INTRODUCTION

Contents

Fundamental definitions Bearing Stress in Connections

Concept of Stress Stress in Two Force Members
Review of Statics Stress on an Oblique Plane
Structure Free-Body Diagram Maximum Stresses
Component Free-Body Diagram Stress Under General Loadings
Method of Joints State of Stress
Stress Analysis Factor of Safety
Design
Axial Loading: Normal Stress
Centric & Eccentric Loading
Shearing Stress
Shearing Stress Examples
• The main objective of the study of mechanics of materials is
to provide the future engineer with the means of analyzing
and designing various machines and load bearing structures.

• Both the analysis and design of a given structure involve the

determination of stresses and deformations. This course is
devoted to the concept of stress.
 Fundamental definitions (1)

Internal forces
• 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.
• Axial and shear forces, bending and torsional moments
which act on the cross sections of slender members
(bars).
 Fundamental definitions (2)
External Forces
• Forces exerted by external entities on a solid body or liquid mass. The forces

may also be sub-divided into Surface external forces and Mass external forces.

• The former acts on the boundary surface of a body. E.g. weight of non-structural

parts of a building, equipment, etc., wind loads on a building, a bridge, or other

Civil Engineering structure, aerodynamic pressures in the fuselage and wings of

a plane, etc.

• The later acts on the mass of a solid body or liquid. E.g. the weight of the

material a structure is made of, the inertial forces caused by an earthquake or

by other kinds of accelerations, such as impact, vibrations, traction, braking and

curve acceleration in vehicles and planes, and external electromagnetic forces.

 Fundamental definitions (3)

Rigid body motion

• Displacement of the points of a body which do not
change the distances between the points inside
the body.

Deformation
• Variation of the distance between any two points
inside the solid body or the liquid mass.
 Fundamental definitions (4)
Rigid body motion
• Displacement of the points of a body which do not change
the distances between the points inside the body.
Deformation
• Variation of the distance between any two points inside the

solid body or the liquid mass.

Note: The above definitions are general and valid

independently of assuming that the material is

 Fundamental definitions (5)
In the case of continuous materials two other very useful concepts may
be defined:

Stress
• There are several definitions for stress. The simplest one is used in
this course, which states that stress is the internal force per surface
unit.

Strain
• Strain is the variation of the distance between two points divided by
the original distance (longitudinal strain), or half the variation of a
right angle caused by the deformation (shearing strain).
Subdivisions of Mechanics of Materials
 Stresses (1)
• Stress in an engineering context means the number obtained when
force is divided by the surface area of application of the force.
• Tension and compression are both “normal” stresses and occur when
the force acts perpendicular to the plane under consideration.
• Shear stress occurs when the force acts along, or parallel to, the
plane.

• The symbol σ denotes a normal stress and the symbol τ shear stress.

The total state of stress at any point within the material should be

given in terms of both normal and shear stresses.

 Stresses (2)

• Force components dFx, dFy, dFz act normal to the faces of the element

in the x, y, and z directions, respectively.

• For the component of force dFx acting perpendicular to the plane dydz,

the stress is a normal stress (i.e., tension or compression) given by:

 Stresses (3)
• The symbol σxx denotes a normal stress associated with a plane whose normal is in

the x direction (first subscript), the direction of which is also in the x direction

(second subscript)

• Tensile stresses are generally defined to be positive and compressive stresses

negative

• The force component dFy also acts across the dydz plane, but the line of action of

the force to the plane is such that it produces a shear stress denoted by τxy.

• The first subscript indicates the direction of the normal to the plane under

consideration, and the second subscript indicates the direction of the applied force.
Stresses (4)
 Tensor analysis of stresses (1)

• Force components acting on planes dxdz, dxdy and dydz yield a total of nine expressions

for stress on the element dxdydz.

• The diagonal members of this matrix σ ij are normal stresses.

• Shear stresses are given by τij.

• For equilibrium state, the matrix must be symmetrical such that τ xy = τyx, τyz = τzy, τzx = τxz.

• It is often convenient to omit the second subscript for normal stresses such that σ x = σxx

and so on

• The nine components of the stress matrix are referred to as the stress tensor.
 Tensor analysis of stresses (2)
• The tensor nature of stress arises from the ability of a
material to support shear.
• Any applied force generally produces both “normal” (i.e.,
tensile and compressive) stresses and shear stresses.
• For a material that cannot support any shear stress (e.g., a
nonviscous liquid), the stress tensor becomes “diagonal.”
• It is sometimes convenient to consider the total stress as the
sum of the average, or mean, stress and the stress
deviations.
 Tensor analysis of stresses (3)

• The remaining stresses, the deviatoric stress components, together

with the mean stress, describe the actual state of stress within the

material.

• The mean stress is thus associated with the change in volume of the

specimen (dilatation)

• The deviatoric component is responsible for any change in shape.

 Normal Strains (1)
• Strain is a measure of relative extension of the specimen due to the
action of the applied stress.
• With respect to an x, y, z Cartesian coordinate axis system and r, θ, z
polar coordinate axis system, as shown below, a point within the solid
undergoes displacements ux, uy, uz and ur, uθ, uz respectively.

