The improvement of end-boundary conditions for off-axis tension specimen use

Inaccuracies in using the off-axis tension test are caused by the nonuniform stresses produced by the end constraints. The purpose of this study is to show that these nonuniformities can be virtually eliminated by adjusting the amount of tab clamping and selectively locating the point about which the clamp may rotate.Determination of the ideal amount of clamping and point of rotation was carried out using a linear-finite-element method. Experimentation was also carried out to qualitatively verify the finite-element solutions. The results indicate that a nearly uniform state of stress can be produced with ideal tab clamping and rotation.Paper was presented at the 1986 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in New Orleans, LA on June 8–13.