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Bending test - Lab report
Strength and testing of materials (The American University in Cairo)
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Strength and Testing of Materials laboratory
Spring 2017
Experiment: Bending
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Abstract:-
This Bend Testing experiment is implemented to mainly test the behavior and evaluate
the strength of brittle materials, such as concretes, stones, woods, plastics, glasses and
ceramics, since the interpretation of tensile test result of the same material is difficult. We
tested two wooden bar specimens of the same dimensions using the three-point bending
method to calculate and compare their mechanical properties such as elastic strength, yield
strength, rapture strength, young’s modulus, modulus of resilience, and modulus of toughness,
if the height and base dimensions are interchanged. We also studied the stress distribution on
the cross-sectional area (whether it is rectangular or circular) and the effect of changing the
length and cross-sectional area on stiffness. Then it is put on the Universal testing machine in
order to see the effect of bending on the specimens. Bending was less when the load was
perpendicular to the base because the perpendicular distance was greater. In the Cantilever
bending test, it showed that deflection increases as span becomes bigger. A crack in the steel
shows that it is defiled by other impurities. Finally, we carried out the cold bending test, as a
quality control test, to test for the ductility of structure steel.
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Table of Contents:-
I. List of Figures ------- Page 4
II. Introduction ------- Page 5
III. Objective ------- Page 6
IV. Theory ------- Page 7
V. Procedure ------- Page 8
VI. Machines Used ------- Page 10
VII. Results & Graphs------- Page 12
VIII. Discussion and conclusion------- Page 17
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Introduction:-
If a piece of material is subjected to forces which induce compression stress over one
part of a cross section of the piece and tension stress over the remaining part, the piece is
called in a bending condition. Beams are the structural elements mainly used for resisting
bending. Bending and shear often occur simultaneously.
Objectives:-
1) Draw the load deflection for different materials in different methods of support
2) Determine the mechanical properties
Elastic strength
Yield strength
Rupture strength
Young’s modulus
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Modulus of resilience
Modulus of toughness
3) Study the stress distribution on cross section area
4) Effect of length or cross section area on stiffness
5) Study the ductility of structural steel by cold bending test
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Theory:-
If a beam is simply supported at the ends and carries a concentrated load at the center, the
beam bends concave upwards. The distance between the original position of the beam and its
position after bending is different at different points along the length if the beam, being
maximum at the center in this case. This difference is called ‘deflection’. In this type of loading
the maximum amount of deflection (δ) is given by the relation.
In this type of loading the maximum amount of deflection ( δ ) is given by the relation,
OR
Where: W = Load acting at the center, N
l = Length of the beam between the supports, mm
E = Young’s modulus of material of the beam, N/mm2
I = Second moment of area of the cross section (moment of inertia) of the beam,
about the neutral axis, mm4
Bending Stress:
As per bending equation,
Where: M = bending moment, Nmm
I = moment of inertia, mm4
Ơb = Bending stress, N/mm2
y = distance of the fiber of the beam from the neutral axis.
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Procedure:-
A. Three-Point Bend Testing:
1) Prepare two similar wooden bar specimens for a three-point bending test.
2) The two specimens should have the same initial dimensions, so use the Vernier Caliper or
another suitable measurement tool to measure the width and thickness of the specimens
including the span length.
a. Base (bo) = 4.98 cm
b. Height (ho) = 4.04 cm
c. Span Length (lo) = 31.5 cm
3) This bend testing is carried out using a universal testing machine; adjust the supports along
the UTM bed so that they are symmetrical with respect to the length of the bed.
4) Place the beam on the two blocks so as to project equally beyond each block from each end.
Check if the load is applied at the center of the beam.
5) Measure the initial reading of the distance between a fixed part on the machine above the
specimen and the upper edge of the beam specimen, in order to calculate the total final
deflection after fracture.
6) Record the initial reading of Vernier scale.
7) Apply the load up to fracture.
8) After fracture, record the final reading of Vernier scale.
9) Find the total final deflection after fracture by subtracting the initial reading of vernier scale
from the final reading.
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10) Plot the load (W) versus deflection (δ) curve. Choose any two points from the graph, and
find the corresponding values of W and δ between these two points. Plug these values in
the relation (E = Wl3 / 48δI) and calculate the value of E.
