ME 241

MATERIALS LABORATORY
Fall 2018

LAB 6 – TENSILE TESTING

THE LAB:
 Tensile testing of metallic alloys.
 Use of the stress-strain curves obtained to determine mechanical properties.

Samples
6061-T6 aluminum alloy and cold worked 1018 steel standard tensile specimens.

Equipment
 Calipers
 Safety Glasses
 Instron 3385 H Top Tensile Tester
 Gage length marking device
 Extensometer

Fig. 1- Instron 3385H Tensile Tester

Procedure
1. Measure initial thickness, to and width, Wo, for all your specimens and use these values to
calculate the initial cross-sectional area.
2. Use the gage length marker (see fig.2) to make a 1 inch gage length (lo) within the
reduced cross-section in the middle of the specimen.
3. Make a mark 1 inch from each end of the specimen. This mark will be where the grips
will line up (see figs. 2 & 4).
4. Mark your specimens on both ends for later identification. E.g. 1 & 1
5. For safety, wear safety glasses & make sure you do not get fingers, hair or any of your
clothes near machine while in operation.
6. Place sample into tensile tester grips, and line up using marks made in step 4.
7. Attach extensometer.
8. Load specimen at a rate of 0.2 in/min to failure, and keep your distance from machine
while in operation.
9. Measure final thickness, tf, width, Wf, and gage length, lf after fracture.
10. Plot data as force-displacement and engineering stress-strain curves.
11. Determine Young’s Modulus, tensile strength, 0.002 offset yield strength, toughness, and
ductility (percent elongation to failure and % reduction in area).
THE REPORT:
Your company is making a new component. You conduct a stress analysis and determine
that the widget must be fabricated from a material having a yield strength of 350MPa or
greater. Suitable materials available to your company are a high-strength aluminum alloy
6061-T6 and a cold worked 1018 steel alloy.

Your task is to determine which (if either) of these materials is suitable for this application.
Your report (no more than five pages) should include (but not limited to) the following:

 A detailed drawing showing the specimen dimensions; a well labeled photo of the
experimental setup and a description of the tensile test.
 A plot of the data as engineering force-displacement curves (curves for both materials on
the same plot).
 A plot of the linear part of the engineering stress-engineering strain curve (use a linear
regression line to find the young’s modulus).
 Determine the mechanical properties listed in step 11.
 A table of your results, including original dimensions, gage length, cross-sectional area
and properties (All results should be displayed in SI units and English units, e.g. for stress
show results as MPa and psi in between brackets).
 Discuss your results, by also explaining the inherent reasons behind the difference (if
any) between the properties of the specimens tested, and those reported in the literature.
 Determine which material (s) satisfies the company requirement of 350MPa yield
strength.
 Your recommendation based on your findings.
 APPENDIX

1 inch

Fig. 2 Gage Length Marker

1 inch

Fig.3 Gage Length and 1 inch mark from the end.

Fig. 5 Extensometer attached for first part of the test.