Introduction
Stress is expressed as the amount of force
applied to a certain area of an object. From
the perspective of loading, it is the force
applied to an object which causes it to be
deformed. There are three principal ways in
which a load may be applied: namely,
tension, compression, and shear.
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 (𝐹)
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (𝜎) = (1)
𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝐴)
Strain is defined as the ratio of the change in
length or elongation of the object and its
original length.
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (∆𝐿)
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝜀) = (2)
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝐿𝑜 )
Tensile stress is a state of stress in which the
applied force causes the object to increase in
length parallel to the direction of the load.
Tensile stress is associated with a positive
value of strain since there is an increase in
length of the object.
Fig. 1: Tensile Stress
Compressive stress is state of stress wherein
the object’s length decreases or it contracts
along the direction of the applied force. By
convention, compressive force is taken to be
negative leading to a negative stress.
Furthermore, since the initial length of the
object is greater than its final length,
compressive strain also procures a negative
value.
Fig. 2: Compressive Stress
In this experiment, different materials were
subjected to tensile load and compressive
load using a Universal Testing Machine.
Through the machine, a Force-Stroke graph
was procured from which the tensile strength
and compressive strength of the tested
materials can be determined.
The objectives of the experiment are to be
able to use a Universal Testing Machine in
the determination of amount of force
different materials can be subjected to and to
be able to interpret a Force-Stroke plot.