Study Guide for Strength of Materials

I. STRENGTH OF MATERIALS

Strength of Materials is the branch of science that deals

with the elastic behavior of load bearing engineering
materials.

Strength of Materials is also known as the mechanics of

deformable materials. This is the branch of science that
studies the different types of deformation possible with Shear Stress (τ)
bodies that experiences different types of loads. Shear stress, τ, is the type of stress which is caused by forces
Simple Stress acting along or parallel to the area resisting the forces.
Shear stress is also called as tangential stress.
Simple stress is defined as the force per unit area. The
typical units of stress are Pa, kPa, MPa, lbf/in2 or psi, and ksi
(1000 psi). The MPa is equivalent to MN/m2 or N/mm2. The
two basic types of stress depending on the orientation of the
loaded area are normal stress and shear stress. Where:
Normal Stress (σ)
P = force
Normal stress, σ, is the type of stress which is caused by A = Area
forces acting perpendicular to the area resisting the forces.
Normal stress is also called as axial stress. This is because
the forces applied must be along the axis of the body. The Bearing Stress
axis is an imaginary line that crosses the center of gravity of
a certain body. Bearing stress, which is a type of normal stress, is a stress
that is a result of the contact pressure between two separate
bodies. It differs from compressive or tensile stress in the
sense that it is a result of forces pushing a certain body
internally.

Where:
Simple Strain and Shear Strain
P = axial force
A = Area Strain refers to the elongation of the material with respect to
its original length when subjected to a load. The typical units
of strain are mm/mm, inch/inch or no unit at all. Strain may
be expressed as a percentage of the original length.
Elongation
Types of Normal Stress: Strain
Original Length
The two types of normal stress are the tensile stress (caused Hooke’s Law
by forces directed away from the area) and the compressive
stress (caused by forces directed towards the area). Hooke's Law formulated by Robert Hooke in 1678 is stated
as follows: "Within the proportional limit, the stress is
proportional to strain."

Mathematically,

ᇎ
t
The constant of proportionality, E is the modulus of
elasticity of the material. It is also known as the Young's
modulus. The Young's modulus was named after Thomas
Young who introduced this constant of proportionality in
1807. Using Hooke's Law, along with the formula of axial
stress, the formula to solve for the elongation/compression
after a tensile/compressive load is applied can now be
derived.
ᇎ where:
t
Shear strain is the angle, θ, expressed in radians that is
formed when a load that is no longer along the axis is
applied to the body. Shearing strain is the angular change
between two perpendicular faces of a differential element.
This type of strain is proportional to shear stress. When the
material is subjected to a shearing stress, as shown in the
next figure:
Where:
G = shear modulus
The shear modulus is also known as the modulus of shear,
modulus of elasticity in shear, and modulus of rigidity. The
shear modulus, G is:
䁞
where:
E = modulus of elasticity
V = Poisson’s ratio
Total Strain Energy
The energy stored in a loaded member is equal to the work
required to deform the member. Below the proportionality
limit, the strain energy, U is:
1
U Pδ
where:
P = force and δ = deformation
Stiffness is the amount of force required to cause a unit
deformation/displacement. It is often referred to as spring
constant. The unit of stiffness is N/m or lb/in. Stiffness, k is
calculated using the following formulas.
P
k
δ
P = force and δ = deformation
When more than one spring or resisting members share the
same load, the relative stiffnesses are known as rigidities.
Rigidity is unitless. The ratio of two indicates how much
stronger one member is compared to another.
Stress-Strain Diagram
A diagram that shows the relationship between the stress and
the strain is known as the stress-strain diagram. The diagram
below is the stress-strain diagram.
In the stress-strain diagram, from the origin to the
proportional limit, you will notice that the graph is a
straight line. This means that the relationship between the
value of stress and strain follows a linear relationship, or it
follows Hooke's Law (as discussed earlier). Beyond this
point, the stress and strain values no longer follow a linear
relationship.
Elastic limit refers to the stress beyond which the material
will not return to its original shape when the load is removed.
The permanent deformation caused by excessive stress is
called permanents set. The modulus of elasticity (E) is
usually determined from the steepest portion of the stress-
strain curve.
For materials operating in the non-linear region, the secant
modulus gives the average ratio of stress to strain. The
secant modulus is the slope of the straight line connecting
the origin and the point of operation.
Yield point refers to the point where there is an appreciable The total plastic strain at failure is called percent
elongation or yielding of the material even without any elongation.
corresponding increase of load.
Lf L
percent elongation 1
Ultimate stress (or ultimate strength) refers to the highest L
ordinate in the stress-strain diagram. It is the maximum
stress in a body without failure. Highly ductile materials exhibit large percent elongation.

