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In some branches of engineering, the term stress is occasionally used in a looser sense as a synonym of "internal force". For example,
in the analysis of trusses, it may refer to the total traction or compression force acting on a beam, rather than the force divided by the
area of its cross-section.
Contents
History
Overview
Simple stress
General stress
Stress analysis
Alternative measures of stress
See also
References
Further reading
History
Since ancient times humans have been consciously aware of stress inside materials.
Until the 17th century, the understanding of stress was largely intuitive and
empirical; and yet it resulted in some surprisingly sophisticated technology, like the
composite bow and glass blowing.[1]
Over several millennia, architects and builders, in particular, learned how to put Roman-era bridge in Switzerland
together carefully shaped wood beams and stone blocks to withstand, transmit, and
distribute stress in the most effective manner, with ingenious devices such as the
capitals, arches, cupolas, trusses and the flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals.
Ancient and medieval architects did develop some geometrical methods and simple
formulas to compute the proper sizes of pillars and beams, but the scientific
understanding of stress became possible only after the necessary tools were invented
in the 17th and 18th centuries: Galileo Galilei's rigorous experimental method, René
Descartes's coordinates and analytic geometry, and Newton's laws of motion and
equilibrium and calculus of infinitesimals.[2] With those tools, Augustin-Louis
Inca bridge on the Apurimac River
Cauchy was able to give the first rigorous and general mathematical model for stress
in a homogeneous medium. Cauchy observed that the force across an imaginary
surface was a linear function of its normal vector; and, moreover
, that it must be a symmetric function (with zero total momentum).
The understanding of stress in liquids started with Newton, who provided a differential formula for friction forces (shear stress) in
parallel laminar flow.
Overview
Definition
Stress is defined as the force across a "small" boundary per unit area of that boundary, for all orientations of the boundary.[3] Being
derived from a fundamental physical quantity (force) and a purely geometrical quantity (area), stress is also a fundamental quantity,
like velocity, torque or energy, that can be quantified and analyzed without explicit consideration of the nature of the material or of its
physical causes.
Following the basic premises of continuum mechanics, stress is a macroscopic concept. Namely, the particles considered in its
definition and analysis should be just small enough to be treated as homogeneous in composition and state, but still large enough to
ignore quantum effects and the detailed motions of molecules. Thus, the force between two particles is actually the average of a very
large number of atomic forces between their molecules; and physical quantities like mass, velocity, and forces that act through the
bulk of three-dimensional bodies, like gravity, are assumed to be smoothly distributed over them.[4]:p.90–106 Depending on the
context, one may also assume that the particles are large enough to allow the averaging out of other microscopic features, like the
grains of a metal rod or the fibers of a piece of wood.
Quantitatively, the stress is expressed by the Cauchy traction vector T defined as the
traction force F between adjacent parts of the material across an imaginary separating
surface S, divided by the area of S.[5]:p.41–50 In a fluid at rest the force is perpendicular
to the surface, and is the familiar pressure. In a solid, or in a flow of viscous liquid, the
force F may not be perpendicular to S; hence the stress across a surface must be
regarded a vector quantity, not a scalar. Moreover, the direction and magnitude generally
depend on the orientation ofS. Thus the stress state of the material must be described by
a tensor, called the (Cauchy) stress tensor; which is a linear function that relates the
normal vector n of a surface S to the stress T across S. With respect to any chosen
coordinate system, the Cauchy stress tensor can be represented as a symmetric matrix of
3×3 real numbers. Even within a homogeneous body, the stress tensor may vary from
place to place, and may change over time; therefore, the stress within a material is, in
general, a time-varyingtensor field.
If the normal unit vectorn of the surface (pointing from Q towards P) is assumed fixed, the normal component can be expressed by a
single number, the dot product T · n. This number will be positive ifP is "pulling" on Q (tensile stress), and negative if P is "pushing"
against Q (compressive stress) The shear component is then the vectorT − (T · n)n.
Units
The dimension of stress is that of pressure, and therefore its coordinates are commonly measured in the same units as pressure:
namely, pascals (Pa, that is, newtons per square metre) in the International System, or pounds per square inch (psi) in the Imperial
system. Because mechanical stresses easily exceed a million Pascals, MPa, which stands for megapascal, is a common unit of stress.
