Design and usage of a simple miniature specimen test setup for the evaluation of mechanical properties

Abstract

This paper describes a method to evaluate the material properties using a miniature tensile specimen through a simple experimental setup. Conventional test methods for predicting mechanical properties require the removal of large material samples from the in-service component, which is generally impractical. Miniature specimens are designed and prepared such that they represent the original property of the structure/component from which they are taken out. Miniature sample holders are designed to hold the specimen with the help of a rigid pin. The elongation of the specimen under tensile load is measured with an extensometer. Finite element simulation of the test is also carried out and the results are compared with the experimental results. The entire experimental setup consisting of the specimen holder, loading pin, etc. can be gripped in any suitable testing machine, such as MTS, Instron, etc.; testing using the setup can be done. The simplicity of the experimental setup in predicting the material properties of the unknown material using miniature specimen and finite element simulation is studied.