How To Calculate Young's Modulus

When you think about sturdy materials that sustain a bridge or building, you might not think about elasticity. In helping to determine the elasticity of materials, Young's modulus determines the stress and strain. This mechanical feature of elasticity predicts how a sturdy material will deform under a specific force. Since there is a directly proportional relationship between stress and strain, a graph represents the ratio between the tensile stress and strain.

The calculations from Young's modulus depends on the applied force, the type of material and the area of the material. The stress of the medium relates to the ratio of the applied force with respect to the cross-sectional area. Also, the strain considers the change in length of a material with respect to its original length.

First, you measure the initial length of the substance. Using a micrometer, you identify the cross-sectional area of the material. Then, with the same micrometer, measure the different diameters of the substance. Next, use various slotted masses to determine the applied force.

As the components extend at various lengths, use a Vernier scale to determine the length. Finally, plot the different length measures with respect to the forces applied. Young's modulus equation is E = tensile stress/tensile strain = (FL) / (A * change in L), where F is the applied force, L is the initial length, A is the square area, and E is Young's modulus in Pascals (Pa). Using a graph, you can determine whether a material shows elasticity.

Tensile testing helps to identify the stiffness of materials using Young's modulus calculations. Consider a rubber band. As you stretch a rubber band, you apply a force to extend it. At some point, the rubber band bends, deforms or breaks.

In this way, tensile testing evaluates the elasticity of different materials. This type of identification mainly categorizes an elastic or plastic behavior. Hence, the materials are elastic when they deform enough to go back to the initial state. However, a plastic behavior of a material shows a nonreversible deformation.

If materials experience an extensive amount of force, an ultimate strength rupture point occurs. Different materials display a higher or lower Young's modulus value. With experimental tensile testing, materials such as nylon reveal a higher Young's modulus at 48 MegaPascal (MPa) indicating an excellent material for creating strong elements. Alumide, glass-filled nylon and carbonmide also demonstrate a high Young's modulus value of 70 MPa making them useful for even more sturdier components. Modern medical technology uses these materials and tensile testing to develop safe implants.