Fundamentals of Material
Deformation and Failure
Introduction
Engineers use materials for various purposes
All materials have structures that can be defined at various
length scales
Structure can have a large influence on properties,
performance and durability
Structure has most significant effect on mechanical properties
We will explore linkages between the structures of materials
and their mechanical properties
Introduction
All mechanical structures must endure mechanical loads
Mechanical engineers are generally interested in rules for
dimensioning components properly or selecting materials for a
given application to satisfy specific performance criteria
Detailed understanding of the influences of microstructure on
properties is secondary
Material engineers focus on understanding and applying physical
processes that occur within a material during mechanical loading
to satisfy specific performance criteria
It is critical that engineers understand both approaches
Mechanical Properties and
Length Scales
Macro Scale Meso Scale
100 x 100 x
Sheet
Engineered Structure Structural Member
100 x
Polycrystalline
Continuum
100 x 100 x
Atomic Structure Dislocations Grain Boundaries
Nano Scale Micro Scale Meso Scale
Mechanical Properties and
Length Scales
Materials Structures Infrastructure
Systems
Nanolevel Microlevel Mesolevel Macrolevel
Integration
Molecular scale Microns Microns Meters Up to km scale
Nanomechanics Micromechanics Mesomechanics Beams Bridge systems
Self-assembly Microstructures Interfacial Columns Lifelines
Nanofabrication Smart materials structures Plates Airplanes
Etc. Etc. Composites Etc. Etc.
Etc.
Mechanical behaviour spans all length scales and thus we need to
understand how length scales link together
How materials respond under loading?
Forces Acting on Engineering Structures
Surface Forces / Loads: forces arising from contact
Friction
Point load
etc.
Volume Forces / Loads: forces acting over entire body
Gravity
Magnetic Forces
etc.
Surface forces are generally more significant than volume forces
Types of Surface Forces
Static: independent of time
Constant in magnitude
Constant in direction
Constant in location
Quasi Static: vary slowly with time
Dynamic: vary with time
Steady state: maintain the same character over time (frequency,
amplitude, etc.)
Transient: change character with time (e.g. decay in amplitude due to
damping)
Material Response Under Loading
Deformation
Macroscopically
Microscopically
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya9ZgjYUNkI
Material Response Under Loading
Fracture
Macroscopically
Microscopically
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=qeLvzt2szMU
Deformation
Deformation is the change in shape
Types of Deformation
Time Independent
Elastic
Plastic
Time Independent Deformation
Elastic Deformation: reversible deformation
Recovered immediately upon unloading
Analogous to stretching of atomic bonds
Hookes law is applicable =
Plastic Deformation: permanent deformation
NOT recovered upon unloading
Begins at the proportional limit. At this point the material is said to yield
and is characterised by yield strength
Hookes law in no more applicable
Stress and strain relationship is defined by other available empirical
relationships
Deformation
Deformation is the change in shape
Types of Deformation
Time Dependent
Viscoelastic
Viscoplastic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Q1VtAXeMn74
Time Dependent Deformation
Viscoelastic: reversible deformation
Deformation is recovered over a period of time
Rubbery behaviour
Exhibited by all materials at some level
Viscoplastic / Creep: permanent deformation
Deformation occurs over a period of time
Occurs at high temperatures (often greater than 0.5 of melting
temperature)
In a material that is subjected to a constant load or stress that is
often far below the yield point
Fracture
When something separates into pieces
Types of Fracture
Under Static
Loading
Brittle
Ductile
Creep rupture
Environmental
Fracture
When something separates into pieces
Types of Fracture
Under Cyclic Loading
High cycle fatigue
Low cycle fatigue
Fatigue crack growth
Corrosion fatigue
Types of Fracture
Ductile
Lots of plastic
deformation prior to
fracture
Brittle
Little
or no plastic
deformation before
fracture
Fracture vs Failure
Failure
Anything that might cause a component to lose its
structural tolerances, preventing it from serving its intended
purpose
This means
Fracture
or plastic deformation
or excessive elastic deformation
Design is carried out to avoid failure
Stress Dependent Modes of Failure
Elastic
Stable
Plastic
Excessive deformation
Elastic (buckling)
(static loading)
Unstable Plastic (collapse, buckling)
Creep (collapse, buckling)
Excessive deformation
Incremental collapse
(cyclic loading)
Fracture Brittle fracture
(static loading) Low-stress brittle fracture
Creep rupture
Stress Dependent Modes of Failure
Fracture
Fatigue
(cyclic loading)
Not solely stress Fretting, pitting, corrosion fatigue
dependent Stress corrosion
Creep and fatigue (cyclic creep)
Combined modes Fatigue followed by low-stress brittle
fracture
Engineering Approach for
Explaining Mechanical Behaviour
Strength of Materials / Continuum Mechanics
Stress
Strains
Elasticity
Plasticity
Micromechanics / Material Physics
Consider properties of constituents
Grain Orientation / Texture
Crystal / Atomic Structure
Defect Content
Etc.
Engineering Approach for
Explaining Mechanical Behaviour
Strength of Materials Approach
Use principles of elasticity and plasticity to predict material
response (statics, dynamics, strength of materials, etc.)
