How to Measure Tensile Strength

Tensile strength determines the breaking point of various items that are commonly used. It is measured differently for various materials such as electronic gadgets, metals, threads, polymers, plastic, human hair, water, and coal.

Things You'll Need

• Instron
• Sample polymer( nylon thread)
• Pencil
• Paper

Instructions

1. You will require a polymer sample for measuring. Get the sample after considering the length in cm and the thickness in mm.

2. Tensile strength is generally measured in N/cm2. You can convert it to megapascals or gigapascals, as 1 Mpa= 100N/cm2 and 1 Gpa= 100,000 N/cm2.

3. Polymer's tensile test is usually done on a machine called an Instron. Also get a pencil and paper for noting the test readings.

4. Insert the polymer between the clamps of the Instron machine. Run the machine so that it automatically grabs tightly both the ends of the polymer sample. The machine will then show you the force applied during the stretching process in figures. Note this figure.

5. Increase the force on the polymer till the sample breaks. Note the amount of force that caused the breakage.

6. Divide the force causing breakage with the cross-sectional area of the sample. The result would be the tensile strength of the sample polymer.

Tips & Warnings

• Use sample polymer of different thicknesses. You will get different tensile strength results of the same substance.