What is the Young's Modulus for Plastics and How Can I Find an Accurate Value?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the Young's Modulus for plastics, specifically seeking accurate values for comparison with an experimental result of 10.9 GPa. The scope includes theoretical aspects of material properties and practical applications in engineering contexts.

Discussion Character

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

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses urgency in finding the Young's Modulus for plastics, noting an experimental value of 10.9 GPa.
  • Another participant points out that different types of plastics have varying stiffness values and suggests looking in reference books for specific data.
  • A suggestion is made to use the website MatWeb, which contains mechanical properties for a wide range of polymers.
  • A participant questions the need for a general value without knowing the specific type of plastic, emphasizing the importance of context in material properties.
  • One participant proposes averaging values from multiple types of plastics to obtain a general estimate.
  • Another participant challenges the original poster's request, questioning how they expect others to provide a value without knowing the specific plastic type.
  • There is a hint of suspicion regarding whether the inquiry is related to coursework, suggesting a potential academic context.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on how to proceed with finding a value for Young's Modulus for plastics. Multiple viewpoints exist regarding the necessity of knowing the specific type of plastic and the appropriateness of averaging values from different plastics.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations in the availability of specific data for various types of plastics and the challenges in providing a general value without further context. There is also an indication of potential assumptions regarding the nature of the inquiry (e.g., coursework).

mathsgeek
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Young's Modulus for Plastic URGENT

I was wondering what is the young's modulus for plastics because I am looking all over the internet and can't find anything? Its because in an experiment i calculated it to be 10.9GPa but i need to compare it to an actual value. Thanks
 
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What type of plastic? There are many types, each with its own characteristic stiffness. (10.9 GPa wouldn't be unusual.)

You can find stiffness values in many reference books; search for handbooks on polymers/materials selection/mechanical engineering.
 


Try http://www.matweb.com/search/MaterialGroupSearch.aspx" also.
 
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Well i just need to knowthe literature value for plastics (most of them i would believe) so where on that site and internet could i find that because I've got a materials science and engineering textbook and it isn't in there?
 


Q_Goest's link takes you to a site with mechanical properties for >50,000 polymers. It would be more effective if you explained why the earlier answers are unsatisfactory instead of just continuing to bump the thread.
 


Because i need a general value as we arent told what type of plastic it is.
 


Pick ten at random and take the average value. Actually, this is a good idea for any engineer, if just to know whether plastics have a typical stiffness of 1kPa, 1MPa, or 1GPa.
 


mathsgeek said:
Because i need a general value as we arent told what type of plastic it is.

Let me see if I get this straight. You have a table for all sorts of kinds of plastic. You, who presumably has access to the plastic in question, can't decide what number to use. So you ask us, people who don't have access to the plastic in question, which number to use? How can we possibly be in a better position than you are?

Q_Goest gave you the best possible answer.

By the way, is this coursework? It's starting to sound like it.
 

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