NBC2005 – Building Materials / Group 1

METALIC ELEMENTS
PRACTICAL REPORT

VICTORIA university
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THE TEAM

Matthew Raditsis—s4594869—matthew.raditsis@live.vu.edu.au
Ali Zoghaib—s4637670—ali.zoghaib@live.vu.edu.au
Aymon Sleiman— s4637467—aymon.sleiman@live.vu.edu.au
Hussein Alshanan—s4637596—hussein.alshanan@live.vu.edu.au
Moustafa Moustafa—s4637508—moustafa.moustafa@live.vu.edu.au
Sarah Hazim—s4637044—sarah.hazim@live.vu.edu.au

RECOGNITION

Authorship is by the following team on behalf of Victoria University, with

acknowledgement to unit ‘NBC2005 Building Materials’. With reference to documentation
and resources from lecture slides and tutorials.

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CONTENTS
Cover Page ........................................................................................................................ 1
Assignment Facing Sheet – The Team and Recognition ...................................................... 2
Contents ........................................................................................................................... 3
Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 5
Materials and Methodology .......................................................................................... 6-7
Results and Discussion ................................................................................................... 8-9
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 10
Reference ....................................................................................................................... 11
End Page ........................................................................................................................ 12

FIGURES
Figure 1 – Universal Testing Machine
Figure 2 – Universal Testing Machine with Rod
Figure 3 – Universal Testing machine Computer
Figure 4 – Aluminium and Brass Total Test Results
Figure 5 – Aluminium Test Results
Figure 6 – Brass Test Results

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ABSTRACT

The choice of materials for the construction

of a building and many other factors are
essential for the aesthetics and structural
capacities of the building. Steel is one of the
main features in many areas and is an
alternative to other materials in various
ways. Testing samples of metals that are
commonly used on-site to determine their
durability provides valuable information
that can help make decisions when such
metals are considered in a structure. One of
the most fundamental and highly popular
mechanical tests is a tensile test, also
known as a tension test. A tensile test
permits a pulling force on a material to
evaluate the specimen's response to the
stress. After performing a tensile test on a
material, it will demonstrate how durable
and extended a material is. We can learn a
lot about the particular material by doing a
tensile test. The material can be measured
while it is tugged to acquire a complete
profile of its tensile qualities. This data
shows a stress/strain curve when
implemented on a graph, demonstrating
how the material was reactive to the forced
application. The break or failure point is
quite interesting, while modular elasticity,
yield strength, and strain are additional
essential aspects. These tests aimed to
examine the reaction of these materials by
force. The following results allowed our
team to grasp the difference and purpose in
specific building materials during a project.

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INTRODUCTION

Steel consists mainly of iron and carbon, manganese and oxygen, sulphur, and silicone
residues of metal alloy. Steel has characteristics like durability, adaptability, and strength,
making it an excellent material for construction and construction projects. The building
industry consumes more than half the world's steel production. Depending on the use,
structural steel, steel panels, and galvanized sheets are available on the market. Steel is an
iron alloy with a bit of added carbon to strengthen the resistance to iron and fracture. Because
of its high strength and inexpensive cost, steel is used in building, infrastructure, tools, ships,
trains, automobiles, machinery, and electrical equipment. However, it exhibits more carbon
than desired when the iron is removed from its ore. In order to become stainless steel, it must
be treated to reduce the amount of carbon to the correct level to add other components. The
use of steel gives various benefits, making them viable alternatives to other materials such as
wood. Structural steel elements for structures are mainstream in the building industry. The
material's cost-effectiveness is an essential element in determining the use of the steel, as its
quick building with fewer employees and equipment may contribute to reduced labour costs.
In addition, the growth in the construction of steel has contributed to the reduction of
deforestation due to ecologically friendly construction wood procedures, which is of great
importance in the current construction sector.

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MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY
MATERIALS

The materials used throughout the practical report include Aluminium wire and Brass wire.
Aluminium is a commonly used material in the construction industry because of its properties
that are incredibly useful because of its use externally in roofs, walls, doors, and many other
ways. Aluminium itself is not a strong material but when it alloys with other materials it
becomes a valuable property when in use. Materials that can alloy with aluminium are copper,
zinc and many other properties. Finishes in aluminium can be made in any colour therefore is
a sought-out material, its other advantages include its eco-friendliness. The material is
reflective of heat and lighting, this makes it a very sustainable material as energy is saved and
thus leaves a better green star rating for the building that is constructed with the aluminium
material. Aluminium is a non-combustible material, allowing it to have many uses throughout
the construction industry. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc that has several uses in the
construction industry. Brass has several properties that makes it a widely used alloy in
construction, it is highly malleable and easy to cast, conducts heat well, does not suffer from
corrosion, shows low friction, and has an appealing bright gold colour. Its use in the
construction industry can include decoration because of its vibrant gold colour, places where
low friction is needed such as hinges and zippers, shaped into architectural material such as
sheets, tubes, rods and foil because of its high malleable factor. Being brittle resistant, brass
can be used in areas without being affected by sub-zero temperatures or the sun's UV rays.

