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<*      McGILL  UNIVERSITY 


PAPERS  FROM  THE  DEPARTMENT 


ENGINEERING. 


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— ON  THE   EFFECT  OF  TIME  AND  TEMPERATURE  ON 
THE  STRENGTH  OF  STEEL  AND   IRON. 


BY 


ERNEST  G.  COKER,  D.Sc. 


[Reprinted  from  the  Trans,  of  the  Canadian  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers, 
Vol.  xv,  Part  I,  Paper  No.  158.] 


MONTREAL,  1902. 


W^r*X 


I,1 


ON  THE  EFFECT  OF  TIME  AND  TEMPERATURE  ON  THE 
STRENGTH  OF  STEEL  AND  IRON. 


BY  ERNEST  GEO.  COKE#  B.A.   (CANTAB.),  D.Sc. 
Assistant  Prof,  of  Civil  Engineering,  McGill  University,  Montreal. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  behaviour  of  iron  and  steel  under  simple  stresses  of  various 
kinds  has  long  been  a  subject  of  investigation  by  the  Engineer. 
and  very  complete  data  are  available  for  use  in  designing  structures 
in  metal. 

When  iron  or  steel  is  subjected  to  tensional  stress  sufficient  to 
cause  a  permanent  stretch  in  the  material,  it  is  well  known  that 
the  ductility  of  the  material  is  reduced,  and  that  ultimately  the 
elastic  limit  rises. 

As  a  first  consequence,  however,  the  elastic  limit  is  first  of  all 
lowered,  in  some  cases  to  zero,  but  if  the  bar  be  left  to  itself  the 
elastic  limit  ultimately  rises  to  a  higher  value  than  before. 

In  the  laslt  few  years  the  phenomenon  has  received  considerable  at- 
tention at  the  hands  of  Bauschinger*,  Ewing|  and  MuirJ. 

The  present  paper  relates  to  a  few  experiments,  which  have  been 
made  in  the  Testing  Laboratory,  McGill  University,  following  the 
lines  indicated  by  the  authorities  mentioned  above. 

I.  MEASUREMENT  OF  SMALL  STRAINS. 

The  measurement  of  the  change  in  length  of  a  bar,  by  such  a 
small  quantity  as  1/50,000  inches  has  been  rendered  comparatively 


*  Unwin's  Testing  of  materials  of  construction. 

t  Ewing  "On  the  measurement  of  small  strains  in  the  Testing  of  materials  and  Struc 
tures"  Proc.  R.  S    1895. 
j  Muir  "On  the  recovery  of  Iron  from  overstrain."    Phil  Trans  1899. 


easy  by  aid  of  extensioaneters  devised  by  Bauschinger,  Unwin  and 
Ewing.  The  instrument  mainly  used  in  these  experiments  was  one 
constructed  after  Professor  Swing's  design,  and  has  several  novel 
features.  It  is,  moreover,  especially  adapted  for  work  where  several 
settings  o-f  the  instrument  are  necessary. 

II.  EWING  EXTENSOMETER. 

The  instrument  is  shown  in  Fig  1,  mounted  upoin  a  test  piece,  and 
consists  of  two  clips,  A  and  B,  fixed  upon  the  bar  at  a  standard  dis- 
tance apart  by  set  screws  C,  D.  Upon  the  upper  clip  A,  are  two  pins 
E,  P.,  upon  which  latter  the  frame  G-  is  mounted.  The  frame  carries 
a  reading  misoros'cope  H,  and  a  micrometer  screw  I;  this  latter  gears 
with  a  conical  hole  in  the  lower  clip  B,  and  is  kept  in  engagement 
by  a  spring.  The  reading  microscope  is  sighted  upom  a  thick  wire 
mounted  horizontally  in  a  plate,  J  and  illuminated  from*  behind  by 
a  small  mirror. 


Hg    I 


The  clips  are  made  of  gun-metal,  and  are  formed  so  as  to-  give  slight- 
ly  when  the  set  screws  engage  the  test  piece,  and  thereby  if  a  slight 
diminution  of  section  occurs  in  the  bar,  while  the  test  is  proceeding, 
the  screws  do  not  become  slack,  and  one  sourse  of  error  is  thereby 
avoided. 