Points within a material undergo displacements (a) ux, uy, uz in Cartesian coordinates and (b) ur,
uθ, uz in cylindrical polar coordinates as a result of applied stresses.
 Normal Strains (2)

 Normal strains εi are positive where there is an extension

(tension) and negative for a contraction (compression)

 For a uniform bar of length L, the change of length as a result
of an applied tension or compression may be denoted ΔL
 Plot of displacement ux vs x would be linear, indicating that the

strain (∂ux/∂x) is a constant

 The strain is ΔL/L.
 Shear Strains (1)

Examples of the deformation of an element of material associated with shear strain. A point P moves from P1 to P2, leading to displacements in
the x and y directions. In (a), the element has been deformed. In (b), the volume of the element has been rotated but not deformed. In (c) both
rotation and deformation have occurred.

 Shear strains represent the distortion of a volume element.

 Consider the displacements ux and uy associated with the

movement of a point P from P1 to P2 as shown above.

 In (a), the displacement uy increases linearly with x along the top
 Shear Strains (2)
 we may define the shear strain εxy = ∂uy/∂x. Similar arguments apply for

displacements and shear strains in the x direction.

 In (b), where ∂uy/∂x is equal and opposite in magnitude to ∂ux/∂y. Here, the

volume element has been rotated but not deformed.

 It would be incorrect to say that there were shear strains given by εxy = −∂uy/∂x

and εyx = ∂ux/∂y

 It is evident that shearing strains reduce to zero for pure rotations but have the
correct magnitude for shear deformations of the volume element.

It is physically more appropriate to define the shear strain as:

 Shear Strains (3)
 Many engineering texts prefer to use the angle of deformation as
the basis of a definition for shear.
 Consider the angle θ in (a). After deformation, the angle θ, initially
90° has now been reduced by a factor equal to ∂uy/∂x + ∂ux/∂y.
 This quantity is called the shearing angle and is given by γij. Thus:

It is physically more appropriate to define the shear strain as:

 Shear Strains (4)
 It is evident that εij = ½γij.

 The symbol γij indicates the shearing angle defined as the

change in angle between planes that were initially orthogonal.

 The symbol εij indicates the shear strain component of the

strain tensor and includes the effects of rotations of a volume

element.
 Unfortunately, the quantity γij is often termed the shear strain

rather than the shearing angle since it is often convenient not

to carry the factor of 1/2 in many elasticity equations.
 Shear Strains (5)
 Figure (c) shows the situation where both distortion and rotation
occur.
 The degree of distortion of the volume element is the same as
that (a) and (b).
 Here, ∂uy/∂x = 0 but the displacement in the x direction is

correspondingly greater, and our previous definitions of shear

strain still apply.
 The term “pure shear” applies to the case where the planes are
subjected to shear stresses only and no normal stresses.
 The shearing angle is positive if there is a reduction in the shearing
angle during deformation and negative if there is an increase.
 Strain Tensor
 The general expression for the strain tensor is:

 It is symmetric since:
Review of Statics

• The structure is designed to

support a 30 kN load
• The structure consists of a
boom and rod joined by pins
(zero moment connections) at
the junctions and supports
• Perform a static analysis to
determine the internal force in
each structural member and the
reaction forces at the supports

MSE 301 25
Structure Free-Body Diagram

• Structure is detached from supports and

the loads and reaction forces are
• indicated
Conditions for static equilibrium:
 M C 0  Ax 0.6 m  30 kN 0.8 m 
Ax 40 kN
 Fx 0 Ax  C x
C x  Ax  40 kN
 Fy 0  Ay  C y  30 kN 0
Ay  C y 30 kN

• Ay and Cy can not be determined from

these equations
Component Free-Body Diagram
• In addition to the complete structure, each
component must satisfy the conditions for
static equilibrium
• Consider a free-body diagram for the boom:
 M B 0  Ay 0.8 m 
Ay 0
substitute into the structure
equilibrium equation
C y 30 kN

• Results:
A 40 kN  C x 40 kN  C y 30 kN 

Reaction forces are directed along boom

and rod
Method of Joints
• The boom and rod are 2-force members, i.e.,
the members are subjected to only two forces
which are applied at member ends

• For equilibrium, the forces must be parallel to

to an axis between the force application points,
equal in magnitude, and in opposite directions

• Joints must satisfy the conditions for static

equilibrium which may be expressed in the
form of a force triangle:

 B 0
F
FAB FBC 30 kN
 
4 5 3
FAB 40 kN FBC 50 kN
 Stress Analysis
Can the structure safely support the 30 kN
load?
• From a statics analysis
FAB = 40 kN (compression)
FBC = 50 kN (tension)

• At any section through member BC, the

internal force is 50 kN with a force intensity
or stress of
dBC = 20 mm P 50 103 N
 BC   159 MPa
A 314 10-6 m 2

• From the material properties for steel, the

allowable stress is
 all 165 MPa
• Conclusion: the strength of member BC is
adequate
 Design
• Design of new structures requires selection of
appropriate materials and component dimensions
to meet performance requirements
• For reasons based on cost, weight, availability,
etc., the choice is made to construct the rod from
aluminum (sall= 100 MPa). What is an
appropriate choice for the rod diameter?
P P 50 103 N 6 2
 all  A  500 10 m
A  all 100 106 Pa

d2
A 
4

d
4A


4 500 10 6 m 2  2.52 10 2 m 25.2 mm
 

• An aluminum rod 26 mm or more in diameter is

adequate
Axial Loading: Normal Stress
• The resultant of the internal forces for an axially
loaded member is normal to a section cut
perpendicular to the member axis.

