Finite Element

Analysis
Lecture
 What is Stress?

• When a body is subjected to an applied load, a stress

state is caused inside the body. The stress can be
described as the internal force exerted by either of any
two adjacent sections of the body upon the other, across
an imaginary plane of separation. When the forces are
parallel to this plane, the stress is called shear stress, (1:).
When the forces are normal to it, the stress is called
normal stress.
• Subdividing the body into many imaginary stress elements is
useful at this point (see Fig. 2.5). For the body to be in static
equilibrium, both shear and normal stresses must act on
each one of these elements in such a way as to place it in
static equilibrium.

• If the normal stress is directed toward the element on which

it acts, it is called compressive stress and, by convention, is
negative in value, If it is directed away from that element, it
is called tensile stress and is positive. All of these stresses
result from the cohesive nature of the body’s material; if the
body came apart with no resistance under applied loading, it
would experience no stress elements in equilibrium.
• As seen in Fig. 2.5, various subscripts are employed to
denote special characteristics of these stress quantities.
For example, ‘cxy denotes a shear stress parallel to the y
axis, on an element face normal to the x axis, and 6y is a
normal stress acting along the y axis on a face normal to
it. Note that for static equilibrium, Ixy = Tyx, Ty, = sz, and
I” = ‘sz.