STRENGTH OF MATERIAL

ENG 203

LECTURE NOTE

STRENGTH OF MATERIAL LECTURE NOTE 1

 UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE STRENGTH OF MATERIAL:
1.1 What is Strength of Material?
Strength of Material or mechanics of material is a course that introduces the engineering
students to the study of the effect of external forces on engineering materials and the
ability of the material to resist failure. The course will help students to understand how
materials deform, deflect, and fail under various loading conditions, enabling them to create
safe and efficient structures and machines. Under this course, students will be introduced
into the concept of Force, Moments, Equilibrium of Forces, Hooke’s law, stress and the
strain relationship and the effects of shearing forces and bending moments on beams.

Differences between Strength of Material and Engineering Mechanics

1. Strength of materials (SOM) primarily focuses on the study of how materials and
structures respond to external forces, emphasizing the material's capacity to
withstand loads, deformations, and the analysis of stresses and strains. While
Engineering Mechanics (EM) encompasses two main sub-disciplines: statics and
dynamics. Statics deals with the equilibrium of bodies under the action of forces but
without motion, while dynamics considers the motion of bodies in response to
forces.
2. SOM is primarily applied in the design and analysis of structures and machine
components while EM provides a foundation for various engineering disciplines,
including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and
more.
3. SOM deals with the mechanical behaviour of non-rigid (deformable) solids under
applied external loads while EM deals with the mechanical behaviour of rigid (non-
deformable) solids subjected to external loads.

Importance of Strength of Material:

 Design: Strength of materials is essential for designing structures that can withstand
the various forces they'll encounter over their operational lifespan. It enables
engineers to create designs that are both safe and efficient.
 Safety and Reliability: Strength of materials ensures the safety and reliability of
materials and structures used in construction, transportation, and other engineering
applications. This knowledge is crucial for preventing failures and accidents.
 Material Selection: Understanding the principles of strength of materials is crucial
for selecting the right materials for different applications. It allows engineers to
choose materials with the appropriate mechanical properties to meet specific
requirements.

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  Failure Analysis: When failures occur in structures or components, the principles of
strength of materials are used to conduct failure analyses. This process helps identify
the reasons for failure and informs improvements in design and manufacturing
processes.
 Quality Control: Strength of materials principles are employed in quality control to
ensure that products and structures meet design specifications and safety standards.
This is essential for maintaining consistent product quality and safety.

In Summary:
1. Design: The field of strength of materials is essential in designing structures that can
withstand the forces they will encounter during their lifetime
2. Safety and Reliability: It ensures that materials used in construction are safe and reliable.
3. Material Selection: Knowledge of SOM is critical in selecting the right materials for
different applications.
4. Failure Analysis: principle of SOM is used in conducting failure analyses.
5. Quality Control: SOM principle is used to ensure that products meet design specifications
and safety standards.

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1.2 THE HYPOTHESIS OF STRENGTH OF MATERIAL

The hypotheses of the strength of materials are a set of assumptions and principles that
form the basis of the study of mechanics of materials. Here are some of the commonly
accepted hypotheses:
1. Hypothesis of Material Continuity
The material of a structure is considered to be continuous or uniformly distributed at all
points of the body. It assumes that the material is continuous and has no voids or cracks
that can affect its behaviour.
2. Hypothesis of the Material Homogeneity
All points of the body have the same material property or are considered to be
homogenous at all points of the body. In a homogeneous material, there are no
variations or gradients in properties like density, stiffness, or strength.
3. Hypothesis of the Material Isotropy
The material properties are considered to be the same in all directions of a body. That is
Isotropic. For example, if you apply a force or stress to an isotropic material, the
resulting deformation or strain will be the same, regardless of the direction in which the
force is applied.
4. Hypothesis of the Material Deformability (Superposition)
This hypothesis assumes that the total deformation of a material is the sum of the
individual deformations caused by each applied load acting alone. The deformations at
each point are assumed to be small relative to the dimensions of the bodies. That is, at
elastic deformation the body dimensions are not changed substantially.
5. Hypothesis of the Material Elasticity
All bodies are assumed to be fully elastic if their elongation returns to zero after
removing the selected value of stress.
6. Hypothesis of the Material Proportionality (Hooke’s Law)
This hypothesis assumes that the deformation of a material is directly proportional to
the applied stress within the elastic limit.
7. Hypothesis of the Planar Cross-Sections (Bernoullis’ hypothesis)
Each planar cross-section normal to the axis of the beam before the deformation
remains planar and normal to the same axis after deformation.
8. Hypothesis about Applied Load
This hypothesis simplifies the analysis by assuming that distributed loads can be
approximated as concentrated loads applied at specific points.
9. Hypothesis of Local Equilibrium
If the body is in equilibrium, then, each part of the body is also in equilibrium.
10. Hypothesis of Static action of the forces
The magnitude of the applied external forces increases gradually from zero to the final
value.