Rupture strength is sometimes known as the stress at

failure. It is the value of stress when the body is about to tail.
Working stress is the actual stress of the material when
loaded.
Allowable stress is the maximum safe stress which the
material can carry.
Factor of safety is the ratio of the ultimate stress to
allowable stress.
Resilient material is material hat absorbs and release strain
energy without permanent deformation. Resilience is
measured by the modulus of resilience, also known as the
elastic toughness.
Materials that can withstand occasional high stresses without
fracturing are referred to as tough materials. Toughness of
materials is measured by its modulus of toughness.

Poisson's ratio (v) — is the ratio of the lateral strain to the

axial strain. When a material elongates axially during tensile
test, it will also decrease slightly in diameter and breadth.
The percentage decrease in diameter is called the lateral
strain. Lateral strain is a fraction of axial strain. For most
non-metals, Poisson’s ratio is taken as 0.3. The following is
the formula for Poisson’s ratio:
Thermal Stress
Thermal stress is the stress on the material caused by the
internal forces due to change in temperature. The change in
temperature can cause a change in length, area, and volume
of the material. The temperature deformation (linear) may be
calculated using:

δthermal αL ΔT
ᇎ U
v
ᇎ Where: α = coefficient of linear expansion.

Approximate value of Poisson’s ratio:

Thin-Walled Vessels
Material Poisson’s ratio
A thin-walled cylinder is a
Liquid 0.5 cylinder under pressure
Rubber 0.49 1
and has a thickness,
Magnesium 0.35 1
Aluminum 0.32-0.34 of its inner radius.
Copper 0.33-0.36
Titanium 0.34 The thin-walled cylinders
Brass 0.33-0.36 will have two
Stainless steel 0.30 Different stresses, namely,
tangential stress and
Steel 0.26-0.29
longitudinal stress.
Nickel 0.30
Beryllium 0.27
Cast iron 0.21-0.33 Tangential Stress of a thin-walled cylinder:
Glass 0.21-0.27
Diamond 0.20

Ductility is the ratio of the ultimate failure strain to yielding where:

strain. A ductile material is one that elongates a great deal
p = internal pressure in N/m2
before failure.
D = inside diameter in mm
ultimate failure strain
ductility
yielding strain t = thickness in mm

with consideration of external pressure:

 Pexternal Pinternal D where:
t
T = torque applied

ρ = radial distance from center of cross-

Longitudinal Stress of a thin-walled cylinder section

J = polar moment of inertia

B. Maximum Shearing Stress

where:
t
p = internal pressure in N/m2

D = inside diameter in mm where:

t = thickness in mm r = radius of the cross-section

T = torque applied

J = polar moment of inertia

with consideration of external pressure: C. Maximum Shearing Stress of:
Pexternal Pinternal D
a. Solid Shaft
4t
t
Another term for tangential stress is circumferential stress,
or hoop stress or girth stress. Note that the longitudinal
stress is one-half the value of the tangential stress. b. Hollow Shaft
t
Stress in a thin-walled spherical shell:

Without consideration of external pressure: where:

p = inner diameter

D = outer diameter
where:

p = internal pressure in N/m2 D. Polar Moment of Inertia

D = inside diameter in mm
a. Solid Shaft
t = thickness in mm

With consideration of external pressure:

Pexternal Pinternal D b. Hollow Shaft

4t

Torsion where:

Torsion refers to the twisting of solid or hollow circular p = inner diameter

shafts. A body is said to be in torsion if a torque is applied, D = outer diameter
thereby creating the twisting effect.

A. Shearing Stress
E. Angular Deformation (θ)
 t n = number of turns

G = modulus of Rigidity
where:

T = torque applied
C. Spring Constant
L = length

J = polar moment of inertia

G = modulus of rigidity
D. Spring constant of multiple series and parallel
springs:
F. Transmit Power (P) For Series Springs:

where:

P = Power in watts (W) For Parallel Springs:

f = frequency or speed rev/s

Helical Springs REFERENCES

A spring which forms a helix is called a helical spring. It is [1] Rossman, Jenn Stroud. et.al. 2009. Introduction to
made of a thin-diameter wire, with a diameter d, turned n Engineering mechanics; A Continuum Approach. FL:
times around a forming cylinder with a diameter, D, which CRC Press
can be called as the mean diameter.
[2] Young, Hugh D. et. al. 2004. Sears and Zemanky’s
A. Maximum Shearing Stress University Physics with Modern Physics. Philippines:
Pearson Education Asia
Light Springs:
[3] Pytel, Andrew et. al., 2012. Mechanics of Materials,
t Second Edition. Cengage Learning
[4] Tiong, Jaime R and Tiong Jr., Jaime C., The ECE
Heavy Springs: Handbook – General Engineering and Applied
Sciences.
t t t
t t
where:

P = axial load applied

R = mean radius of helical spring

d = diameter of rod/wire of spring

m = ratio of the mean diameter of the

spring to the mean diameter of the spring
rod or wire.

B. Spring Deformation

where: