Stress-Strain Characteristics of Aluminum
Source: Roberto Leon, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Aluminum is one of the most abundant materials in our lives, as it is omnipresent in everything from soda cans to airplane components. Its widespread use is relatively recent (1900AD), primarily because aluminum does not occur in its free state, but rather in combination with oxygen and other elements, often in the form of Al2O3. Aluminum was originally obtained from bauxite mineral deposits in tropical countries, and its refinement requires very high-energy consumption. The high cost of producing quality aluminum is another reason why it is a very widely recycled material.
Aluminum, especially when alloyed with one or more of several common elements, has been increasingly used in architectural, transportation, chemical, and electrical applications. Today, aluminum is surpassed only by steel in its use as a structural material. Aluminum is available, like most other metals, as flat-rolled products, extrusions, forgings, and castings. Aluminum offers superior strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, ease of fabrication, non-magnetic properties, high thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as ease of alloying.
Tension Testing of Aluminum
The purpose of this experiment is:
- To acquaint students with the standard laboratory test for determining the tensile properties of metallic materials in any form (ASTM E8),
- To compare the properties of commonly used engineering metallic materials (structural steel and aluminum), and
- To compare the tested properties of metals to published values.
It will be assumed that a universal testing machine (U
From the measurements and Fig. 3, heat treated aluminum, such as the 6061T6 used in this test, will typically exhibit % elongations in the 8%-13% range. It is important to note that almost all the deformation is localized in a small volume and thus the %elongation is only an average; locally the strain could be much higher. Note also that the %reduction of area is also a very difficult measurement to make as the surfaces are uneven; thus this value will range considerably.
