The University of Zambia

School of Natural Sciences

Department of Physics
PHY 1015
Lecture 8C
Elastic Moduli of Solids and Poisson’s Ratio
Mr. Gift L. Sichone
Phone : +260 764036560
Email : giftsichone@gmail.com
September 22, 2022

1 Introduction
In the previous lesson, you were introduced to deformation in solids in terms
of the elastic and plastic deformation. You were also introduced to the four
different types of stresses solids experience and strains they undergo namely-
tensile, compressive, bulk and shear stresses and strains. This lesson will intro-
duce Hooke’s law and how this law is related to the proportionality to stresses
and strains you considered in the previous lesson. Within a small range called
the elastic region (i.e. when the solid is undergoing elastic deformation), it is
generally found that the larger the stress applied on a solid the greater the strain
produced and vice versa. This lesson will also show you how to calculate the
amount of work done on a solid in the elastic region under the different types
of strains considered in the previous.

2 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Define Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus and Poisson’s ra-
tio;

2. Calculate Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, and shear modulus ;

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3 Definition of Modulus of Elasticity
In 1660, an English scientist Robert Hooke discovered a law of elasticity of solids
under the action of deforming forces. This law of elasticity is also commonly
known as Hooke’s law in his honor. Hooke’s law states that for relatively small
deformations (i.e. changes in length, volume or shape) of a solid, the magnitude
of the deformation of a solid is directly proportional to the size of the deforming
force. If you double the deforming force, the amount of deformation you will
cause in a solid will double. On the other hand, if you halve the deforming force,
then you will produce only half the amount of deformation in the solid. The
deforming force can take the form of a tensile or compressive deforming force,
pressure, a shearing or a twisting deforming force. Under these conditions, the
solid only undergoes elastic deformation and returns to its original size and
shape upon the removal of the deforming force.

F ∝x
According to Hooke, deformation in solids under the action of a deforming
forces is the result of small displacements of atoms from their equilibrium po-
sitions and that the size of the displacement is proportional to the magnitude
of the deforming force. Hooke’s law states that deforming or applied force F is
equal to a spring constant k times the deformation x. Mathematically, Hooke’s
law is written as.
F = kx (1)
where F is the deforming force and x is the deformation. The value of k is a
proportionality constant that depends on the kind of elastic material and the
dimensions and shape of the solid.
Often Hooke’s law is written as F = −kx . In this expression, F is not the
applied or deforming force but the restoring force setup inside the solid that
causes the solid to return its original length, size and shape upon the removal
of the deforming force. The minus sign shows that the direction of deformation
is opposite to the direction of the restoring force.
For large values of applied or deforming force, the deformation produced in
an elastic solid is often larger than the amount of deformation expected on the
basis of Hooke’s law. Hooke’s law does not apply under these conditions.
Hooke’s law can also be expressed in terms of stress and strain. As you
can recall from our studies in the previous lesson, stress is the force per unit
area setup within a solid as a result of an externally applied deforming force.
Strain is the relative deformation produced in a solid as result of a externally
applied deforming stress. For relatively small stresses, Hooke’s law states that
the stress applied on a solid is proportion to the strain produced in the solid.
Mathematically, Hooke’s law in terms of stress and strain can be written as

stress ∝ strain

stress = E × strain

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 σ =E· (2)
where E is the proportionality constant called modulus of elasticity or elastic
modulus. In this unit, you will consider three types of elastic moduli.
There is a modulus of elasticity associated with change in length ( relates
tensile stress and tensile strain ), change in volume (relates bulk stress and
bulk strain) and shape (relates shear stress and shear strain). These moduli
of elasticity are respectively referred to as elasticity of length, elasticity of
volume and elasticity of shape.

4 Elasticity of length - Young’s modulus

Consider the rod shown in Figure 1, subjected to a deforming tensile stress pro-
ducing a corresponding tensile strain in the rod. For relatively small deforming
tensile stresses, the magnitude of the tensile stress setup inside the rod will be
proportional to the tensile strain produced in the rod. Mathematically, this
relationship is written as

Figure 1: Schematic illustration of deformation of a rod under the action of a

tensile force.

