If you are in the market for stainless steel metal mesh and different types of wire mesh, you might notice that many descriptions of different metals and alloys include some mention of tensile strength. Most of the metals used to make metal mesh have good tensile strength, and that’s no coincidence. What is tensile strength, and how does it relate to metal mesh?
What Is Tensile Strength?
Did you ever own Silly Putty as a kid? It was a weird substance that you could pull and stretch like gum. (It also bounced!) Silly putty has very low tensile strength. All you had to do was pull a little, and it would stretch and stretch and stretch.
Tensile strength, known formally as ultimate tensile strength, is “the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate.” In other words, when you pull on a material, you are essentially testing its tensile strength.
Items with low tensile strength will easily deform, break, or even shatter when put under tensile pressure. Think the silly putty or pulling on a rubber, deflated balloon.
You can actually measure an object’s tensile strength by determining the amount of stress it can withstand before deforming or breaking.
When it comes to metal mesh, understanding tensile strength can be very useful.
Why Tensile Strength Matters
Most of our customers expect the metal mesh they purchase to stand up to a variety of punishment. Metal mesh might be used as fencing to keep critters out or to keep dangerous animals in. Metal mesh can be found in cars, inside buildings, and in airplanes. It’s used to filter and protect.
Our customers don’t want their metal mesh buckling, breaking, or getting stretched like silly putty.
A high tensile strength means that metal mesh won’t deform if, say, a big dog tries to push against it. It means the mesh can hold up to heavily pressurized liquids in a filtration system or strong g-forces in the air.
Different Metals, Different Tensile Strength
It shouldn’t be surprising that different metals possess different tensile strengths. Tensile strength can also be changed in alloys by changing the composition of different metals. Austenitic stainless steel, one of our most popular metal meshes has a very high tensile strength, which is one of the reasons so many of our customers choose it.
Want to know more about the ultimate tensile strength of our different metal mesh options? Contact us today to learn more.
