Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS , tensile strength ,
TS , ultimate strength or ** F tu {\displaystyle F_{\text{tu}}} ** in
notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being
stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials the ultimate tensile
strength is close to the yield point, whereas in ductile materials the
ultimate tensile strength can be higher.
The ultimate tensile strength is usually found by performing a tensile test
and recording the engineering stress versus strain. The highest point of the
stress–strain curve is the ultimate tensile strength and has units of stress.