Tensile Strength Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the tensile strength calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Formulas Used

Ultimate Tensile Strength

uts = max_load / area

Ultimate Tensile Strength

uts_ksi = max_load / area * 0.145038

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
max_loadMaximum Load (F)(N)45000
areaOriginal Cross-Sectional Area (A)(mm²)78.54

How It Works

Ultimate Tensile Strength

The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) is the maximum engineering stress a material can sustain before fracture in a standard tension test.

Formula

UTS = F_max / A_0

where F_max is the peak load recorded during the tensile test and A_0 is the original cross-sectional area of the specimen. This is an engineering stress (based on original area), not true stress.

Worked Example

A 10 mm diameter steel rod fails at 45 kN.

max_load = 45000area = 78.54
  1. 01Area of 10 mm diameter rod = pi × 5² = 78.54 mm²
  2. 02UTS = 45000 / 78.54 = 572.9 MPa
  3. 03In ksi: 572.9 × 0.145 = 83.1 ksi

Ready to run the numbers?

Open Tensile Strength Calculator