Stress strain relations

Restorative materials must

withstand forces either
during fabrication or
mastication.
 Mechanical properties are
importan in understanding
and predicting the
behavior of a material
under load.
 Force
Force is gained through one body
pulling or pushing on another one.

The result of an applied force on a

body is the change in the position
of rest or motion of the body.
 If the body to which the force
is applied remains at rest, the
force causes deformation of
the body.

The unit of force is the

Newton N.
 The biting force on an adult
teeth increases from the
incisors to the molar region.
Biting force on the first and
second molars is varying
from 400 to 800 Newton.
 The force of occlusion and response of
the underlying tissues depends on:

1.Anatomical form of the tooth.

2.Location of the tooth.

3.Age of the patient.

4.Malocculsion.

5.Placement of restorative appliance.

 Stress
When a force acts on a body tending to
deform it, an internal resistance is
developed to this external force
application.
The internal reaction is equal in intensity
and opposite in direction to the external
applied force and called STRESS.
 Both the applied force and internal
resistance (stress) are distributed over a
given area of the body and are designed
as force per unit area.
Force
Stress =
Unit area
So stress = N/m2, MN/m2 or MPa,.
1- Tension: tension results when a body
is subjected to two sets of forces away
from each other in the same straight
line.
2-Compression: Compression results
when a body is subjected to two sets of
forces in the same straight line and
directed toward each other.

The result is shortening of the body.

3-Shear: Shear is the result of two sets
of forces directed parallel to each
other.

The result is sliding of the molecules

over each other.
4-Torsion: Torsion results when a body is
subjected to two sets of circular forces
in opposite directions producing
twisting of the body.

5-Bending. (3 points bending test)

Fig 2: The different types of stresses and their
corresponding deformation
Strain
Strain (E) is defined as the change in
length per unit length of a body when
subjected to stress.

Strain has no unit or measurements but

is represented as a pure number,
obtained from the following equation:
 Deformation L Lo
Strain (E) =
Original length Lo

If a sample of original length 2 mm is

pulled to 2.02 mm, the deformation will
be 0.02 mm. Strain is equal 2.02 2 mm /
2 mm = 0.01 or 1%.
Fig 3-a: the three basic
types of stresses

Fig 3-b: Complex stresses as

produced by
3-point loading of a beam
Stress strain relations:

The stress-strain relationship of a dental

material is studied by measuring the load
and deformation and then calculating the
corresponding stress and strain.

The relationship between stress and strain

is used to study the mechanical properties
of dental materials.
The stress is plotted vertically and the
strain is plotted horizontally. As the
stress is increased the strain is
increased.

In the initial portion or stage of the curve

from 0 to A the stress is proportional to
the strain (linear relation).
Specification for Dental Materials

Any test specimen ready for testing

should be prepared according to
standardized dimensions approved by
international specifications. The
conditions of testing should be also
standardized.
 International Specifications for Dental
Materials
For dentistry we have the following
specifications:
1. American Dental Association (ADA).
2. American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM).
3. International Standard and Organization
(ISO).
Universal testing machine
Cylindrical specimen

Compression
Tension
 Stress-strain curve

pl
Proportional limit and elastic limit

The proportional limit is defined as

the maximum stress that a material
will sustain without the deviation of
Proportionality of stress to strain.
 Below the proportional limit no
permanent deformation occurs in a
structure.

The region or area of the stress-

strain curve below the proportional
limit is called the Elastic region.
 The region beyond the proportional
limit is called the plastic region.

The elastic limit is defined as the

maximum stress that a material will
sustain without permanent
deformation.
Stress- strain curve for a Proportional limit and
material subjected to a
elastic limit
tensile stress
Yield strength

The yield strength or yield stress

(YS) is the stress at which the
material begins to function in a
plastic manner. At this stress a
limited permanent deformation has
occurred in the material.
The yield strength is defined as
the stress at which a material
exhibits a specified limiting
deviation of proportionality of
stress to strain.
Fig 5: Offset yield strength
The amount of permanent strain is
arbitrarily selected for the material to
be examined.

It is indicated as 0.1, 0.2 or 0.5%

permanent strain and is referred as the
percent offset.
Ultimate strength
The ultimate tensile strength is the
maximum stress that a material can
withstand before failure in tension.