Conversely, stress is usually correlated with various effects on the material, possibly including changes in physical properties like
birefringence, polarization, and permeability. The imposition of stress by an external agent usually creates some strain (deformation)
in the material, even if it is too small to be detected. In a solid material, such strain will in turn generate an internal elastic stress,
analogous to the reaction force of a stretched spring, tending to restore the material to its original undeformed state. Fluid materials
(liquids, gases and plasmas) by definition can only oppose deformations that would change their volume. However, if the
deformation is changing with time, even in fluids there will usually be some viscous stress, opposing that change.
The relation between stress and its effects and causes, including deformation and rate of change of deformation, can be quite
complicated (although a linear approximation may be adequate in practice if the quantities are small enough). Stress that exceeds
certain strength limits of the material will result in permanent deformation (such as plastic flow, fracture, cavitation) or even change
its crystal structure and chemical composition.
Simple stress
In some situations, the stress within a body may adequately be described by a single number,
or by a single vector (a number and a direction). Three such simple stress situations, that are
often encountered in engineering design, are the uniaxial normal stress, the simple shear
stress, and the isotropic normal stress.[7]
On the other hand, if one imagines the bar being cut along its
length, parallel to the axis, there will be no force (hence no stress)
between the two halves across the cut.
This type of stress may be called (simple) normal stress or uniaxial stress;
specifically, (uniaxial, simple, etc.) tensile stress.[7] If the load is compression on
the bar, rather than stretching it, the analysis is the same except that the force F
and the stress change sign, and the stress is called compressive stress.
This analysis assumes the stress is evenly distributed over the entire cross-
section. In practice, depending on how the bar is attached at the ends and how it
was manufactured, this assumption may not be valid. In that case, the value =
F/A will be only the average stress, called engineering stress or nominal stress.
However, if the bar's length L is many times its diameter D, and it has no gross
defects or built-in stress, then the stress can be assumed to be uniformly
distributed over any cross-section that is more than a few times D from both
The ratio may be only an
ends. (This observation is known as theSaint-Venant's principle).
average stress. The stress may be
unevenly distributed over the cross Normal stress occurs in many other situations besides axial tension and
section (m–m), especially near the
compression. If an elastic bar with uniform and symmetric cross-section is bent
attachment points (n–n).
in one of its planes of symmetry, the resulting bending stress will still be normal
(perpendicular to the cross-section), but will vary over the cross section: the
outer part will be under tensile stress, while the inner part will be compressed. Another variant of normal stress is the hoop stress that
occurs on the walls of a cylindricalpipe or vessel filled with pressurized fluid.
Simple shear stress
Another simple type of stress occurs when a uniformly thick layer of elastic
material like glue or rubber is firmly attached to two stiff bodies that are pulled
in opposite directions by forces parallel to the layer; or a section of a soft metal
bar that is being cut by the jaws of a scissors-like tool. Let F be the magnitude of
those forces, and M be the midplane of that layer. Just as in the normal stress
case, the part of the layer on one side ofM must pull the other part with the same
Shear stress in a horizontal bar loaded
force F. Assuming that the direction of the forces is known, the stress across M
by two offset blocks.
can be expressed simply by the single number , calculated simply with the
magnitude of those forces,F and the cross sectional area,A.
However, unlike normal stress, this simple shear stress is directed parallel to the cross-section considered,
rather than perpendicular to it.[7] For any plane S that is perpendicular to the layer, the net internal force
across S, and hence the stress, will be zero.
As in the case of an axially loaded bar, in practice the shear stress may not be uniformly distributed over the layer; so, as before, the
ratio F/A will only be an average ("nominal", "engineering") stress. However, that average is often sufficient for practical
purposes.[8]:p.292 Shear stress is observed also when a cylindrical bar such as a shaft is subjected to opposite torques at its ends. In
that case, the shear stress on each cross-section is parallel to the cross-section, but oriented tangentially relative to the axis, and
increases with distance from the axis. Significant shear stress occurs in the middle plate (the "web") of I-beams under bending loads,
due to the web constraining the end plates ("flanges").
Isotropic stress
Another simple type of stress occurs when the material body is under equal compression or tension in all directions. This is the case,
for example, in a portion of liquid or gas at rest, whether enclosed in some container or as part of a larger mass of fluid; or inside a
cube of elastic material that is being pressed or pulled on all six faces by equal perpendicular forces — provided, in both cases, that
the material is homogeneous, without built-in stress, and that the ef
fect of gravity and other external forces can be neglected.