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1.3 FORCES AND MOMENTS
1.3.1 FORCE
What is Force?
Force is that which produces, or tends to produce motion or a change in the state of motion
of objects. There are two main classes of force.
They are: Contact and Non-contact forces and Internal and External Forces.
Contact and Non-contact Forces:
Contact forces are those that result from the physical contact between two objects.
Examples of contact forces include normal force, tension force, friction force, spring force,
air resistance force, and applied force.
Non-contact forces, on the other hand, are those that act at a distance without any physical
contact between the objects. Examples of non-contact forces include gravitational force,
electrical force, magnetic force, and nuclear force.

1.3.1.1 Internal and External Forces.

Internal Forces
In response to the external effects of loads and reactions, internal forces are developed
within a structure as the material of the structure strives to resist the deformations caused
by the external effects. These internal force effects are generated by stresses in the material
of the structure. The stresses are actually incremental forces within the material, and they
result in incremental deformations, called strains. Examples of internal forces include gravity
forces, magnetic force, electrical force, and spring force.

External Forces
External forces act on an object or system, originating outside of the object or system.
Examples of external forces include applied force, normal force, tension force, friction force,
and air resistance force

1.3.1.2 Cause and Effect: External versus Internal Force

When subjected to external forces, a structure twists, sags, stretches, shortens, and so on.
To be more technical, it stresses and strains, thus assuming some new shape as the
incremental strains accumulate into overall dimensional changes. While stresses are not
visually apparent, their accompanying strains are; thus, it is possible to infer a stress
condition from observation of structural deformations.
 Tension – It causes bending.
 Compression – It causes crushing or buckling
 Shear - In its simplest form, shear is the tendency for slipping of adjacent objects.
This may occur at the joint between elements or within a material.

1.3.1.3 Vector and Scalar Quantities:

1.3.1.3.1 Vector Quantities:
Vector quantities are quantities that have Magnitude, direction and sense.

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  Magnitude of the Force: This is the amount of the force, which is measured in
weight units such as pounds or tons.
 Direction of the Force: This refers to the orientation of its path, called its line of
action. Direction is usually described by the angle that the line of action makes with
some reference, such as the horizontal.
 Sense of the Force: This refers to the manner in which the force acts along its line of
action (up or down, right or left, etc.). Sense is usually expressed algebraically in
terms of the sign of the force, either plus or minus.

Unit vector: A vector, whose magnitude is unity, is known as unit vector.

