Plane Stress Transformations

61

Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

6.1. 6.2. 6.3.

6.4.

Introduction Thin Plate in Plate Stress 2D Stress Transformations 6.3.1. Why Are Stress Transformations Important? . 6.3.2. Method of Equations . . . . . . . . 6.3.3. Double Angle Version . . . . . . . . 6.3.4. Principal Stresses, Planes, Directions, Angles 6.3.5. Maximum Shear Stresses . . . . . . . 6.3.6. Principal Stress Element . . . . . . . 6.3.7. Mohrs Circle . . . . . . . . . . . What Happens in 3D? 6.4.1. Including the Plane Stress Thickness Dimension 6.4.2. 3D Mohr Circles . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.3. Overall Maximum Shear . . . . . . . 6.4.4. Plane Stress Revisited . . . . . . . . 6.4.5. The Sphere Paradox . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . .

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63 63 65 65 65 66 66 67 68 68 610 610 610 611 612 613

62

6.2 THIN PLATE IN PLATE STRESS

6.1. Introduction This Lecture deals with the plate stress problem. This is a two-dimensional stress state, briey introduced in 1.5 of Lecture 1. It occurs frequently in two kinds of aerospace structural components: 1. 2. Thin wall plates and shells; e.g., aircraft and rocket skins, and the pressure vessels of Lecture 3. Shaft members that transmit torque. These will be studied in Lectures 79.

The material below focuses on thin at plates, and works out the associated problem of plane stress transformations. 6.2. Thin Plate in Plate Stress In structural mechanics, a at thin sheet of material is called a plate. The distance between the plate faces is the thickness, which is denoted by h . The midplane lies halfway between the two faces. The direction normal to the midplane is the transverse direction. Directions parallel to the midplane are called in-plane directions. The global axis z is oriented along the transverse direction. Axes x and y are placed in the midplane, forming a right-handed Rectangular Cartesian Coordinate (RCC) system. Thus the equation of the midplane is z = 0. The +z axis conventionally denes the top surface of the plate as the one that it intersects, whereas the opposite surface is called the bottom surface. See Figure 6.1.

Top surface

y x
Figure 6.1. A plate structure in plane stress.

A plate loaded in its midplane is said to be in a state of plane stress, or a membrane state, if the following assumptions hold: 1. 2. 3. 4. All loads applied to the plate act in the midplane direction, as pictured in Figure 6.1, and are symmetric with respect to the midplane. All support conditions are symmetric about the midplane. In-plane displacements, strains and stresses are taken to be uniform through the thickness. The normal and shear stress components in the z direction are zero or negligible.

The last two assumptions are not necessarily consequences of the rst two. For those to hold, the thickness h should be small, typically 10% or less, than the shortest in-plane dimension. If the plate thickness varies it should do so gradually. Finally, the plate fabrication must exhibit symmetry with respect to the midplane. To these four assumptions we add an adscititious restriction: 5. The plate is fabricated of the same material through the thickness. Such plates are called transversely homogeneous or (in aerospace) monocoque plates.

The last assumption excludes wall constructions of importance in aerospace, in particular composite and honeycomb sandwich plates. The development of mathematical models for such congurations requires a more complicated integration over the thickness as well as the ability to handle coupled bending and stretching effects. Those topics fall outside the scope of the course. 63

Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

y
Midplane Mathematical idealization

Plate

Figure 6.2. Mathematical model of plate in plane stress. (Symbols and , used to denote the plate interior and the boundary, respectively, are used in advanced courses.)

In-plane internal forces dx dy pyy h Thin plate in plane stress z

+ sign conventions for internal forces, stresses and strains

pxx

pxy

dy dx

y
h

In-plane stresses dx dy

In-plane body forces

yy xx xy = yx

y x

h bx by

In-plane strains dx dy h yy xx xy = yx x

In-plane displacements dx dy h y y uy u x x

Figure 6.3. Notational conventions for in-plane stresses, strains, displacements and internal forces of a thin plate in plane stress.

