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Many materials, when in service, are subjected to forces or loads; examples include the aluminum alloy from which an airplane wing is constructed and the steel in an automobile axle. In such situations it is necessary to know the characteristics of the material and to design the member from which it is made such that any resulting deformation will not be excessive and fracture will not occur. The mechanical behavior of a material reflects the relationship between its response or deformation to an applied load or force. Important mechanical properties are strength, hardness,ductility, and stiffness.
The mechanical properties of materials are ascertained by performing carefully designed laboratory experiments that replicate as nearly as possible the service conditions. Factors to be considered include the nature of the applied load and its duration, as well as the environmental conditions. It is possible for the load to be tensile, compressive, or shear, and its magnitude may be constant with time, or it may fluctuate continuously. Application time may be only a fraction of a second, or it may extend over a period of many years. Service temperature may be an important factor. Mechanical properties are of concern to a variety of parties (e.g., producers and consumers of materials, research organizations, government agencies) that have differing interests. Consequently, it is imperative that there be some consistency in the manner in which tests are conducted, and in the interpretation of their results. This consistency is accomplished by using standardized testing techniques. Establishment and publication of these standards are often coordinated by professional societies. In the United States the most active organization is the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Its Annual Book of ASTM Standards comprises numerous volumes, which are issued and updated yearly; a large number of these standards relate to mechanical testing techniques. Several of these are referenced by footnote in this and subsequent chapters. The role of structural engineers is to determine stresses and stress distributions within members that are subjected to well-defined loads. This may be accomplished by experimental testing techniques and/or by theoretical and mathematical stress analyses. These topics are treated in traditional stress analysis and strength of materials texts. Materials and metallurgical engineers, on the other hand, are concerned with producing and fabricating materials to meet service requirements as predicted by these stress analyses. This necessarily involves an understanding of the relationships between the microstructure (i.e., internal features) of materials and their mechanical properties. Materials are frequently chosen for structural applications because they have desirable combinations of mechanical characteristics.
This chapter discusses the stress–strain behaviors of metals, ceramics, and polymers and the related mechanical properties; it also examines their other important mechanical characteristics