Metals are hard, strong and tough and by their nature, are malleable, fusible and ductile which means that they can be formed into a vast array of desired shapes without cracking or breaking. Due to their nature they can be treated to alter characteristics and formed to meet the requirements of any number of applications.
Metal Testing Goal:
Testing the mechanical properties of metallic materials determines if it meets the requirements of a desired application. The most common characteristics measured during testing are the modulus of elasticity, yield strength, tensile and compressive strength, and elastic limit. Metals are also tested to measure modulus of rigidity, shear strength, bend strength, flexure strength and fatigue strength as well as the time dependent behavior such as creep and stress relaxation. These values provide an accurate depiction of the behavior that a metal material may be expected to exhibit during loading and the lifetime of its application.
Common Metal Test Methods:
Test methods for metals tend to be very similar as those used for the testing of other materials such as plastics or composites. Flexure, bend, shear and torsion tests are all performed on metals, but the most common tests are the tension, compression and fatigue tests.Tension and compression testing involve the metal sample experiencing a load along one of its axis that either pulls the material apart or pushes it together. These tests are generally run until the sample fails or ruptures but may be stopped at any time.
Shear and torsion tests require that the sample experiences opposing loads at each end that act perpendicularly to the axis of the sample. A shear tests will pull the ends of the sample so it will fail in a sliding motion whereas a torsion test will twist the ends of the sample so it will fail in a turning motion.
A metal sample for flexure and bend tests will experience a load at its midsection while it is supported at its two ends. As the load is increased the sample will be deformed into a “U” or “V” shape depending upon its characteristics.
Fatigue testing measures time and cycle dependent behavior of metals through cyclic loading. These tests measure the number of cycles till failure, the time till failure, and possibly creep and stress relaxation rates of the metal samples.
All of these tests are used to determine if a metal material is suitable for an application and are often combined with each other to create an accurate representation of the stresses a metal material will experience in its lifetime.
Metal Testing Specimens:
Testing specimens made from metal can essentially take any form. They commonly come in the shape of dog bones, dumbbells, rods, bars, cylinders, cubes, bricks, and tubes. The difference between test samples made from metal and test samples made from other materials is in the microstructure. Metals can undergo processes such as heating, quenching, annealing and others that alter its microscopic composition. Specifically the grain size, grain orientation and the dislocations are altered to change the characteristics of the metal such as its strength, toughness, and ductility.
Popular Testing Applications
ASTM E9 defines testing techniques for compression testing of metals. Using these ...
ASTM E399 is used to determine the fracture toughness (KIc) of metallic materials ...
ASTM E606 covers testing procedures to measure the fatigue properties of nominally...
ASTM E143 covers shear modulus testing at room temperature. ASTM E143 is a test me...
Testing the fatigue life of metals under load control is the best way to obtain th...
ASTM E466 covers axial force controlled fatigue tests of metallic materials in the...
ASTM E328 covers the standard test methods for stress relaxation tests for materia...
ASTM E1290 is a test method used to analyze the fracture toughness of a material b...
ASTM F519 describes the mechanical test methods for coating and plating processes ...
ASTM A48 tensile test for castings covers gray iron castings intended for general ...
ASTM E1820 covers procedures and guidelines for the determination of fracture toug...
ASTM E647 covers the determination of fatigue crack growth rates from near-thresho...
Fracture toughness of metals describes the ability of a metal containing a crack t...
ISO 12106 specifies a method of testing uniaxially loaded specimens under strain c...
Humans have found widespread use for metal materials since pre-Bronze Age times wh...
ASTM E2368 covers the standard practice for strain controlled thermo-mechanical fa...
ASTM E209 is the standard practice for compression tests of metallic materials at ...
ASTM E467 covers the standard practice for verification of constant amplitude dyna...
ISO 1099 specifies the conditions for carrying out axial, constant-amplitude, forc...
Applications in which materials in structures undergo large changes in temperature...
ISO 13314 specifies a test method for compressive properties of porous and cellula...
ISO 12135 specifies methods for determining fracture toughness in terms of K, ?, J...
Configuring equipment to compression test metal samples takes four steps.
Step One...
ISO 2740 is applicable to all sintered metals and alloys, excluding hardmetals. IS...
ISO 12108 describes tests for determining the fatigue crack growth rate from the f...
ISO 12111 is applicable to the TMF testing of uniaxially loaded metallic specimens...
ISO 1352 specifies the conditions for performing torsional, constant-amplitude, no...
Popular Accessories
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GA185-290 test fixture meets ASTM A185 requirements.
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GISO7438-103 test fixture meets DIN EN ISO 7438 requirements for guided 3p bending...
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GNBR5916-290 test fixture meets NBR5916 requirements.
GD3032-1131 test fixture meets ASTM D3032 FIG18 requirements.
GAS2205-260 test fixture meets AS 2205 requirements for guided 3p bending tests on...
GF1147-625 test fixture meets ASTM F1147 requirements.
GE8BH-565 test fixture meets ASTM E8 requirements.
GE8TH-565 test fixture meets ASTM E8 requirements.
GC565F3-565 test fixture meets ASTM C565 FIG3 requirements.
GISO7438-238 test fixture meets DIN EN ISO 7438 requirements for guided 3p bending...
GNASM1312-13-890 test fixture meets NASM1312-13 requirements.
GE8BH-885 test fixture meets ASTM E8 requirements.
GISO4587-154 test fixture meets ISO 4587 requirements.
GEN10080-162 test fixture meets DIN EN 10080 requirements.
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GBS4449-260 test fixture meets BS 4449 requirements.
GE9-1339 test fixture meets ASTM E9 requirements.
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GMIL1312-20-F3A-1223 test fixture meets MIL STD 1312-20 FIG3a requirements.
GE8-527 test fixture meets ASTM E8 requirements.
GB557BH-885 test fixture meets ASTM B557 requirements.
GEN320F3-325 test fixture meets DIN EN 320 FIG3 requirements.
GISO4624-625 test fixture meets DIN EN ISO 4624 requirements for paint and varnish...
GNASM1312-20F3A-1223 test fixture meets NASM 1312-20 FIG3a requirements.
GE561-1417 test fixture meets ASTM E561 requirements.
GBISO15630-290-10 test fixture meets DIN EN ISO 15630-2 requirements.
GISO19095-3-1582 test fixture meets ISO19095-3 FIG1 requirements.
GE238-1225 test fixture meets ASTM E238 requirements.
GA370TH-885 test fixture meets ASTM A370 requirements.
GF1575-238 test fixture meets ASTM F1575 requirements.
GISO20482-145 test fixture meets DIN EN ISO 20482 ...
GEN320F1-325 test fixture meets DIN EN 320 FIG1 requirements.
GE1820-238 test fixture meets ASTM E1820 requirements.
GISO15630-1-260 test fixture meets EN ISO 15630-1 requirements for guided 3p bendi...
GA370SH-885 test fixture meets ASTM A370 requirements.
GE8SH-885 test fixture meets ASTM E8 requirements.
GIKE0057F3-1449 test fixture meets IKEA ISO TM 0057 FIG3 requirements.
GD2229-706 test fixture meets ASTM D2229 requirements.
GBISFA-E12-706 test fixture meets BISFA-E12 requirements.