Free Poisson Ratio Calculator
Calculate Poisson's ratio from lateral and axial strain measurements during uniaxial loading.
Poisson's Ratio (nu)
0.3000
Poisson's Ratio (nu) vs Lateral Strain (epsilon_lateral)
Poisson's Ratio
When a material is stretched in one direction, it contracts in the perpendicular directions. Poisson's ratio quantifies this coupling between axial and lateral strains.
Formula
nu = -epsilon_lateral / epsilon_axial
By convention, the negative sign makes nu positive for normal materials (since lateral strain is opposite in sign to axial strain). For this calculator, enter both strains as positive magnitudes. Most metals have nu between 0.25 and 0.35. Rubber approaches 0.5 (nearly incompressible).
Example Calculation
A steel bar shows 0.001 axial strain and 0.0003 lateral contraction strain.
- 01nu = 0.0003 / 0.001 = 0.3
- 02This is typical for steel (nu ≈ 0.28-0.33)
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