The  clips  A  and  B  are  each  centred  upon  the  bar,  and  each  has 
one  degree  of  freedom  with  respect  to  it,  viz.,  that  of  rotation,  about 
their  respective  set-screws,  and  by  causing  the  micrometer  screw 
I  to  gear  with  the  lower  clip,  both  degrees  of  freedom  are  removed 
and  the  apparatus  becomes  a  rigid  whole. 

In  setting  a  flat  tension  barf  in  the  jaws  of  a  testing  machine,  it 
is  difficult  to  avoid  giving  it  a  slight  twist,  but  by  pivoting  the  frame 
G  upon  the  upper  clip  in  a  transverse  direction,  a  slight  twist 
will  not  cause  error  in  the  readings. 

The  micrometer  screw  and  observation  wire  are  set  equidistant 
from  the  set  screws  D  upon  the  clip  B,  so  that  thei  wire  can  be 
moved  up  or  down  by  turning  the  micrometer  screw,  and  this  move- 
ment is  measured  by  reference  to  a  glass  scale  in  thei  eye  piece  of 
the  reading  microscope. 

In  this  manner  the  scale  is  calibrated  by  reference  to  the:  micro- 
meter screw,  which  latter  has  50  threads  to  the  inch,  and  the  scale 
is  so  arranged  that  a  movement  of  the  wire  through  1-50  inch  cor- 
responds to  a  reading  of  50  scale  divisions.  In  actual  woirking  since 
the  micrometer  screw  engages  the  clip  B,  any  extension  between  the 
set  screws  will  cause  the  relative  movement  between  the  reading 
microscope  and  the  wire  to  be  doubled,  so  that  the  value  of  one 
scale  division  =1-2  x  1-00  x  1-50  —  1-5,000  inch,  and  as  1-10 
division  can  be  estimated,  a  reading  of  1-50,000  on  an  8  inch  length 
can  be  measured. 

The  chief  advantage  of  the  instrument  is  that  it  can.  be  calibrated 
in  position,  that  the  reading  is  a  mean  of  two  sides  of  the  bar, 
and  that  it  can  be  quickly  and  accurately  set  on  the  specimen. 

In  order  to  set  the  clip  accurately  upon  the  specimen  a  distance 
piece  is  provided,  having  V  shaped  recesses  to  receive  corresponding 
studs  on  the  clips,  and  clamps  to  hold  the  clips  in  place,  until  these 
latter  are  set  on  the  bar. 

The  apparatus  for  applying  tensional  stress  was  a  single  lever 
Wicks-tead  testing  machine,  which  was  capable  of  exerting  a  pull 
of  200,000  pounds.  As  the  stresses  used  were  comparatively  small, 
the  weigh  lever  was)  mounted  to  cause  the  jockey  weight  to  travel 
the  whole  length  of  the  weighbeam  for  a  range  of  50,000  pounds, 
and  so  render  the  measurement  of  applied  stress  as  accurate  as 
possible. 

III.— RECOVERY  OF  STEEL  FROM  TENSIONAL,  OVERSTRAIN. 

When  a  bar  of  iron  or  siteel  is  subjected  to  a  tensional   stresfc 

sufficient  to  oause  a  permanent  stretch  in  the  material,  the  physical 

3 


character  of  the  bar  changes,  and  it  becomes  semi-plastic,  while  its 
elastic  limit  generally  reduces  to  zero,  followed  by  recovery,  wnich 
is  comparatively  rapid!  in  the  case  of  wrought  iron,  but  less  so  in 
the  case  of  steel. 

As  an  example  of  this,  the  case  of  a  mild  steel  bar  may  be  taken. 
This  bar,  and  others  referred  to  later,  were  cut  from  a  piece  of 
boiler  plate,  and  afterwards-  straightened  and  annealed.  The  bars 
were  machined  to  a  breadth  of  2.07  inches,  and  the  thickness  was 
Iteft  untouched,  the  mean  thickness  in  the  present  case  being  0.377 
inches,  and  the  length  under  test  8  inches. 

The  Extensometer  used  was  of  the  EWing  type,  ome  division  cor- 
responding to  1-50,000  inches. 

A  test  was)  first  made  to  give  the  bar  a  permanent  stretch,  with 
the  following  results:  — 


LOADS  IN  LBS. 

READING  OF 
EXTENSOMETER. 

DIFFERENCE. 

