Pipe Glossary
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- ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) - A ridged black plastic pipe used for drain, waste, and vent lines.
- Allowable Pipe Span - The distance between pipe supports that is allowed before the deflection is to great.
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Alloy Steel Pipe - When you add various metallic and non-metallic elements in a specific amount to carbon steel, it will change the properties of carbon steel. We can manipulate these percentages of alloying elements in steel to achieve better properties than plain carbon steel.
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Aluminum Alloy Pipe - Aluminum and its alloys are essential to the aerospace industry and are significant in the automotive and building sectors, such as façade design and window frames. The base material is specially formulated to resist the effects of corrosion and abrasion. Corrosion resistance is further improved by cladding each surface with a higher grade aluminum alloy.
- Ambient Temperature - When outdoors the ambient temperature is the current surrounding environment air temperature.
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ABS Pipe - ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), is a black plastic pipe that is commonly used for drainage, sewage, and vents. It is also often used in DWV systems (drain-waste-vent), which are designed to remove wastewater from a home or business.
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Asbestos Cement Pipe - Asbestos cement pipe is a special type of pipe that uses asbestos to provide improved mechanical properties to traditional cement pipe. Plain cement pipe often lacks tensile strength. The added asbestos fibers provide cement pipe with improved tensile strength.
- ASME B16.34 - Group 1, Material Spec, Carbon Steel and Alloy Steel -
- ASME B31.3 Pipe Thickness Calculator - The B31.3 Code contains requirements for piping typically found in petroleum refineries; chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, paper, semiconductor, and cryogenic plants; and related processing plants and terminals.
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- Bleed Ring - Inserted between two butt welding joints before welding to allow for complete penetration.
- Barlow's Formula - The point just before or at when a pipe or tubing fails under pressure.
- Beam Design Formulas - Formulas that calculate the loads on structural beams.
- Belled End Fittings - Used instead of buttwelded fittings. They are a lot faster to install because there is no nead to bevel the connecting pipe and because making up the weld is a lot faster.
- Bernoulli's Equation - A way of describing the conservation of energy principle in an incompressible fluid.
- Black Pipe - Lacquered outside diameter of the pipe.
- Burr - A small piece of metal remaining on the edge after machining. It is normally removed or deburred by grinding or milling the object.
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Carbon Steel Pipe - Carbon steel pipes have a durability that can be advanced by adding coatings that will stop rust. This will lead to an extended life of the pipe. The pipe is highly resistant to shock and vibration, which allows it to be ideal when transporting. This strength, in addition to its elasticity, allows it to be used safely under high-pressure conditions. The steel pipe will not bend or break.
- Casing in a Well - There are different types of casing found in production, steam or water injection, or gas wells.
- Casing Vapor Recovery -
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Cast Iron Pipe - Cast iron pipes were widely used for the transportation of water and sewage before plastic pipes were invented. Though cast iron pipes corrode over time, the rust forms a layer over the remaining pipe that slows down corrosion.
- Cathodic Protection - A method used to control corrosion on the surface of a metal which can be above or below ground pipes, tanks, vessels, etc.
- Cement Lined Pipe - Cement lined pipe is a type of pipe that has a layer of cement mortar applied to its interior surface. This lining is designed to protect the pipe from corrosion and to improve the flow characteristics of the fluid or gas being transported through the pipe.
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Chrome Pipe - This pipe is typically utilized in high temperature and pressure applications due to its tensile strengths, yield strength, fatigue resistance, toughness and wear resistance.
- Cold Bending - The bending of pipe to a predetermined radius at any temperature below some specified phase change or transformation temperature but especially at or near room temperature.
- Cold Working - Ordinarily done at room temperature, but may be done at the temperature and rate at which strain hardening occures.
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Concrete Pipe - Concrete pipe is a rigid pipe having very good strength and high longevity. Concrete pipes are being used for a long time mainly in the water and wastewater industries.
- Continuity Equation - The moving of a quantity through a pipe in a steady flow.
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Copper Alloy Pipe - It’s strong, durable and naturally protected against rust. And since copper is recyclable, it’s an environmentally friendly solution for these and other applications. Copper tubes are utilized in a variety of applications such as plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and refrigerant, and also used in the production of a variety of industrial items, including heat exchangers, oil coolers, and condensers.
