Strain Calculator
Work out strain instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
About Strain Calculator
Strain is the fractional change in length, so it is dimensionless: 1.2 mm on a 2 m bar is 0.0006, or 600 microstrain. Structural steel yields around 1200 microstrain, so strain gauges are calibrated in microstrain because working values are always small fractions.
Formulas
Engineering strain
epsilon = change in length / original length
Microstrain
microstrain = strain x 1,000,000
Worked example
With the default values below, Strain Calculator returns Strain of 6.00000 × 10⁻⁴. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Change in length
- 1.2 mm
- Original lengthminimum 0 mm
- 2,000 mm
Results
- Strain
- 6.00000 × 10⁻⁴
- Strain As A Percentage
- 0.06000%
- Microstrain
- 600.0
- New Length
- 2,001.200 mm
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Engineering strain
- 3Microstrain
- 4Strain= 0.00060
- 5Strain As A Percentage= 0.06000
- 6Microstrain= 600.0
- 7New Length= 2,001.200 mm
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use microstrain?
Because real strains are tiny. Writing 0.0006 invites decimal errors, while 600 microstrain reads cleanly on an instrument.
What is the difference from true strain?
True strain uses the instantaneous length, ln(L/L0). It matters only for large deformations such as metal forming; below a few percent the two agree.