0 

400 

—35 

2,000 

435 

—35 

4,000 

470 

—34 

6,000 

505 

—35 

8,000 

539 

—34 

10   0 

573 

—35 

12,000 

608 

—35 

14,000 

643 

—36 

16,000 

679 

—36 

LS,000 

715 

—38 

20,000 

753 

23,000 

Went  off  scale. 

Extended 

length. 

24,000 

8.10  inches. 

24,500 

8.12    ' 

25,000 

8.14    < 

26,000 

8.15    ' 

16,500 

8.L>5  ' 

27  000 

8.165  < 

0 

8.15    < 

The  measuring  instrument  was  immediately  re-set  to  the  standard 
distance  of  8  inches,  and  a  re-test  was  made,  rising  by  increments 
of  2,000  pounds  to  24,000  pounds,  and  then  to  zero  again  by  decre- 
ments of  2,000  pounds.  The  following  results  were  obtained: — 

4 


LOAD  IN  POUNDS. 

READING  OF 

EXTENSOMETER. 

DIFFERENCE. 

0 

400 

—35 

2,000 

435 

—34 

4,000 

469 

—37 

6,000 

506 

—37 

8,000 

543 

-37 

10,000 

580 

—42 

12,000 

622 

—42 

14,000- 

662 

—42 

16,000 

704 

—40 

18,000 

744 

-54 

20,000 

798 

—48 

22,000 

846 

—51 

24,000 

897 

—35 

22,000 

8i2 

—35 

20,000 

827 

-37 

18,000 

790 

—42 

16,000 

7^8 

—39 

14,000 

709 

—40 

12,000 

669 

—40 

10,000 

629 

-41 

8,000 

588 

-42 

6,000 

546 

—42 

4,000 

504 

—  44 

2,000 

460 

—45 

0 

415 

A  comparison  of  the  readings  obtained  at  once  shows  how  differ- 
ently the  bar  behaves  after  the  tensile  overetrain.  There  is  now 
no  linear  relation  between  the  stress  and  the  strain,  but  Itlie  latter 

5 


rises  irregularly  as  the  stress  increases;  the  differences  are  irregular 
and  do  not  agree  except  accidentally  with  thie  differences  obtained 
as  the  load  is  removed. 

The  bar  was  now  laid  on  one  side,  and  a  gradual  recovery  of  its 
elastic  properties  took  place,  which  was  shown  by  thei  approach  to 
the  first  readings  made.  At  the  end  of  three  hoiurs  there  was  a 
marked  recovery,  and  the  following  reading®  were  taken:  — 


Load,  Ibs. 

Beading. 

Difference  . 

0 

400 

—34 

2,000 

434 

—34 

4,000 

468 

—37 

6,000 

505 

—37 

8,000 

542 

—38 

10,000 

580 

—39 

12,000 

619 

—41 

14,000 

660 

—40 

16,000 

700 

—42 

18,000 

742 

—45 

20,000 

787 

—42 

22,000 

829 

—46 

24,000 

875 

—34 

22,000 

841 

—35 

20,000 

800 

—37 

18,000 

769 

—38 

16,000 

731 

—38 

14,000 

693 

09 

12,000 

654 

—41 

10,000 

613 

—40 

8,000 

573 

—41 

6,000 

532 

—43 

4,000 

489 

—43 

2,000 

446 

—44 

0 

402 

The  tests  of  the  bar  were  repeated  at  the  end  of  one  day,  3  days, 
7  days  and  28  days,  and  these  showed  a  further  recovery,  whose 
rate  diminished  with  the  time,  but  at  the  end  of  the  month  the 
recovery  was  practically  complete.  The  readings  obtained  are  shown 
in  the  annexed  table:  — 


LOAD  LBS. 

1  DAY  AFTER. 

3  DAYS  AFTER. 

7  DAYS  AFTEB. 

'28  DAYS  AFTEB. 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

0 
2.000 

400 
434     £? 

40') 
434 

400 
434 

400     oo 
433    "g 

4.000 

469      ... 

469    "S 

468     •*[ 

467     "^* 

6.000 

504    ~™ 

504    "22 

503    ~^J 

500    "OR 

8.000 

539    "r° 

539    "5J 

538    ~^ 

535     o? 

10.000 

576    "SA 

574    ~!^ 

574    *g 

570     S 

I2.oeo 

14.000 
16.000 

614 

654   Jy 

695 

en   ~j: 

648    "JJ 

685 

609    -g 
646 

684 

605 
640 
676 

18.000 

736    ~4J 

TOK        ~4" 

(ZO       ,„ 

722    "2 

712      ? 

