Stress & Strain Calculator 🏗️
Calculate stress, strain, and Young's modulus for materials under load. Enter stress values, strain values, or both.
Stress Values
Understanding Stress & Strain
What are Stress and Strain?
Stress is the internal force per unit area within a material, while strain is the deformation (change in length) relative to the original length. Together, they describe how materials respond to external forces.
Key Concepts
- Stress (σ): Force per unit area, measured in Pascals (Pa) or MPa
- Strain (ε): Dimensionless ratio of deformation to original length
- Young's Modulus (E): Material stiffness, measured in Pa or GPa
- Elastic Region: Material returns to original shape when load is removed
Common Materials
- Steel: E ≈ 200 GPa (very stiff)
- Aluminum: E ≈ 69 GPa (moderately stiff)
- Concrete: E ≈ 30 GPa (relatively stiff)
- Rubber: E ≈ 0.01-0.1 GPa (very flexible)
Applications
- Structural engineering (designing beams, columns, bridges)
- Materials science (testing material properties)
- Mechanical design (ensuring parts don't fail under load)
- Aerospace engineering (lightweight structures with high strength)
Tips
- 1 MPa = 1,000,000 Pa (megapascals are commonly used in engineering)
- Strain is often expressed as a percentage (multiply by 100)
- Higher Young's modulus means stiffer material
- Stay within elastic limits to avoid permanent deformation