Remark 6.1. Selective relaxation from assumption 4 leads to the so-called generalized plane stress state, in which nonzero zz stresses are accepted; but these stresses do not vary with z . The plane strain state described in 5.4.2 of Lecture 5 is obtained if strains in the z direction are precluded: zz = x z = yz = 0. Remark 6.2. Transverse loading on a plate produces plate bending, which is associated with a more complex conguration of internal forces and deformations. This topic is studied in graduate-level courses. Remark 6.3. The requirement of atness can be relaxed to allow for a curved conguration, as long as

the structure, or structure component, resists primarily in-plane loads. In that case the midplane becomes a midsurface. Examples are rocket and aircraft skins, ship and submarine hulls, open parachutes, boat sails and balloon walls. Such congurations are said to be in a membrane state. Another example are thin-wall members under torsion, which are covered in Lectures 89.

The plate in plane stress idealized as a two-dimensional problem is illustrated in Figure 6.2. 64

6.3
(a)
yy yx P xy xx

2D STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

(b)

tt

tn P

nt

nn

y Global axes x,y stay fixed z x

y n
z

Local axes x n,t rotate by

Figure 6.4. Plane stress system referred to global axes x , y (data) and to local rotated axes n , t . (Locations of point P in (a,b) coincide; they are drawn offset for visualization convenience.)

In this idealization the third dimension is represented as functions of x and y that are integrated through the plate thickness. Engineers often work with internal plate forces, which result from integrating the in-plane stresses through the thickness. See Figure 6.3. In this Lecture we focus on the in-plane stresses x x , yy and x y and their expressions with respect to an arbitrary system of axes 6.3. 2D Stress Transformations The stress transformation problem studied in this Lecture is illustrated in Figure 6.4. Stress components x x , yy and x y at a midplane point P are given with respect to the global axes x and y , as shown in Figure 6.4(a). The material element about P is rotated by an angle that aligns it with axes n , t , as shown in Figure 6.4(b). (Note that location of point P in (a,b) coincide they are drawn offset for visualization convenience.) The transformation problem consists of expressing nn , tt , and nt = tn in terms of the stress data x x , yy and x y , and of the angle . Two methods, one analytical and one graphical, will be described here. Before that is done, it is useful to motivate what are the main uses of these transformations. 6.3.1. Why Are Stress Transformations Important? The transformation problem has two major uses in structural analysis and design. Find stresses along a given skew direction. Here is given as data. This has several applications. Two examples: 1. Analysis of ber reinforced composites if the direction of the bers is not aligned with the {x , y } axes. A tensile normal stress perpendicular to the bers may cause delamination, and a compressive one may trigger buckling. Oblique joints that may fail by shear parallel to the joint. For example, welded joints.

2.

Find max/min normal stresses, max in-plane shear and overall max shear. This may be important for strength and safety assessment. Here nding the angle is part of the problem.

Both cases are covered in the following subsections. 65

Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

6.3.2. Method of Equations The derivation given on pages 524-525 of Vable or in 7.2 of Beer-Johnston-DeWolf is based on the wedge method. This will be omitted here for brevity. The nal result is nn = x x cos2 + yy sin2 + 2 x y sin cos , tt = x x sin2 + yy cos2 2 x y sin cos , nt = (x x yy ) sin cos + x y (cos2 sin2 ). Couple of checks are useful to verify these equations. If = 0 , nn = x x , as expected. If = 90 , nn = yy , tt = yy , tt = x x , nt = x y , nt = x y . (6.2) (6.3) (6.1)

which is also OK (can you guess why nt at = 90 is x y ?). Note that x x + yy = nn + tt . (6.4)

This sum is independent of , and is called a stress invariant. (Mathematically, it is the trace of the stress tensor.) Consequently, if nn is computed, the fastest way to get tt is as x x + yy nn , which does not require trig functions. 6.3.3. Double Angle Version For many developments it is convenient to express the transformation equations (6.1) in terms of the double angle 2 by using the well known trigonometric relations cos 2 = cos2 sin2 and sin 2 = 2 sin cos , in addition to sin2 + cos2 = 1. The result is nn = x x yy x x + yy + cos 2 + x y sin 2, 2 2 x x yy nt = sin 2 + x y cos 2. 2