20.000 

779   ~rl 

7«r     -40 
A  •) 

761 

747 

22.000 

822    ~4^ 

807 

802 

783     Xj 

24.000 

867    ~4£ 

851     ~44 

847 

818     S 

22.000 

832    "g 

817     yf 

813   ~:J* 

784     oj 

20.000 
18.000 
16.000 
14.000 

797    ~;j? 
762    -* 

724 
686 

782    -^ 
746 
710    ~:^ 
672 

779    ~34 

34. 

745 
709    -*J 

672    ~^ 

750     JJ 
715 
680     o? 
645    "g 

12.000 

648 

634    ~^ 

635 

611    -?4 

10.000 

607 

596 

596    "g 

576    "S 

8.000 

566 

556    ~4" 

558    ~'S 

540    "2 

6.000 

525    ~*i 

517    "5J 

519 

505     « 

4.000 
2.000 
0 

483 
441 
398 

478 
438    -4" 
397 

481    ~S 
443    2 
402 

470    "iJ 
435 
399 

In  order  to  exhibit  the  changes  in  a  manner  which  shows  the 
recovery  in  a  striking  manner,  the  results  were  plotted  in  Fig.  2 
after  the  manner  first  suggested  by  Ptrof.  Swing.*  A  number  pro- 
portional to  the  load  was  subtracted  from  each  reading,  and  the 
new  reading  obtained  was  plotted  instead;  this  accentuates  the 
differences,  and  as  each  curve  is  plotted  from  a  different  initial 
point,  the  recovery  is  exhibited  in  a  form  which  can  be  readily  fol- 
lowed by  the  eye.  In  the  present  instance  25  divisions  were  sub- 
tracted for  each  increment  of  2,000  pounds. 

Referring  to  the  diagram,  curve  I.  denotes  the  original  stress 
strain  curve,  only  part  of  which  is  shown,  as  the  total  exension 
Table  I.  is  8,250  divisions  at  a  load  of  27,000  pounds.  Curve  II. 
and  the  succeeding  curves  show  the  result  of  the  overstrain.  The 
stress-strain  curve  becomes  a  loop,  and  the  area  enclosed  is  a 

#Muir  on  the  Recorery  of  Iron  from  Overstrain .     Phi].  Trans. ,  1899. 


2.EOOO 


Z400C 


2CCOG 


I600C- 


Fig.  2 


I-  Original  Stress  Strain  Curve 
E-  Immediately  afterwards 

-  3  hours  afterwards. 
TSL- 1  day  afterwards. 
Y  -3  days  afterwards, 
afterwards. 
W-28  days 


ISO  200 

v     »    s     s     o     N      s 
sure  of  the  work  done  on  the  bar  by  the  loading  and  unloading,  and 
therefore  is  a  measure  of  the  imperfectness  of  the  elasticity. 

The  rest  caused  a  gradual  recovery  of  the  metal,  and  showed  itself 
in  the  gradual  diminuition  of  the  enclosed  area  until  at  the  end!  of 
28  days  the  recovery  was  very  nearly  but  not  quite  perfect. 

SHEAR  STRAIN. 

The  recovery  of  iron  and  steel  from  shear  strain  appears  to  follow 
the  same  general  law  as  for  tension.  It  will  'be  sufficient  to  quote 
the  case  of  a  turned  specimen  of  wrought  irom,  having  a  diameter 
of  .0446  inch,  and  length  under  test  of  4.00  inches.  The  specimen 
was  subjected  to  shear  by  a  twisting  couple,  and  the  distortion  be- 
tween the  sections  was  measured  by  a  strain  measuring  instrument 
of  special  design.*  The  bar  was  first  subjected  to  torque  of  gradually 
increasing  amount  until  the  elastic  limit  was  passed.  The  readings 
obtained  were  as  follows,  the  calibration  of  the  instrument  being 
sucTi  that  12.8  divisions  corresponded  to  1  minute  of  arc. 

*Coker  ««  on  Instruments  for  Measuring  Small  Torsional  Straics."   Phil.  Mag.,  1899 

8 


Torque 
inch  Ibs. 

Reading  .               Diff  . 

Torque 
inch  Ibs. 