ALUMINIUM BRASS

METHODOLOGY

The practical test was conducted on both aluminium wire and brass wire, both properties
were measured before the test at 100mm in length and 1mm in diameter. Tensile and yield
strength are being tested. Universal testing machine is testing the stresses on the specimens
to dictate the tensile strength which is to test how much force is applied before it breaks, and
yield strength is to test how much force is required for the material to wear down. The pull
force is applied by the clamps which pull the static metal until it breaks, once the metal is
broken then the results are successfully taken. Peak load and peak tension are recorded
throughout the test and placed into the results.

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 The following Steps detailed from the above description:
Step 1) Place the metal rod into the clamps of the universal tester machine.
Step 2) The universal testing machine should now begin to apply strain.
Step 3) Standby for maximum stress/strain, which results in the metal rods breaking or
bending.
Step 4) Observe and oversee the effects of strain on the rods
Step 5) Document results and report on findings.

Figure 2 – Universal Testing Machine with Rod

Figure 1 – Universal Testing Machine

Figure 1 is the Universal Tester machine. This is

the instrument which conducted the tests on
the metal rods. The result is being displayed on
the computer screen shown in figure 3.

Figure 3 – Universal Testing Machine computer

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RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The test was undertaken to calculate the modulus of electricity using ‘Young’s modulus’, the
stress and strain of the two metal rods as well as to undermine which material can handle the
most tension. The results, in this scenario indicate that the brass rod efficiently handles more
tension than aluminium. Aluminium is namely utilised for less structural things such as
window frames.

RESULTS

YOUNG’S FORMULAS

Aluminium: Brass:
Stress= Force/area Stress= Force/area
Area= Area= 3.14 × 3∧2= 28.26 mm2 Area=
Force= 4000 N/1000 = 4Kn Area= 3.14 × 3∧2= 28.26 mm2
Stress= 4÷28.26= 0.1415 Stress= Force/area
Strain= change in length ÷ original length Force= 2000N÷1000= 2KN
Strain= 20÷200= 0.1 Stress= 2÷28.26= 0.07KN/mm2
YM= stress ÷ strain Strain= change in length ÷ original length
YM= 0.1415÷0.1=1.415 KN/mm2 Strain= 30/200= 0.15mm
YM= stress ÷ strain
YM= 0.07÷0.15= 0.46KN/mm2

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 Figure 4 – Aluminium and Brass Total Test Results

Figure 5 – Aluminium Test Results Figure 6 – Brass Test Results

DISCUSSION

As shown in the results we can identify that brass took more time for it to reach breaking
point compared to aluminium. This states that brass would be able to withhold its structure
better than aluminium and withstand changes to its length when there is tension and pressure
to it. Using Young’s modulus formula, which is stress divided by strain, this determines how
easily an object is bent or stretched. As we can identify in the results, we can see that brass
had a higher modulus of elasticity being 0.46KN/mm2 compared to aluminium which was
1.415 KN/mm2 this showing brass has a longer breaking point and is a stronger material. This
is important in the construction field as it can withstand high pressure keeping it secure. The
aluminium also suffered a larger bend than the brass which can be a problem in building
structures.

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CONCLUSION

It is clear that steel is one of the most known

materials used in the construction industry
today. Summarising this experiment, it can
be concluded that the performance of
metals cannot be accepted unless the
properties are understood, as alloys can
incorporate various mixtures and
depending on the metals, each one is
distinct and can perform better in different
applications. With evidence, the brass
performed better and more efficient than
the aluminium and had better tensile
properties. On the construction site, before
the selection of metals, we must be familiar
with the metals, this should mean that we
need to priorities the structural properties
and its application, followed by personal
preferences from the owner such as
economics and aesthetics.

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REFERENCE – HARVARD

Chi-Chang, P. and Swenson, A. construction | History, Types, Examples, & Facts.

[online] 10/06/21 Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/construction#ref59309

Designingbuildings.co.uk. Aluminium - Designing Buildings Wiki. [online] 10/06/21 Available

at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Aluminium

Madehow.com. (n.d.). How brass is made - material, history, used, dimensions,composition,

structure, steps, product, industry. [online] 10/06/21 Available
at:http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Brass.html

Aluminium, A. a., 2015.

https://aluminiumleader.com/about_aluminium/what_is_aluminum/. [Online] 10/06/21
Available at: https://aluminiumleader.com/about_aluminium/what_is_aluminum.

Anon., n.d. Paradise Timbers P/L Moulding Specialists. [Online] 10/06/21 Available at:
https://www.paradise-timbers.com.au/tasmanian-oak.html.

Anon., n.d. Steel Material Properties. [Online] 10/06/21 Available at:

https://www.steelconstruction.info/Steel_material_properties.

Anon., n.d. Young's Modulus. [Online] 10/06/21Available at:

https://www.britannica.com/science/Youngs-modulus.

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