ABSTRACT
In application of flexible materials it is very important to evaluate mechanical properties of these materials. Mechanical properties to be evaluated include the proportional limit, elastic limit, yielding point, tensile strength, compressive strength, shear strength, ultimate strength, elongation, contraction, elastic modulus and so on. The longitudinal modulus (typical elastic modulus; Young’s modulus) is one of them. In the present paper, apart from the conventional three- or four-point bending test, we developed a new measuring method to investigate the longitudinal modulus (Young’s modulus) of flexible materials in considering large deformation behaviours. Based on this new idea, various kinds of flexible materials were tested. It is made clear that the new method is suitable for flexible materials such as thin rods and thin sheet materials. By the way, a measured modulus is the secant modulus.
