Stress and Strain

The relationship between stress and strain in a material is determined by subjecting a

material specimen to a tension or compression test. In this test, a steadily increasing
axial force is applied to a test specimen, and the deflection is measured as the load is
increased. These values can be plotted as a load-deflection curve. The deflection in
the test specimen is dependent on both the material's elastic modulus as well as the
geometry of the specimen (area and length). Since we are interested material
behavior without regard to geometry, it is useful to generalize the data to remove
the effect of geometry. This is done by converting the load values to stress
values and converting the deflection values to strain values:

In the equation for stress, P is the load and A0 is the original cross-sectional area of
the test specimen. In the equation for strain, L is the current length of the specimen
and L0 is the original length.

Stress-Strain Curve

The values of stress and strain determined from the tensile test can be plotted as
a stress-strain curve, as shown below:

There are several points of interest in the diagram above:

 P: This is the proportionality limit, which represents the maximum value of

stress at which the stress-strain curve is linear.
 E: This is the elastic limit, which represents the maximum value of stress at
which there is no permanent set. Even though the curve is not linear between
the proportionality limit and the elastic limit, the material is still elastic in this
 region and if the load is removed at or below this point the specimen will
return to its original length.
 Y: This is the yield point, which represents the value of stress above which the
strain will begin to increase rapidly. The stress at the yield point is called
the yield strength, Sty. For materials without a well-defined yield point, it is
typically defined using the 0.2% offset method in which a line parallel to the
linear portion of the curve is drawn that intersects the x-axis at a strain value
of 0.002. The point at which the line intersects the stress-strain curve is
designated as the yield point.
 U: This point corresponds to the ultimate strength, Stu, which is the maximum
value of stress on the stress-strain diagram. The ultimate strength is also
referred to as the tensile strength. After reaching the ultimate stress,
specimens of ductile materials will exhibit necking, in which the cross-
sectional area in a localized region of the specimen reduces significantly.
 F: This is the fracture point or the break point, which is the point at which the
material fails and separates into two pieces.

Stress-strain curves are commonly needed when analyzing an engineered

component. However, stress-strain data may not always be readily available. In this
case, it is fairly straightforward to approximate a material's stress-strain curve using
the Ramberg-Osgood equation.

True Stress and Strain

Engineers typically work with engineering stress, which is the force divided by the
original area of the specimen before loading: σ = P/A0. However, as a material is
loaded, the area decreases. The true stress, , is the value of stress in the material
considering the actual area of the specimen. Because the area decreases as a
material is loaded, true stress is higher than engineering stress.

The figure below shows an engineering stress-strain curve as compared to a true

stress-strain curve. Because the engineering stress is calculated as force divided by
original area (which is a constant), the engineering stress-strain curve has the same
shape as the load-deflection curve. The engineering stress-strain curve drops after
the ultimate strength is reached because the force that can be supported by the
material drops as it begins to neck down. However, the stress value in the true stress-
strain curve always increases as the strain increases. This is because the
instantaneous value of area is used when calculating true stress. Even when the force
supported by the material drops, the reduction in the specimen area outweighs the
reduction in force, and the stress continues to increase.
It should be noted that the engineering stress and the true stress are essentially the
same in the linear-elastic region of the stress-strain curve. Because engineers
typically operate within this linear-elastic region (it is uncommon to design a
structure that is intended to operate beyond the elastic limit), it is valid to work with
engineering stress as opposed to true stress.

Engineering strain is the change in length divided by the original length: ε = ΔL/L0.
Instead of just calculating a single value of ΔL, consider that the change in length is
divided among many small increments, ΔLj. The strain is also calculated in small
increments: εj = ΔLj/Lj, where ΔLj is the change in length for an increment, and Lj is
the length at the start of the increment. As these increments become infinitesimally
small, the summation of the strains approaches the true strain, :

If it is assumed that the volume is constant throughout the deflection, then true
stress and strain can be calculated as:

True
Stress:
True Strain:

where  and  are the true stress and strain, and σ and ε are the engineering stress and
strain.
Hooke's Law
Below the proportionality limit of the stress-strain curve, the relationship between
stress and strain is linear. The slope of this linear portion of the stress-strain curve is
the elastic modulus, E, also referred to as the Young's modulus and the modulus of
elasticity. Hooke's law expresses the relationship between the elastic modulus, the
stress, and the strain in a material within the linear region:

σ=Eε

where σ is the value of stress and ε is the value of strain.