- Copper Pipe - Copper tubing has many uses and is used in just about every industry. It is most often seen in domestic water supplies and used for potable water.
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CPVC Pipe - CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride) as PVC are similar in many ways, but they shouldn't be used interchangeably. Both are made of the same basic elements with one distinguishing factor. CPVC is altered by a free radical chlorination reaction that effectively increases the chlorine content of the material. CPVC is also a thermoplastic that is molded into many of the same products as PVC.
- Corrosion - The thinning of a pipe wall that is typically caused by a chemical reaction from a corroding fluid or agent and is limited almost exclusively to metal products.
- Corrosion Allowance - The amount of material in a pipe or vessel that is available for corrosion without affecting the pressure containing integrity.
- Corrugated Steel Pipe -
- Cut Length - Straight pipe comes in random, double random, and cut lengths. Random lengths are from 18 to 25 feet, and sometimes double random lengths from 38 to 48 feet.
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- Darcy-Weisbach Equation - The most common way of expressing the pressure drop of a piped fluid.
- Density - The ratio of the amount of matter in an object compared to its volume.
- Dew Point - The temperature at which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor.
- Double Extra Strong - This is a standard pipe weight designation and is abbreviated as XXS.
- Double Random Length - A line pipe with the shortest possible length of 22' or as defined by specifications.
- Draw Pipe - Pipe brought to the final dimensions by drawing through a die.
- Drill Pipe - Pipe used in the drilling of an oil or gas well. This pipe is the conduit between the wellhead motor and the drill bit.
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Ductile Iron Pipe - Ductile iron pipe is made from ductile cast iron, a graphite rich cast iron in which the graphite has a spheroidal shaped molecular structure. This molecular structure makes the cast iron less brittle and more resistant to impact than the other varieties, which have a flaky structure. The pipe is used in water and sewer lines.
- Dynamic Pressure - The amount of total pressure resulting from the media velocity.
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- Electric Furnace - A method to produce steel, basically from scrap metal.
- Extra Strong - A standard pipe weight and abbreviated as XS, also described as extra heavy (XH).
- Extruded Pipe - Pipe produced from hollow or solid round forgings, usally in a hydraulic extrusion press.
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Ferrous Pipe - Ferrous metals contain iron.
- Fitting - A piping component that is used to join piping, change the direction or diameter of piping or end the pipe.
- Flange - A bolted connection where two pieces of pipe, equipment, fittings or valves are connected together to form a piping system.
- Flexural Strength - The measure of a materials ability to withstand a specified deformation under a beam load.
- Flow Line - A pipe that that carries oil, gas or water from the wellhead to a well-test manifold or production facilities.
- Flow Rate - The amount of fluid that flows in a given time past a specific point.
- Fluid Pressure - Fluid at rest, exerts a force perpendicular to any surface in comes in contact with.
- Fluid Velocity - How fast the process is traveling in a pipe.
- Friction - The mechanical resistance to the relative movement of two surfaces.
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FRP Pipe - FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) is a composite material consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibers. This pipe is used in trenchless installation of pipelines because it is lightweight, temperature resistant, strong, and highly resistant to chemicals and corrosion.
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- Galvanic Corrosion - Corrosive action occuring when two dissimilar metals are in contact and are joined by a solution capable of conducting an electric current, a condition which causes a flow of electric current and corrosion of the more anodic of the two metals.
- Gathering Line - A pipe that that carries oil, gas or water from the wellhead to a well-test manifold or production facilities.
- General Pipe Standards - There are a lot of standards and specifications that cover various types of pipe.
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Glass Lined Pipe - Glass piping systems are a special type of piping system mainly used for food processing, laboratory service, and some other industrial applications. Glass piping is specifically preferred because of its cleanliness, transparency, durability, and good chemical resistance. However, glass pipes being of special nature, require special consideration of supports and attachments. In this article, we will briefly discuss some salient points of glass piping in general.
