Experiment#1

EGR320L
FrankJamison
September11,2013

ModulusofElasticityofMaterialsDerivedThroughTensileTestingandtheMaximumWeight
ThatCanBeSupportedbyiPodEarbudWires
Introduction
Thepurposeofthisexperimentistoseewhatmaximumweightcanbeappliedtoasetofipodearbuds
befoetheybreakandtocompareittothreemetalsamples(twoaluminumandonesteel)andtwo
plasticsamples(bothpolycarbonateplastic)toseehowacompositeofthetwomaterialsmightstand
up.
Byapplyingameasuredamountofforcetoasampleofknowndimensions,wecancalculatethestress
(=F/A)[1]whichistheappliedforcedividedbythecrosssectionalareaofthesample,andthestrain
(=/L)[2]whichistheelongationofthesampledividedbyitsoriginallength.Fromtherewecanuse
Hooke'sLawtodeterminethemodulusofelasticityofthematerial.
Hooke'sLaw,statedintermsofstressandstrain,statesthatthestressonamaterialisequaltoits
modulusofelasticitymultipliedbythestrainonthematerialwhilethatmaterialisnotdeformedbeyond
itsabilitytoresumeitsoriginalshape(=E)[2].
Sincestressisproportionaltostrain,weknowthattheelasticrangewillberepresentedbyastraight
lineonthegraph.Theslopeofthelinecreatedintheelasticrangebyplottingthestressasafunctionof
thestrainwillbeourexperimentaldeterminationofthemodulusofelasticityofthematerial(E=/).
ExperimentalProcedure
Thesamplesofaluminum,steel,polycarbonateplastic,andthethickandthinwireportionsofapairof
ipodearbudswasplacedintoanAdmettensiletestingmachineatNationalUniversity.
Forthemetaltests,adogboneshapedsamplewasusedinordertoconcentratethetensileforceina
measurableareameasuring80mmx4mmx0.762mm.Thesampleswerethenpulledataconstant
ratewhiletheappliedforceandelongationofthematerialsweremeasured.
Theplasticsamplesusedwereofasimilarshape,butwereaboutfivetimesthicker.Themeasurements
ofthetestareaofthedogboneshapedsampleswere80mmx4mmx0.381mm.
Forthewiresamplesan80mmlengthofeachpartoftheearbudset,boththethickwiresectionform
theipodjacktotheyjunctionandthethinwiresectionfromtheyjunctiontotheactualearbud,were
placedintotheAdmetmachinewithaclampholdingeachend.
Thesamplesweresubjectedtoanincreasingtensileforceuntiltheybroke.Asthesampleswerebeing
pulledapart,theelongationandtheforcebeingappliedweremeasured.Datapairsofforceand

elongation(25pairsforsteelandplasticand20pairsforaluminumandthewires)werethenusedto
calculatethestressandstrainonthesamples.Astress/straingraphwasthenusedtoidentifytheelastic
rangeofthematerial,andleastsquareslinearregressionwasusedtodeterminetheslopeoftheline
thatbestfitthedata.TheslopeofthisbestfitlinewastheexperimentaldeterminationoftheYoung's
Modulusforeachmaterial.
Data
Thefollowingtablesandgraphsshowtherawdatacollectedfortheexperiments.Thefirstfourtables
showthemeasureddimensionsofthesamplesusedintheexperiment.Theadditionaltablesandgraphs
arethereadingsfromtheAdmetequipmentusedinthetensiletestingofeachsample.Tablesare
brokendownintogroupsofmetals,plastics,andwires,andeachgroupofsamplestestedareplottedon
asinglegraph.
AluminumandSteelSampleDimensions

Length:
80mm

Width:
4.0mm

Thickness: 0.0762mm

PolycarbonatePlasticSampleDimensions

Length:
80mm

Width:
4.0mm

Thickness: 0.381mm

ThickWireSampleDimensions

Length:
80mm

Diameter: 2.0mm

ThinWireSampleDimensions

Length:
80mm

Diameter: 1.5mm

AluminumSample1Data

Elongation(mm)

