What Is Elongation at Break? - Walker Tape Converting

Elongation at break is simply how long a tape can stretch before breaking when pulled from both ends. On data sheets, you find a tape's elongation at break as a ... Skiptocontent WhatIsElongationatBreak? Home/Blog/WhatIsElongationatBreak? Therearealotofperformancetraitsmadeavailableonatape’stechnicaldatasheet:temperatureresistance,UVresistance,chemicalresistance,adhesionstrength,etc.Butoneoftheweirderphrasesyouoftencomeacrosshastobeelongationatbreak.   InTermsofTape,WhatIsElongationatBreak?   Elongationatbreakissimplyhowlongatapecanstretchbeforebreakingwhenpulledfrombothends.    Ondatasheets,youfindatape’selongationatbreakasapercentage.Thispercentagerepresentshowmuchofatape’soriginallengthcanbepulledbeforebreaking.Forexample,a12-inchpieceoftapewitha50%elongationatbreakcanstretchanadditionalsixinchesbeforeitreachesitsbreakingpoint.Sometimes,youcanalsofinditcalledfracturestrain,butnotbyusintherestofthisblogpost.    WhatistheDifferenceBetweenTape’sTensileStrength&ElongationatBreak?   Tensilestrengthmeasurestheforceneededtobreaktapeapart.It’smeasuredbythepoundsofforceappliedpersquareinchoftape.Thisdefinitionsoundsquitesimilartoelongationatbreak,however,thereisanimportantdistinguishingfactor.    Bothconceptsdealwithtensileforceorpullingattheends.Buttensilestrengthandelongationatbreakmeasuretwodifferentqualitiesofthetape.    Sincetensilestrengthmeasurestheforceneededtobreaktapeapart,itdealswithexternaltraitsactingonthetape.Elongationatbreak,ontheotherhand,focusesontheinternaltraitsthatallowatapetofunctionandholditselftogether.   So,knowingatape’stensilestrengthcomesinhandyforapplicationswhereyouknowinvolveacertainamountofstresspullingonthetape.Thisshowsyouifthetapesolutionworkswiththemachineryorproduction/applicationprocessthatyouuse.    Knowingatape’selongationatbreakgivesyouanideaifthetapeitselfhasthestretchablenaturetoperformhowyouneeditto.   WhyDoesElongationatBreakMattertoTape?   Dependingontheapplication,elongationatbreakcanmatteragreatdeal.Thinkofallthewaysweapplytapethatinvolvessomeamountofourpullingonthetape.Theseincludeobviousexamplessuchasfixingsurfaceprotectiontapeandthenpullingittightlytoensureastraight,cleanline(likewithmaskingtapes).   Thentherearealsochallengingapplicationsthatinvolvetapingtightcornersorcurves.Whenyouneedahighlyconformablesolutionforirregularshapes,itmakestheprocessmuchmorestreamlinedifthetapeyou’reworkingwithhasgoodelongationatbreak.    Buttherearealsolessobviousexamples,suchastapinglayersoffoamtogethertocreateamattress.Ifdonewithtoomuchslack,therecanbewrinklesandairbubblesinthetapethataffectthefinishedproduct.    Thisperformancetraitappliestomuchmorethanmattressproduction.Infact,inmostprocesseswhereyouarelaminatinglayersofflexiblematerialstogether,thisabilitytostaveoffwrinklesandairbubblescomesinhandy.   Elongationatbreakalsomatterstotapesintemperaturevariableconditions.Thetapesandthematerialsthey’rebondedtoexpandandcontractbasedontemperaturechanges.Theabilityofatapetoconformwithandsupportthesechangesinformincreasesitsoverallbondperformance.   Onetapeconstructionthatisfamousforitsabilitytocompensateformaterialsexpandingandcontractingintemperaturechangesishighbondtapes.Theseoptionsareusuallymadebyinfusingtheirfoamcarrierwithadhesive.Thisreinforcesthetape’sfoamcarrier,essentiallymakingittheadhesiveitself.    Theelongationatbreakforhighbond,foamcoretapesareoftenoffthechartsat1000%.Again,thismeansthatthetapecouldbestretchedtoathousandtimesitslengthbeforefailing.    Elongationatbreakalsoservesanotherfunctionintermsofatape’sperformancerelativetotemperature.Asitgetscolder,tapeadhesivesbecomeharder.    Thishardeninggivesthetapeamoreglassynature,pronetobecomingbrittleandcracking.Butthemoreelongationatbreakatapeiscapableof,themoreflexiblethetapeislikelytostayastemperaturesgodown.Theytooharden,asalltapesdo.Buttheywon’thardenasmuchorasquicklycomparedtooptionswithlowerelongationatbreakpercentages.     Areyouworkingwithtapeinanapplicationwhereflexibility,conformability,andstretchabilityareimportant?Sendusafreequoterequest,andwecanfindyoutherighttapewiththeperfectelongationatbreakforyourproject! RecentPosts RecentPosts FourThingstoConsiderWhenPickingaTape Let’sMeet3M™’sWLTransferSeries UsesforPermanentFoamBonds MeetBerryGlobal’sAdchem650Tapes WhatIsWet-OutandWhyDoesItMatter? Categories Categories AboutTape News Products ProjectCapabilities ProjectTips Uncategorized WantUpdates? NameEmail* Δ Postsnavigation ←tesa®General-PurposeAcrylicTapeforFoam&PlasticsBonding3MThermallyConductiveSolutionsforElectronics→