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Glass Pipe - Glass pipes are utilized to withstand chemical reactions, cleanliness, and transparency. In the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, they are widely used. The glass pipe’s extremely smooth surface aids in keeping systems clean. In the case of abrasive fluid mediums, the hardness of the glass offers protection.
- Grade - A class of steel defining amongst others, chemistry, tensile strength, and yield strength
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GRE Pipe - GRE (Glass Reinforced Epoxy) main difference from GRP is the resin used to bond the glass fibers. The pipe is used in industrial applications because it can withstand higher temperatures compared to GRP.
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GRP Pipe - GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) is a composite material pipe consisting of a polymer matrix that is reinforced with glass fibres. They have very high corrosion resistance ability and are thus used widely for low temperature corrosion resistant applications.
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HDPE Pipe - HDPE (High-density Polyethylene) is used in drainage systems and constructions because of its strong temperature resistance.
- Head Pressure - The pressure at a specific point to the vertical distance at another specific point.
- Hoop Stress - The circumferential and perpendicular stress to the axis imposed on a cylinder wall when exposed to an internal pressure load.
- Hydraulic Radius - The area cross-section of water in a pipe or channel divided by the wetting perimeter.
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- Iron Pipe Size - Originally established for wrought iron pipe. ASME B36.10M - Welded and Seamless Wrought Steel Pipe lists these dimensions.
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- Kinematic Viscosity - The ratio of dynamic viscosity to density or the resistive flow of a fluid under the influance of gravity.
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- Laminar Flow - Generally happens when dealing with low Reynolds numbers in pipes.
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LDPE Pipe - LDPE (Low-density Polyethylene) is mostly utilized in the sprinkler and drips irrigation systems, laboratories, and industrial process components.
- Length of Cut Pieces on a Curve - Find the angle of a fabricated pipe turn, it is the same no matter what the angle.
- Line Sizing for Steam -
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- Manifold - At its most basic level, a piping manifold is a wide pipe that serves as a collector for several smaller pipes.
- Mass - The amount of matter an object has.
- Mass Flow Rate - The average velocity of a mass that passes by a point.
- Material Hardness - The property of a material that enables it to resist plastic deformation, usually by penetration.
- Mechanical Properties - During the use of a material external forces are applied to the material.
- Metal Pipe - The difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals is that ferrous metals contain iron and non-ferrous metals do not.
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Nickel Alloy Pipe - Nickel is a highly versatile element with significant beneficial qualities. When alloyed with other elements, nickel maintains numerous applications throughout various industries. Some of the significant beneficial qualities that nickel alloy materials displays include low expansion, high strength, electrical resistance, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance.
- Nominal Diameter - The external size diameter designated of pipe or threads.
- Nominal Pipe Size - The external size diameter designated of pipe or threads.
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Non-ferrous Pipe - Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron.
- Non-metal Pipe - These pipes include various common plastic pipes, composite pipes, concrete pipes, rubber pipes, glass steel pipes, etc.
- Non-metallic Pipe - There are several advantages and limitations between using metallic or nonmetallic materials instead of using steel piping.
- Normal Pressure - The working pressure that a system operates at.
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- Operating Pressure - The level of pressure at which a component, pipe, tube, hose or other fluid passage will experience during application of maximum expected fluid pressure.
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- Pascal's Law - The increase in pressure is uniformly applied in all directions in a confined fluid.
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PCCP Pipe - PCCP (Pressurized Concrete Cylinder Pipe) have a structural, high-strength concrete core, a steel cylinder with steel joint rings welded at each end providing water-tightness, steel prestressing wire, and a portland cement-rich mortar coating.
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PE Pipe - PE (Polyethylene) is a thermoplastic material produced from the polymerization of ethylene. Polyethylene can be used in low temperatures without risk of brittle failure. Thus, a major application for certain PE piping formulations is for low-temperature heat transfer applications such as radiant floor heating, snow melting, ice rinks, and geothermal ground source heat pump piping.
- Pipe Bore - A hole or inside diameter in a cylinder or object. It is commonly used in piping, pipe fittings and pipe flanges.
- Pipe End - A pipe end is the description of how the section of pipe ends. There are three main types of pipe ends: beveled, threaded or plain.