In these situations, the stress across any imaginary internal surface turns out to be equal in magnitude and always directed
perpendicularly to the surface independently of the surface's orientation. This type of stress may be called isotropic normal or just
isotropic; if it is compressive, it is called hydrostatic pressure or just pressure. Gases by definition cannot withstand tensile stresses,
but some liquids may withstand surprisingly large amounts of isotropic tensile stress under some circumstances. seeZ-tube.
Cylinder stresses
Parts with rotational symmetry, such as wheels, axles, pipes, and pillars, are very common in engineering. Often the stress patterns
that occur in such parts have rotational or even cylindrical symmetry. The analysis of suchcylinder stresses can take advantage of the
symmetry to reduce the dimension of the domain and/or of the stress tensor
.
General stress
Often, mechanical bodies experience more than one type of stress at the same time; this is called combined stress. In normal and
shear stress, the magnitude of the stress is maximum for surfaces that are perpendicular to a certain direction , and zero across any
surfaces that are parallel to . When the shear stress is zero only across surfaces that are perpendicular to one particular direction, the
stress is called biaxial, and can be viewed as the sum of two normal or shear stresses. In the most general case, called triaxial stress,
the stress is nonzero across every surface element.
The Cauchy stress tensor
for any vectors and any real numbers . The function , now called the
(Cauchy) stress tensor, completely describes the stress state of a uniformly
stressed body. (Today, any linear connection between two physical vector
quantities is called a tensor, reflecting Cauchy's original use to describe the
"tensions" (stresses) in a material.) In tensor calculus, is classified as second-
order tensor of type (0,2).
Like any linear map between vectors, the stress tensor can be represented in any
chosen Cartesian coordinate systemby a 3×3 matrix of real numbers. Depending
on whether the coordinates are numbered or named , the Illustration of typical stresses (arrows)
matrix may be written as across various surface elements on the
boundary of a particle (sphere), in a
homogeneous material under uniform
or (but not isotropic) triaxial stress. The
normal stresses on the principal axes
are +5, +2, and −3 units.
The stress vector across a surface with normal vector with coordinates is then a matrix product
(where T in upper index is transposition) (look onCauchy stress tensor), that is
The linear relation between and follows from the fundamental laws of conservation of linear momentum and static equilibrium
of forces, and is therefore mathematically exact, for any material and any stress situation. The components of the Cauchy stress
tensor at every point in a material satisfy the equilibrium equations (Cauchy’s equations of motion for zero acceleration). Moreover,
the principle of conservation of angular momentum implies that the stress tensor is symmetric, that is , , and
. Therefore, the stress state of the medium at any point and instant can be specified by only six independent parameters,
rather than nine. These may be written
where the elements are called the orthogonal normal stresses (relative to the chosen coordinate system), and
the orthogonal shear stresses.
Change of coordinates
The Cauchy stress tensor obeys the tensor transformation law under a change in the system of coordinates. A graphical representation
of this transformation law is theMohr's circle of stress distribution.
As a symmetric 3×3 real matrix, the stress tensor has three mutually orthogonal unit-length eigenvectors and three real
eigenvalues , such that . Therefore, in a coordinate system with axes , the stress tensor is a diagonal
matrix, and has only the three normal components the principal stresses. If the three eigenvalues are equal, the stress is an
isotropic compression or tension, always perpendicular to any surface, there is no shear stress, and the tensor is a diagonal matrix in
any coordinate frame.
Stress analysis
Stress analysis is a branch of applied physics that covers the determination of the internal distribution of internal forces in solid
objects. It is an essential tool in engineering for the study and design of structures such as tunnels, dams, mechanical parts, and
structural frames, under prescribed or expected loads. It is also important in many other disciplines; for example, in geology, to study
phenomena like plate tectonics, vulcanism and avalanches; and in biology, to understand the anatomy of living beings.
The typical problem in stress analysis is to determine these internal stresses, given the external forces that are acting on the system.
The latter may be body forces (such as gravity or magnetic attraction), that act throughout the volume of a material;[10]:p.42–81 or
concentrated loads (such as friction between an axle and a bearing, or the weight of a train wheel on a rail), that are imagined to act
over a two-dimensional area, or along a line, or at single point.
In stress analysis one normally disregards the physical causes of the forces or the precise nature of the materials. Instead, one
assumes that the stresses are related to deformation (and, in non-static problems, to the rate of deformation) of the material by known
constitutive equations.[11]
Methods
Stress analysis may be carried out experimentally, by applying loads to the actual artifact or to scale model, and measuring the
resulting stresses, by any of several available methods. This approach is often used for safety certification and monitoring. However,
most stress analysis is done by mathematical methods, especially during design.