Reading.             Diff. 

0 

0 

—302 

75 

302 

1489 

—303 

3(30 

—81 

150 

605 

1568 

—303 

375 

—79 

225 

908 

1666 

—304 

390 

—98 

.  00 

1212 

1808 

—63 

495 

—142 

315 

1275 

2038 

—64 

420 

—230 

330 

1339 

2548 

—69  I        435 

—510 

345 

1408 

Specimen  twisted 

—81 

450 

through. 

360 

1489 

40 

Immediately  after  (the  load  was  released  and  a  new  series  of  read- 
ings obtained,  the  maximum  torque  applied  being  375  inch  pounds,  and 
similar  observations  were  recorded  at  the  end  of  one  hour,  3  hours, 
1  day,  4  days  and  8  days,  the  last  experiment  showing  practically 
complete  recovery. 

The  readings  were  as  follows:  — 


Torque 

Immediately 

One  hour 

ihree  hours 

One  day 

*  our  days 

Eight  days 

inch 

after 

a  ter 

after 

after 

after 

after 

Ibs. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Read- 

Read- 

Read- 

Head- 

Read- 

Read- 

in?.    A 

ing.    A 

ing.    A 

ing.    A 

T'g.   A 

ing.   A 

0 

0 

0         0 

0 

0 

0 

-305 

—304 

—301 

—301 

301 

—302 

75 

305 

304 

301 

301 

301 

302 

—324 

—306 

—303 

—302 

303 

—303 

150 

629 

610 

604 

603 

604 

605 

—324 

—312 

—307 

—305 

304 

—304 

225 

953 

922 

911 

903 

908 

909 

—339 

—319 

—317 

—314 

307 

—303 

300 

1292 

1241 

1228 

1222 

1215 

1212 

-361 

—349 

—322 

—316 

310 

—305 

375 

1653 

1590 

1550 

1546 

1525 

1517 

-^3  3j    -301 

—301 

—302 

302 

—301 

300 

1350 

1289 

1249 

1244 

1223 

1216 

—305 

—307 

—304 

—303 

303 

—302 

225 

1045 

982 

945 

941 

920 

14 

—315 

—312 

—  109     —307 

306 

303 

150 

730 

70 

636 

634 

614 

611 

—325 

—324 

—316 

—314 

307 

304 

75 

405 

346 

320 

320 

307 

307 

—338 

—332 

321 

319 

308 

306 

0 

67 

14 

I 

+1 

1 

1 

The  readings  obtained  are  given  in  the  above  table,  and  are 
plotlted  on  Fig.  3,  after  deducting  275  divisions  for  each  increment 
or  decrement  of  75  inch  pounds  of  torque.  The  rapid  recovery  of 
wrought  iron  is  well  shown  by  the  looped  stress-strain  curves  II. 
to  VII,  and  the  rapid  diminution  off  hysteresis  in  one  hour  after 
the  overstrain  is  very  marked. 


Fig.  3 


I  -  Original  Stress  Strain  Curve 

II  -  Immediately  afterwards. 
Ill-  /  hour  affer  I. 

IV  -  3  hours  after  I. 
-  I  day  affer  I. 
affer  I. 
VH  -  8  days   affer  I. 


100  200  300  400  500  600 

DIVISIONS  OF  ARC 

of  instrument  -  I  minute    of  arc   -  12-35  divisions) 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  TEMPERATURE  UPON  THE  RECOVERY 
FROM  OVERSTRAIN. 

It  is  well  known  that  if  a  bar  of  iron  or  steel  be  stressed  beyond 
the  elastic  limit  in  tension,  it  will  regain  its  elastic  properties  if 
raised  to  a  dull  red  heat  and  allowed  to  cool  slowly  in  air  or  in 
lime,  and  this  process  may  be  repeated  again  and  again  without 

10 


Fig.  4 


I -Initial  Stress   Strain  Curve 

ARer  boiling  in  water  for  10 minutes 
ID- .......  Second  boiling  in  inter  for  10  minutes 