The ultimate stress is determined by

dividing the maximum load in tension or
comparison by the original cross-
sectional area of the test specimen.
 D= 1cm
Load at fracture 500 kg

h = 2 cm
500
U.C.S =
X r2

500
=
3.14 X (0.5)2
In restorative dentistry, the yield
strength is more important than
ultimate strength because it
indicates when a material starts to
permanently deform.
Fracture strength

The stress at which a material

fracture is called fracture strength.
The fracture strength is not
necessarily the ultimate stress at
which the material will fracture.
 N/mm2
N/mm2
1000
1000

800
F.S

(Strain)
(Strain)

Fig (4a)
Fig (4b)
The ultimate tensile
strength Fracture strength
 Elastic modulus (modulus of elasticity
or Young's modulus)
The elastic modulus represents the
stiffness of a material within the elastic
range.

It can be determined from a stress-strain

curve by calculating the ratio between
the stress and strain on the slope of the
linear region from the following
equation:
 stress
Elastic modulus E =
strain
Elastic modulus is determined in kg/cm2 or
Mpa or GPa.

To transfer from kg/cm2 to MPa we multiply

by 0.09807.
The stronger the forces of attraction
between atoms and molecules the
greater the value of elastic modulus
and more the material will be rigid.

The elastic modulus represents the

slope of the elastic portion of the
stress-strain curve.
Fig 7: Rigidity of material vs. elastic
deformation at a load.
Elongation
The deformation that results form the
application of tensile stress is elongation.

Elongation is important because it gives

an idea about the workability of the alloy.
 Increase in length
% of Elongation = X 100
Original length
An alloy with high percent of elongation can
be bent or adjusted without danger of

fracture.
Fig 8: Total strains
Flexibility
The term flexibility describes the
amount of strain up to the elastic limit.

So that flexibility is the total amount of

elastic strain in a material.
Fig 9: Total strain
Ductility and Malleability
Ductility is the ability of a
material to withstand a
permanent deformation under
tensile stress without rupture.
A metal which may be drawn into a wire
is said to be ductile. Ductility is
dependent upon plasticity and tensile
strength.

The ability of a material to withstand

permanent deformation under
compression, as in hammering or rolling
in sheets, is called malleability.
Elastic strain = flexibility.

Plastic strain = ductility or malleability.

 Fig (10a)
Low elastic limit
and low ductility

Fig (10b)
High elastic limit
and high
ductility
 Fig 11:Open
margins of a
casting

Burnishing
Resilience
Resilience is the resistance of a material
to permanent deformation.
It indicates the amount of energy required
to deform a material to its proportional
limits.
Resilience is measured as the triangular
area under the elastic portion of stress-
strain curve. The surface area of the
triangle is 1/2 bh.
Fig 12(a): Stress-strain curves showing the area
representing the resilience of a material
The units are m MN/m3 that represents
the energy per unit volume of the
material. (Transferred in joules).

This property is important for

orthodontic wire and denture liners.
Toughness
Toughness is defined as the
amount of energy required to
stress a material to the point of
fracture.

Toughness is the resistance of a

material to fracture.
The area under the elastic and plastic
portion of the curve represents the
toughness of a material.

It is difficult to calculate and the units

of toughness are the same as
resilience
m MN/m3.
Fig 12b: Stress-strain curves showing the area
indicating the toughness.
Properties and Stress-Strain Curves

The shape of a stress-strain curve

and the magnitude of stress and
strain allows the classification of
materials as regard to their
properties e.g. rigid, strong, stiff,
weak and brittle.
Fig 13: Stress-strain curves for materials with various
combinations of properties
 How to predict the properties of a
material under testing from the
stress-strain curve?
1. The magnitude of the curve.

2. The inclination of the curve in the

elastic range.

3. The amount of plastic deformation.

 1. The magnitude to the curve.

MN/m2 MN/m2

1000

200

High magnitude = strong Low magnitude = weak

 2. The inclination of the curve in the elastic range.

MN/m2
MN/m2
1000
800

0.1 4

Stiff and rigid Flexible

Stress
Elastic modulus =
Strain
1000 800
E.M = 1000 MN / m2 E.M = 200 MN / m2
0 .1 4
 3. The amount of plastic deformation.

MN/m2 MN/m2

Brittle = no or small amount of Ductile = large amount of

plastic deformation plastic deformation