This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: C1557 − 20

Standard Test Method for

Tensile Strength and Young’s Modulus of Fibers1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation C1557; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope 3. Terminology
1.1 This test method covers the preparation, mounting, and 3.1 Definitions:
testing of single fibers (obtained either from a fiber bundle or 3.1.1 bundle—a collection of parallel fibers. Synonym, tow.
a spool) for the determination of tensile strength and Young’s 3.1.2 mounting tab—a thin paper, cardboard, compliant
modulus at ambient temperature. Advanced ceramic, glass, metal, or plastic strip with a center hole or longitudinal slot of
carbon, and other fibers are covered by this test standard. fixed gage length. The mounting tab should be appropriately
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as designed to be self-aligning if possible, and as thin as practi-
standard. No other units of measurement are included in this cable to minimize fiber misalignment.
standard. 3.1.3 system compliance—the contribution by the load train
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the system and specimen-gripping system to the indicated cross-
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the head displacement, by unit of force exerted in the load train.
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- 3.1.4 tensile strength [F/L–2], n—the maximum tensile
priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter-
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stress which a material is capable of sustaining. Tensile
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. strength is calculated from the maximum load during a tension
1.4 This international standard was developed in accor- test carried to rupture and the original cross-sectional area of
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dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
the specimen.
3.2 For definitions of other terms used in this test method,
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Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom-
refer to Terminologies D3878 and E6.
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. 4. Summary of Test Method
2. Referenced Documents ASTM C1557-20 4.1 A fiber is extracted randomly from a bundle or from a
spool.
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2.1 ASTM Standards:2
C1239 Practice for Reporting Uniaxial Strength Data and 4.2 The fiber is mounted in the testing machine, and then
Estimating Weibull Distribution Parameters for Advanced stressed to failure at a constant cross-head displacement rate.
Ceramics 4.3 A valid test result is considered to be one in which fiber
C1322 Practice for Fractography and Characterization of failure doesn’t occur in the gripping region.
Fracture Origins in Advanced Ceramics
4.4 Tensile strength is calculated from the ratio of the peak
D3878 Terminology for Composite Materials
force and the cross-sectional area of a plane perpendicular to
E4 Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines
the fiber axis, at the fracture location or in the vicinity of the
E6 Terminology Relating to Methods of Mechanical Testing
fracture location, while Young’s modulus is determined from
E1382 Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size
the linear region of the tensile stress versus tensile strain curve.
Using Semiautomatic and Automatic Image Analysis
5. Significance and Use
1
5.1 Properties determined by this test method are useful in
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C28 on
Advanced Ceramics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C28.07 on the evaluation of new fibers at the research and development
Ceramic Matrix Composites. levels. Fibers with diameters up to 250 × 10–6 m are covered by
Current edition approved Jan. 1, 2020. Published January 2020. Originally this test method. Very short fibers (including whiskers) call for
approved in 2003. Last previous edition approved in 2014 as C1557 – 14. DOI:
10.1520/C1557-20.
specialized test techniques (1)3 and are not covered by this test
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
3
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end of
the ASTM website. this standard.

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

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 C1557 − 20
method. This test method may also be useful in the initial 6.4 Many fibers are very sensitive to surface damage.
screening of candidate fibers for applications in polymer, Therefore, any contact with the fiber in the gage length should
metal, or ceramic matrix composites, and for quality control be avoided (4, 6).
purposes. Because of their nature, ceramic fibers do not have a 6.5 Fiber diameter does, or can, vary along the length of the
unique tensile strength, but rather a distribution of tensile gage section. Therefore, the user’s ability to accurately calcu-
strengths. In most cases when the tensile strength of the fibers late and interpret tensile strength and elastic modulus is based
is controlled by one population of flaws, the distribution of on the use and choice of the appropriate fiber diameter through
fiber tensile strengths can be described using a two-parameter valid fractography.
Weibull distribution, although other distributions have also
been suggested (2, 3). This test method constitutes a method- 7. Apparatus
ology to obtain the tensile strength of a single fiber. For the 7.1 The apparatus described herein consists of a tensile
purpose of determining the parameters of the distribution of testing machine with one actuator (cross-head) that operates in
fiber tensile strengths, it is recommended to follow this test a controllable manner, a gripping system, and a load cell. Figs.
method in conjunction with Practice C1239. 1 and 2 show a picture and schematic of such a system.
6. Interferences 7.1.1 Testing Machine—The testing machine shall be in
conformance with Practices E4. The failure forces shall be
6.1 The test environment may have an influence on the accurate within 61 % at any force within the selected force
measured tensile strength of fibers. In particular, the behavior range of the testing machine as defined in Practices E4. To
of fibers susceptible to slow crack growth fracture will be determine the appropriate capacity of the load cell, Table 1 lists
strongly influenced by test environment and testing rate (4). the range of tensile strength and diameter values of represen-
Testing to evaluate the maximum tensile strength potential of a tative glass, graphite, organic, and ceramic fibers.
fiber should be conducted in inert environments or at suffi- 7.1.2 Grips—The gripping system shall be of such design
ciently rapid testing rates, or both, so as to minimize slow crack that axial alignment of the fiber along the line of action of the
growth effects. Conversely, testing can be conducted in envi- machine shall be easily accomplished without damaging the
ronments and testing modes and rates representative of service
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test specimen. Although studies of the effect of fiber misalign-
conditions to evaluate the tensile strength of fibers under those ment on the tensile strength of fibers have not been reported,
conditions. the axis of the fiber shall be coaxial with the line of action of

