Resilience

Resilience is the ability of a material to absorb energy in the process of elastic deformation. Resilience
is found by calculating the area under the elastic region of the stress-strain curve.

Resilience of Common Materials

Material Resilience
(103 N/m2)
Steel 232-2200*
Copper 36
Rubber 2070
Acrylic polymer 28

*
Steel is an alloy composed mainly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by
weight. Grades are used to classify steel according to its composition, and different grades will have
different mechanical properties.

Example Calculation of Resilience

Resilience = 4.06 MPa

Questions

1. What are some applications that require high resilience?

2. What are some applications that require low resilience?

 Strength

Strength is a measure of a material’s resistance to deformation. The strength is the maximum amount of
stress the material can be subjected to before failure. In other words, the strength is the maximum stress
on the stress-strain curve. The tensile strength can be determined using a tensile test (pulling or
elongating the material), and the compressive strength can be determined using a compression test
(pushing or compressing the material).

Strength of Common Materials

Material Strength
MPa (106 N/m2)
Steel 400-800
Aluminum 300-500
Glass 30-50
Concrete 10-40
Wood 50
Bone 170
Polypropylene 20-80

Determining strength using a stress-strain curve

Strength = 370 MPa

Questions

1. What are some applications that require high strength?

2. What are some applications that require low strength?

 Yield strength

The Yield Strength determines the transition from elastic to plastic deformation in a material. Elastic
deformation is characterized by no permanent change in shape. In this region, when stress or strain is
applied, the material adapts; the moment the stress or strain is removed, the material returns to its
original shape (like a rubber band). When the material undergoes elastic deformation, stress is
proportional to strain and the plot of these two variables is linear. On the other hand, plastic deformation
is characterized by permanent deformation. In this region, the material cannot recover its original shape.
For example, plastic deformation of a polymeric material is needed during the production of plastic
cups. Yield strength provides information about the stress that materials can withstand before deforming
permanently. The yield strength is reported as the stress corresponding to the end of the initial linear
region of the stress- strain curve.

Yield strength of Common Materials

Material Yield strength

MPa (106 N/m2)
Steel 250-500
Aluminum 50-400
Silk 500
Copper 70
Brass 200
Bone 100-130
Polypropylene 10-40

Example Calculation of Yield Strength

Yield strength = 280 MPa

Questions

1. What are some applications that require high yield strength?

2. What are some applications that require low yield strength?

 Toughness

Toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy in the process of deformation. Toughness is
found by calculating the area under the stress-strain curve until the material reaches failure. The
opposite of toughness is brittleness – a brittle material has low toughness.

Strength of Common Materials

Material Toughness
MPa (106 N/m2)
Steel 50
Aluminum 36
Concrete 0.8
PMMA 1
Polystyrene 0.9

Determining toughness using a stress-strain curve

Toughness = 24 MPa

Questions

1. What are some applications that require high toughness?

2. What are some applications that require low toughness?

 Young’s Modulus

The Young’s modulus (also called the elastic modulus) is a measure of the stiffness or elasticity of the
material. In the elastic region of the stress-strain curve, stress is proportional to strain, and the plot of
stress vs. strain is linear. The slope of this region is the Young’s modulus. The units of Young’s
modulus are the same as the units of pressure. The tensile Young’s modulus can be determined using a
tensile test (pulling or elongating the material), and the compressive Young’s modulus can be
determined using a compression test (pushing or compressing the material).

Young’s Modulus of Common Materials

Material Young's Modulus

GPa (109 N/m2)
Steel 200
Aluminum 70
Glass 65
Concrete 30
Wood 13
Bone 9
Polystyrene 3

Example Calculation of Young’s Modulus

Δσ 200 − 100
𝐸= = = 10,000 𝑀𝑃𝑎
Δε 0.02 − 0.01

Questions

1. What are some applications that require a high Young’s modulus?

2. What are some applications that require a low Young’s modulus?

 Ductility

Ductility is the ability of a material to deform plastically without fracturing. Ductile materials are those
that undergo large deformations before fracture. Changes in temperature affect the ductility of metals
and polymers; usually an increase in temperature is related to an increase in ductility. Ductility is
reported as the strain at failure.

Ductility of Common Materials

Useful structural materials have at least 5% ductility (or 0.05 if the strain is not reported as percent).
Superplastic materials are designed to have more than 500% ductility.

Example Calculation of Ductility

Ductility = 0.09 = 9%

Questions

1. What are some applications that require high ductility?

2. What are some applications that require low ductility?