Hooke's Law in Shear

Hooke's law also has a form relating shear stresses and strains:

τ=Gγ

where τ is the value of shear stress, γ is the value of shear strain, and G is the shear
modulus of elasticity. The elastic modulus and the shear modulus are related by:

where ν is Poisson's ratio.

More information on Hooke's law can be found here.

Poisson's Ratio
As load is applied to a material, the material elongates and the cross-sectional area is
reduced. This reduction in cross-sectional area is called lateral strain, and it is related
to the axial strain by Poisson's ratio, ν. For a circular specimen this reduction in area is
realized as a reduction in diameter, and the Poisson's ratio is calculated as:

Poisson's ratio only applies within the elastic region of the stress-strain curve, and it
is typically about 0.3 for most metals. The theoretical maximum limit of Poisson's
ratio is 0.5.
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Strain Hardening
After a material yields, it begins to experience a high rate of plastic deformation.
Once the material yields, it begins to strain harden which increases the strength of
the material. In the stress-strain curves below, the strength of the material can be
seen to increase between the yield point Y and the ultimate strength at point U. This
increase in strength is the result of strain hardening.

The ductile material in the figure below is still able to support load even after the
ultimate strength is reached. However, after the ultimate strength at point U, the
increase in strength due to strain hardening is outpaced by the reduction in load-
carrying ability due to the decrease in cross sectional area. Between the ultimate
strength at point U and the fracture point F, the engineering strength of the material
decreases and necking occurs.

In the stress-strain curve for the brittle material below, a very small region of strain
hardening is shown between the yield point Y and the ultimate strength U. Note
however that a brittle material may not actually exhibit any yielding behavior or
strain hardening at all -- in this case, the material would fail on the linear portion of
the curve. This is more common in materials such as ceramics or concrete.

Because the strain hardening region occurs between the yield point and the ultimate
point, the ratio of the ultimate strength to the yield strength is sometimes used as a
measure of the degree of strain hardening in a material. This ratio is the strain
hardening ratio:

strain hardening ratio = Stu / Sty

According to Dowling, typical values of strain hardening ratio in metals range from
approximately 1.2 to 1.4.

If a material is loaded beyond the elastic limit, it will undergo permanent

deformation. After unloading the material, the elastic strain will be recovered (return
to zero) but the plastic strain will remain.

The figure below shows the stress-strain curve of a material that was loaded beyond
the yield point, Y. The first time the material was loaded, the stress and strain
followed the curve O-Y-Y', and then the load was removed once the stress reached
the point Y'. Since the material was loaded beyond the elastic limit, only the elastic
portion of the strain is recovered -- there is some permanent strain now in the
material. If the material were to be loaded again, it would follow line O'-Y'-F, where
O'-Y' is the previous unloading line. The point Y' is the new yield point. Note that the
line O'-Y' is linear with a slope equal to the elastic modulus, and the point Y' has a
higher stress value than point Y. Therefore, the material now has a higher yield point
than it had previously, which is a result of strain hardening that occurred by loading
the material beyond the elastic limit.

By strain hardening the material, it now has a larger elastic region and a higher yield
stress, but its ductility has been reduced (the strain between points Y'-F is less than
the strain between points Y-F).

Elastic and Plastic Strain

Up to the elastic limit, the strain in the material is also elastic and will be recovered
when the load is removed so that the material returns to its original length. However,
if the material is loaded beyond the elastic limit, then there will be permanent
deformation in the material, which is also referred to as plastic strain.
In the figure above, both elastic and plastic strains exist in the material. If the load is
removed at the indicated point (σ, ε), the stress and strain in the material will follow
the unloading line as shown. The elastic strain and plastic strain are indicated in the
figure, and are calculated as:

Elastic Strain: εe = σ/E

Plastic Strain: εp = ε − εe

where σ is the stress at the indicated point, ε is the strain at the indicated point,
and E is the elastic modulus.

Ductility
Ductility is an indication of how much plastic strain a material can withstand before it
breaks. A ductile material can withstand large strains even after it has begun to yield.
Common measures of ductility include percent elongation and reduction in area, as
discussed in this section.

After a specimen breaks during a tensile test, the final length of the specimen is
measured and the plastic strain at failure, also known as the strain at break, is
calculated:
where Lf is the final length of the specimen after break and Lo is the initial length of
the specimen. It is important to note that after the specimen breaks, the elastic strain
that existed while the specimen was under load is recovered, so the measured
difference between the final and initial lengths gives the plastic strain at failure. This
is illustrated in the figure below:

In the figure, it can be seen that the plastic strain at failure, εf, is the strain remaining
in the material after the elastic strain has been recovered. The ultimate strain, εu, is
the total strain at failure (the plastic strain plus the elastic strain).