BT .......  Hun/ » ...« 

Y .._...  fourth _ 

firth 


600  800  1000  1200  1400 


1         V        I         S         I        O        N 


(€00 


11 


seriously  affecting  the  physical  properties  of  the  bar.  Recently  our 
knowledge  of  annealing  has  been  greatly  increased  by  the  discovery 
of  Muir*  acting  on  a  suggestion  of  Prof.  Ewinig,  that  a  compara- 
tively low  temperature,  such  as  that  of  boiling  water  wild  restore  a 
strained  bar  to  its  elastic  condition.  As  an  example  of  this  a  test 
made  in  -the  McGill  Laboratory  shows  the  effect  of  boiling  water 
upon  an  overstrained  bar.  The  specimen  was  a  flat  'bar  of 
boiler  plate,  width  2.07  inches,  thickness  0.375  inch,  and  length 
under  test  8.00  inches.  This  specimen  was  similar  to  the  one  used 
in  the  first  experiment,  and  was  annealed  at  the  same  time.  The 
Mstory  of  the  bar  is  shown  by  aid  of  figure  IV.,  in  which  Curve  I. 
shows  the  relation  of  stress  to  strain  when  the  bar  was  subjected 
to  a  gradually  increasing  stress.  The  first  notable  deviation  from 
perfect  elasticity  began  w.hen  a  total  stress  of  20,000  was  applied, 
and  a-ta  25,000  the  extension  amounted  to  8.13  inches,  an  increase  of 
stress  to  27,000  pounds,  caused  a  further  extension  to  8.15  inches. 
The  load  was  then  removed,  and  the  bar  was  exposed  for  10  minutes 
to  the  temperature  of  'boiling  water  and  again  re-tested.  Curve  II. 
shows  the  resulting  stress-strain  curve,  with  a  yield  point  at  about 
31,000  pounds,  considerably  above  the  first.  The  boiling  was  re- 
peajted  in  the  same  manner,  and  a  new  yield  point  (Curve  III.)  was 
obtained  at  36,500  pounds,  while  further  tests  after  annealing  in 
boiling  water  gave  new  yield  points  at  41,500,  45,600  and  finality 
48,100,  when  the  bar  broke,  with  a  total  extension  of  about  15 
per  cent.  This  extension  is  less  by  about  6  per  cent,  than  would 
have  been  obtained  if  the  bar  had  been  stressed  to  breaking  with- 
out any  intermediate  treatment.  Even  a  temperature  of  50  degrees  C, 
effects  a  considerable  physical  change  in  a  bar  of  overstrained  ma- 
terial, restoring  its  elasticity  and  raising  the  yield  point. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  TEMPERATURE  ON  OVERSTRAIN  PRODUCED 

BY  SHEAR. 

The  annealing  effect  of  boiling  water  is  equally  marked  upon 
material  overstrained  by  shear.  As  an  example,  a  test  was  made 
upon  a  turned  steel  bar  of  0.425  inch  diameter,  and  having  a  length 
of  4  inches  under  test.  On  each  occasion  the  stress  was  carried 
well  beyond  the  yield  point,  and  was  followed  by  immersion  in 
boiling  water  for  10  minutes.  The  curves  obtained  are  plotted  in 
Fig.  5,  the  unit  of  strain  being  such  that  12.85  units  correspond 
to  an  angular  distortion  of  1  minute  of  arc.  Curve  I.  shows  the 
initial  stress-strain  curve,  and  curve  II.  represents  the  behaviour  of 
the  bar  after  10  minutes'  immersion  in  water  at  100  degrees:  C. 
The  remaining  curves  III.  to  IX.  show  the  relation  of  stress  to 

*  Muirloc.  cit. 

12 


1200 


»050 


900 


750 


U 

Z 

-     600 


-u     450 

» 

car 
a 

o     300! 

I- 


150 


L 


7" 


200  400  600  800  100  1200 

DIVISIONS 

1 12  85      Divisions      =•        I     minufe) 


1400 


1600 


strain  after  each  subsequent  annealing  in  boiling  water.  After 
each  stress  and  subsequent  heating,  the  recovery  was  practi- 
cally complete,  and  the  yield  point  rose  after  each  annealing.  At 
the  end  of  9  separate  twists  the  bar  exhibited  no  change  externally. 
A  test  of  a  steel  bar  was  also  carried  out  for  me  by  Messrs. 
Elanchard,  Clement  and  G-agnon,  Fourth  Year  students  in  the  Civil 
Engineering  Department.  A  turned  steel  bar  of  similar  quality  to 
the  previous  one  was  chosen,  having  a  diameter  of  0.757  inch,  and 
a  length  under  Itest  of  8.00  inches.  The  strain  measuring  instru- 
ment was  a  simple  graduated  circle  divided  to  15  minutes,  and 
readings  could  be  estimated  to  1  minute  of  arc.  Each  separate  appli- 
cation of  twisting  moment  was  carried  beyond  the  yield  point, 