Equal vectors: The vectors, which are parallel to each other and have same direction (i.e.,
same sense) and equal magnitude are known as equal vectors

Examples of Vector quantities include:

 Displacement Vector: For instance, if an object moves 5 meters east and 3 meters
north, its displacement is a vector with a magnitude of 5√(2) meters and a direction
of 45 degrees northeast.
 Force Vector: When a force is applied to an object, it is represented as a vector with
a magnitude (in newtons) and a direction. For example, a 10 N force acting to the left
is a vector with a magnitude of 10 N and a leftward direction.
 Velocity Vector: In physics, velocity is a vector that describes both the speed and
direction of an object's motion. For example, a car traveling at 60 kilometers per
hour due north has a velocity vector of 60 km/h north.
 Magnetic Field Vector: In electromagnetism, the magnetic field at a point is
described as a vector. It has a magnitude and direction and is often represented
using field lines.
 Wind Velocity Vector: In meteorology, wind velocity is often represented as a
vector. Wind speed (magnitude) and direction make up this vector.
 Electric Field Vector: Similar to the magnetic field, the electric field is a vector
quantity. It describes the force that would be exerted on a charged particle at any
point in space.
 Acceleration Vector: When an object is accelerating, its acceleration can be
represented as a vector. For instance, the acceleration due to gravity is a vector
pointing downward with a magnitude of approximately 9.81 m/s² on the Earth's
surface.
 Displacement of a Ship at Sea: A ship's position and movement in the ocean can be
represented as a vector. For instance, a ship traveling at a certain speed in a certain
direction can be described using a vector.
 Aircraft's Velocity Relative to the Ground: In aviation, an aircraft's velocity relative
to the ground is represented as a vector. It considers the aircraft's airspeed and the
wind speed and direction.

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  Gradient Vector: In mathematics, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector that points
in the direction of the steepest increase of the field at a given point. It is often used
in calculus.

1.3.1.3.2 Scalar Quantities:

Scalar quantities are physical quantities that have only magnitude (size) and no associated
direction. They are characterized by having a single numerical value. Here are some
examples of scalar quantities:
 Distance: The length between two points is a scalar quantity. For instance, if you
travel 5 kilometres, the distance you've covered is a scalar.
 Speed: Speed is the rate of change of distance with respect to time. It is scalar
because it only indicates how fast something is moving, regardless of direction. If a
car is traveling at 60 kilometres per hour, the speed is a scalar quantity.
 Mass: Mass is the amount of matter in an object. It is a scalar since it has magnitude
(measured in kilograms, grams, etc.) but no direction associated with it.
 Temperature: Temperature is a scalar quantity that represents the degree of
hotness or coldness of a body. It's typically measured in degrees Celsius (°C) or Kelvin
(K).
 Time: Time is a scalar quantity that measures the duration or the sequence of
events. For example, if an event lasts for 2 hours, the time is a scalar.
 Energy: Energy is a scalar quantity that comes in various forms, such as kinetic
energy, potential energy, and thermal energy. It is measured in joules (J) or other
energy units.
 Area: The size of a two-dimensional surface is a scalar quantity. For example, the
area of a rectangular room is given in square meters (m²).
 Volume: The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object is a scalar.
Volume is typically measured in cubic meters (m³) or liters (L).
 Electric Charge: Electric charge is a scalar quantity that represents the quantity of
electric charge an object possesses. It is measured in coulombs (C).
 Pressure: Pressure is a scalar quantity that represents the force applied per unit
area. It is measured in pascals (Pa) or other pressure units.
 Work: Work is a scalar quantity in physics that represents the energy transferred to
or from an object due to a force acting on it. Work is measured in joules (J).
 Power: Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred. It is a scalar
quantity, measured in watts (W).

1.3.2 MOMENTS
The term moment is commonly used to designate the tendency of a force to cause rotation
about a given point or axis. The unit of measurement for moments is a compound produced
by the multiplication of the force (in pounds, tons, newton etc.) times a distance (in feet,
inches, metre etc.). S.I Unit is kNm. The point or axis about which rotation is induced is
called the centre of moments. The perpendicular distance between the line of action of the
force and the centre of moments is called the lever arm or moment arm. Thus, a moment
has a magnitude that is determined as: Moment = (magnitude of force) × (length of moment
arm).