(6.5)

Here tt is omitted since, as previously noted, it can be quickly computed as tt = x x + yy nn . 6.3.4. Principal Stresses, Planes, Directions, Angles The maximum and minimum values attained by the normal stress nn , considered as a function of , are called principal stresses. (A more precise name is in-plane principal normal stresses, but the qualiers in-plane and normal are often dropped for brevity.) Those values occur if the derivative d nn /d vanishes. Differentiating the rst of (6.1) and passing to double angles gives d nn = 2( yy x x ) sin cos + 2x y (cos2 sin2 ) d = ( yy x x ) sin 2 + 2x y cos 2 = 0. 66 (6.6)

6.3 2D STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

This is satised for = p if tan 2 p = 2 x y x x yy (6.7)

There are two double-angle solutions 21 and 22 given by (6.7) in the range [0 360 ] or [180 180 ] that are 180 apart. (Which range is used depends on the textbook; here we use the rst one.) Upon dividing those values by 2, the principal angles 1 and 2 dene the principal planes, which are 90 apart. The normals to the principal planes dene the principal stress directions. Since they differ by a 90 angle of rotation about z , it follows that the principal stress directions are orthogonal. As previously noted, the normal stresses that act on the principal planes are called the in-plane principal normal stresses, or simply principal stresses. They are denoted by 1 and 2 , respectively. Using (6.7) and trigonometric relations it can be shown that their values are given by x x + yy 2 x x yy 2
2 2 . + x y

1,2 =

(6.8)

To evaluate (6.8) it is convenient to go through the following staged sequence: 1. Compute a v x x + yy = 2 and R=+ x x yy 2
2 2 . + x y

(6.9)

Meaning of these values: a v is the average normal stress at P (recall that x x + yy is an invariant and so is a v ), whereas R is the radius of the Mohrs circle, as described in 6.3.7 below, thus the symbol. Furthermore, R represents the maximum in-plane shear stress value, as discussed in 6.3.5 below. 2. The principal stress values are 1 = a v + R , 3. 2 = a v R . (6.10)

Note that the a priori computation of the principal angles is not needed to get the principal stresses if one follows the foregoing steps. If nding those angles is of interest, use (6.7).

Comparing (6.6) with the second of (6.5) shows that d nn /d = 2nt . Since d nn /d vanishes for a principal angle, so does nt . Hence the principal planes are shear stress free. 6.3.5. Maximum Shear Stresses Planes on which the maximum shear stresses act can be found by setting d nt /d = 0. A study of this equation shows that the maximum shear planes are located at 45 from the principal planes, and that the maximum and minimum values of nt are R . See for example, 7.3 of the Beer-Johnston-DeWolf textbook. This result can be obtained graphically on inspection of Mohrs circle, covered later. 67

Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

(a) P

yy = 20 psi xy = yx =30 psi xx =100 psi

2 =10 psi (b) P

principal directions 2= 108.44 1 =110 psi 1=18.44 x principal planes

|max |= R=50 psi (c) P 18.44 +45 = 63.44

x principal planes
principal planes

t x

y n

(d) plane of max inplane shear

45 principal stress element 45

Figure 6.5. Plane stress example: (a) given data: stress components x x , yy and x y ; (b) principal stresses and angles; (c) maximum shear planes; (d) a principal stress element (actually four PSE can be drawn, that shown is one of them). Note: locations of point P in (a) through (d) coincide; they are drawn offset for visualization convenience.

