The response of a material under tensile and compressive loading provides some of the most important mechanical properties.

This section covers the standard tensile and compressive testing equipment and procedures, the various properties that can be determined from the test, and the typical results for a range of aluminium alloys.

Learning Outcomes for this Section

After completing this section, you should be able to:

• describe the standard test methods for tensile testing and identify the properties that can be obtained from a tensile test;
• demonstrate an understanding of the different regions of a typical stress strain graph during tensile testing
• describe the tests used to determine the fracture toughness of aluminium alloys;
• describe the tests used to measure the fatigue properties of aluminium alloys;

Pre-Requisites

Before starting, it is important that you are familiar with the following terms: % elongation to failure; dislocation; stress; yield stress; Youngs Modulus; elastic deformation; plastic deformation; Hooke's law; ductility; solid state solution; forged; formability; proof stress; plastic strain; cast; buckling;

You should be familiar with the concepts covered in: Strengthening Mechanisms; Classification Systems;