PHY11 Lesson 5

ELASTICITY
ELASTICITY
The ability of a strained body to recover its
size and shape after deformation.

stress – characterizes the strength of forces

causing the deformation.

F
stress  in
𝑁
or pascal (Pa)
A 𝑚2

strain – the resulting deformation.

stress
Hooke’s Law: elastic mod ulus 
strain
3 Types of Stress
tensile or compressive
stress – changes the length
of a strained body.
tensile stress

bulk stress – changes the

volume of a strained body.
bulk stress

shear stress – opposite

forces act at different points
in the body.
shear stress
Tensile and Compressive Stress
Consider a body of initial length lo acted upon by a
tensile or compressive force of F.

F
stress 
A

l
strain 
lo
Young’s Modulus (Y)

 F 
 
stress  A 
Y 
strain  l 
 
 lo 

Flo
Y
Al
Example 1
Bulk Stress
When uniform pressure p acts on a body, the
volume of the body decreases.

F
pressure   stress
A

V
strain 
Vo

 F 
 
stress  A 
B 
strain  V 
 
 Vo 
Bulk Modulus (B)

p
B
 V 
 
 Vo 

p
B V
Vo
Example 2
Shear Stress and Strain
When equal and opposite forces act tangent to the
opposite sides of a body, a shear strain is produced.

F// x
stress  strain 
A h

x
h tan  
h
Shear Modulus (S)

F// h
S
Ax

F//
S A
tan 
Example 3

F// = 9.0 x 105 N A = 5.0 x 1-4 m2 Ssteel = 7.5 x 1010 Pa

F
s. stress F//
a ) s. strain    2.4 x10  2
S AS
F

F b) x  (h)( s.strain)  2.4 x10 3 m

F
Example 4
Example 5