13 


and  was  followed  by  immersion  in  water  at  50  degrees  C.  for  15 
minutes.  Even'  this  low  temperature  was  sufficient  to  cause  a  very 
effective  recovery  to  the  elastic  condition,  the  recovery  being  in 
all  cases  accompanied  by  a  rise  in  the  yield  point.  The  data  ob- 

Fig.  6 


O"  4  8*  12*  l«f  V?  Ut  Z? 

tained  are  exhibited  in  Fig.  6,  and  the  history  of  the  treatment  of 
the  bar  is  told  by  the  curves  marked  I.  to  XV.,  I.  being  the  initial  and 
XV.  the  final  curve  of  the  series.  Even  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
twist,  when  the  total  permanent  twist  had  reached  .270  degrees,  there 
seemed  no  probability  of  the  bar  fracturing. 

The  remarkable  effect  of  a  slight  increase  in  temperature  in  re- 
storing an  overstrained  bar  to  approximately  its  primitive  condition 
may  ultimately  prove  to  be  of  considerable  practical  importance, 
as  it  affoirds  a  means  of  annealing,  which,  although  not  as  perfect 
as  that  accomplished  by  the  blacksmith,  has  the  advantage  that 
polished  surfaces  of  iron  and  steel  retain  their  polish  and  are  not 
distorted  by  the  process.  In  bridge  structures  and  the  like,  exposed 
to  repeated  stresses  and  corresponding  fatigue  of  the  metal,  the 
suggestion  that  this  fatigue  may  be  partially  counterbalanced  by 
the  heat  of  a  summer's  day  may  not  be  so  improbable  as  it  at 
first  sight  seems  to  be. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  LOW  TEMPERATURE!  UPON  THE 
RECOVERY  FROM  OVERSTRAIN. 

It  is  interesting  to  determine  what  action  low  temperature,  such 
as  that  afforded  by  a  Canadian  winter,  has  upon  the  behaviour  of 
steel  after  overstrain,  and  in  order  to  contrast  this  with  recovery  at 


the  temperature  of  the  Laboratory,  viz.,  about  68  degrees  Fahr.,  a 
specimen  was  taken  similar  to  the  one  described  with,  reference 
to  Fig.  II.  and  the  accompanying  tables.  The  bar  was  2.07  inches 
in  breadth,  and  had  a  mean  thickness  of  0.378  inch,  the  length 
under  test  being  as  before,  8  inches.  The  specimen  was  first  per- 
manently stretched  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  in.  the  previous 
case,  and  a  comparison  of  the  appended  table  with  that  on  page  4 
shows  a  very  close  agreement. 

December  15th,  1900. 


Load, 
pounds. 

Reading. 

A 

0 

400 

-  34 

2,000 

434 

-36 

4,000 

470 

—36 

6,000 

506 

—35 

8,000 

541 

—33 

10,000 

574 

—34 

12,000 

608 

—34 

14,000 

642 

—35 

16,000 

677 

-34 

18,000 

711 

—33 

20?000 

744 

—42 

22,000 

786 

—82 

24,000 

868 

26.000 

8.08" 

27,000 

8.12" 

27,500 

8.16" 

0 

b.155" 

The  specimen  was  then  exposed  to  the  outside  temperature  for 
3  days,  during  which  the  temperature  varied  from  a  minimum  of  — 2.5 
degrees  Fahr.  to  a  maximum  of  11.2  degrees  Fahr.,  ami  it  was  then 
subjected  to  a  cycle  of  stress  ranging  from  zero  to  24,000  pounds. 
The  results  are  recorded  in  Fig.  VII.,  Curve  I.,  and  a  comparison 
with  Fig.  II  shows  it  to  have  a  fair  agreement  with  Curve  III.  ol 
that  figure.  The  bar  was  again  exposed  to  the  outside  temperature, 
which  had  a  mean  value  during  the  nexft  four  days  of  18.52  degrees 
Fahr.,  a  minimum  value  of  — 2.5  Fahr.,  and  a  maximum  value  of  31.72 

