1.

Mechanics of materials/Strength of Materials

 Mechanics of materials is a branch of applied mechanics that deals with the
behavior of solid bodies subjected to various types of loading. Other names
for this field of study are strength of materials and mechanics of deformable
bodies.
 Mechanics of materials is a branch of mechanics that studies the internal
effects of stress and strain in a solid body that is subjected to an external
loading.

 Mechanics of materials is the study of the internal effects caused by external

loads acting on real bodies that deform (meaning objects that can stretch,
bend, or twist).

 The three fundamental areas of engineering mechanics are statics, dynamics,

and mechanics of materials. Statics and dynamics are devoted primarily to the
study of external forces and motions associated with particles and rigid bodies
(i.e., idealized objects in which any change of size or shape due to forces can
be neglected).
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cont.

 The principal objective of mechanics of materials is to determine the stresses,

strains, and displacements in structures and their components due to the loads
acting on them. If we can find these quantities for all values of the loads up to
the loads that cause failure, we will have a complete picture of the mechanical
behavior of these structures.
Why does understanding Mechanical behavior is so
important in design ?
 An understanding of mechanical behavior is essential for the safe design of
all types of structures, whether airplanes and antennas, buildings and bridges,
machines and motors, or ships and spacecraft. That is why mechanics of
materials is a basic subject in so many engineering fields.

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 2. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MECHANICS
 Matter is any substance that occupies space.

 Particle in solid geometry is analogous to a point in plane geometry. A

particle has mass but has no dimensions.

 Mass is a quantitative measure of inertia. Bodies undergo different degrees

of deformations under the action of forces. Thus, steel has more inertia (mass)
than aluminium as, under the action of the same force on two identical bodies
of steel and aluminum, the aluminium body will undergo more change in
motion than steel.

 Space is a region that extends in all directions and contains all bodies.
Position of a body in space is located by arbitrarily fixing reference axes and
measuring its coordinates with respect to these axes. Rectangular coordinates
use three mutually perpendicular axes while cylindrical coordinates use
distances and angles to locate position in space.

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cont.
 Body is matter that is bounded by a closed surface. Bodies can be classified
as rigid and deformable.

 Time is a measure of duration between successive events occurring. This is

important in mechanics as bodies in motion change their position with time.

 Equilibrium is a state of rest of a body. State of rest can be defined as a state

in which the body does not change its position. Equilibrium equations also
cover the case of a body moving with uniform velocity along a straight line.

 Motion is a change of position of a body with respect to time. When an

unbalanced force acts on a body, it has motion.

 Inertia is an inherent property of matter by which it resists any change in its

state.

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cont.
 A rigid body is a body that does not undergo any deformation, change in
shape and size, on application of a force. All bodies in nature are deformable
on application of a sufficiently large force. We would not have been able to
fabricate many things that we use in day-to-day life if bodies were not
deformable. But for the purpose of certain analysis, as in statics detailed in
the next section, bodies are assumed to be rigid (strictly, we assume that
deformations are too small that we can consider the body to be rigid).

 A deformable body is one that undergoes deformations, change in size

and shape, on application of a force. Materials have different degrees of
deformations on application of forces. Rubber, for example, undergoes
deformations on application of a small force. Steel, on the other hand,
requires a very large amount of force to deform it.

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 3. Types of Loads

 Since statics has an important role in both the development and application
of mechanics of materials, it is very important to have a good grasp of its
fundamentals.

1. External Loads. A body is subjected to only two types of external loads; namely,
surface forces or body forces.

a) Surface Forces
Surface forces are caused by the direct contact of one body with the surface of
another. In all cases these forces are distributed over the area of contact
between the bodies. If this area is small in comparison with the total surface
area of the body, then the surface force can be idealized as a single
concentrated force, which is applied to a point on the body. For example, the
force of the ground on the wheels of a bicycle can be considered as a
concentrated force. If the surface loading is applied along a narrow strip of
area, the loading can be idealized as a linear distributed load, w(s).

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cont.
b) Body Forces
A body force is developed when one body exerts a force on another body without
direct physical contact between the bodies. Examples include the effects caused
by the earth’s gravitation or its electromagnetic field. Although body forces affect
each of the particles composing the body, these forces are normally represented
by a single concentrated force acting on the body. In the case of gravitation, this
force is called the weight of the body and acts through the body’s center of
gravity.

2. Internal force – Force exerted by a part of a body or of a liquid mass on

another part. These forces may act on imaginary surfaces defined in the interior
of the material, or on its mass.

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 4. Body Constraints
 A body constraint is a contrived support or force provided such that the body
is in equilibrium. The constraints provide either reactive forces, couples, or
both, depending upon the type of support.

As a general rule, if the support prevents translation in a given direction, then a

force must be developed on the member in that direction. Likewise, if rotation is
prevented, a couple moment must be exerted on the member

1. Smooth surface It is difficult to find a surface which is perfectly smooth. A

smooth surface prevents motion perpendicular to its surface but allows a
translation parallel to the surface and rotation. Such a surface thus provides one
reactive force perpendicular to the surface.