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1.3.2.1 Resolution of Forces
The resolution of forces is a fundamental concept in physics and engineering that involves
breaking down a single force vector into two or more component vectors that are easier to
work with. This is often done when dealing with forces that are not in the desired direction
for a particular analysis. The two most common methods for resolving forces are using
trigonometry and vector decomposition.

1.3.2.2 Resultant Force

It is that single force that can be used to replace multiple forces acting on an object without
changing the object’s motion. In other words, it is the net effect of a number of forces acting
on an object put together.

1.3.2.3 Equilibrant Force

It is that force that is required to bring an object to a state of equilibrium. It is equal and
opposite in direction to the resultant force. When an object is in a state of equilibrium, it
means it is at a state of rest or it moves with a constant velocity.

ASSIGNMENT: (5 marks)
Classify the following under Contact and Non-Contact Force.
Gravitational Force, Electromagnetic Force, Normal Force, Frictional Force, Tension Force,
Applied Force (push and pull), Spring Force, Air resistance (Drag Force), Buoyant Force,
Torsional Force, Magnetic Force, Centripetal Force, Nuclear Force, Shear Force, Action-
reaction pair.

HOME WORK: (5 marks)

If an object experiences a 30 N force to the east and a 40 N force to the north.
a. What is the resultant force and direction?
b. What is the equilibrant force and direction?

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SOLUTION TO UNIT 1 - ASSIGNMENT

Classify the following under Contact and Non-Contact Force.

Gravitational Force, Electromagnetic Force, Normal Force, Frictional Force, Tension Force,
Applied Force (push and pull), Spring Force, Air resistance (Drag Force), Buoyant Force,
Torsional Force, Magnetic Force, Centripetal Force, Nuclear Force, Shear Force, Action-
reaction pair.
CONTACT FORCE NON-CONTACT FORCE
Normal Force Gravitational Force
Frictional Force Electromagnetic Force
Tension Force Air resistance Force
Applied Force Magnetic Force
Spring Force Centripetal Force
Torsional Force Nuclear Force
Shear Force Buoyant Force
Action-reaction Pair
CONTACT FORCE:
Normal Force: This is the force exerted by a surface to support the weight of an object resting on it. It acts perpendicular to
the surface.
Frictional Force: This force opposes the motion of two surfaces in contact. It arises due to the microscopic irregularities of
surfaces.
Tension Force: The force in a rope or string when it is pulled tight. This force occurs along the length of the rope or string
and requires direct contact.
Applied Force (push and pull): Any force that is directly applied to an object by a person or another object. For example,
pushing a box or pulling a cart.
Spring Force: This force is exerted by a spring when it is stretched or compressed. It is a contact force as it involves direct
physical interaction with the spring.
Shear Force: The force that acts parallel to the surfaces in contact, causing one portion of the object to slide past another.
Action-reaction Pair: While Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, the
forces involved in this law are considered contact forces.
These forces involve direct physical contact between objects or arise when an object interacts with a surface.

NON CONTACT FORCE:

Gravitational Force: The force of attraction between two masses. It acts over a distance and doesn't require direct contact.
Electromagnetic Force: The force between charged particles or magnets. It can act at a distance without physical contact.
Air Resistance (Drag Force): The force opposing the motion of an object through air. It occurs at a distance and doesn't
involve direct contact.
Buoyant Force: The upward force exerted by a fluid (like water) on an object immersed in it. It acts at a distance without
direct contact.
Magnetic Force: The force between magnets or magnetic materials. It acts at a distance and doesn't require physical
contact.
Centripetal Force: The force that keeps an object moving in a circular path. It acts at a distance from the center of rotation.
Nuclear Force: The force that acts between particles in the nucleus of an atom. It is a short-range force and doesn't require
direct contact.
These forces don't involve direct physical interaction between the objects experiencing the force.

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HOME WORK:
To find the resultant force and equilibrant force for the given system of forces, we can use vector addition. The forces are
acting at right angles to each other, so we can treat them as the legs of a right-angled triangle.

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