The percent elongation is calculated from the plastic strain at failure by:

The percent elongation is a commonly provided material property, so the plastic

strain at failure is typically calculated from percent elongation:

εf = eL / 100%

The ultimate strain accounts for both plastic and elastic strain at failure:

εu = εf + Stu/E

Another important material property that can be measured during a tensile test is
the reduction in area, which is calculated by:

Remember that percent elongation and reduction in area account for the plastic
components of the axial strain and the lateral strain, respectively.

Ductile and Brittle Materials

A ductile material can withstand large strains even after it has begun to yield,
whereas a brittle material can withstand little or no plastic strain. The figure below
shows representative stress-strain curves for a ductile material and a brittle material.

In the figure above, the ductile material can be seen to strain significantly before the
fracture point, F. There is a long region between the yield at point Y and the ultimate
strength at point U where the material is strain hardening. There is also a long region
between the ultimate strength at point U and the fracture point F in which the cross
sectional area of the material is decreasing rapidly and necking is occurring.

The brittle material in the figure above can be seen to break shortly after the yield
point. Additionally, the ultimate strength is coincident with the fracture point. In this
case, no necking occurs.

Because the area under the stress-strain curve for the ductile material above is larger
than the area under the stress-strain curve for the brittle material, the ductile
material has a higher modulus of toughness -- it can absorb much more strain
energy before it breaks. Additionally, because the ductile material strains so
significantly before it breaks, its deflections will be very high before failure. Therefore,
it will be visually apparent that failure is imminent, and actions can be taken to
resolve the situation before disaster occurs.

Strain Energy
When force is applied to a material, the material deforms and stores potential
energy, just like a spring. The strain energy (i.e. the amount of potential energy
stored due to the deformation) is equal to the work expended in deforming the
material. The total strain energy corresponds to the area under the load deflection
curve, and has units of in-lbf in US Customary units and N-m in SI units. The elastic
strain energy can be recovered, so if the deformation remains within the elastic limit,
then all of the strain energy can be recovered.

Strain energy is calculated as:

U = Work = ∫ F

General Form: (area under load-deflection curve)
dL
Within Elastic (area under load-deflection curve)
Limit: (spring potential energy)

Note that there are two equations for strain energy within the elastic limit. The first
equation is based on the area under the load deflection curve. The second equation
is based on the equation for the potential energy stored in a spring. Both equations
give the same result, they are just derived somewhat differently.

Strain Energy Density

It is sometimes more convenient to work with strain energy density, which is the

strain energy per unit volume. This is equal to the area under the stress-strain
diagram:

where the limits in the integral above are from a strain of 0 to εapp, which is the strain
existing in the loaded material.

Note that the units of strain energy density are psi in US Customary units and Pa in
SI units.

Modulus of Resilience

The modulus of resilience is the amount of strain energy per unit volume (i.e. strain
energy density) that a material can absorb without permanent deformation resulting.
The modulus of resilience is calculated as the area under the stress-strain curve up to
the elastic limit. However, since the elastic limit and the yield point are typically very
close, the resilience can be approximated as the area under the stress-strain curve up
to the yield point. Since the stress-strain curve is very nearly linear up to the elastic
limit, this area is triangular.
The modulus of resilience is calculated as:

general form
triangular
form

where σel and εel are the stress and strain at the elastic limit, Sty is the tensile yield
strength, and E is the elastic modulus.

Note that the units of the modulus of resilience are the same as the units of strain
energy density, which are psi in US Customary units and Pa in SI units.

Modulus of Toughness

The modulus of toughness is the amount of strain energy per unit volume (i.e. strain
energy density) that a material can absorb just before it fractures. The modulus of
toughness is calculated as the area under the stress-strain curve up to the fracture
point.

An accurate calculation of the total area under the stress-strain curve to determine
the modulus of toughness is somewhat involved. However, a rough approximation
can be made by dividing the stress-strain curve into a triangular section and a
rectangular section, as seen in the figure below. The height of the sections is equal to
the average of the yield strength and the ultimate strength.

The modulus of toughness can be approximated as:

where Sty is the tensile yield strength, Stu is the tensile ultimate strength, εy is the strain
at yield, εu is the ultimate strain (total strain at failure), and E is the elastic modulus.

