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Poisson's ratio
When a material is stretched in one direction it tends to get thinner in the other two directions
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When a sampl e of materi al i s stretched i n one di recti on i t tends to get thi nner i n the other two di recti ons.
Poi sson's rati o i s the rati o of the rel ati ve contracti on strai n, or transverse strai n normal to the appl i ed l oad, to the rel ati ve extensi on strai n, or axi al strai n i n the di recti on of the appl i ed l oad.

Poi sson's Rati o can be expressed as
= -
t
/
l
(1)
where
= Poi sson's rati o

t
= transverse strai n

l
= l ongi tudi nal or axi al strai n
Strai n can be expressed as
= dl /L (2)
where
dl = change i n l ength
L = i ni ti al l ength
For most common materi al s the Poi sson's rati o i s i n the range 0 - 0.5.
Typical Poisson's Ratios for some Common Materials
Material Poisson's Ratio
Upper limit 0.5
Al umi num 0.334
Al umi num, 6061-T6 0.35
Al umi num, 2024-T4 0.32
Beryl l i um Copper 0.285
Brass, 70-30 0.331
Brass, cast 0.357
Bronze 0.34
Concrete 0.1 - 0.2
Copper 0.355
Cork 0
Gl ass, Soda 0.22
Gl ass, Fl oat 0.2 - 0.27
Grani te 0.2 - 0.3
Ice 0.33
Inconel 0.27 - 0.38
Iron, Cast - gray 0.211
Iron, Cast 0.22 - 0.30
Iron, Ducti l e 0.26 - 0.31
Iron, Mal l eabl e 0.271
Corrosion Metals Steel Properties Aluminum Steel Stress Calculator
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Lead 0.431
Li mestone 0.2 - 0.3
Magnesi um 0.35
Magnesi um Al l oy 0.281
Marbl e 0.2 - 0.3
Mol ybdenum 0.307
Monel metal 0.315
Ni ckel Si l ver 0.322
Ni ckel Steel 0.291
Pol ystyrene 0.34
Phosphor Bronze 0.359
Rubber 0.48 - ~0.5
Stai nl ess Steel 18-8 0.305
Steel , cast 0.265
Steel , Col d-rol l ed 0.287
Steel , hi gh carbon 0.295
Steel , mi l d 0.303
Ti tani um (99.0 Ti ) 0.32
Wrought i ron 0.278
Z-ni ckel 0.36
Zi nc 0.331
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Related Documents
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Bulk Modulus - Metals and Alloys - Bul k modul us of some common metal s and al l oys
Poisson's Ratio - Metals - Some metal s and thei r Poi sson's rati o
Modulus of Elasticity - Young Modulus for some common Materials - Young Modul us (Tensi l e Modul us) - El asti c Properti es - for some common materi al s - steel , gl ass, wood and more
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