Applied regularly in engineering design. Very useful and easy
(e.g. Finite Element Analysis)
Advantage is that relatively few constants are needed to predict
mechanical behaviour
Some assumptions are made
General Assumptions
The member is in static equilibrium
= 0; = 0 (external forces = internal resisting forces)
The body is continuous
Contains no voids, holes or spaces
The body is homogenous
Properties are identical at any point
The body is isotropic
Properties dont vary with direction or orientation
Allows for simple mathematical treatment in design
Assumptions vs Reality
The body is continuous
Contains no voids, holes or spaces
All materials contain flaws at some level
The body is homogenous
Properties are identical at any point
All materials have local inhomogeneities
The body is isotropic
Properties dont vary with direction or orientation
Crystalline materials are inherently anisotropic
Assumptions vs Reality
General theories break down when atomic nature of materials (i.e.
materials structure) is introduced
Examples
Generation and accumulation of dislocations leads to hardening
Creep (a form of high temperature deformation). Microstructure changes
with time
Stress concentrations at crack tips. Local stress may be higher than global
stress
Ductile to brittle transition temperature. Fundamental changes in material
behaviour cause a brittle solid to function like a plastic material
Assumptions vs Reality
In spite of these deficiencies, strength of materials
approaches are used in engineering design
However, to effectively design or properly select a material
for long term application, the structure of the material must
be considered at some level
Macrostructre (x1)
Microstructure (x106)
Nanostructure (x109)
Fundamental Behaviours of
Materials for Study
Elasticity
Plasticity
Fracture
Creep
Fatigue
Examples
Example 1
You are a process engineer at a metal stamping plant that produces
cans from 304L stainless steel. You produce 20 cans/minute. First 1000
cans form perfectly. Ten of the next 200 cans fail during stamping.
Then, 25 of the next 200 fail. After that, 100 of the next 200 fail.
Production is summarized in the table below.
No of Cans Total No of Cans No of Failures
1,000 1,000 0
200 1,200 10
200 1,400 25
200 1,600 100
What is the cause of these failures? What is the solution?
Whats Going On?
Deformation characteristics change with time
Dislocation generation and motion
Work hardening
Heating / Cooling during process
Phase transformation
Change in deformation behaviour
Transformation induced plasticity
Whats Going On?
Die temperature rises during processing
Work hardening rate increases
Increases the amount of uniform plastic elongation; but
makes it more difficult to deform the material uniformly
Solution involves physical metallurgy, intrinsic
material properties, mechanics and processing
methods
Example 2
Tungsten Wire Light Bulb Filament
Produced via powder metallurgy
Fails after a few thousand hours
Why / how they fail?
Can service lifetime be increased?
Whats Happening?
Creep: Filament can creep under its own
weight leading to sagging
Causes overheating in sag
Shortening due to touching of adjacent
coils
Excessive vibrations during service can
cause shortening
Microstructure changes due to
recrystallisation during service and can
lead to failure
Whats Happening? (Sagging)
Sagging of an undoped
W filament
Non-Interlock grain
structure sag
Whats Happening?
Gravity
Offsets in an undoped W filament caused by prolonged operation at
high temperatures. Grain growth followed by grain boundary sliding
leads to premature burnout of the filament.
Whats Happening?
When light bulb is turned on, filament undergoes
thermal expansion along its length. This expansion is
transient and non-uniform
Leads to tensile force along wire length
After long enough period of operation, the force
will become large enough to cause intergranular
fracture of the filament
Solution
Inhibit creep and recrystallisation
Non-sag tungsten is produced by doping with potassium
Potassium is insoluble in W and forms bubbles
Bubbles inhibit normal recrystallization of W wires
Leads to development of interlocked grain structure
Inhibits boundary sliding and increases creep resistance
Whats Happening? (Sagging)
No sagging in a Sagging of an
doped W filament undoped W
filament
Non-Interlock grain
Interlocking grain structure sag
structure prevents
sag
Whats Happening? (Creep)
Micrographs of undoped tungsten. TEM micrographs of (a) as-drawn
wire and (b) following annealing at 300C. Note that annealing has
resulted in abnormal grain growth. (c) Optical micrograph of hot
pressed and recrystallised W laminate revealing the formation of
bamboo-like grains
Whats Happening? (Creep)
Drawn wire has fine grained microstructure with
grains elongated in the drawing direction
After high temperature exposure, the tungsten
wire recrystallise producing bamboo structure.
Bamboo structure
Grains with diameter = wire diameter
Grain lengths >> wire diameter
Grain boundaries essentially perpendicular to wire
axis
Under stress due to gravity, boundaries can slip
past each other due to creep, leading to rapid
failure
What Does this Means?
Must take into account more than the continuum
considerations
Must consider structure of materials
Sometimes structure changes in service, thus properties can
change. Must be accounted for in design
Particularly important where long term mechanical
performance is concerned
Engineering Materials
and their Properties
Families of Engineering Materials
Material Information for Design
Commonly Used Mechanical
Properties of Engineering Materials
Modulus
Density
Strength
Fracture toughness
Thermal conductivity
Thermal expansion
Maximum service temperature
Electrical resistivity
etc.
Summary
Deformation and fracture may be caused by various types of
stress conditions
Understanding and consideration of material structure is
fundamental to design and failure analysis
Material selection must be based on a systematic approach
