Everything You Need to Know About Yield Strength
When you’re manufacturing components, it’s essential to know the yield strength of your materials. From steel girders to concrete walls or plastic packaging, knowing the yield point can mean the difference between a lasting product and one that deforms. That’s why we’ve put together a quick and handy guide to yield strength testing.
Understanding yield strength
The yield point, or yield strength, is the point on a stress–strain curve where elastic behavior ends, and plastic behavior begins. Put simply, yielding describes the start of breaking of fibers on the sample being tested. That means a material’s yield strength represents its upper load limit.
Yield strength and the stress-strain curve
If a sample is being tested and the yield point has not been reached, the sample will return to its original shape once the force being applied ends. However, once the yield point has been passed the sample will become permanently deformed.
Stress-strain curve analysis is a critical component of accurately measuring the yield point. The stress-strain curve is a graph that represents the way stress changes as strain increases. There is no specific formula for yield strength testing, but the curve can be used to determine the point of deformation.
What materials is yield strength testing for?
There are a number of different materials that can be accurately tested to determine their yield point, including:
Yield strength testing with United Testing Systems
Yield strength is typically tested via tensile testing methods, which subject materials to stress.
United offers a wide range of equipment, including our DragonFly UTS software package which will help you perform accurate and repeatable yield testing procedures. Browse our United UTMs to discover options suitable for a wide range of workshops and labs.
For some insight into how a test frame works and how it could be integrated into your setup, check out our quick introductory video.
Yield strength standards
We know how important it is that your testing solution is able to meet the standards for your industry and that’s why our machines are designed with testing standards in mind. Common yield strength testing standards include:
- ASTM C1557 – Standard Test Method for Tensile Strength and Youngs Modulus of Fibers
- ASTM D5450 – Standard Test Method for Transverse Tensile Properties of Hoop Wound Polymer Matrix Composite Cylinders
- ASTM E111 – Standard Test Method for Young’s Modulus, Tangent Modulus, and Chord Modulus
- ASTM E2769 – Standard Test Method for Elastic Modulus by Thermomechanical Analysis Using Three-Point Bending and Controlled Rate of Loading
Test yield strength with Industrial Physics
Our reliable instruments and state-of-the-art testing machines will help you find everything you need to accurately determine the yield strength of our materials. Whether you’re looking to set up your testing lab for the first time or you’re adding one more testing solution to your workshop, we’ll be happy to help. Get some inspiration for testing machines by browsing featured products from our specialist brand, United Testing.