Example 6.1. This example is pictured in Figure 6.5. Given: x x = 100 psi, yy = 20 psi and x y = 30 psi, as

shown in Figure 6.5(a), nd the principal stresses and their directions. Following the recommended sequence (6.9)(6.10), we compute rst a v 100 + 20 = = 60 psi, 2 R=+ 100 20 2
2

+ 302 = 50 psi,

(6.11)

from which the principal stresses are obtained as 1 = 60 + 50 = 110 psi , 2 = 60 50 = 10 psi. (6.12)

To nd the angles formed by the principal directions, use (6.7): 2 30 3 = = 0.75, with solutions 21 = 36.87 , 22 = 21 + 180 = 216.87 , 100 20 4 whence 1 = 18.44 , 2 = 1 + 90 = 108.44 . tan 2 p = (6.13)

These values are shown in Figure 6.5(b). As regards maximum shear stresses, we have |max | = R = 50 psi. The planes on which these act are located at 45 from the principal planes, as illustrated in Figure 6.5(c).

6.3.6. Principal Stress Element Some authors, such as Vable, introduce here the so-called principal stress element or PSE. This is a wedge formed by the two principal planes and the plane of maximum in-plane shear stress. Its projection on the {x , y } plane is an isosceles triangle with one right angle and two 45 angles. For the foregoing example, Figure 6.5(d) shows a PSE. There are actually 4 ways to draw a PSE, since one can join point P to the opposite corners of the square aligned with the principal planes in two ways along diagonals, and each diagonal splits the square into two triangles. The 4 images may be sequentially produced by applying sucessive rotations of 90 . Figure 6.5(d) shows one of the 4 possible PSEs for the example displayed in that Figure. The PSE is primarily used for the visualization of material failure surfaces in fracture and yield, a topic only covered supercially in this course. 68

6.3
= shear stress
50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20

2D STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

22 = 36.88 +180 = 216.88 max = 50

(a) Point in plane stress (a) P yy = 20 psi xy = yx =30 psi xx =100 psi
2 = 10

H
Radius R = 50
40 60 80 100

= normal stress 1 = 110

C V
min = 50 coordinates of blue points are H: (20,30), V:(100,-30), C:(60,0) 21 = 36.88

(b) Mohr's circle

Figure 6.6. Mohrs circle for plane stress example of Figure 6.5.

6.3.7. Mohrs Circle Mohrs circle is a graphical representation of the plane stress state at a point. Instead of using the methods of equations, a circle is drawn on the {, } plane. The normal stress () and the share stress ( ) are plotted along the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively, with as a parameter. All stress states obtained as the angle is varied fall on a circle called Mohrs circle.1 This representation was more important for engineers before computers and calculators appeared. But it still retains some appealing features, notably the clear visualization of principal stresses and maximum shear. It also remains important in theories of damage, fracture and plasticity that have a failure surface. To explain the method we will construct the circle corresponding to Example 6.1, which is reproduced in Figure 6.6(a) for convenience. Draw horizontal axis = nn () to record normal stresses, and vertical axis = nt () to record shear stresses. Mark two points: V (for vertical cut, meaning a plane with exterior normal parallel to x ) at (x x , x y ) = {100, 30} and H (for horizontal cut, meaning a plane with exterior normal parallel to y ) at ( yy , x y ) = (20, 30). ( + yy ), 0) = The midpoint between H and V is C, the circle center, which is located at ( 1 2 xx (a v , 0) = (60, 0). Now draw the circle. It may be veried that its radius is R as given by (6.9); which for Example 6.1 is R = 50. See Figure 6.6(b). The circle intersects the axis at two points with normal stresses a vg + R = 110 = 1 and a v R = 10 = 2 . Those are the principal stresses. Why? At those two points the shear stress nt vanishes, which as we have seen characterizes the principal planes. The maximum in-plane shear occurs when = nt is maximum or minimum, which happens at the highest and lowest points of the circle. Obviously max = R = 50 and min = R = 50. What is the normal stress when the shear is maximum or minimum? By inspection it is a v = 60 because those points lie on a vertical line that passes through the circle center C .
1

Introduced by Christian Otto Mohr (a civil engineer and professor at Dresden) in 1882. Other important personal contributions were the concept of statically indeterminate structures and theories of material failure by shear.

