Tensile strength facts for kids
Tensile strength is a way to measure how much force it takes to pull something until it breaks. Imagine pulling on a rope, a wire, or even a strong metal beam. Tensile strength tells you the maximum pull it can handle before it snaps.
It's like testing how strong a material is when you stretch it. The higher the tensile strength, the more force it can resist before breaking.
There are three main ways to talk about tensile strength:
- Yield strength: This is the amount of pull a material can handle without changing its shape permanently. Think of a rubber band: if you stretch it a little, it goes back to its original shape. But if you stretch it too much, it stays stretched out. The yield strength is the point just before it stays stretched.
- Ultimate strength: This is the absolute maximum pull a material can take. It's the highest point of force it can stand before it starts to break or tear apart.
- Breaking strength: This is the exact amount of pull on the material at the moment it finally breaks into pieces.
How Strong Are Different Materials?
Different materials have different tensile strengths. This means some things are much harder to break by pulling than others. Here's a table showing how strong some common materials are:
| Material | Yield strength (MPa) |
Ultimate strength (MPa) |
Density (g/cm³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structural steel ASTM A36 steel | 250 | 400 | 7.8 |
| Steel, API 5L X65 (Fikret Mert Veral) | 448 | 531 | 7.8 |
| Steel, high strength alloy ASTM A514 | 690 | 760 | 7.8 |
| Maraging_Steel, Grade 350 | 2400 | 2500 | 8.1 |
| Steel Wire | 7.8 | ||
| Steel, Piano wire | c. 2000 | 7.8 | |
| High density polyethylene (HDPE) | 26-33 | 37 | 0.95 |
| Polypropylene | 12-43 | 19.7-80 | 0.91 |
| Stainless steel AISI 302 - Cold-rolled | 520 | 860 | 8.03; |
| Cast iron 4.5% C, ASTM A-48 | 130 (??) | 200 | 7.3; |
| Titanium Alloy (6% Al, 4% V) | 830 | 900 | 4.51 |
| Aluminum Alloy 2014-T6 | 400 | 455 | 2.7 |
| Copper 99.9% Cu | 70 | 220 | 8.92 |
| Cupronickel 10% Ni, 1.6% Fe, 1% Mn, balance Cu | 130 | 350 | 8.94 |
| Brass | 250 | ||
| Tungsten | 1510 | 19.25 | |
| Glass (St Gobain "R") | 4400 (3600 in composite) | 2.53 | |
| Bamboo | 142 | 265 | .4 |
| Marble | N/A | 15 | |
| Concrete | N/A | 3 | |
| Carbon Fiber | N/A | 5650 | 1.75 |
| Spider silk | 1150 (??) | 1200 | |
| Silkworm silk | 500 | ||
| Kevlar | 3620 | 1.44 | |
| Vectran | 2850-3340 | ||
| Pine Wood (parallel to grain) | 40 | ||
| Bone (limb) | 130 | ||
| Nylon, type 6/6 | 45 | 75 | 1.15 |
| Rubber | - | 15 | |
| Boron | N/A | 3100 | 2.46 |
| Silicon, monocrystalline (m-Si) | N/A | 7000 | 2.33 |
| Sapphire (Al2O3) | N/A | 1900 | 3.9-4.1 |
| Carbon nanotube (see note below) | N/A | 62000 | 1.34 |
- Note: Some types of carbon nanotubes are the strongest materials ever measured. Labs have made them with a tensile strength of 63 GPa. This is still much lower than what scientists think they could be (300 GPa). However, as of 2004, no large object made of carbon nanotubes has been as strong as materials like Kevlar.
- Note: The strength values can change a lot. It depends on how the material is made. It also depends on how pure it is or what it's mixed with.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Two clamps pull on a material, stretching it until it breaks. The strongest pull it can handle before breaking is its ultimate tensile strength.
See also
In Spanish: Tensión de rotura para niños