• The force intensity on that section is defined as

the normal stress.
F P
  lim  ave 
A 0 A A

• The normal stress at a particular point may not be

equal to the average stress but the resultant of the
stress distribution must satisfy
P  ave A dF   dA
A

• The detailed distribution of stress is statically

indeterminate, i.e., can not be found from statics
alone.
Centric & Eccentric Loading
• A uniform distribution of stress in a section
infers that the line of action for the resultant of
the internal forces passes through the centroid
of the section.

• A uniform distribution of stress is only

possible if the concentrated loads on the end
sections of two-force members are applied at
the section centroids. This is referred to as
centric loading.

• If a two-force member is eccentrically

loaded, then the resultant of the stress
distribution in a section must yield an axial
force and a moment.

• The stress distributions in eccentrically loaded

members cannot be uniform or symmetric.
 Shearing Stress
• Forces P and P’ are applied transversely to the
member AB.
• Corresponding internal forces act in the plane
of section C and are called shearing forces.
• The resultant of the internal shear force
distribution is defined as the shear of the section
and is equal to the load P.
• The corresponding average shear stress is,
P
 ave 
A
• Shear stress distribution varies from zero at the
member surfaces to maximum values that may be
much larger than the average value.
• The shear stress distribution cannot be assumed to
be uniform.
 Shearing Stress Examples
Single Shear Double Shear

P F P F
 ave    ave  
A A A 2A
Bearing Stress in Connections

• Bolts, rivets, and pins create

stresses on the points of
contact or bearing surfaces of
the members they connect.

• The resultant of the force

distribution on the surface is
equal and opposite to the force
exerted on the pin.

• Corresponding average force

intensity is called the bearing
stress,
P P
b  
A td
Stress in Two Force Members

• Axial forces on a two force

member result in only normal
stresses on a plane cut
perpendicular to the member axis.

• Transverse forces on bolts and

pins result in only shear stresses
on the plane perpendicular to bolt
or pin axis.

• Will show that either axial or

transverse forces may produce both
normal and shear stresses with respect
to a plane other than one cut
perpendicular to the member axis.
Stress on an Oblique Plane
• Pass a section through the member forming
an angle q with the normal plane.

• From equilibrium conditions, the

distributed forces (stresses) on the plane
must be equivalent to the force P.

• Resolve P into components normal and

tangential to the oblique section,
F  P cos V  P sin 

• The average normal and shear stresses on

the oblique plane are
F P cos P
   cos2 
A A0 A0
cos
V P sin  P
   sin  cos
A A0 A0
cos
Maximum Stresses

• Normal and shearing stresses on an oblique

plane
P P
 cos2   sin  cos
A0 A0

• The maximum normal stress occurs when the

reference plane is perpendicular to the member
axis,
P
m    0
A0

• The maximum shear stress occurs for a plane at

+ 45o with respect to the axis,
P P
m  sin 45 cos 45   
A0 2 A0
Stress Under General Loadings
• A member subjected to a general
combination of loads is cut into
two segments by a plane passing
through Q

• The distribution of internal stress

components may be defined as,
F x
 x  lim
A 0 A

V yx Vzx
 xy  lim  xz  lim
A 0 A A 0 A

• For equilibrium, an equal and

opposite internal force and stress
distribution must be exerted on
the other segment of the member.
State of Stress
• Stress components are defined for the planes
cut parallel to the x, y and z axes. For
equilibrium, equal and opposite stresses are
exerted on the hidden planes.
• The combination of forces generated by the
stresses must satisfy the conditions for
equilibrium:
 Fx  Fy  Fz 0
 M x  M y  M z 0
• Consider the moments about the z axis:
 M z 0  xy Aa   yx Aa
 xy  yx
similarly,  yz  zy and  yz  zy

• It follows that only 6 components of stress

are required to define the complete state of
stress
 Factor of Safety

Structural members or machines Factor of safety considerations:

must be designed such that the • uncertainty in material properties
working stresses are less than • uncertainty of loadings
the ultimate strength of the • uncertainty of analyses
material. • number of loading cycles
FS Factor of safety
• types of failure
 ultimate stress • maintenance requirements and
FS  u 
 all allowable stress
deterioration effects
• importance of member to structures
integrity
• risk to life and property
• influence on machine function
24 Kips