MODULE 3.

4 

Properties of materials  

What you need to know: 

● stress–strain graphs for typical ductile, brittle and polymeric materials
● stress, strain and ultimate tensile strength
● Young modulus = tensile stress σ
tensile strain  , E= ε
● techniques and procedures used to determine the Young modulus for a metal
Explanation: 
Stress and strain: 
Stress​ is the force per unit cross-sectional area, units are Nm​-2 ​or Pa
stress, σ = FA
Strain​ is extension per unit length, it has no units (dimensionless as m/m)
strain, ε = Lx
Ultimate tensile strength ​is the maximum stress an object can withstand while being stretched before it breaks.

Using stress and strain allow different materials to be compared even if the dimensions of the test materials are not the
same.

Types of materials: 
Different types of materials will have different properties and therefore the graphs of stress
against strain will be different. You need to know the definitions of each of the following
materials and their graphs:
Ductile:
● Ductile materials can easily be drawn into wires and hammered into sheets.
● They will deform elastically until their elastic limit is reached and then will deform
plastically for a long time until reaching ultimate tensile strength and breaking
Brittle:
● Brittle materials deform elastically, they undergo no plastic deformation
● The graph of loading and unloading will be the same as deforms only elastically
Polymeric:
● Polymeric materials are made up of long chain polymers
● They are extremely flexible and reach high strain before snapping

Young modulus: 
The ​young modulus ​is a ratio of stress and strain and is used to measure the stiffness of
materials. It is calculated:
stress
Y oung modulus = strain = FeAl
The units for the Young modulus are Pa or N m−2 (the same as stress as strain has no units)

It can either be calculated using the equation or determined from a stress-strain graph as Young modulus will be the
gradient of a stress-strain graph (inside the straight-line section)

Experiment to find Young modulus: 

The Young modulus of a metal can be found using the following procedure:
● Measure the diameter of the wire using a micrometer (measure at a range of places to determine an average) then
use this to find the cross-sectional area
● Clamp the wire at one end and attach to a pulley on the other - measure the length with a meter rule
● Place a ruler parallel to the wire and attach a ficidual mark
● Apply different forces to the wire using masses at the end, measure the extension using the ficidual mark to help
● Calculate the stress and strain from the results and plot a stress-strain graph. The Young-modulus will be the
gradient of this graph.

Made by Sophie Drew for www.scienceandmathsrevision.co.uk