Material Science - The World's Strongest Technological Materials (Ultimate tensile strength)

• published: 20 Nov 2014
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Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS) or ultimate strength, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before failing or breaking. Tensile strength is not the same as compressive strength and the values can be quite different. Some materials will break sharply, without plastic deformation, in what is called a brittle failure. Others, which are more ductile, including most metals, will experience some plastic deformation and possibly necking before fracture. The UTS is usually found by performing a tensile test and recording the engineering stress versus strain. The highest point of the stress-strain curve is the UTS. It is an intensive property; therefore its value does not depend on the size of the test specimen. However, it is dependent on other factors, such as the preparation of the specimen, the presence or otherwise of surface defects, and the temperature of the test environment and material. Tensile strengths are rarely used in the design of ductile members, but they are important in brittle members. They are tabulated for common materials such as alloys, composite materials, ceramics, plastics, and wood. Tensile strength is defined as a stress, which is measured as force per unit area. For some non-homogeneous materials (or for assembled components) it can be reported just as a force or as a force per unit width. In the SI system, the unit is the pascal (Pa) (or a multiple thereof, often megapascals (MPa), using the mega- prefix); or, equivalently to pascals, newtons per square metre (N/m²). A United States customary unit is pounds-force per square inch (lbf/in² or psi), or kilo-pounds per square inch (ksi, or sometimes kpsi), which is equal to 1000 psi; kilo-pounds per square inch are commonly used when measuring tensile strengths. This documentary travels from the deck of a U.S. naval aircraft carrier to a demolition derby to the country's top research labs to check in with experts who are re-engineering what nature has given us to create the next generation of strong stuff. This documentary takes a look at what defines strength, examining everything from steel cables to mollusks to a toucan's beak. What is the strongest material in the world? Is it steel, Kevlar, carbon nanotubes, or something entirely new?