Strength / Mechanics of Material Menu

The following are basic definitions and equations used to calculate the strength of
materials.

Stress (normal)

Stress is the ratio of applied load to the cross-sectional area of an element in tension and
is expressed in pounds per square inch (psi) or kg/mm2.

Load L
Stress, = =
Area A

Strain (normal)

A measure of the deformation of the material that is dimensionless.

change in length L
Strain, = =
original length L
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Modulus of elasticity

Metal deformation is proportional to the imposed loads over a range of loads.

Since stress is proportional to load and strain is proportional to deformation, this implies that
stress is proportional to strain. Hooke's Law is the statement of that proportionality.

Stress
= = E
Strain

The constant, E, is the modulus of elasticity, Young's modulus or the tensile modulus and is
the material's stiffness. Young's modulus is in terms of 106 psi or 103 kg/mm2. If a material
obeys Hooke's Law it is elastic. The modulus is insensitive to a material's temper. Normal
force is directly dependent upon the elastic modulus.

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Proportional limit

The greatest stress at which a material is capable of sustaining the applied load without
deviating from the proportionality of stress to strain. Expressed in psi (kg/mm2).

Ultimate strength (tensile)

The maximum stress a material withstands when subjected to an applied load. Dividing the
load at failure by the original cross sectional area determines the value.

Elastic limit

The point on the stress-strain curve beyond which the material permanently deforms after
removing the load .

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Yield strength

Point at which material exceeds the elastic limit and will not return to its origin shape or
length if the stress is removed. This value is determined by evaluating a stress-strain diagram
produced during a tensile test.

Poisson's ratio

The ratio of the lateral to longitudinal strain is Poisson's ratio.

lateral strain
=
longitudinal strain

Poisson's ratio is a dimensionless constant used for stress and deflection analysis of structures
such as beams, plates, shells and rotating discs.
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Bending stress

When bending a piece of metal, one surface of the material stretches in tension while the
opposite surface compresses. It follows that there is a line or region of zero stress between
the two surfaces, called the neutral axis. Make the following assumptions in simple bending
theory:

1. The beam is initially straight, unstressed and symmetric

2. The material of the beam is linearly elastic, homogeneous and isotropic.
3. The proportional limit is not exceeded.
4. Young's modulus for the material is the same in tension and compression
5. All deflections are small, so that planar cross-sections remain planar before and after
bending.

Using classical beam formulas and section properties, the following relationship can be
derived:

3 PL
Bending stress, b =
2wt2
P L3
Bending or flexural modulus, E b=
4wt3y
Where: P = normal force
 l = beam length
w = beam width
t = beam thickness
y = deflection at load point

The reported flexural modulus is usually the initial modulus from the stress-strain curve in
tension.

The maximum stress occurs at the surface of the beam farthest from the neutral surface (axis)
and is:

Mc M
Max surface stress, max = =
I Z
Where: M = bending moment
distance from neutral axis to outer surface where max stress
c =
occurs
I = moment of inertia
Z = I/c = section modulus

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For a rectangular cantilever beam with a concentrated load at one end, the maximum surface
stress is given by:

3dEt
max =
2l2
the methods to reduce maximum stress is to keep the strain energy in the beam constant while
changing the beam profile. Additional beam profiles are trapezoidal, tapered and torsion.
Where: d = deflection of the beam at the load
E = Modulus of Elasticity
t = beam thickness
l = beam length
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Yielding

Yielding occurs when the design stress exceeds the material yield strength. Design stress is
typically maximum surface stress (simple loading) or Von Mises stress (complex loading
conditions). The Von Mises yield criterion states that yielding occurs when the Von Mises
stress, exceeds the yield strength in tension. Often, Finite Element Analysis stress results
use Von Mises stresses. Von Mises stress is:

( 1- 2 )2 + ( 2- 3 )2 + ( 1- 3 )2
=
2

where 1, 2, 3 are principal stresses.

Safety factor is a function of design stress and yield strength. The following equation denotes
safety factor, fs.

YS
fs=
DS

Where Y S is the Yield Strength and D S is the Design Stress