σtensile = Y tensile (3)

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where σtensile is the tensile stress and tensile is the tensile strain. The elastic
modulus Y is referred to as Young’s modulus. Young’s modulus is named
after 18 th century English physicist Thomas Young.
Young’s modulus is defined as the ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain
and is given by
σtensile
Y = (4)
tensile
Young’s modulus measures the ability of a solid or material to withstand
changes in length under the action of a tensile or compressive deforming force.
Sometimes, Young’s modulus is also called modulus of elasticity
Young’s modulus has physical meaning only in the elastic range (i.e. the
range in which the tensile stress is proportional to the tensile strain). In the
elastic range as shown in Figure 2, the solid rod depicted in Figure 1 will return
to its original length Lo . As the magnitude of the tensile stress applied on
the solid rod increases, the value of Young’s modulus will no longer remain
constant but decrease. The solid rod will start undergoing plastic deformation
and will finally break. In the plastic range, the resulting amount of deformation
produced by a tensile stress in an elastic solid will often be larger than the
amount of deformation expected on the basis of Hooke’s law. Hooke’s law does
not apply in the plastic range.

Figure 2: Stress strain curve of ductile low carbon steel material.

By substituting into Equation (4) expressions of tensile stress and tensile

strain, you obtain the following equivalent expression for Young’s modulus

4
  
F⊥
  
A F⊥ lo
Y =   =
∆l A ∆l
lo
F⊥ lo
Y = (5)
A∆l
where F⊥ is the applied tensile force, A is the cross section area of the rod, lo is
the original length of the rod and ∆l is the extension of the rod. The SI units
for Young’s modulus are N/m2 or Pa (same as those for tensile stress).
Rewriting Equation (5) in the form of Hooke’s law given by Equation (1),
you obtain
 
YA
F⊥ = ∆l (6)
lo
By comparing Equations (1) and (6), you find that the spring constant k is
also given by
YA
k= (7)
lo
Equation (7) clearly shows you that the value of k depends on the nature of
the elastic solid material (i.e. different elastic solids or materials have different
values of Y ) and the dimensions of that solid (i.e. A and lo )

5 Elasticity of Volume - Bulk Modulus

Consider the cube depicted in Figure 3 subjected to compressive equal pres-
sures acting perpendicularly on all the surfaces of the cube. When the pressure
applied on all the surfaces of the cube is increased, the volume of the cube
will reduce. The cube will return to its original volume when the pressure is
removed. For relatively small changes in pressure (also called bulk stress) there
is direct proportionality with the bulk strain (i.e. ratio of volume change to
original volume). The elastic modulus for volume change under change in pres-
sure is called bulk modulus and it measures the ability of a substance or solid
to withstand changes in volume under compressive pressure from all sides. The
relative deformation in this case is the bulk strain and the deforming stress is
the bulk stress or increase in pressure.
Mathematically, Hooke’s law of elasticity for the case of bulk stress and bulk
strain is expressed as

σbulk = Bbulk (8)

where σbulk is the bulk stress, bulk is the bulk strain and B is the bulk
modulus. The units of bulk modulus B are Pa (as bulk stress or increase in
pressure). Equation (8) is only valid in the elastic range where σbulk is directly
proportional to bulk .

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Figure 3: Schematic illustrations of cube under the action of equal compressive
forces which are perpendicular to the cube’s surfaces.

Rearranging Equation (8) such that B becomes the subject of the formula
and substituting in expressions for bulk stress and bulk strain, you obtain the
following equivalent mathematical expression for B as
σbulk
B= (9)
bulk

P
B = −  (10)
∆V
Vo
P Vo
B=− (11)
∆V
The minus sign in Equation (11) is there to ensure that B is always a positive
valued quantity. When the cube in Figure 3 is undergoing compression, its final
volume V will be less than its original volume Vo . Since ∆V = V − Vo , the
quantity ∆V is negative. Therefore, the minus sign in Equation (11) ensures
that B remains positive valued.
The reciprocal of the bulk modulus called the compressibility of a sub-
stance and denoted β is given by
1
β= (12)
B

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 A substance which is difficult to compress has a large value of bulk modulus
B but a small compressibility β . A substance that is easy to compress has a
low bulk modulus B but a high compressibility β.

