Introduction

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The objective of the impact test experiment is to compare the toughness between ABS,
Acetal, and Polycarbonate. The impact test is to be conducted by using two different resilience
methods, the Charpy method and the Izod method.
Toughness is a material property directly proportional to ductility. Ductility is a measure
of a materials ability to undergo plastic deformation before rupture. Brittle materials are the
opposite of ductile materials, they rupture without undergoing deformation. Examples of brittle
materials are glass and concrete. Figure 1 shows the relationship between stress and strain of
brittle and ductile materials. Figure 1 also illustrates that the area under the curve is the absorbed
energy of the specimen before fracture, it is easily observed that ductile materials can absorb
greater energy before rupture than ductile materials.

Figure 1: Brittle vs Ductile stress-strain behavior curve

Impact testing is a useful resource in the analysis and prediction of the behavior of
different materials under sudden external forces applied, sudden impact or dynamic loading. The
impact test can help choose a material with the best energy absorption that satisfies the design.
The EEICI experiment was created and developed by the company called Edibon. The
EEIC experiment functions with the aid of a pendulum that strikes a material with forces that
allow the stricken types of materials in a controlled environment. The threshold design
limitations for the EEICI unit was to only be used in conjunction with plastic specimen. It is
critical to note that the EEICI unit supports both the Charpy and Izod test.
 The Charpy method consists of a pendulum with a mass (M) of 850 grams, a length (L)
of 33 centimeters, and starting angle (α) of 150°, Figure 2 shows the initial angle and length of
pendulum. The pendulum will be release from the initial angle which creates initial potential
energy that can be calculated from equation 2. The specimen has specific dimensions of 80 mm
in length and a cross section of 10 mm x 4mm. The specimen must have a notch in the center to
encourage rupture through the centerline. Figure 3 shows the specimen placement on the EEICI
machine. The distance between mounting plates must be 60 mm.

Figure 3: Pendulum Figure 2: Charpy test specimen position

Rupture
The Izod method consist of a pendulum with a mass (M) of 1,425 grams, a length (L) of
33 centimeters, and starting angle (α) of 150°, Figure 2 shows how α is measure and the length
of the pendulum. The specimen must also have a notch to make it break easier. Figure 4
illustrates the specimen position, which vices on the lower mounting plate.

Figure 4: Izod test specimen position

 Equation 1 shows the Conservation of Energy equation which will be applied throughout
the experiment, initial energy is equal to the final energy. Equation 2 can be modified to describe
all parameter throughout the experiment as shown in Equation 3 which includes work due to
friction and the energy absorbed by the specimen. Equation 3 consist of Initial energy produced
by the initial potential energy generated by the initial height of the pendulum, energy absorbed
by specimen, energy due to friction, and final potential energy generated by the final height.
Final energy is shown in Equation 4 which consist in the final potential energy with angle β as
shown in Figure 2. Equation 5 shows the losses due to the indicator which produce the friction in
the system.

Throughout this experiment the equation used are listed below.

Conservation of Energy Equation Equation 1

𝐸𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 = 𝐸𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙
Modified Conservation of Energy Equation Equation 2

𝐾𝐸1 + 𝑃𝐸1 − 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐾𝐸2 + 𝑃𝐸2

Conservation of Energy for the Impact system Equation 3

𝑃𝐸𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑇𝐼𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑂𝑊 − 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟_𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 − 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 = 𝑃𝐸𝐹𝐼𝑁𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑂𝑊

Initial Potential Energy Equation 4

𝑃𝐸𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑇𝐼𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑜𝑤 = 𝑀 ∗ 𝑔 ∗ 𝐻 = 𝑀 ∗ 𝑔 ∗ 𝐿 (1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠(α))

Final Potential Energy Equation 5

𝑃𝐸𝐹𝐼𝑁𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑂𝑊 = 𝑀 ∗ 𝑔 ∗ 𝐿 (1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛽))
Energy due to Friction Equation 6

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟_𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 = 𝑊1 − 𝑊2

Energy Absorbed by specimen Equation 7

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 = 𝑃𝐸𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑇𝐼𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑂𝑊 − 𝑃𝐸𝐹𝐼𝑁𝐴𝐿_𝑃𝑂𝑊 − 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟_𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