may be due to factors such as(https://standards.iteh.ai)

6.2 Fractures that initiate outside the gage section of a fiber the testing machine within δ, to prevent spurious bending
stress concentrations, extraneous strains or stress concentrations, or both:

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stresses introduced by gripping, or tensile-strength-limiting lo
features in the microstructure of the specimen. δ#
50
(1)
section fractures constitute invalid tests. When using active
gripping systems, insufficient pressure can lead to slippage, where:
while too much pressure can cause local fracture ASTM C1557-20
in the δ = the tolerance, m, and
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gripping area. lo = the fiber gage length, m.
6.3 Torsional strains may reduce the magnitude of the 7.2 Mounting Tabs—Typical mounting tabs for test speci-
tensile strength (5). Caution must be exercised when mounting mens are shown in Fig. 3. Alternative methods of specimen
the fibers to avoid twisting the fibers. mounting may be used, or none at all (that is, the fiber may be

FIG. 1 Example of Fiber Tensile Tester

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 C1557 − 20

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ASTM C1557-20
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FIG. 2 Schematic of Fiber Tensile Testing Machine

TABLE 1 Room Temperature Tensile Strength of Fibers with the test specimen must be of appropriate compliance to
(25 × 10–3 m Gage Length) allow for a firm, non-slipping grip on the fiber. At the same
Fiber Diameter, m Strength, Pa time, the grip-facing material must prevent crushing, scoring,
CVD-SiC 50–150 × 10–6 2–3.5 × 109 or other damage to the test specimen that would lead to
polymer-derived SiC 10–18 × 10–6 2–3.5 × 109
sol-gel derived oxide 1–20 × 10–6 1–3 × 109 inaccurate results. Large-diameter fibers (diameter > 50 ×
single-crystal oxide 70–250 × 10–6 1.5–3.5 × 109 10–6 m) can also be mounted inside hypodermic needles filled
graphite 1–15 × 10–6 1–6 × 109
glass 1–250 × 10–6 1–4 × 109
with an adhesive (7). This is a good alternative to avoid
aramid 12–20 × 10–6 2–4 × 109 crushing the fiber if pneumatic/hydraulic/mechanical grips
were to be used. The adhesive must be sufficiently strong to
withstand the gripping process, and prevent fiber “pull-out”
during testing.
directly mounted into the grips). A simple but effective 7.2.2 Consistent end-tabbing, specifically in the case of
approach for making mounting tabs with repeatable dimen- Young’s modulus estimation, is important because system
sions consists in printing the mounting tab pattern onto compliance is used in that calculation. Variation in end-tabbing
cardboard file folders using, for example, a laser printer. As quality and compliance could manifest itself in inaccurate
illustrated in Fig. 3, holes can be obtained using a three-hole system compliance estimation and consequential inaccurate
punch. Fig. 3 shows a typical specimen mounting method. The Young’s modulus estimation.
mounting tabs are gripped or connected to the load train (for
example, by pin and clevis) so that the test specimen is aligned 7.3 Data Acquisition—Either digital data acquisition sys-
axially along the line of action of the test machine. tems or analog chart recorders may be used for this purpose,
7.2.1 When gripping large-diameter fibers using an active although a digital record is recommended for ease of later data
set of grips without tabs, the grip-facing material in contact analysis. Recording devices must be accurate to 61 % of full

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 C1557 − 20

FIG. 3 Examples of Mounting Tabs

scale and shall have a minimum data acquisition rate of 10 Hz, 9.1.2.3 Carefully place a small amount of suitable adhesive
with a response of 50 Hz deemed more than sufficient. (for example, epoxy, red sealing wax) at the marks on the
mounting tab that define the gage length, and bond the fiber to
8. Precautionary Statement the mounting tab.
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8.1 During the conduct of this test method, the possibility of
flying fragments of broken fibers may be high. Means for
9.1.2.4 Determine the gage length to the nearest 65 ×
10–4 m or 61 % of the gage length, whichever is smaller.