6 Elasticity of Shape - Shear Modulus

Consider the sideways view of a cube shown in Figure 4, subjected to a deforming
F||
shearing stress on the top face of the cube. The shearing stress causes
A
relative layers of the cube to slide parallel to each over a small distance resulting
in slight distortion of the shape of the cube. For relatively small distortions of
the cube, the cube will return to its original shape upon the removal of the
deforming shear stress. Under these conditions, the shearing stress is directly
proportional to the shear strain. The elastic modulus related to change of shape
of the cube due to a shear stress is called shear modulus denoted by S and is
also known as the modulus of rigidity.
The shear modulus S is defined as the ratio of shear stress to shear strain.

σshear = Sshear (13)

where σshear is the shear stress, shear is the shear strain and S is the shear
modulus. The SI units of shear modulus S are N/m2 or Pa.
The shear modulus S measures the ability of a solid or material to resist
shearing strain i.e resist a change in shape. Shear modulus loses its physical
meaning when the deforming shearing stresses are very large, resulting in the
solid undergoing plastic deformation and eventually fracturing.

Figure 4: Schematic illustration of a cube being acted upon by a tangential

force F|| .

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 Rearranging Equation (13) so that S becomes the subject of the formula
and substituting in expressions for shear stress and shear strain, you obtain the
following equivalent mathematical expression for shear modulus S as
 
F||
  
σshear A F|| 1
S= = = = (14)
shear ∆x A tan θ
l
F||
S= (15)
A tan θ
π
But for |θ ≪ | , then tan θ ' θ. Therefore Equation(15) becomes
2
F||
S= (16)
Aθ
where F|| is the shearing force, A is the cross area of the sheared surface, and θ
is the shearing angle in radians.

7 Poisson’s Ratio
Poisson’s ratio is named after French scientist and engineer Simeon Poisson and
is denoted by the symbol ν. If you apply a deforming tensile force F⊥ to the solid
rod depicted in Figure 5, it will be stretched. The size of the rod will increase
linearly along the direction of the deforming tensile force F⊥ and contracts in
the direction perpendicular to F⊥ . There is a reduction in the cross section area
A of the rod on which the deforming tensile force F⊥ acts.
The strain produced in the solid rod in the direction of the deforming tensile
force F⊥ is called longitudinal strain or linear strain and is denoted by
∆l
α= (17)
lo
where ∆l is the extension of the load in metres and lo is the original length
of the rod.
The strain which is produced at right angles to the deforming tensile force
F⊥ is called the transverse strain or lateral strain and is often denoted by
∆D
β= (18)
D
where ∆D is a small decrease in the diameter of the rod and D is the original
diameter of the solid rod.
Applying the deforming tensile force linearly causes a linear strain α which
in turn causes a lateral strain β . If α is decreased, β also decreases and vice
versa. The lateral strain α is proportional to the linear strain β and we write

β∝α

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Figure 5: Schematic illustration of how a tensile force F⊥ produces elongation
and contraction of a solid rod

β = να (19)
Making ν the subject of the formula, we get Poisson’s ratio as
β
ν=− (20)
α
The minus sign makes sure that the poisson’s ratio is always positive.

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 Table 1: Mechanical properties of some materials

Material Young’s Modulus Bulk Modulus Shear Modulus Pisson’s Ratio

Material Y (GPa) B (GPa) S (GPa) ν

Aluminium 70 75 25

Brass 120 60 35

Copper 120 140 44s

Iron 170 160 77

Lead 160 410 6

Nickel 210 170 78

Steel 200 160 75

Titanium 116 0.32

Silicon nitride 304

Gold 78 0.44

Bone 18

Plastic 2

Rubber 0.02

Diamond 1000

Concrete 15-20

Silica Glass 60-90

Wood 15-20

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