69

Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

Other features, such as the correlation between the angle on the physical plane and the rotation angle 2 traversed around the circle will be explained in class if there is time. If not, one can nd those details in Chapter 7 of Beer-Johnston-DeWolf textbook, which covers Mohrs circle well. 6.4. What Happens in 3D? Despite the common use of simplied 1D and 2D structural models, the world is actually threedimensional. Stresses and strains actually live in 3D. When the extra(s) space dimensions are accounted for, some paradoxes are resolved. In this nal section we take a quick look at principal stresses in 3D, stating the major properties as recipes. 6.4.1. Including the Plane Stress Thickness Dimension To x the ideas, 3D stress results will be linked to the plane stress case studied in Example 6.1. and pictured in Figure 6.5. Its 3D state of stress in {x , y , z } coordinates is dened by the 3 3 stress matrix 100 30 0 S = 30 20 0 (6.14) 0 0 0 It may be veried that the eigenvalues of this matrix, arranged in descending order, are 1 = 110, 2 = 10, 3 = 0. (6.15)

Now in 3D there are three principal stresses, which act on three mutually orthogonal principal planes that are shear stress free. For the stress matrix (6.14) the principal stress values are 110, 10 and 0. But those are precisely the eigenvalues (6.15). This result is general: The principal stresses in 3D are the eigenvalues of the 3D stress matrix The stress matrix is symmetric. A linear algebra theorem says that a real symmetric matrix has a full set of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and that the eigenvalues are guaranteed to be real. The normals to the principal planes (the so-called principal directions) are dened by the three orthonormalized eigenvectors, but this topic will not be pursued further. In plane stress, one of the eigenvalues is always zero because the last row and column of S are null; thus one principal stress is zero. The associated principal plane is normal to the transverse axis z , as can be physically expected. Consequently zz = 0 is a principal stress. The other two principal stresses are the in-plane principal stresses, which were those studied in 6.3.4. It may be veried that their values are given by (6.8), and that their principal directions lie in the {x , y } plane. Some terminology is needed. Suppose that the three principal stresses are ordered, as usually done, by decreasing algebraic value: 1 2 3 (6.16) Then 1 is called the maximum principal stress, 3 the minimum principal stress, and 2 the intermediate principal stress. (Note that this ordering is by algebraic, rather than by absolute, value.) In the plane stress example (6.14) the maximum, intermediate and minimum normal stresses are 110, 10 and 0, respectively. The rst two are the in-plane principal stresses. 610

6.4
= shear stress Overall max shear All possible stress states lie in the shaded area between the outer and inner circles = shear stress
50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20 40

WHAT HAPPENS IN 3D?

(a)

(b)

Inner Mohr's circles

overall max = 55 inplane max = 50

= normal 3 = 0 stress 3 2 1 2 = 10

60

80

100

= normal stress 1 = 110

Outer Mohr's circle

Yellow-filled circle is the inplane one

Figure 6.7. Mohrs circles for a 3D stress state: (a) general case; (b) plane stress example of Figure 6.5. In (b) the Mohr circle of Figure 6.6 is the rightmost inner circle. Actual stress states lie on the grey shaded areas.

6.4.2. 3D Mohr Circles More surprises (pun intended): in 3D there are actually three Mohr circles, not just one. To draw the circles, start by getting the eigenvalues 1 , 2 and 3 of the stress matrix, for example through the eig function of Matlab. Suppose they are ordered as per the convention (6.16). Mark their values on the axis of the vs. plane. Draw the 3 circles with diameters {1 , 2 }, {2 , 3 } and {1 , 3 }, as sketched in Figure 6.7(a).2 For the principal values (6.15) the three Mohr circles are drawn in Figure 6.7(b), using a scale similar to that of Figure 6.6. Of the three circles the wider one goes from 1 (maximum normal stress) to 3 (minimum normal stress). This is known as the outer or big circle, while the two others are called the inner circles. It can be shown (this is proven in advanced courses in continuum mechanics) that all actual stress states at the material point lie between the outer circle and the two inner ones. Those are marked as grey shaded areas in Figure 6.7. 6.4.3. Overall Maximum Shear For ductile materials such as metal alloys, which yield under shear, the 3D Mohr-circles diagram is quite useful for visualizing the overall maximum shear stress at a point, and hence establish the factor of safety against that failure condition. Looking at the diagram of Figure 6.7(a), clearly the ov erall , is given by the highest and lowest point of the outer Mohrs overall maximum shear, called max circle, marked as a blue dot in that gure. (Note that only its absolute value is of importance for safety checks; the sign has no importance.) But that is also equal to the radius Router of that circle. If the three principal stresses are algebraically ordered as in (6.16), then
ov erall = Router = max

