Tensile stress, and youngs modulus.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of tensile stress and Young's modulus, exploring their definitions, implications, and relationships in the context of elasticity. Participants raise questions about the meaning of tensile stress, the independence of Young's modulus from material dimensions, and the calculations related to strain and stress.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express confusion about the definition of tensile stress, questioning whether it pertains to one side of the material or the overall force acting on it.
  • One participant states that tensile stress is the pulling force per unit cross-sectional area, likening it to pressure pulling an object apart.
  • Concerns are raised about why Young's modulus is independent of an object's dimensions, despite elasticity being dependent on dimensions.
  • Another participant mentions that if a material is twice as long, it experiences more deformation, but clarifies that Young's modulus remains unchanged because it is defined as stress divided by strain.
  • There is a question regarding the calculation of Young's modulus from a strain-stress graph without the initial length, with participants debating the necessity of this information.
  • One participant presents a calculation involving Young's modulus and strain, questioning how a material can reach its safe stress without a change in length.
  • A later reply points out that at a strain of 1, most materials are likely beyond the region of linear elasticity where Hooke's law applies.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a mix of agreement and disagreement, particularly regarding the implications of Young's modulus and the relationship between stress, strain, and material dimensions. The discussion remains unresolved on several points, especially concerning the calculations and interpretations of tensile stress and Young's modulus.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the definitions and implications of tensile stress and Young's modulus, indicating a need for clarity on these concepts. There are also unresolved questions regarding the calculations related to strain and the necessity of initial length for determining Young's modulus.

davidbenari
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I'm studying elasticity right now in my chemistry class, and I'm confused as to what exactly tensile stress (and maybe compression stress too ) might mean. It's given in N/m^2. And you're stretching the material.

Is the cypher I'm given indicative of what's happening only one side? Indicative of the pulling force acting on one edge of the material?

Also, I'm curious as to why Young's modulus is independent of an objects dimensions? This is interesting because elasticity does depend on this kind of things (the object's dimensions).
 
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Tensile stress is the pulling force per unit cross-sectional area. In other words, it is the "pressure" pulling an object apart.
 
davidbenari said:
I'm studying elasticity right now in my chemistry class, and I'm confused as to what exactly tensile stress (and maybe compression stress too) might mean. It's given in N/m^2. And you're stretching the material.

Is the cypher I'm given indicative of what's happening only one side? Indicative of the pulling force acting on one edge of the material?

Also, I'm curious as to why Young's modulus is independent of an objects dimensions? This is interesting because elasticity does depend on this kind of things (the object's dimensions).

Young's modulus is a property of the material. It is roughly analogous to the spring constant of the material, in that it relates the stress applied to the material to the amount of stretch which the material will undergo as a result. For a material like steel, the Young's modulus remains constant up to the point where the steel deforms permanently. In this region, called the elastic region, if you double the stress, the amount of stretch doubles. When the stress is removed, the material returns to its original length. When steel is stressed beyond the elastic limit, the relationship between applied stress and the resulting stretch is no longer simple, and when the stress is removed, the material retains a certain amount of the stretch.

I don't know what your cypher is.
 
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DaleSpam:

Suppose I hang a fiber from some type of roof. I hang a 1kg weight from it. The cross sectional area of the fiber is 1mm2. Then the tensile stress is ##9.8N/1mm^2## ?

Steamking:

I know how the modulus is defined however, I read that if a material is twice as long then it experiences less deformation, etc (similar relationships like that). If this is the case (that deformation depends on dimensions) then why is it that Young's modulus is inherent to the material? Thanks.
 
davidbenari said:
Suppose I hang a fiber from some type of roof. I hang a 1kg weight from it. The cross sectional area of the fiber is 1mm2. Then the tensile stress is ##9.8N/1mm^2## ?
Yes.
 
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davidbenari said:
I know how the modulus is defined however, I read that if a material is twice as long then it experiences less deformation, etc (similar relationships like that). If this is the case (that deformation depends on dimensions) then why is it that Young's modulus is inherent to the material? Thanks.
Actually, if the material is twice as long, then it experiences more deformation. But, the change in length of the sample is not the key parameter. The Young's modulus is defined as the stress in the material divided by the strain. The strain is equal to the change in length divided by the original length. If the original length is twice as long, the change in length will also be twice as large, the strain will be unchanged; and, as a result, the Young's modulus will be unchanged.

Chet
 
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By the way, I have to calculate Young's modulus from a Strain-Stress graph, but I'm not given the initial length. I'm only given the extension of the material. This is impossible to calculate right? I need to have the initial length.
 
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davidbenari said:
By the way, I have to calculate Young's modulus from a Shear-Stress graph, but I'm not given the initial length. I'm only given the extension of the material. This is impossible to calculate right? I need to have the initial length.
This is a homework problem. Please post it in the Homework forums, and be sure to use the homework template. Also, please provide a precise statement of the problem (which is obviously missing here), and please make some effort to show us how you have doped out the problem so far.

Chet
 
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DaleSpam said:
Tensile stress is the pulling force per unit cross-sectional area. In other words, it is the "pressure" pulling an object apart.

If young’s modulus of a material, E = 2 x 10^5 and also the stress also reaches to 2 x 10^5, then it means strain, e = stress/E which means strain is 1. Then strain, e = change in length / original length. Therefore, change in length = strain x original length.

Therefore,

Change in length = 1 x original length
change in length = original length.

How is it possible if the stress of the material is reached to its safe stress and there is no change in length??
 
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santu8888 said:
If young’s modulus of a material, E = 2 x 10^5 and also the stress also reaches to 2 x 10^5, then it means strain, e = stress/E which means strain is 1. Then strain, e = change in length / original length. Therefore, change in length = strain x original length.

Therefore,

Change in length = 1 x original length
change in length = original length.

How is it possible if the stress of the material is reached to its safe stress and there is no change in length??
You yourself wrote, and I quote, "change in length = original length" So the new length = 2 x (original length).

Incidentally, at a strain of 1, most materials are way beyond the region of linear elasticity where Hooke's law applies.

Chet
 

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