The basic stress analysis problem can be formulated byEuler's equations of motionfor continuous bodies (which are consequences of
Newton's laws for conservation of linear momentum and angular momentum) and the Euler-Cauchy stress principle, together with the
appropriate constitutive equations. Thus one obtains a system of partial differential equations involving the stress tensor field and the
strain tensor field, as unknown functions to be determined. The external body forces appear as the independent ("right-hand side")
term in the differential equations, while the concentrated forces appear as boundary conditions. The basic stress analysis problem is
therefore a boundary-value problem.
Stress analysis for elastic structures is based on the theory of elasticity and infinitesimal strain theory. When the applied loads cause
permanent deformation, one must use more complicated constitutive equations, that can account for the physical processes involved
(plastic flow, fracture, phase change, etc.).
However, engineered structures are usually designed so that the maximum expected stresses are well within the range of linear
elasticity (the generalization of Hooke’s law for continuous media); that is, the deformations caused by internal stresses are linearly
related to them. In this case the differential equations that define the stress tensor are linear, and the problem becomes much easier.
For one thing, the stress at any point will be a linear function of the loads, too. For small enough stresses, even non-linear systems
can usually be assumed to be linear.
Stress analysis is simplified when the physical dimensions and the distribution of
loads allow the structure to be treated as one- or two-dimensional. In the analysis
of trusses, for example, the stress field may be assumed to be uniform and
uniaxial over each member. Then the differential equations reduce to a finite set
of equations (usually linear) with finitely many unknowns. In other contexts one
may be able to reduce the three-dimensional problem to a two-dimensional one,
and/or replace the general stress and strain tensors by simpler models like
uniaxial tension/compression, simple shear, etc.
Simplified model of a truss for stress
Still, for two- or three-dimensional cases one must solve a partial differential analysis, assuming unidimensional
elements under uniform axial tension or
equation problem. Analytical or closed-form solutions to the differential
compression.
equations can be obtained when the geometry, constitutive relations, and
boundary conditions are simple enough. Otherwise one must generally resort to
numerical approximations such as thefinite element method, the finite difference method, and the boundary element method.
Whereas the Cauchy stress tensor relates stresses in the current configuration, the deformation gradient and strain tensors are
described by relating the motion to the reference configuration; thus not all tensors describing the state of the material are in either
the reference or current configuration. Describing the stress, strain and deformation either in the reference or current configuration
would make it easier to define constitutive models (for example, the Cauchy Stress tensor is variant to a pure rotation, while the
deformation strain tensor is invariant; thus creating problems in defining a constitutive model that relates a varying tensor, in terms of
an invariant one during pure rotation; as by definition constitutive models have to be invariant to pure rotations). The 1st Piola–
Kirchhoff stress tensor, is one possible solution to this problem. It defines a family of tensors, which describe the configuration of
the body in either the current or the reference state.
The 1st Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor, relates forces in the present configuration with areas in the reference ("material")
configuration.
In terms of components with respect to anorthonormal basis, the first Piola–Kirchhoff stress is given by
Because it relates different coordinate systems, the 1st Piola–Kirchhoff stress is a two-point tensor. In general, it is not symmetric.
The 1st Piola–Kirchhoff stress is the 3D generalization of the 1D concept ofengineering stress.
If the material rotates without a change in stress state (rigid rotation), the components of the 1st Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor will
vary with material orientation.
If the material rotates without a change in stress state (rigid rotation), the components of the 2nd Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor remain
constant, irrespective of material orientation.
The 2nd Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor is energy conjugate to the Green–Lagrange finite strain tensor.
See also
Bending Mohr's circle
Compressive strength Residual stress
Critical plane analysis Shear strength
Kelvin probe force microscope Shot peening
Strain Tensile strength
Strain tensor Thermal stress
Strain rate tensor Virial stress
Stress–energy tensor Yield (engineering)
Stress–strain curve Yield stress
Stress concentration Yield surface
Transient friction loading Virial theorem
References
1. Gordon, J.E. (2003). Structures, or, Why things don't fall down(2. Da Capo Press ed.). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo
Press. ISBN 0306812835.
