Tensile Properties of Sheet Materials
Sheet materials are those materials which are available in a form of considerably thin and wide cross-section. Examples of such materials include paper, plastic, textiles, rubber and metals such as stainless steel and aluminum. These materials are significant in various applications such as packaging and construction. The tensile properties of these materials determine their strength and quality when in use in the mentioned applications.
Tensile testing is one of the most well-known mechanical tests which is mainly used for the evaluation of the tensile properties of the material. This test is carried out by applying a tensile load to the material specimen of a known orientation and gauge length. This type of testing can provide a great deal of information about a material’s behaviour upon being loaded. Such information includes the maximum tensile force at which the material sample breaks, the elongation of the material specimen upon loading and unloading, as well as the modulus of elasticity of the material, which is a measure of its stiffness.
The quality and strength of sheet materials can be further improved by making them into composites or compounds which involve combining two or more materials. This technique is particularly popular in the manufacture of sheets made from polymers and metals. The use of these composites can increase the strength of the sheet material by up to thirty percent or even more.
The tensile strength of sheet materials lies in the range of tens to hundreds of megapascals. It is important to note that the tensile strength may vary considerably depending on the type and orientation of the material being tested. For example, materials which are oriented in the machine direction (MD) will usually have the lowest tensile strength.
In addition to the tensile strength, tensile testing is also used to measure the thermal expansion of sheet materials. This is the measure of the change in length of a material sample when it is subjected to increasing temperature. Different materials will expand at different rates, depending on their makeup and thermal properties. The thermal expansion of a material is important for the design and manufacture of components made out of the material.
The bendability and impact properties of sheet materials can also be measured during tensile tests. To measure these properties, the sample material is subjected to a constant flexural load, while the impact properties are measured by a shock test. The amount of bending the sample can take before it breaks or damages is known as its bendability or ductility, while its resistance to breaking under impact is related to its toughness.
The use of sheet materials has increased significantly in many industries in recent years. This is largely due to the fact that advanced materials and technologies have allowed for the production of lightweight, strong and high-performance materials. As a result, tensile tests have become more important when assessing the quality and performance of such materials.
Overall, tensile testing is a simple but effective method of assessing the mechanical properties of sheet materials. By measuring the tensile strength, thermal expansion, bendability and impact properties of a material, it is possible to ensure that it is suitable for a given application or purpose. The recent advancements in materials and technology have resulted in materials that are lighter, stronger and more resistant to wear, but only tensile testing can truly determine the extent of their performance.