3 1 2

(6.17)

Note that the intermediate principal stress 2 does not appear in this formula.
2

In the general 3D case there is no simple geometric construction of the circles starting from the six x , y , z independent stress components, as done in 6.3.7 for plane stress.

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Lecture 6: PLANE STRESS TRANSFORMATIONS

If the principal stresses are not ordered, it is necessary to use the max function in a more complicated formula that picks up the largest of the 3 radii:
ov erall = max max

1 2 2 3 3 1 , , 2 2 2

(6.18)

Taking absolute values in (6.18) is important because the max function picks up the largest algebraic ov erall = max(30, 50, 20) = 30 picks up the wrong value. On the value. For example, writing max ov erall other hand max max(|30|, | 50|, |20|) = 50 is correct. 6.4.4. Plane Stress Revisited Going back to plane stress, how do overall maximum shear and in-plane maximum shear compare? Recall that one of the principal stresses is zero. The ordering (6.16) of the principal stresses is assumed, and one of those three is zero. The following cases may be considered: (A) The zero stress is the intermediate one: 2 = 0. If so, the in-plane Mohr circle is the outer one and the two shear maxima coincide:
ov erall inplane = max = max

1 3 2

(6.19)

(B) The zero stress is either the largest one or the smallest one. Two subcases: (B1) If 1 2 0 and 3 = 0 : (B2) If 3 2 0 and 1 = 0 :
ov erall max = ov erall max

1 , 2 3 = . 2

(6.20)

In the plane stress example of Figure 6.5, the principal stresses are given by (6.12). Since both in-plane principal stresses (110 psi and 10 psi) are positive, the zero principal stress is the smallest inplane ov erall = 1 = 55 psi, whereas max = one. We are in case (B), subcase (B1). Consequently max 2 1 1 ( 2 ) = 50 psi. 2 1

612

6.4
= shear stress = shear stress

WHAT HAPPENS IN 3D?

(a)

(b)
50 40

50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20 40 60 80

overall max = 40

inplane max = 0
100

30

= normal stress

3 = 0 20
10 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 20 40 60 80

inplane max = 0
100

= normal stress

1 = 2=80

1 = 2=80

Figure 6.8. The sphere paradox: (a) Mohrs in-plane circle reduced to a point, whence max ov erall = 40. (b) drawing the 3D circles shows that max

inplane

= 0;

6.4.5. The Sphere Paradox Taking the third dimension into account claries some puzzles such as the sphere paradox. Consider a thin spherical pressure vessel with p = 160 psi, R = 10 in and t = 0.1 in. In Lecture 3, the wall stress in spherical coordinates was found to be = p R /(2 t ) = 80 ksi, same in all directions. The stress matrix at any point in the wall, taking z as the normal to the sphere at that point, is 80 0 0 (6.21) 0 80 0 0 0 0 The Mohr circle reduces to a point, as illustrated in Figure 6.8(a), and the maximum in-plane shear stress is zero. And remains zero for any p . If the sphere is fabricated of a ductile material, it should never break regardless of pressure. Plainly we have a paradox. The paradox is resolved by considering the other two Mohr circles. These additional circles are pictured in Figure 6.8(b). In this case the outer circle and the other inner circle coalesce. The overall maximum shear stress is 40 ksi, which is nonzero. Therefore, increasing the pressure will eventually produce yield, and the paradox is solved.

613