There are three methods used to analyze the strength of materials: strength, stiffness, and

stability. In this article I will attempt to explain the meaning of these three physical
properties, and outline their importance and roles in materials-selection. A proper balance
between properties must be struck in the selection and production-phases, so that the end
product has the required physical attributes.
Strength
The term strength in regards to materials is its ability to withstand stresses without
failing. Unfortunately, its not a matter of if, but when and how. Its a

a:compression b:tension c:shear

measure of a materials strength in terms of tension, compression, and shear the three
forms of stress. A given materials strength increases in proportion to its ability to resist
these stresses.

Stiffness and its Relationship with Youngs Modulus

Stiffness is an elastic materials ability to resist deformation along a given degree of
freedom. Although closely related to the elastic or Youngs modulus, stiffness is a measure of
a solid body that is dependent on size and mass, anextensive property, whereas Youngs
modulus is an intensive property and has nothing to do with size, volume, area, length, etc.
For example, one could say that the stiffness of a given board depends not only on material
makeup but also on its dimensions, while the Youngs modulus of a given board would
depend only on its material makeup.
Youngs modulus is defined as the ratio of the uniaxial stress over uniaxial strain in the

range of stress where Hookes law holds, expressed in Pascals. This just means that it is
equal to the amount of force per square meter of cross-sectional area, that it takes to stretch
a sample material to double its length within its elastic limits (Hookes law).
One can think of stiffness as the overall measure of a given materials ability to resist
deformation, with its values increasing with any increase in its size and cross section, and
Youngs modulus as a measure of that same materials stiffness, expressed as a ratio and
therefore an intensive property, having nothing to do with its size. It would be safe to say
that stiffness is simply the more general or all-encompassing term.

In a single degree of freedom, stiffness can be defined as

where kis the

stiffness, F is the force applied to the body, and is the displacement, or change in length of
the elastic body along a single degree of freedom. As you can see, when the applied force is
only along a single degree of freedom, or constrained, stiffness is equal to the Youngs
modulus.
But this equation or definition wont work with anything but this special case, as most
objects have more than one degree of freedom. For example, the axial stiffness for a nonspecial member in tension or compression is defined by

where A is the cross

sectional area, E is the Youngs modulus, and L is the length of the member. Stiffness is
typically measured in newtons per meter or pound force (lbf) per inch.
Stability
Stability is simply a materials ability to maintain its original configuration under various
loads and stresses. For example, when a column is loaded axially to its buckling limit, it will
experience what is called instability. Any further loading or even the slightest introduction of
a lateral force such as wind, will cause it to fail by buckling. Resistance to time-dependent
deformation such as creep can be thought of as a result of material stability