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containing these fragments for later fractographic reconstruc-
tion and analysis is highly recommended. For example,
9.2 Optical Strain Flags—If optical flags are to be used for
strain measurement, they may be attached directly to the fibers

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vacuum grease has been used successfully to dampen the fiber
during failure and capture the fragments. In this case, vacuum
grease is applied in the gage section of the fiber so that the
at this time, using a suitable adhesive or other attachment
method. Note that this may not be possible with small-diameter
fibers (d < 5 × 10–6 m).
former does not bear any force. An appropriate solvent can be
used afterwards to remove the vacuum grease. ASTM C1557-20 9.3 Test Modes and Rates—The test shall be conducted
under a constant cross-head displacement rate. Rates of testing
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9. Procedure must be sufficiently rapid to obtain the maximum possible
tensile strength at fracture within 30 s. The user may try as an
9.1 Test Specimen Mounting: initial value a test rate of 8 × 10–6 m/s. However, rates other
9.1.1 Randomly choose, and carefully separate, a suitable than those recommended here may be used to evaluate rate
single-fiber specimen from the bundle or fiber spool. The total effects. In all cases, the test mode and rate must be reported.
length of the specimen should be sufficiently long (at least 1.5
times longer than the gage length) to allow for convenient 9.4 Ensure that the machine is calibrated and in equilibrium
handling and gripping. Handle the test specimen at its ends and (no drift).
avoid touching it in the test gage length. 9.5 Set the cross-head and data recorder speeds to provide a
NOTE 1—Because the tensile strength of fibers is statistical in nature, test time to specimen fracture within 30 s.
the magnitude of the tensile strength will depend on the dimensions of the
fiber being evaluated. In composite material applications, the gage length 9.6 Grasp a mounted test specimen in one of the two tab
of the fiber is usually of the order of several fiber diameters, but it has been grip areas (or pin load one end of the mounting tab). Zero the
customary to test fibers with a gage length of 25.4 × 10–3 m. However, load cell.
other gage lengths can be used as long as they are practical, and in either
case, the value of the gage length must be reported. 9.7 Position the cross-head so that the other tab grip area
9.1.2 When Using Tabs: may be grasped as in 9.6. Check the axial specimen alignment
using whatever methods have been established, as described in
9.1.2.1 A mounting tab (Fig. 3) may be used for specimen
7.1.2.
mounting. Center the test specimen over the tab using the
printed pattern with one end taped to the tab. 9.8 If using tabs, with the mounting tab unstrained, cut both
9.1.2.2 Tape the opposite end of the test specimen to the tab, sides of the tab very carefully at mid-gage as shown in Fig. 4.
exercising care to prevent fiber twisting. It has been found that Alternatively, the sides of the tab can be burned using a
the tensile strength of fibers decreases significantly with soldering iron, for example. If the fiber is damaged, then it
increasing torsional strain (5). must be discarded.

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 C1557 − 20

FIG. 4 Cutting Sides of Tab

9.9 Initiate the data recording followed by the operation of used for the calculation of tensile strength doesn’t correspond to that of the
the test machine until fiber failure. Record both the cross-head fracture plane. The results of these simulations have shown that the
magnitude of the error increases with the degree of variability of the fiber
displacement and force, and strain if applicable. diameter along its length (20) (see Appendix X1). Therefore, it is