0.00

0.26

0.29

0.30

0.39

0.41

0.45

0.50

0.56

0.62

Force(N)
0.00
5.22
8.89
17.48
30.95
34.94
37.61
41.00
45.93
47.61

Elongation(mm)
0.70
0.80
0.84
0.90
0.95
1.02
1.07
1.14
1.19
1.26

Force(N)
50.29
51.50
52.56
52.83
53.37
53.69
53.99
54.10
54.28
54.35


AluminumSample2Data

Elongation(mm)

0.00

0.03

0.09

0.11

0.15

0.17

0.20

0.24

0.30

0.36

SteelSampleData

Elongation(mm)

0.00

0.06

0.09

0.13

0.15

0.17

0.21

0.23

0.25

0.29

0.33

0.36

0.38

Force(N)
0.00
5.85
18.50
19.57
28.46
32.06
33.79
39.29
43.56
45.09

Elongation(mm)
0.47
0.60
0.70
0.85
0.97
1.04
1.21
1.32
1.56
1.65

Force(N)
48.66
50.75
51.46
52.26
52.45
52.66
52.84
52.77
52.72
52.82

Force(N)
0.00
23.77
34.28
50.47
60.09
70.15
87.27
95.39
104.31
119.68
133.86
145.59
152.06

Elongation(mm)
0.42
0.44
0.51
0.53
0.60
0.70
0.76
0.93
1.15
1.32
1.69
1.91

Force(N)
166.66
172.75
193.32
197.25
211.70
226.98
229.81
238.16
240.17
240.38
240.61
240.00

AluminumandSteelTensileTests
300.00

TensileForceF(N)

250.00
200.00
AluminumSample1

150.00

AluminumSample2
100.00

SteelSample

50.00
0.00
0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

Elongation (mm)

PolycarbonatePlasticSample1Data

Elongation(mm)
Force(N)

0.00
0.00

0.59
23.86

0.84
32.93

1.06
41.72

1.18
45.55

1.40
51.64

1.72
61.17

1.92
64.94

2.19
69.92

2.56
75.70

3.07
81.85

4.09
87.55

5.27
89.26

Elongation(mm)
7.41
10.03
14.98
20.13
25.34
30.30
35.16
40.21
45.24
50.44
54.98
56.22

Force(N)
85.52
72.90
75.19
74.44
74.54
74.60
76.86
78.95
77.93
76.42
76.55
76.26

PolycarbonatePlasticSample2Data

Elongation(mm)
Force(N)

0.504
14.37

0.613
20.42

1.045
37.04

1.183
42.69

1.377
48.77

1.501
53.12

1.713
58.30

1.945
64.17

2.115
67.03

2.262
68.94

2.543
74.07

3.128
81.70

3.678
85.76

4.575
89.00

5.609
89.48

Elongation(mm)
6.696
8.053
9.169
11.183
13.204
15.348
18.961
23.608
27.449
34.725
40.160
45.370
50.282
55.106
56.324

Force(N)
88.11
83.78
74.91
74.77
73.70
74.35
75.21
75.69
75.64
75.30
76.54
76.75
77.30
77.77
78.02

PolycarbonatePlasticTensileTests
100.00
90.00
80.00

TensileForceF(N)

70.00
60.00
50.00

Sample1

40.00

Sample2

30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00
Elongation (mm)

40.00

50.00

60.00

ThickWireSampleData

Elongation(mm)

0.00

0.44

0.53

0.62

0.75

0.85

0.95

1.04

1.15

1.27

Force(N)
0.00
23.31
32.85
39.56
52.88
61.84
69.13
80.33
89.47
101.42

Elongation(mm)
1.34
1.63
1.78
1.87
2.04
2.22
2.38
2.54
2.69
2.82

Force(N)
103.31
132.93
147.10
149.99
174.16
184.70
200.66
215.88
220.66
241.21

ThinWireSampleData

Elongation(mm)

