1.

Simple stress and strain

When we consider the mechanical properties of materials in general, engineers are interested
in the response of materials to the application of load or force. Under the action of applied
forces, structures (and hence materials) can be subjected to direct tension or compression,
bending, twisting, or combinations of these.

In structural design we try to ensure that materials will perform according to their intended
function in service. We usually want deformations to be elastic, or degrees of bending or
twisting to be within prescribed limits. Most engineering materials behaviours elastically up
to a certain stress level (elastic limit), after which they are partly elastic and partly plastic.
The elastic deformation can recover after removing the applied load while plastic
deformation is permanent.

The ability of a member to withstand load or transmit force depends upon its dimensions. For
example, for the same material, long thin wires will stretch more and break more easily than
short, thick ones when a same tensile load is applied. In order to standardise the data the
concepts of stress and strain are used.

1.1 Normal stress and strain

If a piece of material with a cross-sectional area A is subjected to equal and opposite forces F,
either tensile or compressive as in Figure 1, then:
F
Force
Stress =
cross − sec tional area A L
F
i.e. σ = (1.1)
A

Note the above is normal stress as the force is at right angle to the cross- Fig.1
sectional area. To minimize the geometrical factors of test specimen,
F
engineering stress is used and defined as:
F
σ = (1.2)
Ao

where Ao is the original cross-sectional areas before any load is applied.

The SI unit of stress is Newton per square meter (N/m2) or Pascal (Pa).

Tensile and compressive stresses are normal stress.

Strain

If l is the original length of the material as shown in Fig. 1, x the extension or contraction in
length under load or temperature change and ε the strain, then

change in length
strain =
original length
 x
or ε= (1.3)
l
Strain is a ratio and has therefore no units. Strain defined by the F F
Equation (1.3) is called Engineering Strain. Strain due to an
extension is considered positive, that associated with a
contraction is negative.

1.2 Lateral strain

Figure 2 shows the deformation of two pieces of material under F Fig.2

F
the applied load F. The deformed shapes are indicated by the
dotted lines. Note that material not only strains along the directions of the applied load (axial
strain), but also strains along perpendicular direction to the load (lateral strain). The lateral
strain is proportional to the applied load and has opposite sign to that of axial strain.
lateral strain
The ratio of is called Poisson’s Ratio and is denoted by ν. Therefore if the
axial strain
axial strain is ε, the lateral strain is -νε.

Like Young’s modulus E, Poisson's ratio is an elastic constant which is slightly different for
different materials. Unlike E, Poisson's ratio is dimensionless. For many metals v is about 0.3.
Materials like rubber have v close to the theoretical limit of 0.5 and as a consequence they
have almost no volume change when loaded.

1.3 Shear stress and strain

F
If an element of a material with a cross-sectional area A is subjected to equal and opposite
forces F which produce a state of shear as shown in Figure 2, then:
F x
Force
Shear stress =
cross − sec tional area
L γ Fig.3
A
F
i.e. τ = (1.4) F
A
A shear stress, τ, produces a shear strain, ( as shown in Fig. 3. Shear strains have no tendency
to shorten or elongate the material but produce a change in shape. The angle ( is a measure of
x
the distortion or change of shape. As indicated in Figure 3, since is very small, the angle γ
L
equals:
x x
γ = tan γ = , since is very small (1.5)
L L

When a shear stress τ is applied to the faces AB and CD of an element of the material with a
thickness of t as shown in Figure 4, a clockwise couple (τ x AB x t) x BC is applied to the
element. Since the element does not rotate, an equal anticlockwise
τ
couple must be induced on faces AD and BC. If the magnitude of A B

τ’ τ’

D C
τ
Fig. 4
the shear stress at AD and BC is τ’, then for the equilibrium of the element:

(τ x AB x t) x BC =(τ’ x BC x t) x AB

∴τ = τ’ (1.6)

Thus a shear stress in one plane is always accompanied by an equal shear stress in the
perpendicular plane. This shear stress is called the complementary shear stress.

The properties of a material in shear can be determined experimentally from direct shear tests
or from torsion tests on hollow circular tubes.

1.4 Safety factor

The minimum allowable stress σa is the safe stress that can be used in practice on the member
or structure. Also called the working stress. The stress at which a material fails can be called
the maximum stress. A safety factor S is frequently imposed by legally established codes.
Provides a margin of safety and aimed at protecting against failure from unpredictable causes:
materials show variability in microstructure and hence properties due to compositional and
processing variations. Also the variation in applied load e.g. high accidental loads.

It is therefore necessary for the allowable stress σa to be much smaller than the maximum
σf
stress σf : σ a =
S
Choice of S depends on consequences of failure: social and economic. High-risk application
generally demands high S value.

2. Stress-strain relation

2.1 Uniaxial loading

Hooke’s Law states that when a force is applied to an elastic material, the deformation is
directly proportional to the force producing it. Since the stress proportional to the force and
the strain is proportional to the deformation, it follows that the strain is directly proportional
to the applied stress, i.e. the ratio stress/strain is a constant for any given material within
elastic limit.

