Ex.

No: Date: Page No:

Determination of Fracture Strength and Fracture
Pattern of Brittle materials

a) Objective of the Experiment:
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the fracture strength of the
brittle material and to observe the pattern of their fracture by performing tensile test on a
brittle material specimen (cast iron). A further objective is to observe the key
characteristic of the brittle material in terms of the relation between the fracture strength,
ultimate strength and the yield strength.

b) Facilities/material required to do the experiment:

1. Universal testing machine 1
2.
Tensile test specimen of brittle material (Cast
iron)
1
3. Vernier caliper 1
4. Steel ruler 1


c) Theory:
The fracture strength, or breaking strength, is the value of nominal stress obtained
when the load at fracture is divided by the initial cross-sectional area of the tensile
specimen. It is important to note the difference between the nominal and true stress. The
nominal stress, or engineering stress, is not really a stress measure. It is a measure of
strength. The numerical value of true stress is ratio of the actual load to the actual cross-
section that is supporting the load. The stresses due to tensile loads () is given by

where,

is the instantaneous cross-sectional area corresponding to that

particular load. Engineering stress is the ratio of the actual load to the initial cross-section
area. Engineering strain and true strain are defined in a similar manner.

Ex. No:






































Computer
setup
Test
Specimen
Schematic diagram - Universal Testing Machine

Cross heads
Clamps
Load dial
Control
valves
Oil tank


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However, in the tensile test the so-called engineering stress-strain data are
determined. During tensile test, uniaxial load is applied gradually to the test specimen
and corresponding deformation (extension) is measured. The speed of testing may be
defined in terms of [a] rate of straining of the specimen (specified in mm/min); [b] rate of
stressing of the specimen (specified in MPa/s); or [c] rate of separation of the machine
heads during tests (specified in m/m). The tensile specimen may be a round cylinder or a
flat strip with a reduced cross-section (called as gauge section) at its mid-length to
ensure that the specimen does not fracture at the clamped portion. The minimum gauge
length of the specimen, according to the ASTM standards (E-8M), is five times the
diameter. The transition from the large diameter at the ends of the specimen to the
reduced section must be smooth to avoid any stress concentration.
Load and displacements are measured using appropriate transducers.
It is very important to note the key differences between the strength and the stress.
Strength is a material property. It is a measure of the ability of a material to withstand
load or stress without failure. The unit of strength is

. The strength values can be

obtained from the tensile tests and have the same unit as stress. However, they are not
the same.
The stress is a condition of a material under an applied load. In the absence of
residual stresses, the stress in a material is zero when there is no load acting on it.
Further, note that during a tensile test, the stress varies from zero at the beginning to a
maximum value that is value of the true fracture stress.
For a brittle material, there is no yielding, and the values of fracture strength and
ultimate strength are same.

d) Procedure for doing the experiment:

1. Dimensions of the given test specimen are measured.
2. Two points, and , are marked at a distance equal to half the gauge length (which is
five times the diameter), on either side of the mid-length of the reduced section. Thus
the distance between the two points is the gauge length.
3. The one end of the test specimen is clamped firmly in the fixed head of the machine.
The cross-head is moved until the other end is in position to be clamped in the moving
head of the machine.


Ex. No:
Tabulation:
Speci-
men
Least Count of
the Vernier (L.C.)
Main scale
reading (M.S.R.)
Vernier
Coincidence
(V.C.)
Diameter of
the reduced section
Total Reading =
M.S.R + (V.C. * L.C)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) = (3) +[(2)*(4)]
Unit
1
2

S.
No
Specimen 1 Specimen 2
Load Displacement Stress Strain Load Displacement Stress Strain
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Unit




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4. The electronic extensometer is fixed at the marked points on the reduced section to
measure the displacement.
5. The data acquisition software is started and the details of the test specimen (such as
specimen name, cross-sectional area, gauge length, testing speed, and safe load) are
entered.
6. The load and the displacement readings are reset to zero.
7. The machine is switched on and the data acquisition in started by pressing the start
test button in the software.
8. The load and displacement data are displayed in the software screen and also in a
separate digital display.
9. The extensometer is removed at some point, much before the specimen fracture. This
is done to avoid damage of extensometer.
10. After the removal of extensometer, the displacement measurement is continued based
on the cross-head movement.
11. The loading is continued till the fracture of the specimen. The ultimate load and
fracture load are noted at the appropriate moments.
12. After fracture, the fracture surface is observed and the type of fracture is identified.
13. The broken pieces are joined together to measure the final distance between the
points and (which gives the final gauge length) and the final diameter at the neck.
14. The values of load and displacements are tabulated and the corresponding stresses
and strains are computed.
15. The load-deflection and the stress-strain curves are plotted and the values of ultimate
and fracture strength is determined by dividing the appropriate load by the initial cross-
sectional area.
16. The fracture strength is compared with the ultimate strength of the material, and the
characteristic response of the brittle material is studied.










Ex. No:
Tabulation (Cont.):
S.
No
Specimen 1 Specimen 2
Load Displacement Stress Strain Load Displacement Stress Strain
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Unit













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Result:
1. Thus the tensile test on the cast iron specimen is .

2. The fracture strength of cast iron is .

3. The Ultimate strength of cast iron is

4. The fracture pattern in the case of cast iron is

5. Comment on the characteristic response of the brittle materials:

.



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