0.00

0.47

0.55

0.63

0.71

0.83

0.94

1.04

1.12

1.19

Force(N)
0.00
13.90
16.11
20.53
25.70
33.13
39.61
44.74
47.78
49.84

Elongation(mm)
1.33
1.42
1.48
1.72
1.93
2.03
2.12
2.20
2.37
2.63

Force(N)
60.45
62.80
67.68
79.02
86.25
91.91
95.11
99.55
106.29
116.94

HeadphoneWireTensileTests
300.00

TensileForceF(N)

250.00
200.00
150.00

ThickWire

100.00

ThinWire

50.00
0.00
0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50
Elongation (mm)

2.00

2.50

3.00

Results&Discussion
Thefollowingtablescontainthecrosssectionalareacalculationsofeachtypeofsamplealongwiththe
dimensionstheywerederivedfrom.Thecrosssectionalareasofthemetalandplasticsamplesare
calculatedbymultiplyingwidthbythickness(A=wt),andthecrosssectionalareaofthewiresis
calculatedbymultiplyingpibytheradiussquared(A=r2).
AluminumandSteelSampleDimensions

Width:
4.0x103m

Thickness: 7.62x105m

Area:
3.05x107m2

PolycarbonatePlasticSampleDimensions

Width:
4.0x103m

Thickness: 3.81x104m

Area:
1.52x106m2

ThickWireSampleDimensions

Radius:
1.0x103m

Area:
3.14x106m2

ThinWireSampleDimensions

Diameter: 0.75x103m

Area:
1.77x106m2

Asmentionedabove,stressiscalculatedbydividingtheappliedforcebythecrosssectionalarea
(=F/A),andstrainiscalculatedbydividingtheelongationbytheoriginallengthofthesample(=/L).

Thefollowingsectionofdatatableswillshowthecalculatedstressandstrainofthemetalsamplesat
eachdatapointandthenagraphofallthreemetalsamplesisplottedonasinglestress/straingraph.

AluminumSample1StressandStrainCalculations

Strain(mm/mm)
Stress(MPa)
Strain(mm/mm) Stress(MPa)

0.00
0.00

8.75x103
165
3
3

3.25x10
17.1

10.0x10
169

3.63x103
29.2

10.5x103
172
3
3

3.75x10
57.3

11.3x10
173

4.88x103
102

11.9x103
175
3
3

5.13x10
115

12.8x10
176

5.63x103
123

13.4x103
177
3
3

6.25x10
135

14.3x10
177

7.00x103
151

14.9x103
178
3
3

7.75x10
156

15.8x10
178

AluminumSample2StressandStrainCalculations

Strain(mm/mm)
Stress(MPa)

0.00
0.00

0.38x10
19.2

1.13x103
60.7

1.38x10
64.2

1.88x103
93.4

2.13x10
105

2.50x103
111

3.00x10
129

3.75x103
143

4.50x10
148

Strain(mm/mm)
5.88x103
7.50x103
8.75x103
10.6x103
12.1x103
13.0x103
15.1x103
16.5x103
19.5x103
20.6x103

Stress(MPa)
160
167
169
171
172
173
173
173
173
173

SteelSampleStressandStrainCalculations

Strain(mm/mm)
Stress(MPa)

0.00
0.00

0.75x103
78.0
3

1.13x10
112
3

1.63x10
166

1.88x103
197
3

2.13x10
230

2.63x103
286
3

2.88x10
313

3.13x103
342
3

3.63x10
393

4.13x103
439
3

4.50x10
478

4.75x103
499

Strain(mm/mm)
5.25x103
5.50x103
6.38x103
6.63x103
7.50x103
8.75x103
9.50x103
11.6x103
14.4x103
16.5x103
21.1x103
23.9x103

Stress(MPa)
547
567
634
647
695
745
754
781
788
789
789
787

Stress/StrainofAluminumandSteel
900.0
800.0

Stress (MPa)

700.0
600.0
500.0
Aluminum1
400.0

Aluminum2

300.0

Steel

200.0
100.0
0.0
0.0000

0.0050

0.0100

0.0150

0.0200

0.0250

0.0300

Strain (mm/mm)

