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A Tensile Force is a force that is acting as if to pull an item apart. For example, a rope or a wire can be subjected to a tensile force by hanging a weight on it.

The Tensile Strength of a material is the amount of Tensile Stress that a material can tolerate before it breaks. This is an essential piece of information for engineers, designers and architects.

Tensile force can be measured by using a Load Cell or, if this is not possible due to size or location, can be measured by applying strain gauges directly to the unit under test.

A key consideration when selecting a load cell would be to determine the presence of any likely side forces that may be applied to the load cell. Consideration also has to be give to the side forces or recoil forces that may occur when the unit under test fails.

If using strain gauges, the decision to use quarter bridge, half bridge or full bridge configuration will depend on the required accuracy and stability with temperature.

For more information, refer to the Load Cell application or the Strain Gauge application, by following the links on the right side of the page.