11) Calculate the bending stresses for different loads using relation (Ơb = My / I).
12) Repeat this test for the two wood bar specimens; once using a specimen with its height as
4.7cm and its base as 4.0 cm, once again using the other specimen with its height as 4.0 cm
and its base as 4.7 cm.
Height
Cantilever Bend Testing: Base
1) A long and thin copper ruler-like beam was used to carry out the cantilever test (it had
about 10 span-length divisions marked on its surface; each span division is 5cm long).
2) Fix the copper beam at one end into the Cantilever Flexure Frame by mounting the beam
between two small parallel plates which are then pressed strongly against each other to
firmly hold the beam in between. The beam is, however, fixed such that a certain number of
divisions are allowed into the test, and the rest are left out and excluded by the plates, i.e.
this is to allow us to vary the span-length of the test beam in order study its effect on
stiffness.
3) On the other end of the beam, a hook is hung on the specimen, which small individual loads
can be inserted and applied in.
4) A deflection dial gage is clamped onto the machine and is inserted such that its springy
pointer just touches the head of the hook, so that it measures the deflection of the beam
downwards after each single addition of the loads onto the hook.
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5) Each time add one load (these were the used weights; 107g, 131g, 111.5g, 92g, 103g), and
record the cumulative total deflection.
6) Plot the load-deflection curve for the beam span and calculate its Young’s modulus.
7) Repeat these procedures for two different length spans by moving the beam out or in
through the two parallel plates and re-fixing them again.
First Case: Divisions used: 5, Span Length (L1) = 5 x 50 mm = 250 mm
Second Case: Divisions used: 6, Span Length (L2) = 6 x 50 mm = 300 mm
Machines Used:-
A. Three-Point Bend Testing:
Bend testing is performed on a universal testing machine with a 3 point or 4 point bend
fixture, and most common for product testing is the 3 point test, which we used to test and
bend our two wooden bar specimens until fracture. However, our UTM was attached to a
system-control unit which comprised various options and controls to use the machine; for
instance, it had switches to select the displayed load scale as well as the plotter scale (ratio of
the graph drawn to actuality), and it also had other controls to carry out a fatigue test.
The supports are adjusted along the UTM bed so that they are symmetrical with respect to
the length of the bed. The beam is then placed on the blocks so as to project equally beyond
each block from each end. And the load is finally checked if it is applied at the center of the
beam.
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Figure (1) UTM
Load Frame
Controller
Cross Head
Upper Moveable Jaw
Bend Former (Applies a force
at the mid-span of the beam)
Two Supports of the specimen
Two Blocks (To help theBend
B. Cantilever beam Testing:
to be
equally projected from both ends
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Equipment and Setup:
Cantilever Flexure Frame: A simple apparatus to hold a thin rectangular beam at one end
while allowing flexing of the specimen upon the addition of a downward force.
Metal Beam: In this experiment, a copper beam was tested. The beam should be fairly
rectangular, thin, and long. Specific dimensions should be dependent on the size of the
cantilever flexure frame and available weights.
Deflection Indicator: A dial gage device that accurately measures (in mm) the deflection of
the beam downwards after loads are added.
Range of Weights: Any different small individual weights (in grams) can be used for this test.
Very large weights should not be used to not exceed the limit of proportionality, since we
only need to measure the Young’s moduli for the two different spans. The weights are
applied via a hook. Figure 2: The Cantilever Flexure Frame
Cantilever Flexure Frame
Two Fixing Hook (Hanging
Metal Beam Deflection Indicator Weights
Parallel Plates the weights)
Results and Graphs:-
Results and Analysis:
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1) The Load versus Deflection for the wood specimens.
Table 1: Load versus deflection for wood 1.
Wood 1: Load vs Deflection
8
5
Load (kN)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Deflection (mm)
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Table 2: Load versus deflection for wood 2:
Wood 2: Load vs Deflection
9
6
Load (kN)
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Deflection (mm)
2) Load versus Deflection for various spans of metal specimens.
Table 3: Load versus deflection for various spans of Brass.
Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm)
Load (g) Span: 300 mm Span: 250 mm Span: 200mcm
101 0.90 0.2 0.34
204 2.52 0.58 0.76
309.5 3.94 1.09 1.15
422.5 4.85 1.81 1.63
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Brass: Load vs Deflection
6.00
5.00
Deflection (mm)
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Load (N)
30 cm 25 cm 20 cm
Table 4: Load versus deflection for various spans of Steel.
Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm)
Load (g) Span: 25 cm Span: 20 cm Span: 15 cm
500 3.4 2.06 1.17
1000 6.94 4.16 2.34
1500 8.91 6.15 3.43
2000 8.01 4.51
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Copper: Load vs Deflection
5.00
4.50
4.00
Deflection (mm)
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00
Load (N)
25 cm 20 cm 15 cm
Table 5: Load versus deflection for various spans of Aluminum.
Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm) Deflection (mm)
Load (g) Span: 30 cm Span: 25 cm Span: 20 cm
95.5 1.8 0.43 0.7
195.5 3.6 1.73 1.31
304.5 5.8 3.26 1.97
415.5 7.75 4.85 2.71
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Aluminum: Load vs Deflection
7.00
6.00
5.00
Deflection (mm)
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00
Load (N)
25 cm 20 cm 15 cm
Discussion and Conclusion:
There are different types of bending; three point-bending test, and Cantilever test. In the three
point bending test, the wood specimen was tested with loads perpendicular to base then
repeated with loads perpendicular to height ( the heights were different which gave 2 different
second moments of inertia). Bending was less when the load was perpendicular to the base
because the perpendicular distance was greater. This shows that a larger second moment of
inertia will reduce bending and decrease the stress applied on the specimen. The test also
showed that a larger moment of area decreases the stress on the specimen which is always
favorable as it reduces the amount of work the material has to do. As we explained, the stiffness
of any component is always directly proportional to its cross-sectional area and inversely
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proportional to its span-length, yet our cantilever bend testing was conducted to demonstrate
the latter effect, i.e. the effect of changing the span-length on the material stiffness. The same
copper beam with the same base and height dimensions was tested twice, yet the span-length
once was 250mm and once another was 300mm. The calculations showed that the two spans
did have the same copper Young’s moduli, yet the two graphs how at any certain value of
loading, the beam with the smaller span-length exhibited a smaller downward deflection, and
showed to be stiffer.
In the cold bending test a crack in the steel shows that it is defiled by other impurities and
that the specimen cannot pass the test, however if the specimen did not produce any cracks at
the bending point, then the specimen is sound and can be sold.Bend tests are made to check
the ductility for particular types of service or to detect loss of ductility under certain types of
treatment. Cold-bend tests are made by bending metal at ordinary temperatures to detect high
carbon or phosphorus content or improper rolling steels.
When steel batches are received to be tested, a sample is taken to first undergo a tensile
test in order to get and check its mechanical properties, and then a cold-bend test is done as a
quality control test by bending the specimen at room temperature up to a certain limit and
check if cracks occurred. If cracks didn’t appear, the batch is accepted for usage, otherwise they
are rejected and considered disqualified.
Figure 3: Structure steel after bending
No Crack Occurrence
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Both wood beams should have exhibited the same kind of fracture, both should have
fractured in a straight line on the lower side of the beams which experienced the maximum
tensile stress during the whole test. The fracture or the crack travelled through shearing at
45o to the centroid of the beam towards the upper compression side. **the fractures didn’t
happen as it should have happen because of the bad wood type used to carry out the
experiment.
Figure 4: vertical wood specimen after bending
Figure 5: Horizontal wood specimen after bending
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A. Sources of Error:
Specimens might not have had a uniform thickness or cross-sectional area throughout its
span length; and this would have affected the strength of the test specimens.
The cross-section of the wood beam specimens should be large enough.
While taking measurements of the specimens’ dimensions or of the deflection of the wood
beams, a random error could have occurred in the readings.
A random error might have occurred while reading the load off the UTM scale.
In this test, a lot of random experimental error occurred when we were trying to conduct
the cantilever bend testing.
Errors might have occurred while trying to place the wood beams or the bend loading or the
supports at their proper positions in the UTM.
The oldness of the UTM and the cantilever machine might slightly affect the results.
References:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/136555/Mechanics-of-Materials-Cantilever-Flexure-Test
https://www.testresources.net/applications/test-types/bend-test/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/three-point-bending-test
https://www.ametektest.com/learningzone/testtypes/bending-flexural-testing
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