Lookingatthestress/straingraphforthefirstsampleofaluminum,weseethatthereisalarge
differencebetweentheslopeoftheelinefromthezeropointtothefirstdatapointandtheslopeofthe
linefromthefirstdatapointforward.Ibelievethistobeagrosserrorwherethesamplewasn'tseated
properlyinthemachine.Datapoints1through6formarelativelystraightlineandthesewerethedata
pointsusedtocalculateYoung'sModulusforthissample.Usingleastsquareslinearregression,the
slopeoftheline,andthustheYoung'smodulus,isdeterminedtobe46GPa.Thecoefficientof
determinationforthislineis0.961,andsoit'saprettygoodfit.Comparingourderivedvaluetothe
theoreticalmodulusofelasticityforaluminum,whichis70GPa[3],wecannoteourcalculationisoffby
34%.Thisisdue,inpart,towhatIbelieveisthegrosserrorstatedabove,andpossiblyasystematic
calibrationerroralongwitharoundingerror.Asyouwillseeinthelatersamples,ourderivedmodulus'
areconsistentlyabouthalfofthetheoreticalmodulus'.
Lookingatthestress/straingraphforthesecondaluminumsample,weseethatitappearstobeseated
correctlyinthemachineasthereisnolargeslopediscrepancyatthefirstdatapoint.Thefirst9data
pointsareusedtocalculateourleastsquareslineandtheslopeindicatesthattheYoung'sModulusfor
thissampleis39GPa.Thecoefficientofdeterminationforthiscalculationis0.967.Ourexperimental
modulusdiffersfromthetheoreticalmodulusby44%,andasstatedabove,weassumecalibrationand
roundingerrors.
Lookingatthestress/straingraphforthesteelsample,weseeadefinitelinearrelationshipthroughthe
first18datapointsselected.Theexperimentalmodulusofelasticityofthesampleiscalculatedtobe97

GPaandthecoefficientofdeterminationforthecalculationis0.991.Thetheoreticalmodulusof
elasticityofsteelis200GPa[4]andthusourcalculationisoffby51%.Aswecanclearlysee,steelismuch
strongerthanaluminumwhilebeingconsiderablylesselasticinnature.
Sincetheformulasforcalculatingstressandstrainonsamplesdoesnotdiffer,onlythestress/strain
graphsareshownforthepolycarbonateplasticandheadphonewiresamples.

PolycarbonatePlasticStress/StrainChart
70.0
60.0

Stress, (MPa)

50.0
40.0
PlasticSample1

30.0

PlasticSample2
20.0
10.0
0.0
0.000

0.100

0.200

0.300

0.400

0.500

0.600

0.700

0.800

Strain, (mm/mm)

Aswecanseefromthestress/straingraphabove,thetwopolycarbonateplasticsamplesproduced
nearlyidenticalgraphs.Inthefirstsample,Iusedthefirst10datapointstocalculateaYoung'sModulus
of1.5GPa.Thesecondsamplealsorequiredthefirst10datapointstomaketheYoung'sModulus
calculation,andourderivedvaluetherewas1.4GPa.Thecoefficientsofdeterminationforeachsample
are0.969and0.951respectively.Thetheoreticalmodulusofelasticityofpolycarbonateplasticis2.0
2.4GPa[5]andthusourcalculationsareoffbybetween25%and42%.Asbefore,Isuspectcalibration
androundingerrorsasthecauseforthisdiscrepancy,alongwiththefactthatthesesamplesarefor
educationaluseandmaynotbeaspurerasthesamplesusedtoderivethetheoreticaldata.

HeadphoneWireStress/StrainChart
90
80

Stress (MPa)

70
60
50
ThickWire

40

ThinWire

30
20
10
0
0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0.035

0.040

Strain (mm/mm)

