividing the instantaneous

area into applied load

  FA

where  = true stress; F = force; and A = actual

(instantaneous) area resisting the load

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 True Strain

Provides a more realistic assessment of

"instantaneous" elongation per unit length
L dL
  ln
L L Lo
o

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
If previous engineering stress-strain curve were plotted
using true stress and strain values

Figure 3.4 - True stress-strain curve for the previous

engineering stress-strain plot in Figure 3.3

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Strain Hardening in Stress-Strain Curve

• Note that true stress increases continuously in the

plastic region until necking
 In the engineering stress-strain curve, the
significance of this was lost because stress was
based on an incorrect area value
• What it means is that the metal is becoming stronger
as strain increases
 This is the property called strain hardening

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Compression Test
• Applies a load that
squeezes the ends of
a cylindrical specimen
between two platens

Figure 3.7 - Compression test:

(a) compression force applied to test piece in (1) and (2)
resulting change in height
©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Figure 3.7 - Compression test: (b) setup for the test
with size of test specimen exaggerated

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Engineering Stress in Compression

As the specimen is compressed, its height is reduced

and cross-sectional area is increased

F
e
Ao

where Ao = original area of the specimen

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Engineering Strain in Compression

Engineering strain is defined

h  ho
e
ho

Since height is reduced during compression, value of e is

negative (the negative sign is usually ignored when
expressing compression strain)

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
• Shape of plastic region
is different from
tensile test because
cross-section
increases
• Calculated value of
engineering stress is
higher

Figure 3.8 - Typical engineering stress-strain curve for a

compression test

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tensile Test vs. Compression Test

• Although differences exist between engineering

stress-strain curves in tension and compression, the
true stress-strain relationships are nearly identical
• Since tensile test results are more common, flow
curve values (K and n) from tensile test data can be
applied to compression operations
• When using tensile K and n data for compression,
ignore necking, which is a phenomenon peculiar to
straining induced by tensile stresses

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Shear Properties
Application of stresses in opposite directions on
either side of a thin element

Figure 3.11 - Shear (a) stress and (b) strain

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Shear Stress and Strain

Shear stress defined as   FA

where F = applied force; and A = area over which

deflection occurs.

Shear strain defined as 

 b

where  = deflection element; and b = distance over

which deflection occurs

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Figure 3.13 - Typical shear stress-strain curve from a torsion test

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Shear Elastic Stress-Strain Relationship

In the elastic region, the relationship is defined as

  G
where G = shear modulus, or shear modulus of
elasticity
•For most materials, G  0.4E, where E = elastic
modulus

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Shear Plastic Stress-Strain Relationship

• Relationship similar to flow curve

• Shear stress at fracture = shear strength S
 Shear strength can be estimated from tensile
strength: S  0.7(TS)
• Since cross-sectional area of test specimen in torsion
test does not change as in tensile and compression,
engineering stress-strain curve for shear  true
stress-strain curve

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Hardness

Resistance to permanent indentation

• Good hardness generally means material is resistant
to scratching and wear
• Most tooling used in manufacturing must be hard for
scratch and wear resistance

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Hardness Tests

• Commonly used for assessing material properties

because they are quick and convenient
• Variety of testing methods are appropriate due to
differences in hardness among different materials
• Most well-known hardness tests are Brinell and
Rockwell
• Other test methods are also available, such as
Vickers, Knoop, Scleroscope, and durometer

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Brinell Hardness
Widely used for testing
metals and
nonmetals of low to
medium hardness
• A hard ball is
pressed into
specimen surface
with a load of 500,
1500, or 3000 kg

Figure
3.14 -
Hardne
ss Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
©2002 John Wiley & Sons,
testing
 Brinell Hardness Number

Load divided into indentation area = Brinell Hardness

Number (BHN)

2F
HB 
Db (Db  D2  D2 )
b i

where HB = Brinell Hardness Number (BHN), F =

indentation load, kg; Db = diameter of ball, mm,
and Di = diameter of indentation, mm

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Rockwell Hardness Test

• Another widely used test

• A cone shaped indenter is pressed into specimen
using a minor load of 10 kg, thus seating indenter in
material
• Then, a major load of 150 kg is applied, causing
indenter to penetrate beyond its initial position
• Additional penetration distance d is converted into a
Rockwell hardness reading by the testing machine

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Figure 3.14 - Hardness testing methods: (b) Rockwell:
(1) initial minor load and (2) major load

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Creep & Fatigue
 Introduction

• Creep & Fatigue are long term mechanical properties.

