Young's Modulus: Definition, Measurement, and Typical Values

What is Young's modulus?

Young’s modulus is the term that refers to a material’s stiffness, making it one of the most important elements of a solid material.

Young’s modulus is the ratio of stress to strain when the material’s deformation is completely elastic.

In this context, stress can be defined as the force per unit area, while strain is defined as the contraction or elongation per unit length.

Young’s modulus may be thought of as a substance’s resistance to elastic deformity; the stiffer the material, the higher its elastic modulus.

For the majority of metals, this modulus ranges from 45 GPa (gigapascals) in the case of magnesium to 407 GPa for tungsten.

How to measure Young's modulus?

Young’s modulus is measured via the stress-strain curve, using the parameters of tensile strength, yield strength, per cent elongation, and reduction of area.

The values of Young’s modulus for ceramics are roughly the same as for metals but are lower for polymers.

The variations are as a direct result of the different forms of atomic bonding within the three material types.