Definition
In materials science, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied stress without failure. The field of strength of materials deals with loads, deformations and the forces acting on a material. A load applied to a mechanical member will induce internal forces within the member called stresses. The stresses acting on the material cause deformation of the material. Deformation of the material is called strain, while the intensity of the internal forces is called stress. The applied stress may be tensile, compressive, or shear. The strength of any material relies on three different types of analytical method: strength, stiffness and stability, where strength refers to the load carrying capacity, stiffness refers to the deformation or elongation, and stability refers to the ability to maintain its initial configuration. Material yield strength refers to the point on the engineering stress-strain curve (as opposed to true stress-strain curve) beyond which the material experiences deformations that will not be completely reversed upon removal of the loading. The ultimate strength refers to the point on the engineering stress-strain curve corresponding to the stress that produces fracture.
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