15 


Fig.  7 


29000 


250 


50  100  150  200 

SCALE  DIVISIONS 

degrees  Fahr.  A  second  test,  on  December  18th,  showed1  very 
little  change  in  the  condition  of  the  bar,  as  will  be  seen  by  com- 
paring the  figures  in  Table  III.  with  those  previously  obtained, 
and  the  bar  was  therefore  given  a  long  rest  through  the  re- 
mainder of  December  and  the  whole  of  January.  The  mean  tem- 
perature for  the  remaining  days  of  December  was  25.64  degrees 
Fahr.,  the  highest  39  degrees  Fahr.,  and  lowest  0.6  degree 

16 


Fahr.  During  January  the  mean  temperature  was  12.75  degrees 
Fahr.,  the  lowest  temperature  recorded  being  — 16.7  degrees  Fahr., 
and  the  highest  39.6  degrees  Fahr.  The  bar  was  tested  again  on 
February  1st,  see  Table  III.  and  Curve  III.,  Fig.  VII.,  and,  as  will  be 
seen,  it  exhibited  some  slight  indications  of  recovery,  but  very  small 
in  comparison  with  the  recovery  which  would 'have  been  effected  by 
the  ordinary  indoor  temperature.  A  final  test  was  made  on  Fe-b.  26th, 
the  mean  temperature  during  the  interval  being  12.46  degrees  Fahr., 
with  a  minimum  of  — 4.0  degrees  Fahr.,  and  a  maximum  of  28.4  de- 
grees Fahr.  The  recovery  during  this  period  was  practically  nil.  It  ap- 
pears, therefore,  that  low  temperatures  tend  to  retard  the  recovery 
of  steel,  which  has  been  subjected  to  overstrain  in  quite  a  marked 
degree. 

TABLE  III. 


LOAD  LBS. 

DEC.  18,  1900. 
I. 

DEC.  22ND. 

11. 

FEB'YIST. 
III. 

FEB'Y  26TH. 
IV. 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

Reading.    A 

0 

400      o. 

400    _u 

400 

400 

2,000 

434     X7 

4.)  4             qq 

432     -11 

431     ~H 

4,000 

469     22 

467     £ 

464     ~*t 

463   -;" 

6.000 

502    ~f£ 

502    ~q7 

498    ~™ 

496    "g 

8,000 

538    _™ 

536    ""JJ 

531 

530    "J* 

10,000 
12,000 

611    "I** 

571     SJ2 

607    3° 

562    ~3J 
599    "'H 

564    "tj 
598    ~?J 

14,000 

648    "ii 

645 

633    ~t* 

633     a! 

16,000 

685    3< 

683    -;j° 

670 

671    •** 

18,000 

724 

722    -JJ 

708    3* 

706    ~S 

20,000 

763 

762    ~f 

746 

744    ~q® 

22,000 

805     44 

804     :« 

785 

783 

24,000 

849    -44 

847    j£ 

828    "|f 

825    "SJ 

22,000 

816 

815    ~QO 

797    •«* 

794    -** 

20,000 

782    -?£ 

783 

765    -^ 

762    "g 

18,000 

749 

750    -£ 

733    -g 

729     „ 

16,000 

713    *JJ 

716    "g 

699    -f* 

696               qq 

14,000 

679    "5| 

682     ^ 

667    ~»J 

663             qj 

12,000 

642    "Si 

646 

632    "^ 

629          ~qV 

10,000 

605     £' 

608    ~^ 

599 

594     '2 

8,000 

567    "2 

573     g 

561     -g 

558     ^ 

6,000 

529    -;£ 

535     ," 

527 

522    "^ 

4,000 

491    3° 

496 

491    ~f 

475    "2f 

2,000 
0 

453     OQ 
414 

456 
412 

454    "J* 

413 

440     q? 
403 

In  conclusion,  the  author  desires  to  thank  Professor  Bovey,  Past- 
President  of  the  Institution,  who  placed  the  Testing  Laboratory  of 
McGill  University  at  his  disposal;  Prof.  McLeod,  Secretary  of  the 
Society,  who  kindly  supplied  the  information  regarding  the  tempera- 
ture variations  from  the  McGil  Observatory  records,  and  Messrs. 
Blanchard.  Clement  and  Gagnon.  who  made  all  the  observations  re- 
corded on  Fig.  6. 

17 


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