Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

Lab Session: 02
Objective:
To verify the Hook’s Law using the extension of wire apparatus and also determine the Young’s
Modulus of elasticity of the test material wire

Apparatus:
 Searle’s Apparatus
 Weights and hangers
 Steel Wire
 Dead and Slotted Weights
 Metre rod

Diagram:

Chuck

Experimental
Wire

Vernier Scale

Load Hanger
1N Load Hook

Figure 1: Young's Modulus Apparatus

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Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

Theory:
Introduction:

One the most important tests in engineering is knowing when an object or material will bend or
break, and the property that tells us this is the Young’s modulus. It is a measure how easily a
material stretches and deforms.

Linear elasticity

A solid material will undergo elastic deformation when a small load is applied to it in
compression or extension. Elastic deformation is reversible, meaning that the material returns to
its original shape after the load is removed.

At near-zero stress and strain, the stress–strain curve is linear, and the relationship between stress
and strain is described by Hooke's law that states stress is proportional to strain. The coefficient
of proportionality is Young's modulus. The higher the modulus, the more stress is needed to
create the same amount of strain; an idealized rigid body would have an infinite Young's
modulus. Conversely, a very soft material (such as a fluid) would deform without force, and
would have zero Young's modulus.

Not many materials are linear and elastic beyond a small amount of deformation.

Stress

Stress is defined as the force across a "small" boundary per unit area of that boundary, for all
orientations of the boundary. Being derived from a fundamental physical quantity (force) and a
purely geometrical quantity (area), stress is also a fundamental quantity, like velocity, torque or
energy, that can be quantified and analyzed without explicit consideration of the nature of the
material or of its physical causes.

In other words, stress is the measure of an external force acting over the cross sectional area of
an object. Stress has units of force per area: N/m 2 (SI) or lb/in2 (US). The SI units are commonly
referred to as Pascals, abbreviated Pa. Since the 1 Pa is inconveniently small compared to the
stresses most structures experience, we'll often encounter 10 3 Pa = 1 kPa (kilo Pascal), 10 6 Pa = a
MPa (mega Pascal), or 109 Pa = GPa (giga Pascal).

There are two types of stress that a structure can experience:

1. Normal Stress and 2. Shear Stress.

When a force acts perpendicular (or "normal") to the surface of an object, it exerts a normal
stress. When a force acts parallel to the surface of an object, it exerts a shear stress.

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Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

Strain

So far, we've focused on the stress within structural elements. When you apply stress to an
object, it deforms. Think of a rubber band: you pull on it, and it gets longer – it stretches.
Deformation is a measure of how much an object is stretched, and strain is the ratio between the
deformation and the original length. Think of strain as percent elongation – how much bigger
(or smaller) is the object upon loading it.

Just like stress, there are two types of strain that a structure can experience: 1. Normal Strain and
2. Shear Strain. When a force acts perpendicular (or "normal") to the surface of an object, it
exerts a normal stress. When a force acts parallel to the surface of an object, it exerts a shear
stress.

Let's consider a rod under uniaxial tension. The rod elongates under this tension to a new length,
and the normal strain is a ratio of this small deformation to the rod's original length.

Strain is a unitless measure of how much an object gets bigger or smaller from an applied load.
Normal strain occurs when the elongation of an object is in response to a normal stress (i.e.
perpendicular to a surface), and is denoted by the Greek letter epsilon. A positive value
corresponds to a tensile strain, while negative is compressive. Shear strain occurs when the
deformation of an object is response to a shear stress (i.e. parallel to a surface), and is denoted by
the Greek letter gamma.

Hook’s Law

Hooke’s law, law of elasticity discovered by the English scientist Robert Hooke in 1660, which
states that, for relatively small deformations of an object, the displacement or size of the
deformation is directly proportional to the deforming force or load. Under these conditions the
object returns to its original shape and size upon removal of the load. Elastic behaviour of solids
according to Hooke’s law can be explained by the fact that small displacements of their

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Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

constituent molecules, atoms, or ions from normal positions is also proportional to the force that
causes the displacement.

The deforming force may be applied to a solid by stretching, compressing, squeezing, bending,
or twisting. Thus, a metal wire exhibits elastic behaviour according to Hooke’s law because the
small increase in its length when stretched by an applied force doubles each time the force is
doubled. Mathematically, Hooke’s law states that the applied force F equals a constant k times
the displacement or change in length x, or F = kx. The value of k depends not only on the kind of
elastic material under consideration but also on its dimensions and shape.

Young’s Modulus/Modulus of Elasticity

Young's modulus E, the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or compression
(i.e., negative tension), is a mechanical property that measures the tensile or compressive
stiffness of a solid material when the force is applied lengthwise. It quantifies the relationship
between tensile/compressive stress σ (force per unit area) and axial strain Є (proportional
deformation) in the linear elastic region of a material and is determined using the formula:

' stress
Youn g s Modulus=Y =
Strain

Young's moduli are typically so large that they are expressed not in pascals but in gigapascals
(GPa).

Procedure:
1. Place weight hanger on the load hook.
2. Apply initial load to remove stiffness in wire.
3. Find the least count of measuring scale.
4. Measure diameter and length of the wire by using metre rod and Vernier calliper.
5. Apply different loads on the hanger, the wire extends and draw the table.
6. Using data available in table calculate the young’s modulus of specimen wire.

Observations and Calculations:

Formula
Force
Stress=
Area

Elongation
Strain=
Original Length

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Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

' stress
Youn g s Modulus=Y =
Strain

' MgL
Youn g s Modulus=Y = 2
πr l

Length of the wire measured, L = _____________

Radius of the wire measured, r = _____________

No . o f
Ob s.

Specimen Calculations:

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Lab 02 Young’s Modulus

Comments:

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