• Long-term mechanical properties are used to determine the

performance characteristics of a material subjected to
mechanical force & deformation under different modes for
longer time periods or duration.

• The deterioration of mechanical properties is measured

under stress or strain with respect to time.
 Creep

• When a plastic material is subjected to a constant load, it

deforms quickly to strain, roughly predicted by its stress-
strain modulus and then continues to deform slowly with
time indefinitely or until rupture or yielding causes failure .
This phenomenon of deformation under load with time is
called creep.
 Significance

• Plastics are being increasingly used in many high performance

applications under constant loading for long duration. Therefore
the information and data for long term loading and varying
temperature, such as creep, is very important for design of various
components likely to be under constant load for long duration.

• Creep will influence the dimensional stability of components and

the data generated by the test can be useful for material
characterization, their selection, designing and ascertaining the
failure condition.
Generalized creep curve
• Total creep curve is divided in four
continuous stages
• First stage (OP): It represents
instantaneous elastic deformation,
immediately after load is applied. This
strain is the sum of elastic and plastic strain.
• Second stage (PQ): In this stage strain
occurs rapidly but at a decreasing rate.
At this stage creep rate decreases with time. It
is referred to as primary creep.
• Third stage (QR): The straight portion
of curve QR is characterized by a
constant rate creep. This process is called as
cold flow.
• Fourth stage (RS): In this stage creep rate
increases until fracture occurs.
Test mthoed &Test Specimen and conditioning

• ASTM D 2990: Standard Test Methods for Tensile,

Compressive, Flexural Creep of Plastics.

• Molded or machined specimens, as used in tensile test

(ASTM D 638) or flexural (ASTM D 790), are taken depending
upon the type of creep test selected.

• Specimens are conditioned at a standard atmosphere of 23 ±

20 C and 50 ± 5% RH for specified duration prior to testing.
Procedure

Tensile creep

• Specimen is fixed in tensile creep test assembly and strain gauge (or dial
gauge) is mounted to measure the extension with respect to time.

• Test temperature of chamber is maintained and required test load is

applied on to the specimen.

• Increase in length between two gauge marks is monitored and recovered at

specified time interval.
• The percentage creep strain is obtained by the formula

• % creep strain = Extension(mm) x 100

Gauge length(mm)
• Tensile creep testing
 Flexural creep

• Flexural creep measurement is done by applying a constant load to a

standard flexural test specimen and measuring it’s deflection as a
function of time.

• Test specimen is placed on three point flexural mode as shown in

Fig.

• Test load to be applied is calculated by the formula, at given stress,

P= 2Sbd Where, P = Load

S = Test stress at which test
to be carried out b = width of

3L specimen
d=
thickness of
specimen
L= span
length
• Flexural Creep
Testing
 Fatigue Resistance

• The failure or decay of mechanical properties after

repeated application of stress or strain is known as
fatigue.

• In actual application, a number of components come across

repeated cyclic load, for example, flexing of shoe sole, gear teeth,
inflating and deflating of balloon.

• Fatigue life is defined as the number of cycles of deformation

required to bring about failure to the test specimen under given set of
oscillation condition.
Significance

• Fatigue test data is applied in designing of specific parts.

Plastic materials are largely being used for designing and
manufacturing of plastic components in various
applications where cyclic loading conditions are involved
such as plastic gear, shoe sole, pulleys etc.
 Equipment

• Flexural fatigue:(ASTM D 671): The

feature of fatigue machine is an
unbalanced, variable centric mounted on
a shaft rotating at constant speed by
motor. Machine is capable of producing
constant amplitude of force on test
specimen.
• It is fitted with RPM counter and it also
consist of cantilever such that specimen can
be fixed in appropriate position.
• Tensile fatigue: Different types of machines can be used
for determining tensile fatigue.

• Test specimen is held in a cantilever in the vice at one end so that on

rotating of equipment, shaft specimen is bend a concentrated load
through Yoke fastened at the opposite end. The number of test cycles
required to produce failure is determined. Test is repeated by varying
the stress level. A curve of stress versus number of cycle (S-N curve) is
plotted from the test result.

• A typical S.N. Curve is shown in Fig

Factors
Affecting
• Fatigue test results depend upon the test specimen preparation
method as well as specimen thickness.
• Specimen thickness greatly influences the fatigue strength.
• Fatigue test is affected by change in test temperature, test
frequency and rate of heat transfer.
• The fatigue life of polymer is generally reduced by increase of
the temperature .
• Amount of stress and number of test cycle greatly affect the test
result. The higher the amount of stress, the lower will be the number
of cycles to failure