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9.10 Recover the fracture surfaces and measure the cross- necessary to determine the cross-sectional area of the fiber on a plane
sectional area of a plane normal to the axis of the fiber at the perpendicular to the axis of the fiber at the location of failure, or in the
vicinity of the failure location, after performing the mechanical test, and
fracture location or in the vicinity of the fracture location.
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use that value of the cross-sectional area for the determination of the fiber
Determine the fiber cross-sectional area with a linear spatial tensile strength.
resolution of 1.0 % of the fiber diameter or better, using laser
10. Calculations
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diffraction techniques (8-11), or an image analysis system in
combination with a reflected light microscope or a scanning
electron microscope (12) (see Test Methods E1382). Note that
10.1 Tensile Strength—Calculate the tensile strength of the
fiber as follows:
in practice, a reflected white light microscope can provide a Ff
maximum resolution of 0.5 × 10–6 m and, therefore,ASTM C1557-20
its use may σt 5
A
(2)
behttps://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/7732b573-fc78-49cd-b9b8-f6bc69337b32/astm-c1557-20
impractical when measuring the cross-sectional area of
small-diameter fibers. Because stiff fibers tend to shatter upon where:
failure, it is recommended to capture the fiber fragments using σt = tensile strength, Pa,
vacuum grease, because vacuum grease is an effective medium Ff = force to failure, N, and
to dampen the energy released by the fiber upon fracture. The A = fiber cross-sectional area at fracture plane (normal to
user of this standard should be aware that the need to recover fiber axis), m2.
the fracture surfaces of the fiber to determine the fiber 10.2 Strain—Calculate the tensile strain of the fiber as
cross-sectional area is consistent with the need to do fractog- follows:
raphy to identify the tensile-strength-limiting flaws for the
∆l
proper estimation of the parameters of the distribution of fiber ε5 (3)
lo
tensile strengths (see Practice C1322).
NOTE 2—The user of this standard test method must be aware that the where:
diameter of many ceramic fibers varies not only among fibers in a bundle,
but also along the length of each fiber (13-16). It has been customary to ∆l = the elongation of the gage length, m.
determine individual fiber tensile strength values using the average 10.2.1 Direct Measurement of Elongation—Direct measure-
cross-sectional area of a group of fibers. However, it has been demon-
strated that this procedure leads to significant errors both in the determi-
ment of the specimen elongation (in the gage section) is
nation of the actual fiber tensile strength and in the estimates of the achieved by monitoring the displacement of the flags attached
parameters of the distribution of fiber tensile strengths (17-19). to the fiber.
NOTE 3—When the fiber diameter varies along its length and the 10.2.2 Indirect Measurement of Elongation—In the absence
diameter of a fiber is measured before the fiber is tested, there is a risk that of a direct measurement of specimen elongation, the actual
the measurement will be obtained at a location of the fiber that doesn’t
coincide with the failure location. Monte Carlo simulations have been specimen elongation in the gage length can be determined by
carried out to estimate the magnitude of the error in the determination of subtracting the displacement associated with the system com-
the tensile strength of a fiber when the value of the cross-sectional area pliance from the total cross-head displacement (21).

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 C1557 − 20
10.2.2.1 System Compliance—The system compliance must where:
be determined experimentally for a given test machine, grip- σ = tensile stress, Pa, and
ping system, and fiber type. The system compliance is deter- E = fiber Young’s modulus, Pa.
mined as follows: (3) The combination of Eq 4 and 5 yields:
10.2.2.2 Perform tensile tests according to the procedures
∆L ∆l lo
given in 9.1 – 9.10 on single-fiber specimens with various 5 1C S 5 1C S (6)
different gage lengths. Test specimens with at least three F F EA
different gage lengths, and perform at least three tests for each (4) Therefore, a plot of (∆L/F) (that is, the inverse of the
value of the gage length. slope of the force versus cross-head displacement curves)
10.2.2.3 For each test, obtain the force versus cross-head versus (lo/A), will yield a straight line with constant slope of
displacement curve, and determine the inverse of the slope of (1/E) and intercept CS which is the value of the system
the initial linear region of the force versus cross-head displace- compliance. (See Fig. 6.)
ment curve in m/N. (See Fig. 5.) 10.2.2.4 From Eq 4, determine the actual elongation of the
(1) Note that the recorded cross-head displacement is: gage section of the specimen as follows:
∆L 5 ∆l1C S F (4) ∆l 5 ∆L 2 C S F (7)
where: 10.3 Young’s Modulus—Determine the fiber Young’s modu-
∆L = recorded crosshead displacement, m, lus from the slope of the linear region of the stress-strain curve.
CS = system compliance, m/N, and If strain was not measured directly, the fiber Young’s modulus
∆l = elongation of the specimen gage length, m. can be obtained from the process used to calculate the system’s
(2) For the fiber, using Eq 3: compliance according to 10.2.2.1 – 10.2.2.3.

σ F ∆l 11. Report
ε5 5 5 (5)
E EA lo 11.1 The report shall include the following:

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FIG. 5 Typical Force versus Cross-Head Displacement Curve