Lookingatthestress/straingraphsfortheheadphonewires,weseethattheyareverysimilareven
thoughtheyhavedifferentdiameters.Thereisaslightvariationintheslopeofthegraphsbetweenthe
zeropointandthefirstdatapointthanfromtheslopeoftherestofthegraphforeachsample.Ithink
variationsofthistypearecausebythesamplenotbeingcompletelyverticalinthemachine.
Sincetheinitialslopesareslightlyofffromtherestofthegraphs,theoriginpointswereomittedfrom
themoduluscalculations,whichwere2.3GPaand2.2GPaforthethickandthinwiresrespectively.The
coefficientofdeterminationforthethickwirewas.999andthecoefficientofdeterminationforthethin
wirewas0.996.Thefactthatthestress/strainslopesremainedconstantthroughallthedatapoints,the
hypothesisisthatthewiresremainelasticuntiltheybreak.
Itisnotedthatmostelectronicsusecopperwiringastheconductorfortheelectricsignal.Andthe
Young'smodulusforcopperisbetween110GPaand128GPa[6].Itisalsonotedthatthematerialaround
thecopperwiringinmanycasesisPVC[7].ThemodulusofelasticityforPVCis490,000psi[8],orroughly
3.4GPa.Giventhis,ourexperimentalYoung'smodulusisoffbyroughly35%fromthetheoreticalvalue.
Itappearsthatthemodulusofelasticity,atleastintheexperiment,isdeterminedbythewire's
insulation.IbelievethistobebecausethePVCisstretchingovertheinteriorcopperwiring,andsowhile
theoutsideofthewiremayhaveanelongationof2.5mm,wehavenowayofknowingwhattheactual
elongationofthecopperwireis.Also,theinteriorcopperwiringhasasmallercrosssectionalareaand
sothemodulusofelasticityshouldbehigher.

Conclusion
Sowhat'stheanswertoourinitialquestion?Howmuchweightcanbesupportedbetheearbudsofyour
averageipod?iftheforcewerebeingappliedfromtheoutsideofthewire,theanswerissimple.Ittook
241Nofforcetobreakthethickwireand117Nofforcetobreakthethinwire.Ifweassumea45
degreeangleofthethinwireattheyjunction,eachthinwirebearshalftheforceofthethickwire.
Takingthesmalleroftheforceusedtobreakthethickwireortwicetheforceusedtobreakthethin
wire,wedivide234Nofforcebythegravitationalconstant9.81m/s2togetaweightofapproximately
23.9kilograms,or52.7lbf.
Inreality,it'shardtosay.thejackisconnecteddirectlytotheinteriorcopperwires,thejackisusually
reinforcedwhereitconnectstotheinsulation,theangleatwhichthethinwiresrestontheheadvaries
frompersontoperson,therearejusttoomanyunknownvariablestoknowforsure.
Fromthesetestswe'veseenthatmetalshaverelativelylowbreakingpointscomparedtoplastics,and
thattheyareconsiderablylesselastic.Asamatteroffact,theplasticsandPVSwireinsulationdidnot
breakduringourtests,eitherbyreachingthemaximumdistancethemachinecouldpullthem,ofhaving
theinteriorwiresnap.
Wealsonotedthatournumberswere25%50%offfromtheoreticalvalues.Oneofthethingsthatwas
notdonepriortotestingthesampleswasacalibrationtest.Someofthegraphsindicatedthatsamples
weren'tenteredintothemachinepreciselyvertically.Andtherearetheinherentroundingerrorsthat
comefromdoingexperimentalcalculationswithlimitedmeasuringequipment.
Tobereallythorough,Iwouldliketoseetheentirewiretested,withallthereinforcementsintact,
ratherthanjustasmallsampleofthewiregrippedfromoutsidetheinsulation.Findingoutthediameter
oftheinsidecopperwiringwouldalsobekeytodetermininghowmuchweightcouldbesustained.
Inshort,weknowthatanunreinforcedwiregrippedfromtheoutsidecanbear52.7lbfandnothing
more.
References
1

IntroductiontoEngineeringAnalysis,page123.
IntroductiontoEngineeringAnalysis,page124.
3
Wikipediaentryforaluminum(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium).
4
WikipediaentryforYoung'sModulus(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus).
5
Wikipediaentryforpolycarbonate(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate).
6
Wikipediaentryforcopper(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper).
7
Alibaba.com(http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/highclassearphonecheapminiheadphonespvc
cableearbuds.html).
8
WikipediaentryforpolyvinylChloride(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride).
2