Document ID: APP-E517
Public Compliance Release

ASTM E517 Test Guide: Testing for Metals

Architecture
NEWTON™ 32-BIT

Application Details

Standard:
ASTM E517
Material Type:
Metals
Specimen Type:
Test Type:
Formability
Industry:
Automotive
Mechanicaltest.org | Applications

The Challenge Gap

Microscopic localized necking and knife-edge indentation from biaxial extensometers introduce uncompensated strain measurement imbalances, severely distorting the computed width-to-length strain slope.

The Solution

Deploy a high-resolution, synchronous axial-transverse extensometer or a non-contact video extensometer array paired with parallel-action pneumatic side grips.

Insight

Ensure the specimen edges are polished completely free of blanking burrs; even minor edge roughness skews the transverse width extensometer reading.

Required Test Equipment for ASTM E517

Software

Driven by the Newton N-E517 software module to calculate the plastic strain ratio (r-value) of metallic sheet materials, evaluating deep-drawing formability variables.

Grips/Fixtures

Features pneumatic or manual side-action wedge grips equipped with precision cross-hatched jaw faces to eliminate alignment deviations on thin metallic sheets.

Extensometer

Utilizes an ASTM E83 Class B-1 or better biaxial clip-on extensometer to measure simultaneous axial and transverse strain changes over thin sheets.

Insight

Ensure the specimen edges are polished completely free of blanking burrs; even minor edge roughness skews the transverse width extensometer reading.

The Newton Advantage

Real-time data matrix engine executing continuous r-value calculations natively at 1000Hz via instantaneous logarithmic true strain ratios.

Expert Engineering Commentary

Core Problem Identification

Knife-edge slippage of the transverse strain sensor or out-of-plane specimen bowing, yielding highly volatile or negative r-value data points.

Root Cause Analysis

Inadequate jaw clamping pressure causing microscopic specimen slippage, or burrs along the specimen edges that corrupt transverse tracking.

Hardware Specific Solutions

High-stiffness electromechanical universal testing machine equipped with a multi-channel synchronous strain processing module and dual-axis extensometry.

Mechanics & Specimen Behavior

Primary Mechanics

Unaxial longitudinal tensile extension locked within the uniform plastic deformation regime prior to the onset of localized necking.

Specimen Details

Standard sheet-type rectangular tensile specimen machined per ASTM E8/E8M geometry with highly parallel gauge margins.

Mechanical Ratios & Properties

Calculations executed at fixed, uniform plastic strain levels (typically between 15% and 20%) to isolate deep-drawing anisotropic behaviors.

Additional Commentary

The r-value is a critical index of a sheet metal’s drawability; a high r-value indicates a material that resists thinning under deep-drawing stress states.

Pro Tip

For maximum data fidelity, utilize a non-contact video extensometer system to capture width reduction across multiple parallel lines simultaneously.

Common Pitfalls

Extracting width data from post-test manual micrometer measurements instead of continuous real-time extensometry, which ignores elastic springback artifacts.

Analysis & Calculation Standards

Event & Failure Detection
Elastic-to-plastic transition threshold mapping, target plastic strain limit flags, and ultimate localization necking events.
Required Calculations
Plastic Strain Ratio (r-value), Vertical Anisotropy Coefficient, Logarithmic True Axial Strain, Logarithmic True Width Strain.
Statistical Outputs
Batch summary logs reporting mean r-values across orthogonal sheet orientations (0, 45, and 90 degrees), standard deviations, and planar anisotropy (delta-r).
Let's Find the Right ASTM E517 Equipment for Your Application

The Newton™ 32-Bit
Difference

Typical testing system controllers rely on 24-bit resolution. Under high-accuracy flexural analysis, this creates a data phenomenon called **”stair-stepping”** or quantization error. When trying to track minor micro-deflection in rigid polymers, 24-bit electronic circuits suffer from resolution limits, dropping critical transition points during initial load curves.

Newton Characterization™ architecture utilizes a 32-bit analog-to-digital processor converter. This increases measurement fidelity by a factor of 256x, outputting 4.29 billion discrete signal thresholds. Electrical chatter is actively muted under a dedicated 100,000:1 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

Simulate Signal Mode

Real-Time Continuous Sampling Simulation

Comparing standard 24-bit quantization with Newton™ 32-bit resolution

Observe the stepped resolution blocks in the legacy 24-bit curve (Red) versus the absolute **analog-smooth response curve** captured by Newton™ 32-bit architectures (Green). This fidelity is what prevents mechanical data variance during modulus evaluation.

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