A better calculation of the modulus of toughness could be made by using the

Ramberg-Osgood equation to approximate the stress-strain curve, and then
integrating the area under the curve.

It should be noted how greatly the area under the plastic region of the stress-strain
curve (i.e. the rectangular portion) contributes to the toughness of the material. Since
a ductile material can withstand much more plastic strain than a brittle material, a
ductile material will therefore have a higher modulus of toughness than a brittle
material with the same yield strength. Even though structures are typically designed
to keep stresses within the elastic region, a ductile material with a higher modulus of
toughness is better suited to applications in which an accidental overload may occur.

Note that the units of the modulus of toughness are the same as the units of strain
energy density, which are psi in US Customary units and Pa in SI units.

and the insets in Figs. 8b and d show the SAED patterns of γ) Figure 9 shows the
engineering stress-strain curves of 22MnB5, QFP1500[21] and QFP1800 ( JIS5
standard sample). It can be seen that the hot stamping steel based on the Q&FP
conceptual design is significantly better than 22MnB5 in terms of uniform
elongation and total elongation. The structure of 22MnB5 after quenching is all
martensite, while the retained austenite in QFP1500 and QFP1800 is plastically
deformed The TRIP effect is exerted in the process, which improves the work
hardening rate and delays the occurrence of necking. This is the fundamental
reason for the improved plasticity of QFP1500 and QFP1800. It can be seen from
Figure 7 [17,18,19,20,21,36] that both the Q&FP concept and the introduction of
the Q&P process in the hot stamping process can obtain hot stamping steel with
excellent properties, but the latter is used in practical industrial However, the
former is based on the current industrial production conditions of hot stamping
parts and will not cause problems such as process and cost. Fig. 9 Engineering
stress-strain curves of 22MnB5 and the press-hardening steels designed by Q&FP
concept 3.2 The manganese steel is currently the third most commonly used for
cold stamping . Fig. 9 Engineering stress-strain curves of 22MnB5 and the press-
hardening steels designed by Q&FP concept 3.2 Substituting the research
hotspot of advanced high-strength steel, the mass fraction of Mn is generally
between 5% and 10%. The partial reverse phase transformation of martensite to
austenite is achieved by annealing in the critical zone to obtain a dual phase of
ferrite and austenite. Organization, the distribution of C and Mn to austenite at
the same time makes the reverse phase transformation austenite stabilize to
room temperature, and the TRIP effect of austenite during the deformation
process is used to improve the strength and plasticity [42,43]

A high elastic modulus is typical for materials that are hard to deform; in other words, materials that
require a high load to achieve a significant strain. An example is a steel band. A low elastic modulus is
typical for materials that are easily deformed under a load; for example, a rubber band. If the stress
under a load becomes too high, then when the load is removed, the material no longer comes back to
its original shape and size, but relaxes to a different shape and size: The material becomes
permanently deformed. The elastic limit is the stress value beyond which the material no longer
behaves elastically but becomes permanently deformed.

Our perception of an elastic material depends on both its elastic limit and its elastic modulus. For
example, all rubbers are characterized by a low elastic modulus and a high elastic limit; hence, it is
easy to stretch them and the stretch is noticeably large. Among materials with identical elastic limits,
the most elastic is the one with the lowest elastic modulus.

When the load increases from zero, the resulting stress is in direct proportion to strain in the way
given by Equation 12.33, but only when stress does not exceed some limiting value. For stress values
within this linear limit, we can describe elastic behavior in analogy with Hooke’s law for a spring.
According to Hooke’s law, the stretch value of a spring under an applied force is directly proportional
to the magnitude of the force. Conversely, the response force from the spring to an applied stretch is
directly proportional to the stretch. In the same way, the deformation of a material under a load is
directly proportional to the load, and, conversely, the resulting stress is directly proportional to strain.
The linearity limit (or the proportionality limit) is the largest stress value beyond which stress is no
longer proportional to strain. Beyond the linearity limit, the relation between stress and strain is no
longer linear. When stress becomes larger than the linearity limit but still within the elasticity limit,
behavior is still elastic, but the relation between stress and strain becomes nonlinear.

