To find the material properties we relay on tensile test, why not on compression or torsion test ?

Answer 1

We don't rely on tensile testing only to find a materials properties. As you have mentioned, there are many other properties which must be defined for any material, Hardness, Young's Modulus, etc. Tensile strength is but one of them

All suppliers of materials (metal or polymer) offer Mechanical Properties information for the specific material being considered.

In industry, often times a specific property (such a tensile strength) may be used in discussions to differentiate one material from another (I myself use Yield).

Answer 2

Tensile strength measures the force required to pull something such as rope, wire, or a structural beam to the point where it breaks


The tensile strength of a material is the maximum amount of tensile stress that it can be subjected to before failure. The definition of failure can vary according to material type and design methodology. This is an important concept in engineering, especially in the fields of material science, mechanical engineering and structural engineering.

There are three typical definitions of tensile strength:

Yield strength - The stress a material can withstand without permanent deformation. This is not a sharply defined point. Yield strength is the stress which will cause a permanent deformation of 0.2% of the original dimension.
Ultimate strength - The maximum stress a material can withstand.
Breaking strength - The stress coordinate on the stress-strain curve at the point of rupture.


Tensile strength can be defined for liquids as well as solids. For example, when a tree draws water from its roots to its upper leaves by transpiration, the column of water is pulled upwards from the top by capillary action, and this force is transmitted down the column by its tensile strength. Air pressure from below also plays a small part in a tree's ability to draw up water, but this alone would only be sufficient to push the column of water to a height of about ten metres, and trees can grow much higher than that. (See also cavitation, which can be thought of as the consequence of water being "pulled too hard".)

Answer 3

For most metals, tensile tests are the standard because the specimens can be easily prepared. If you wanted to test a metal in compression, it would have to have a large cross sectional area relative to its length, to prevent buckling.

Compression tests are used for very brittle materials like ceramics. The compression to tensile strength ratio for these materials are 7:1 to 10:1.

Torsion tests are usually only used for round shafts, because most components of a design are not subjected to torsion except shafts for power transmission.

Answer 4

My guess is that, in your subject, the tension test may be the standard method of testing. It does have some disadvantages - essentially the deformation and strength properties that you measure will be affected by micro-cracks and fatigue cracks in ways that are different to the compression test.

If you do start measuring properties in different types of test, you will quickly find that the properties are a lot more complicated. for instance, strength in compression is different to strength in tension, and strength in shearing is different again. In my subject, soil mechanics, we have to address these issues, because of the nature of the applications in earthworks and foundation engineering.

The torsion test is a bit more complicated, because the shear strain in torsion is proportional to radius - that means the sample does not experience a uniform strain.

Answer 5

Tensile loading is tthe most common for Fastners and Such. it really is Material & aplication dependant as to the req'd tests

Answer 6

It depends on the material and applications.