Professionals in our industry quoting on large jobs will sometimes talk about “Modulus of Elasticity” (or Elastic Modulus).  It sounds quite technical and is in fact a technical term used by engineers, physicists and sometime architects.  With regard to Shade Sails and other light weight structures using more advanced materials this is important, however for many smaller job it can simply a line item on a spec sheet for a product.

The mathematical formula can calculate how much stress the Sail Structure can bear and is often measured as a psi (pressure) rating.

The basic formula is the ration of tensile stress divided by stress divided by tensile strain.  There are however other calculations such as shear modulus and bulk modulus which calculate other factors.

Modulus are not only important for installation and engineering of light weight structures (to choose and manufacture correct materials, adjust the tensioning and fixtures – using Young’s modulus), but also in judging what weather conditions (such as wind force and speed or load stress) that a Shade Sail is able to bear.