For tensile and compressive stresses, this constant is known as the Modulus of Elasticity or
Young’s Modulus and is denoted by E.
σ
Thus E = (2.1)
ε
For shear stress, this constant is known as the Modulus of Rigidity and is denoted by G.

τ
G= (2.2)
γ

2.2 Multi-axial loading

The simple tensile test is an example of uniaxial loading where the load is applied along one
axis of the specimen. There are many other situations where the stresses are applied along
two perpendicular axes to give a biaxial stress state or along three axes to give a triaxial stress
state. A uniaxial tensile stress applied along the x-axis will cause an increase in length along
the x-axis, but because of the Poisson effect there is a decrease in diameter along the other
two axes perpendicular to the x-axis. To illustrate this further, consider an element of a
material drawn on the wall of a pressure vessel. The strains can be obtained by superposition
of two systems of uniaxial stress as shown in Fig. 5:

σy σy

σx σx σx σx
= +

σy
σy Fig. 5

(a) σx applied alone. In the x-direction the strain is σx/ E and in the y-direction it is -vσx/ E

(b) σy applied alone. In the y-direction the strain is σy/E and in the x-direction it is -vσy/E

(c) Combining these two conditions, for the x and y directions respectively, we get the
total strain in each direction as:

1
εx = (σ x − νσ y ) (2.3)
E
1
ε y = (σ x − νσ y ) (2.4)
E

The equations (2.3) and (2.4) are stress-strain relations for biaxial stress.

2.3 General stress-strain relations

Normal and shear stress at a point in a stressed body may

be considered to act on a small element with three mutually
perpendicular planes. Considering such an element as
shown in Figure 6, which is subjected to different stresses:
triaxial normal stresses σx, σy and σz that act perpendicular
to its planes and shear stresses (represented by its two
perpendicular components e.g. τxy and τxz, τyz and τyx) that
act on these planes.
Fig. 6
Normal stress and strain

If we apply similar superposition methods to the element as illustrated in Fig. 7, the general
stress-strain relationship for normal stresses in a triaxial system are:
 1
εx = [σ x − ν (σ y + σ z )] (2.5)
E
1
ε y = [σ y − ν (σ z + σ x )] (2.6)
E
1
ε z = [σ z − ν (σ x + σ y )] (2.7)
E

Fig. 7
Shear stress and strain
There is no lateral strain associated with shear stress. Hence, the shear stress and strain
relationship for triaxial system are:
τ xy τ yz τ zx
γ xy = ; γ yz = ; γ zx = (2.8)
G G G
Problem

1. The round bar shown below is subjected to a tensile load of 150kN. What must be the
diameter of the middle portion if the stress there is to be 215MPa? What must be the length of
the middle portion if the total extension of the bar under the given load is to be 0.2mm? Take
E=206GPa. (29.8mm and 0.160m)

2. A steel strut of rectangular section is made up of two lengths as shown below. The first, 150
mm long, has breadth 40 mm and depth 50 mm; the second, 100 mm long, is 25 mm square. If E =
220 GN/m2, calculate the compression of the strut under a load of 100 kN. (0.107 mm)

3. An axial load of 14kN is applied to a bar of cold-drawn copper and produces an

extension of 0.25mm on a gauge length of 250mm. If the bar is of square section 10mm side
and the decrease in thickness is measured as 0.0034mm, find Young’s modulus and Poisson’s
ratio for the copper. (140 GPa, 0.34)

4. A cast-iron column of section shown is 2m high and supports a load of 20kN, in

addition to its own weight. What is the maximum compressive stress in the column? The
density of the cast iron is 7200kgm-3. Take 1 kgf = 9.81 N. (1.41MNm-2)

5. A high strength steel rod has a Young's modulus E=210 GN m-2 and Poisson's ratio
ν=0.3 is compressed by an axial force P. Before application of the load, the rod diameter
was exactly 50.00 mm. In order to provide certain clearances, the diameter of the rod must
not exceed 50.025 mm under load. What is the largest permissible load P?

6. A steel pipe of length L=1.3 m, outside diameter d2 = 150 mm and inside diameter
100 mm is compressed by an axial force of 600 kN. If the material has a Young's modulus E
= 210 GN m-2 and a Poisson's ratio < = 0.3, calculate:

(a) the shortening of the pipe,

(b) the lateral strain,
(c) the increase in the inner and outer diameters,
(d) the increase in wall thickness.
7. A bar of metal 50 mm x 75mm in section is 250 mm long. Determine the changes in
dimensions that take place when it is subjected to an axial tensile force of 300kN, a
compressive force of 3MN on its 75x250 mm faces and a tensile force of 2 MN on its
remaining 50x250 mm faces. Take Young’s modulus E = 210GNm-2 and Poisson ratio
v=0.26