- Pipe Inch to Meter Conversion -
- Pipe Pressure per ASME B31.1 (104.1.2) - The pressure rating of comparable pipe material to fitting material.
- Pipe Pressure per ASME B31.3 (304.1.2) - The pressure rating of comparable pipe material to fitting material.
- Pipe Rack - Is used to support piping, instrumentation, cable tray and other components in a process facility.
- Pipe Schedule - The term used to describe the thickness of a pipe.
- Pipe Tap - Uses a cutting tool to create internal threads in a hole or pipe. It is specifically designed to create threads that conform to standard pipe thread sizes and specifications.
- Piping One-line Drawing - A piping single line drawing is a piping drawing that shows the size and location of pipes, fittings and valves.
- Piping System Labeling Scheme - ASME standard suggests labeling all pipes, it is required for pipes to be labeled.
- Pipeline Parameter - Proportional to maximum water hammer pressure rise and static pressure.
- Pipeline Pigging - A PIG is a Pipeline Inspection Gauge. PIG's scrape the inside of the pipeline and perform cleaning maintenance on the wall.
- Porosity - Presence of gas pockets or voids in metal.
- Pressure - It is the force exerted perpendicular to the surface of an object and is expressed as force per unit area.
- Pressure Differential - The pressure difference between two points of a system.
- Pressure Loss - The difference in upstream and downstream pressure.
- Pressure Rating - The estimated maximum pressure a liquid can exert continuously inside the pipe at which the pipe will not fail. Normally 1.5 times working pressure.
- Proof Pressure - The pressure at which a component, pipe, tube, hose or other fluid passage will not yield during application of internal pressure.
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PTCCP Pipe - PTCCP (Pretensioned Concrete Cylinder Pipe) also called bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes. The interior of the pipe is provided with centrifugally applied mortar or concrete lining. Around the outside of the cylinder, a steel bar is helically wound tightly and securely welded to the steel joint rings. Next, a cement rich dense mortar coating is applied to the cylinder and bar wrap. These types of concrete pipes are used in cooling water system pipelines, distribution pipelines, open-cut tunnels, sanitary main and trunk gravity lines, wastewater intake lines, etc.
- Pup - is a short length of pipe, typically six inches in length or less that connects two piping components.
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PVC Pipe - PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is a white or light colored plastic pipe that is most commonly used for plumbing and drainage. Like ABS, it is often used in DWV (drain-waste-vent) or sewerage systems to remove waste from a home or business. It has a smooth surface, good elasticity, and is non-toxic. Certain PVC grades are employed in service lines for chemical and food processing.
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- Quenching - A process of quickly cooling an elevated temperature.
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- Random Length - Straight pipe comes in random, double random, and cut length. Random lengths (RL)are from 18 to 25 feet, and sometimes double random lengths from 38 to 48 feet.
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RCNP Pipe - RCNP (Reinforced Concrete Non-cylinder Pipe) These pipes are widely found in tunnel applications, wastewater treatment plants, irrigation industries, combined sewer overflow, underground detention tanks, etc.
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RCP Pipe - RCP (Reinforced Concrete Pipe) used in roadway and site development for transferring a large volume of liquid.
- Resistance Welding - A group of welding processes used to weld metal using electric current to force join by pressure of the metals.
- Restrained Anchored Pipe Stress -
- Reynolds Number - Measures the ratio of inertial forces (forces that remain at rest or in uniform motion) to viscosity forces (the resistance to flow).
- Rolled Pipe - Pipe produced from a forged billet which is pierced by a conical mandrel between to diametrically opposing rolls.
- Roll Forming - A continuous bending operation in which a long strip of metal (typically coiled steel) is passed through consecutive sets of rolls, or stands, each performing only an incremental part of the bend, until the desired cross-section profile is obtained.
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Rubber Lined Pipe - Rubber Lined Pipe is utilized across numerous industries and is a cost effective method to transport abrasive slurries, corrosive chemicals and many other liquids from one area to another. Rubber linings are mainly used for protection against corrosion and erosion damage.
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- Schedule Number - A number system setup by ANSI and ASME for the purpose of standardization to designate the size of a pipe.
