In mechanics, Poisson’s ratio is the negative of the ratio of transverse strain to lateral or axial strain. It is named after Siméon Poisson and is denoted by the Greek letter ‘nu’, It is the ratio of the amount of transversal expansion to the amount of axial compression for small values of these changes.
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What Is Poisson’s Ratio?
Poisson’s ratio is “the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain in the direction of the stretching force.” Here,
- Compressive deformation is considered negative
- Tensile deformation is considered positive.
| Symbol | Greek letter ‘nu’,ν |
| Formula | Poisson’s ratio = – Lateral strain / Longitudinal strain |
| Range | -1.0 to +0.5 |
| Units | Unitless quantity |
| Scalar / Vector | Scalar quantity |
Read More: Compressive Stress
Poisson’s Ratio Formula
Imagine a piece of rubber, in the usual shape of a cuboid. Then imagine pulling it along the sides. What happens now?
It will compress in the middle. If the original length and breadth of the rubber are taken as L and B respectively, then when pulled longitudinally, it tends to get compressed laterally. In simple words, length has increased by an amount dL and the breadth has increased by an amount dB.
In this case,
The formula for Poisson’s ratio is,
where,
εt is the Lateral or Transverse Strain
εl is the Longitudinal or Axial Strain
ν is Poisson’s Ratio
The strain on its own is defined as the change in dimension (length, breadth, area…) divided by the original dimension.
Read More: Longitudinal Strain
Poisson’s Effect
When a material is stretched in one direction, it tends to compress in the direction perpendicular to that of force application and vice versa. The measure of this phenomenon is given in terms of Poisson’s ratio. For example, a rubber band tends to become thinner when stretched.
Poisson’s Ratio Values for Different Material
It is the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain in the direction of the stretching force. There can be a stress and strain relation that is generated with the application of force on a body.
- For tensile deformation, Poisson’s ratio is positive.
- For compressive deformation, it is negative.
Here, the negative Poisson ratio suggests that the material will exhibit a positive strain in the transverse direction, even though the longitudinal strain is positive as well.
For most materials, the value of Poisson’s ratio lies in the range, 0 to 0.5.
A few examples of poisson’s ratio are given below for different materials.
| Material | Values |
| Concrete | 0.1 – 0.2 |
| Cast iron | 0.21 – 0.26 |
| Steel | 0.27 – 0.30 |
| Rubber | 0.4999 |
| Gold | 0.42 – 0.44 |
| Glass | 0.18 – 0.3 |
| Cork | 0.0 |
| Copper | 0.33 |
| Clay | 0.30 – 0.45 |
| Stainless steel | 0.30 – 0.31 |
| Foam | 0.10 – 0.50 |
Watch the video below to understand the Poisson’s ratio in detail
Physics Related Topics:
| Shearing Stress |
| Thermal stress |
| Relation between Young’s Modulus and Bulk Modulus |
| Relation between Elastic Constants |
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Does Poisson’s ratio depend on temperature?
Is Poisson’s ratio constant?
Poisson’s ratio for material remains approximately constant within elastic limits.
Define Poisson’s ratio.
Write the Poisson’s ratio formula.
State true or False: Poisson’s ratio is negative for Tensile deformation.
What is Poisson’s ratio of concrete?
What does the Poisson’s ratio 0.5 mean?
Poisson’s ratio 0.5 means a perfectly in-compressible material is deformed elastically at small strains.
What are the units of Poisson’s ratio?
What is Poisson’s ratio of cork?
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Your result is as below
Poisson ratio is dimensionless quantity?
Yes, Poisson’s ratio is dimensionless.
What is the physical meaning of the gradient of Poisson’s ratio? Mean change of the strain? We can obtain a vector from maximum of the gradient? what does it imply?
Poisson’s ratio measures the deformation in the material in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the applied force.