2. Rough surface Frictional forces tangential to the surface come into play
whenever a body tends to move relative to a rough surface. Such a surface, thus,
prevents motion perpendicular to it and also tangential relative motion due to
friction. It provides horizontal and vertical reactive forces. One can also say that
it provides one reactive force in any direction.

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cont.
3. A string or cable tied to the body This is a common type of constraint. A cable
provides a reactive force along its direction. The limitation of the cable is that it
is effective only when stretched. Otherwise, it remains slack, and does not
provide a force in the opposite direction.

4. Roller support the roller support has rollers, which can move over a firm
surface, and is attached to the body with a pin. By its very nature, the body can
rotate about the pin, and also translate parallel to the surface on which the roller
rests. However, it cannot move in a direction normal to this surface. The roller,
thus, provides one reactive force perpendicular to the surface on which the
rollers rest.

5. Hinged or pinned support This type of support is firmly attached to the ground
and connected to the body through a pin connection. Thus, the body has the
freedom to rotate but cannot translate horizontally and vertically or in any
direction. The hinged support thus provides one reactive force in any direction or
two reactive forces horizontally and vertically.

6. Fixed support This type of support does not allow the body to translate or
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rotate.
cont.
The equilibrium conditions can be used to determine the reactive forces provided
by the constraints of a body. Depending upon the physical situation and nature of
the constraints provided, the appropriate number of reactive forces or couples
should be applied to the body.

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12
 Stress
 In mechanics of materials, such a concept is that of stress. In the simplest
qualitative terms, stress is the intensity of internal force. Force is a vector
quantity and as such has both magnitude and direction. Intensity implies an
area over which the force is distributed.
 In other words, the internal resistance force per unit area offered by the
body against the externally applied force is known as stress, usually denoted
with a Greek letter ‘δ’ (Sigma). Therefore, stress can be defined as

 To investigate internal effects, the bar is cut by a transverse plane, to expose

a free-body diagram of the bottom half of the bar. Since this cutting plane is
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bar, the exposed surface is called
a cross section .

 The technique of cutting an object to expose the internal forces acting on a

plane surface is often referred to as the method of sections. The cutting plane
is called the section plane.
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 NORMAL STRESS AND STRAIN
 a prismatic bar (i.e., whose cross-section is constant along the length of the
member), which is homogenous and isotropic (i.e., whose material properties
are same in all directions.
 In general a body can be subjected to three different types of loads, known as
tensile, compressive and shear loads. Tensile load is force acting on a member
which tends to elongate the member.
 The stress ‘δ’ acts in a direction perpendicular to the cut surface, it is referred
to as normal stress. Thus normal stresses may be tensile or compressive
stresses. In general tensile stresses will be denoted with ‘+’ sign and
compressive stresses with ‘–’ sign.

 To introduce the concept of a normal stress, consider a rectangular bar

subjected to an axial force . An axial force is a load that is directed along the
longitudinal axis of the member. Axial forces that tend to elongate a member
are termed tension forces, and forces that tend to shorten a member are termed
compression forces.

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 If the forces acting parallel to the surface (or) forces acting on a piece of
material tend to slide one layer of the material over the next layer, then the
forces are known as shear loads.

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 SHEAR STRESS
 If the forces acting parallel to the surface (or) forces acting on a piece of material
tend to slide one layer of the material over the next layer, then the forces are
known as shear loads. The stresses due to these loads are known as shear stresses.
i.e. a shearing stress may produce whenever the applied loads cause one section
of a body tend to slide past its adjacent section. Shearing stress differs from both
tensile and compressive stresses in that it is caused by forces acting along (or)
parallel to the area of resisting the forces, where as tensile (or) compressive
stresses are caused by forces perpendicular to the areas on which they act. For
this reason tensile and compressive stresses are called normal stresses whereas
shearing stress may called a tangential stress. Consider a block shown in Fig.
subjected to a shear force V acting parallel to the surface.

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17
 Units of Stress
In the S.I. units, the force is expressed in newtons (written as N) and area is expressed as m2.
Hence unit of stress becomes as N/m2. The area is also expressed in millimeter square then
unit of force becomes as N/mm2.

1pascal= 1𝑁 𝑚2 = 1𝑁 (100𝑐𝑚)2 = 1 𝑁 104 𝑐𝑚2 =10−4 𝑁 𝑐𝑚2 𝑜𝑟 10−6 𝑁 𝑚𝑚2

1 1
= 2 2 The large quantities are represented by kilo, mega, giga
𝑐𝑚 2 10 𝑚𝑚
and tera. They stand for:
𝐾𝑖𝑙𝑜 = 103 and represented by…….k
Mega=106 and represented by……..M
Giga=109 and represented by……..G
Terra=1012 and represented b………T.

