Objective 01: Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Testing and Tensile, Hardness, & Impact Testing Flashcards
Why must metals for manufacturing pressure equipment be tested?
- To establish and document their mechanical properties under various temperature-dependent, time-dependent, or cyclical loading service conditions
- After construction or repair to determine whether welding, forming or cutting procedures have maintained, improved, or diminished the mechanical properties of the material
- To determine whether a vessel material’s mechanical properties, over its normal service life, have diminished due to corrosion and cracking
- To locate defects in the parent material, weld joints, and the areas adjacent to weld joints that may cause premature or drastic failure of the vessel pressure boundary
What are the 2 main categories of material testing?
- Destructive Testing
2. Non-Destructive Testing/Non-Destructive Examination (NDE)
Destructive Testing
Test procedures that purposely cause damage to the tested metal, thereby destroying its integrity and rendering it unusable
Non-Destructive Testing/NDE
Test procedures that do no damage to the tested metal, allowing it to retain its integrity and its usefulness
What are 4 methods of Destructive Testing?
- Tensile Tests
- Hardness Test
- Impact Tests
- Proof Tests
What are 7 methods of Non-Destructive Testing?
- Visual
- Magnetic Particle
- Liquid Penetrant
- Ultrasonic
- Radiographic
- Acoustic Emission
- Hydrostatic and Pneumatic Leak Testing
Tensile Test/Tension Test
Test used to determine how a metal will react when tension forces are applied
What is the procedure of the Tension Test?
- Tension is applied to a test piece, thereby producing tensile stress in the metal
- As the material is stressed, the elongation and stress of the material are determined
How are valid results ensured from a Tension Test?
Consideration is given to the specimen’s shape and dimensions plus the choice of grips and faces
Specimen
Piece of metal that is tested
How is the shape of a specimen defined?
By the standard or specification being utilized in the test
Why is the shape of a specimen important to be considered?
It ensures the break occurs within the “gauge length” section (which is the cross-sectional area or diameter of the specimen that is reduced)
What happens to the stress on the specimen in the Tensile Test?
As the diameter is reduced within the gauge length, the stress becomes greater because stress is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area under load
What basically happens to a specimen in the Tensile Test?
It is extended at constant rate while the load needed to maintain that is measured
Proportional Limit
The stress point, which may or may not be well-defined depending on the material being tested, at which slip (or glide) due to dislocation movement occurs. Above this point the transition from elastic to plastic deformation begins
Yield Stress
Stress at which yielding occurs across the whole specimen and deformation is purely plastic (non-reversible)
What determines the amount of stress required for slip in a particular metal grain?
The orientation of the grain
Why is the proportional limit and yield stress points generally coincident in a polycrystalline sample?
Polycrystalline material is composed of variously oriented, small individual crystals
Proof Stress
The point at which the specimen has undergone a certain (arbitrary) value of permanent strain, usually 0.2%
Why is Proof Stress used?
The precise positions of Proportional Limit and Yield Stress are often difficult to define and depend to some extent on the accuracy of the testing machine
What point defines the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS)?
The point at which plastic deformation becomes unstable and a narrow region (a neck) forms in the specimen. It is the peak (maximum) value of nominal stress during the test and deformation will continue in the necked region until fracture occurs.
Final Instability Point
The failure point at which fracture occurs
What are the 2 main types of strain?
- Elastic Strain
2. Plastic Strain
Elastic Strain
Stretching of material within its elastic limit, i.e. it will return to original dimenions when stress is removed
Hooke’s Law
Mathematical relationship that shows proportional relationship between stress and Elastic Strain via Young’s Modulus
Plastic Strain
Irreversible deformation of a material when it has exceeded its elastic limit
What is the equation that relates Plastic Strain to Stress?
There is none
Engineering Strain
The ratio of the change in length to the original length
True Strain
The ratio of the instantaneous length of the specimen as the test progresses to the original length
Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS)
The maximum load the specimen sustains during a tensile test which may or may not equate to the strength at fracture
What determines whether the UTS equates to the strength at fracture?
If the tested metal is brittle, ductile, or exhibits both properties
Hardness Testing
Measurement of the resistance of a material to surface indentation
What are 2 ways of testing Indentation Hardness?
- Use a specfic force and measure either the penetration depth of the indentation or the area of the indentation
- Measure the load (i.e. force) that is applied to the indentor
What is the most important criterion for an Indentor?
Its ability to provide indentations that are geometrically similar and well-defined