Laboratory Analysis on Strength of Aluminum and Steel
Laboratory Analysis on Strength of Aluminum and Steel
Summary:
Aluminum and steel were tested over three different temperature readings. One of each sample was put into an oven at about 245°F, a bath of ice water and finally in dry ice at about -30°F. After the metal sample’s temperature was changed by exposure to each external stimulus, we proceeded to break each sample. The Impact Test Machine was used to break the steel sample. The CIM-24 was used to break the aluminum sample.
Procedure:
The pendulum was raised up to the top position just prior to doing the test. After the sample was exposed to the different stimulus for about 15 minutes, the samples were placed into the machine. When the arm was released, the specimen was broken and the amount of force was determined from the equation:
Absorbed Energy in Ft. Lbs. = 11.85 + 12.03 * COS (è)
where è is the observed angle on the dial.
Error analysis:
The cause of errors could have been from human error or faulty equipment. Human error could have been a factor when the steel was being placed into the machine, when the machine was being set-up, or when the data was being read off of the machine. The faulty equipment could be if any tools we used in this machine were not calibrated.
Conclusions:
The experiment involved taking two different kinds of metals and showing through data and graphical analysis, a useful temperature range for both metals. In this experiment however, only one sample of each metal was exposed to each different temperature, due to the lack of time, yielding inaccurate results. With the lack of collected data, the tabulated data and graphical analysis can only show the limited results.