The small quantities are represented by milli, nano

and pico. They are equal to
Milli=10−3 and represented by……………m
Micro=10−6 and represented by……………µ
Nano=10−9 and represented by……………η
Pico=10−12 and represented by……………p.

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 SHEAR STRAIN
 An axially loaded member undergoes change in length, becoming larger when
the bar in tension and shorter when it is in compression. The total change in
length is denoted ‘ΔL/ δ’. Now, the normal strain or simply strain will be
defined as change in length of the bar per unit length representing with Greek
letter ‘ε’.

 If the bar is in tension, the strain is called positive strain, if it is in

compression, the strain is called compressive strain. Tensile strain will be
taken as Positive and Compressive strain as negative.
 The shear force produces change in the shape of the element. The angle ‘γ’
(Greek Letter GAMMA) is a measure of the distortion, or change in the
shape of the element is called the shear strain. The shear forces (or) shear
stresses have no tendency to change the lengths of the sides of the element.
The shear strain means only change in the angle or simply angular
defomation.

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 POISSON’S RATIO
 When a prismatic bar loaded, the length will be increased and the longitudinal
strain (or normal stain or axial strain or simply strain) can be calculated from the
normal strain equestion. But, it can be readily visualized that the lateral
dimensions (which are not parallel to the load) are decreasing. The stain due to
change in lateral dimensions are known as lateral strain. The ratio between
lateral stain to longitudinal strain is known as Poisson’s ratio denoted with a
Greek letter ‘μ’.

 For a bar in tension, the lateral strain is in negative sign (decrease in width),
longitudinal strain is in positive sign (elongation). Similarly in compression
longitudinal strain is negative (decrease in length) but lateral strain is positive
(increase in width). Therefore, Poisson’s ratio for most of the materials is
positive. For many metals the Poisson’s ratio is in the range of 0.25 to 0.35.
However, the cork has zero Poisson’s ratio and rubber has a value of 0.5.
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 Hooke’s Law & Modulus of Elasticity
 Hooke’s Law states that when a material is loaded within elastic limit, the
stress is proportional to the strain produced by the stress. This means the
ratio of the stress to the corresponding strain is a constant within the elastic
limit. This constant is known as Modulus of Elasticity or Modulus of
Rigidity or Elastic Modulii.

 The ratio of tensile stress or compressive stress to the corresponding strain is

a constant. This ratio is known as Young’s Modulus or Modulus of Elasticity
and is denoted by E.

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22
STRESS‐STRAIN DIAGRAM

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24
 Factor of Safety
The maximum load that a structural member or a machine component will be allowed to
carry under normal conditions is considerably smaller than the ultimate load. This
smaller load is the allowable load (sometimes called the working or design load). Thus,
only a fraction of the ultimate-load capacity of the member is used when the allowable
load is applied. The remaining portion of the load-carrying capacity of the member is
kept in reserve to assure its safe performance. The ratio of the ultimate load to the
allowable load is the factor of safety:

or alternatively

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 Reading Assignment
1. STRESS ON AN OBLIQUE PLANE UNDER AXIAL LOADING
2. STRESS CONCENTRATIONS
3. STRESSES ON INCLINED SECTIONS

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Torsion refers to the twisting of a
straight bar when it is loaded by
moments (or torques) that tend to
produce rotation about the longitudinal
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axis of the bar.
 Torque is a moment that tends to twist a member about its longitudinal axis. In
the design of machinery (and some structures), the problem of transmitting a
torque from one plane to a parallel plane is frequently encountered. The simplest
device for accomplishing this function is called a shaft. Shafts are commonly
used to connect an engine or a motor to a pump, compressor, axle, or similar
device. Shafts connecting gears and pulleys are a common application involving
torsion members. Most shafts have circular cross sections, either solid or tubular.
 A shaft is said to be in torsion, when equal and opposite torques are applied at
the two ends of the shaft. The torque is equal to the product of the force applied
(tangentially to the ends of a shaft) and radius of the shaft. Due to the
application of the torques at the two ends, the shaft is subjected to a twisting
moment. This causes the shear stresses and shear strains in the material of the
shaft.
 Note that twisting causes the circles to remain circles, and each longitudinal
grid line deforms into a helix that intersects the circles at equal angles. Also, the
cross sections from the ends along the shaft will remain flat—that is, they do not
warp or bulge in or out—and radial lines remain straight during the
deformation. From these observations we can assume that if the angle of twist is
small, the length of the shaft and its radius will remain unchanged.
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29
Torsional Shear Strain

Torsional Shear Stress

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 Torsional Deformations

Torsion Sign Conventions

an internal torque is positive if
the right-hand thumb points
outward away from the sectioned
surface when the fingers of the
right hand are curled in the
direction that the internal torque
tends to rotate.

At an exposed section of the torsion

member, curl the fingers of your
right hand in the direction of the
twisting deformation. If your right-
hand thumb points outward, away
from the sectioned surface, the angle
of twist is positive. 31