Abstract
In application of flexible materials for mechanical springs, it is very important to check mechanical properties like Young's modulus. This report describes the development of a new measuring method to investigate Young's modulus of flexible materials by considering large deformation behaviors. Two kinds of flexible materials (a high-polymer material and a steel material) were tested. As a result, it is made clear that the new method is suitable for flexible thin plates (sheets) and thin rods. Incidentally, a measured modulus by using this method is secant modulus. The new method developed in this report can be applied suitably to high flexible materials (composites, glass fiber, carbon fiber, optical fiber, etc.).