2. Jacob Lubliner (2008)."Plasticity Theory" (http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~coby/plas/pdf/book.pdf)Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20100331022415/http://www .ce.berkeley.edu/~coby/plas/pdf/book.pdf)2010-03-31 at the
Wayback Machine. (revised edition). Dover Publications.ISBN 0-486-46290-0
3. Wai-Fah Chen and Da-Jian Han (2007),"Plasticity for Structural Engineers"(https://books.google.com/books?id=E8j
ptvNgADYC&pg=PA46). J. Ross Publishing ISBN 1-932159-75-4
4. Peter Chadwick (1999),"Continuum Mechanics: Concise Theory and Problems"(https://books.google.ca/books?id=
QSXIHQsus6UC&pg=PA95). Dover Publications, series "Books on Physics".ISBN 0-486-40180-4. pages
5. I-Shih Liu (2002), "Continuum Mechanics"(https://books.google.com/books?id=-gWqM4uMV6wC&pg=P
A43).
Springer ISBN 3-540-43019-9
6. (2009) The art of making glass. (http://www.lamberts.de/fileadmin/user_upload/service/downloads/lamberts_broschu
ere_englisch.pdf) Lamberts Glashütte (LambertsGlas) product brochure. Accessed on 2013-02-08.
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Press, 634 pages. ISBN 9781574447132
8. Walter D. Pilkey, Orrin H. Pilkey (1974),"Mechanics of solids" (https://books.google.com/books?id=d7I8AAAAIAAJ)
(book)
9. Donald Ray Smith and Clifford Truesdell (1993) "An Introduction to Continuum Mechanics after T
ruesdell and Noll".
Springer. (https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcWC7YVdb4wC&pg=P A97) ISBN 0-7923-2454-4
10. Fridtjov Irgens (2008),"Continuum Mechanics"(https://books.google.com/books?id=q5dB7Gf4bIoC&pg=P
A46).
Springer. ISBN 3-540-74297-2
11. Slaughter
Further reading
Chakrabarty, J. (2006). Theory of plasticity (3 ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 17–32.ISBN 0-7506-6638-2.
Beer, Ferdinand Pierre; Elwood Russell Johnston; John T. DeWolf (1992). Mechanics of Materials. McGraw-Hill
Professional. ISBN 0-07-112939-1.
Brady, B.H.G.; E.T. Brown (1993). Rock Mechanics For Underground Mining(Third ed.). Kluwer Academic Publisher.
pp. 17–29. ISBN 0-412-47550-2.
Chen, Wai-Fah; Baladi, G.Y. (1985). Soil Plasticity, Theory and Implementation. ISBN 0-444-42455-5.
Chou, Pei Chi; Pagano, N.J. (1992).Elasticity: tensor, dyadic, and engineering approaches. Dover books on
engineering. Dover Publications. pp. 1–33.ISBN 0-486-66958-0.
Davis, R. O.; Selvadurai. A. P. S. (1996). Elasticity and geomechanics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 16–26.
ISBN 0-521-49827-9.
Dieter, G. E. (3 ed.). (1989).Mechanical Metallurgy. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-100406-8.
Holtz, Robert D.; Kovacs, William D. (1981).An introduction to geotechnical engineering. Prentice-Hall civil
engineering and engineering mechanics series. Prentice-Hall.ISBN 0-13-484394-0.
Jones, Robert Millard (2008).Deformation Theory of Plasticity. Bull Ridge Corporation. pp. 95–112.ISBN 0-
9787223-1-0.
Jumikis, Alfreds R. (1969).Theoretical soil mechanics: with practical applications to soil mechanics and foundation
engineering. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.ISBN 0-442-04199-3.
Landau, L.D. and E.M.Lifshitz. (1959).Theory of Elasticity.
Love, A. E. H. (4 ed.). (1944).Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. New York: Dover Publications.
ISBN 0-486-60174-9.
Marsden, J. E.; Hughes, T. J. R. (1994). Mathematical Foundations of Elasticity. Dover Publications. pp. 132–142.
ISBN 0-486-67865-2.
Parry, Richard Hawley Grey (2004).Mohr circles, stress paths and geotechnics(2 ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 1–30.
ISBN 0-415-27297-1.
Rees, David (2006). Basic Engineering Plasticity – An Introduction with Engineering and Manufacturing Applications
.
Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 1–32.ISBN 0-7506-8025-3.
Timoshenko, Stephen P.; James Norman Goodier (1970).Theory of Elasticity (Third ed.). McGraw-Hill International
Editions. ISBN 0-07-085805-5.
Timoshenko, Stephen P. (1983). History of strength of materials: with a brief account of the history of theory of
elasticity and theory of structures. Dover Books on Physics. Dover Publications.ISBN 0-486-61187-6.
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