- Single Random Length - Lne pipe with a 17.5' minimum average length or as defined by specifications.
- Sleeve - Pipe which is passed through a wall for the purpose of inserting another pipe through it.
- Slug Flow - Occurs when the speed of the vapor phase pushes the waves from the wavy flow regime onto each other.
- Specific Gravity - The density or ratio of any substance to another substance.
- Specific Weight - The weight per unit volume of a substance.
- Specific Volume - The volume in a unit of mass.
- Spiral Welded - A method of manufacturing pipe by coiling a plate into a helix and fusion welded the overlapped or abutted edges.
- Spiral-welded Pipe - Formed by twisting strips of metal into a spiral shape, similar to a barber. A pole, then welding where the edges join one another to form a seam.
- Spiral Wound Pipe - Spiral-welded pipe is formed by twisting strips of metal into a spiral shape, similar to a barber. A pole, then welding where the edges join one another to form a seam.
- Spool - A pipe spool is a section of pipe that is created in a fabrication shop.
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Stainless Steel Pipe - Stainless steel pipe is primarily used in piping systems for the transport of fluids or gases because of their duribility, strength, and corrosion resistant properties.
- Standard Dimension Ratio - A dimensionless term that comes from dividing the average outside diameter of the pipe by the minimum pipe wall thickness.
- Standard Weight - A piping designation that denotes the wall thickness.
- Static Pressure - The pressure when no water is flowing.
- Statically Cast Pipe - Pipe formed by the solidification of molten metal in a sand mold.
- Stress - The force per unit area of cross-section.
- Swaging - Reducing the ends of the pipe and tube sections with rotating dies which are passed intermittently against the pipe or tube end.
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- Tension Strength - The capacity of a material to resist a force tending to stretch it.
- Thermal Expansion - The increase in length, area or volume due to the increase (in some cased decrease) in temperature.
- Thermoplastic - A plastic which is capable of repeatedly softened by the increase of temperature and hardened by the decrease of temperatsure.
- Thixotropic Liquid - The viscosity of a liquid decreases as agitation is increased at a constant temperature.
- Torque - The rotational force used to move a shart.
- Toughness - The ability of a material to absorb considerable energy without fracturing.
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- Valve - A mechanism used to stop or open and regulate flow.
- Vapor - The gas state of a liquid or solid. Both vapor and gas are basically the same thing.
- Vapor Pressure - The pressure at a certain temperature when the liquid and vapor are in equilibrium.
- Velocity - The rate of change or displacement with time.
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Vitrified Clay Pipe - This pipe is made from a blend of clay and shale that has been subjected to high temperature to achieve vitrification, which results in a hard, inert ceramic.
- Volumetric Flow Rate - The amount of fluid that flows in a given time past a specific point.
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- Wash - A casting defect resulting from erosion of sand by metal flowing over the mold or corded surfaces. They appear as rough spots and excess metal on the casting surface.
- Water Hammer - Occurs when a valve is suddenly opened or closed.
- Water Hardening - Process of hardening high carbon steels by quenching in water or brine, after heating.
- Weight for Steel Bars, Pipe, and Tubing (lb) -
- Welded End - Description used to describe an end connection type. A non beveled end type connection would be used on a socket weld or a slip on flange type connection.
- Welding - The fabrication process that fuses like materials togeather by heating them to a suitable temperatures, this can be acomplished by brazing, soldering or welding.
- Working Pressure - The normal pressure that a system operates at.
- Wrought Iron - A commercially pure iron, having a very small carbon content (carbon content does not exceed 0.15 per cent), but usually contains some slag.
- Wrought Iron Pipe - The manufacturing process for wrought steel pipe workn Pipes raw steel into tubes of various lengths and diameters. Steel pipes play a role in the underground moving of water and gas, encasing electrical wires for protection, and the production of vehicles, bicycles, plumbing and heating systems, street lamps and refrigeration units.
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- Yield - The ratio of the quantity of finished shipments to the total raw steel produced, adjusted for changes in inventory and any slabs that are ourchased from outside.
- Yield Strength - The minimum stress that leads to permanent deformation of the material.
- Young's Modulus - Measures the stiffness of an elastic material.
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