In physics and materials science, elasticity is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid objects will deform when adequate loads are applied to them; if the material is elastic, the object will return to its initial shape and size after removal. This is in contrast to plasticity, in which the object fails to do so and instead remains in its deformed state.
The physical reasons for elastic behavior can be quite different for different materials. In metals, the atomic lattice changes size and shape when forces are applied (energy is added to the system). When forces are removed, the lattice goes back to the original lower energy state. For rubbers and other polymers, elasticity is caused by the stretching of polymer chains when forces are applied.
Hooke's law states that the force required to deform elastic objects should be directly proportional to the distance of deformation, regardless of how large that distance becomes. This is known as perfect elasticity, in which a given object will return to its original shape no matter how strongly it is deformed. This is an ideal concept only; most materials which possess elasticity in practice remain purely elastic only up to very small deformations, after which plastic (permanent) deformation occurs.
In engineering, the elasticity of a material is quantified by the elastic modulus such as the Young's modulus, bulk modulus or shear modulus which measure the amount of stress needed to achieve a unit of strain; a higher modulus indicates that the material is harder to deform. The SI unit of this modulus is the pascal (Pa). The material's elastic limit or yield strength is the maximum stress that can arise before the onset of plastic deformation. Its SI unit is also the pascal (Pa).
When an elastic material is deformed due to an external force, it experiences internal resistance to the deformation and restores it to its original state if the external force is no longer applied.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Linear elasticity is a mathematical model of how solid objects deform and become internally stressed due to prescribed loading conditions. It is a simplification of the more general nonlinear theory of elasticity and a branch of continuum mechanics. The fundamental "linearizing" assumptions of linear elasticity are: infinitesimal strains or "small" deformations (or strains) and linear relationships between the components of stress and strain. In addition linear elasticity is valid only for stress states that do not produce yielding.
In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity that describes forces present during deformation. An object being pulled apart, such as a stretched elastic band, is subject to tensile stress and may undergo elongation. An object being pushed together, such as a crumpled sponge, is subject to compressive stress and may undergo shortening. The greater the force and the smaller the cross-sectional area of the body on which it acts, the greater the stress. Stress has units of force per area, such as newtons per square meter (N/m2) or pascal (Pa).
Young's modulus , the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or axial 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 (force per unit area) and axial strain (proportional deformation) in the linear elastic region of a material and is determined using the formula: Young's moduli are typically so large that they are expressed not in pascals but in gigapascals (GPa).
Comprendre le comportement et les principes de dimensionnement des éléments de structure en béton armé. Conception et dimensionnement des éléments constitutifs des structures en béton les plus courant
This course covers advanced 3D graphics techniques for realistic image synthesis. Students will learn how light interacts with objects in our world, and how to recreate these phenomena in a computer s
This lecture will cover anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system, biophysics of the blood, cardiac mechanics, hemodynamics and biomechanics of the arterial system, microcirculation and biom
In this work, we consider the stability of a spherical shell under combined loading from a uniform external pressure and a homogenous natural curvature. Nonmechanical stimuli, such as one that tends t
The flexible boundary condition method (FBCM) is a well-established method for the efficient study of complex non-linear atomistic defects while avoiding finite-size effects. The method uses lattice G
IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021
,
The law of reciprocity in acoustics and elastodynamics codifies a relation of symmetry between action and reaction in fluids and solids. In its simplest form, it states that the frequency-response fun