MECHANICAL TESTING B. K, SHAH Atomic Fuels Division, BARC INTRODUCTION Mechanical testing refers to the test methods by metal are determined. Mechanical properties include tensile Properties, hardness, bend ductility, impact toughness etc. Tests to determine these properties are routinely done {0 qualify che raw material, heat treatment and welding procedure. Fatigue; creep and ‘Stress rupture tests are other important mechanical tests. These tests are not routine, but carried out mostly during material development stage. In this lecture, basics of the absve mechanical tests and the applicable code requirements will be briefly covered. which the mechanical properties of a |. TENSION TEST i) Tension test is carried out to determine Stress-Strain Relation ship. Engg. Stress, S = P/Ao; True Stress, =P/A. Engg. Strain, ¢ = (L-Lo)/Lo; ‘True Strain, E=In Lf[Lo Here P is the load, Ao - the original area of cross section, A, the instantaneous area of cross section, Lo- original length, Le-Final length. ii) Four important properties determined in a tension test are Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), Yield Strength, (YS), Percentage Elongation and Percentage Reduction of area (% RA), UTS = Pmax/Ao, YS(0.2% offset) = Load for 0.2% Plastic Strain /Ao Percentage Elongation =(Lf-La)/L X 100, %RA = (Ao-AfV/Ac X 100 itt) Design stress is based on the minimum of either 1/3 UTS or 2/3 YS (ASME B&PV code Sec.Ill) or 1/4 UTS or 5/8 YS (ASME B&PV Code Sec. VIII) 'y) Tension testis carried out using @ Universal Testing Machine ‘UTM’ (a machine designed to test specimens in tension, compression or bending mode). There are three kinds of UTM : Screw-driven, hydraulic and servo-hydraulic ¥) Load calibration of UTM is done either by proving ring (clastic calibration device) Or dead weight (as per ASTM E4). Strain calibration is done using extensometer calibrator (as per ASTM E83). Proving rings for load calibrator of UTM need to be certified by NPL, New Delhi vi) There are six classes of extensometer as per ASTM E83Classification Max. Error of Strain Applications Class A 0.0002 Precise value of modulus Of elasticity (E) Class B-1 0.0001 'E' value & YS Class B-2 0,002 YS Class C 0,001 - Class D 0.01 - Class E 0.01 - vid) During TT, strain rate control is important, Higher strain rate or loading rate results in higher value of YS, Some materials show higher strain rate sensitivity. FoF tension testing of such ‘material, strain rate control in a narrow range is specified up to yield loading. Porcentage elongation is a measure. of ductility. But it is dependent on gauge dimensions (viz. gauge area'A' & gauge letngth ‘L! of the tensile specimens. To ~ compare elongation measurements of different sized specimens, the specimens must be geometrically similar (i.e. VA/L constant). 'x) For detailed specification requirements on tension test related to testing machine, test specimens, testing methods etc. one should refer to ASTM E8 and ASTM A370. III. HARDNESS TESTS i) Hardness implies resistance to terms of resistance to indentat of indentation tests. plastic deformation. For metals, it is measured in ion. There are two general methods of classification First method of classification is based on measurement of either the depth of indentation or the area of indentation when an indenter is forced into the material with a specified force. Rockwell hardness test utilises depth of indentation Brinell, Vickers, Knoll & Ultrasonic Hardness tests are examples of indentation tests that employ the area of the indentation, Second method of classification of in load applied to the indenter. Based Macrohardness tests (load above 1 1 kgf), dentation hardness tests is governed by the on this, hardness tests can be referred to as kgf) or microhardness tests (load from 1 gf to ii) Rockwell hardness testing : It is the most widely used method for determining hardness, primarily because it is simple to use and all readings are direct, Rockwell hardness Number is based on inverse ‘elationship to the measurement of the additional depth to which an indenter is foreed by a heavy (major) load beyond the depth resulting from a previously applied (minor) load Use via minor load greatly inereases the accuracy of this test as it eliminates the effectof backlash in the measuring system and causes the indenter to break through slight surface roughness. Commonly used Rockwell Hardness Scales are: Scale Indenter Major Load B : Steel Ball 100 kgf c Diamond Cone 150 kgf ISN, 30N, 45 N Diamond Cone 15,30,45 kgf 15T,307,45T Steel Ball (1/16 in) 15,30,45 kef ‘Two types of indenter viz.,120 degrees sphero conical diamond indenter and hardened steel ball diameter(1/16,1/8,"4and 4) are used. For relatively harder’ materials, ‘diamond indenter is used whereas for softer materials, steel ball indenter is used. For cofiedt hardness measurement, specimen thickness should be at east 10 times the depth of indentation. In Rockwell Normal test, each division corresponds to 2 um depth of indentation. In Rockwell Superficial test, each division corresponds to 1 jum depth of indentation. For thin sheets and for surface hardened layers, one should use Rockwell Superficial test. Diamond indenters are not calibrated below values of 20, so they should not be used when readings fell below this value. Steel ball indenters should not be used beyond 100 as only tip of the ball is used and sensitivity is poor. Hardness readings Will not be correct if indentation is too close to edge (due to bulging of work piece) or another indentation (due to cold work effect). Therefore the distance between the centre of indentation and the edge should be at least 2.5 times the diameter of indentation and the distance between the centres of two indentations should be at least 3 times the diameter of indentation, When an indenter is forced into a convex surface, it sinks farther, into the metal as compared to flat surface (due to less lateral support) and results in lower reading. Opposite conditions prevail while testing concave surface, and the readings are higher. Therefore, correction factors are required to be added when testing is done on convex surface and subtracted when testing is done on concave surface. Detailed specification requirements for Rockwell Hardness Testing are covered in ASTM E18, Though load verification and examination done, calibration of Rockwell Hardness Tester is test blocks of appropriate hardness values of indenters are periodically generally done, by testing of standard Brinell Hardness Testing This test consists of applying a constant load (500 or 3000 Kef) for a specified period (10 to 30 S) using a 5 mm or 10 mm dia. hardened steal ball on the flat surface of a work piece. The time period is required to ensure that plastic flow of the work metal has ceased. After removal of the load, the mean diameter of the indentation (two readings at right angles to each other is taken and Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) is calculated by dividing the applied load by the surface of the indentation