Poisson's Ratio
Poisson's ratio is defined as the ratio of lateral strain to longitudinal strain in a material when subjected to mechanical stress. When a material like a wire is stretched, it elongates in the direction of the applied force, which leads to the contraction of its diameter. The lateral strain, represented as Δd/d (change in diameter over the original diameter), occurs in the perpendicular direction to the applied force. The longitudinal strain is the change in length (ΔL) relative to the original length (L) of the material.
Mathematically, Poisson's ratio (ν) is expressed as:
$$\nu = - \frac{\Delta d / d}{\Delta L / L}$$
This formula shows that the ratio is negative because an increase in length (ΔL) results typically in a decrease in diameter (Δd). For metals like steel, Poisson's ratio typically ranges from 0.28 to 0.30, while for aluminum alloys, it's around 0.33. Understanding Poisson's ratio is crucial in engineering for predicting the deformation behaviors of materials under various loading conditions.