Determining the Youngs Modulus of a beam of mild steel

BY BILAL MOHAMMED

Youngs Modulus
Youngs Modulus is basically known as the materials constant, a measurement of stiffness1. If the Youngs Modulus of a material happens to be of a large value, that material is told to be stiff. Therefore, when constructing vehicles or aeroplanes etc. the materials required, need to be of a high Youngs modulus and tensile strength. Industries need to be aware of these values of different materials to decide which is most suitable. This should be known by designers, as aircrafts/automotives carry a large weight, and to see whether they can withstand different temperatures.

History
For many years, aircraft designers proposed theoretical designs of an aircraft, however the materials needed to build them didnt exist. Such as, large space planes like the Space Shuttle would have proven extremely difficult, if not impossible, to build without heat-resistant ceramic tiles to protect them during reentry. Since the use of aluminium in the 1920s, composites were the most important materials to be adapted consisting of one or more organic or inorganic components. Up until recently, the fibres used in these composite materials have been developed and can be used in cars as well as aircrafts.2

The first aircraft built, in 1908, built by the Wright brothers. They spent a long time observing birds in flight and noticed how they soared through the wind, and the air flowing over the wings created lift. In order for them to manoeuvre, the birds would change the shape of their wings. The Wright brothers thought they could use this concept to obtain roll control by warping or changing the shape.

AS you can see from the diagram on the left the wing has been adapted, so that it can change in shape to provide lift.

Miss Farmer: Physics teacher at Stretford Grammar School

http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/evolution%20of %20technology/Composites%20and%20Advanced%20Materials.htm

CentrAL reinforced Aluminium

Having a material with a high value of Youngs Modulus, allows it to hold a greater load without it fracturing or going through metal fatigue3. Aluminium alloy was the main material used in aircrafts. This is because due to its structure allowing the metal to be extremely stiff Arrangement of particles in a (having a high Youngs Modulus value). Therefore, metal the material wouldnt fracture as easily. Having this type of alloy is very expensive therefore, scientist have introduced a new material called centrAL reinforced aluminium. This material is told to be of much stronger as it is said to provide 25% greater tensile strength than high aluminium alloys. It is also extremely resistant to metal fatigue and highly Arrangement of particles in damage tolerant4. an alloy making it stronger

This image compromises a central layer of fibre metal laminate, sandwiched between one or more thick layers of high-quality aluminium. This creates a material which is extremely strong but also insensitive to fatigue.

This new type of material also makes the aircraft a lot lighter, implying that less fuel will be needed, reducing the total cost. Therefore, flights could become a lot cheaper. Also this material is very easy to maintain due to the technique of layers used, it can be repaired quickly and immediately and its very easy to manufacture.

Benefits

Alloys are very useful in the automotive and aerospace industry as they have a very high Youngs Modulus value. Because a typical metal structure, they can easily be shaped, giving them the name of malleable. Little maintenance is needed as they are non-porous; it is very difficult to penetrate metals. Also, because they conduct electricity dues to a sea of delocalised electrons, a small current can be passed through the metal, preventing it from rusting.
Carbon Fibre Carbon Fibre is a fibre-reinforced polymer which contains fibres. The alignment and weave of the
3

Edexcel, Advanced Physics Student Book by Salter Horner

Rinze Benedictus, chair of the Department of Aerospace Materials at Delft University of Technology

cloth fibres is chosen to optimize the strength and stiffness properties of the resulting material5. This material is mainly used for its strength and weight. Carbon fibre has the ability to absorb energy when in contact with another object. Like in formula one cars, all the energy is absorbed, and the impact on the human is reduced.

Further Benefits/Drawbacks Regarding, central reinforced Aluminium, it is very cheap to produce and maintain due to the ways its constructed. Also, it is very light. Even though, carbon fibre is also light, it is very expensive due to the way it is produced. Great amount of heat is needed for the production. Relation to Practical
Therefore, regarding the case study as a whole, an experiment will be carried out, finding the Youngs Modulus (E) for mild steel. In order to do this, I will have to measure the width (W), depth (D), length (L) and the deflection (Y). I will then hang 0.1 Kg masses from the steel beam, and then the deflection will be measured, and substituted into the equation below.

Re-arranged

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-fiber-reinforced_polymer