MadSci Network: Engineering |
There are a number of characteristics of a material that can be measured to assess its strength. One such measure is the tensile yield strength. That is the force required to pull the material apart under controlled conditions. A small piece of material is fashioned into a round or rectangular cross-sectioned rod and clamped in a machine that is capable of applying a high force to pull on the rod. As the force is increased, the rod will eventually start to stretch, and may eventually break. Conventionally, the point at which the specimen stretches 0.2% of its original length is called the yield strength, and point at which it breaks entirely is called the ultimate tensile strength. The units of yield and ultimate strength are force per unit area of the initial cross-section (stress), expressed in (pounds-force/square inch) or (newtons/square meter, Pascals). Considering such measures, tungsten carbide is much stronger than titanium - perhaps more than five times stonger. The exact value of the strength depends on the method by which the material is produced (such as by casting, rolling in a mill, pressing from powders and heating, etc.) Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many times stronger tungsten carbide is than titanium without knowing exactly how both materials were originially made.
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