We can graph the relationship between stress and strain on a stress-strain diagram. Each material has
its own characteristic strain-stress curve. A typical stress-strain diagram for a ductile metal under a
load is shown in Figure 12.25. In this figure, strain is a fractional elongation (not drawn to scale).
When the load is gradually increased, the linear behavior (red line) that starts at the no-load point (the
origin) ends at the linearity limit at point H. For further load increases beyond point H, the stress-
strain relation is nonlinear but still elastic. In the figure, this nonlinear region is seen between
points H and E. Ever larger loads take the stress to the elasticity limit E, where elastic behavior ends
and plastic deformation begins. Beyond the elasticity limit, when the load is removed, for example
at P, the material relaxes to a new shape and size along the green line. This is to say that the material
becomes permanently deformed and does not come back to its initial shape and size when stress
becomes zero.

The material undergoes plastic deformation for loads large enough to cause stress to go beyond the
elasticity limit at E. The material continues to be plastically deformed until the stress reaches the
fracture point (breaking point). Beyond the fracture point, we no longer have one sample of material,
so the diagram ends at the fracture point. For the completeness of this qualitative description, it should
be said that the linear, elastic, and plasticity limits denote a range of values rather than one sharp
point.

 An object or material is elastic if it comes back to its original shape and size when the stress
vanishes. In elastic deformations with stress values lower than the proportionality limit, stress
is proportional to strain. When stress goes beyond the proportionality limit, the deformation is
still elastic but nonlinear up to the elasticity limit.
 An object or material has plastic behavior when stress is larger than the elastic limit. In the
plastic region, the object or material does not come back to its original size or shape when
stress vanishes but acquires a permanent deformation. Plastic behavior ends at the breaking
point.

steel undergoes martensitic transformation during plastic

deformation, which increases the work hardening rate, delays the
appearance of necking, and finally improves the strength and
uniformity of TRIP steel Elongation

The material has high strength, good elongation and The fracture
strain gives the components good collision deformation resistance
and fracture resistance, and has become the most important
material for automobile body structures.

automobile components need to have sufficient resistance to

collision intrusion to ensure that the components are deformed
within the allowable range to prevent occupants from being
injured, and at the same time Rely on good deformation ability to
absorb the energy brought by the collision.

Point A: At origin, there is no initial stress or strain in the test piece. Up to point A Hooke's Law is
obeyed according to which stress is directly proportional to strain. That's why the point A is also
known as proportional limit. This straight line region is known as elastic region and the material
can regain its original shape after removal of load.
At this time, the steel plates have excellent elongation and fracture
Strain can ensure that no catastrophic fracture occurs within the
allowable range of intrusion (for example, fragments fly out or the
fracture travels a long distance and damage the occupants)

1 Automobile lightweight requirements for the strength, elongation and fracture

strain of hot stamping steel To ensure collision safety, automobile components
need to have sufficient resistance to collision intrusion to ensure that the
components are deformed within the allowable range to prevent occupants from
being injured, and at the same time Rely on good deformation ability to absorb
the energy brought by the collision

have excellent elongation and fracture Strain can ensure that no

catastrophic fracture occurs within the allowable range of
intrusion (for example, fragments fly out or the fracture travels a
long distance and damage the occupants). Therefore, the
deformation resistance of the component determined by the
material strength is the only dominant component in the collision
performance Parameters of mechanical properties

Generally speaking, the elongation and fracture strain of the steel

plate decrease with the increase of the strength. Lower elongation
and fracture strain will cause the component to crack due to the
local strain exceeding the maximum strain allowed for material
fracture

The elongation of the material is positively related to its work

hardening ability. Higher work hardening ability can increase the
uniform elongation and delay the occurrence of necking, thereby
increasing the total elongation.

For example, dual-phase (DP) steel and TRIP steel increase the
work hardening rate during material deformation due to the stress
distribution of the dual-phase effect and the TRIP effect, thereby
giving them good uniform elongation. The high elongation and
work hardening ability can delay the onset of local strain
concentration during the collision and collapse of the part, similar
to the mechanism that delays the necking in the stretching
process, thereby improving the fracture resistance of the part

If the same energy absorption effect is ensured, hot stamping

steel can improve component deformation resistance and fracture
resistance through the following three ways to achieve part
thinning: (1) Improve strength without reducing elongation and
fracture strain; (2) ) Increase the elongation without reducing the
strength and fracture strain, delay the local stress concentration of
the component, and improve the crash performance; (3) Increase
the bending fracture strain without reducing the strength and
elongation.

 improving the work hardening ability of the material can delay

necking

 During the actual car crash test of 34MnB5V steel parts, a large amount of
deformation occurred in the door anti-collision beam to absorb the collision
energy without breaking, which fully shows that the material has good plasticity
and high bending fracture strain

It can be seen that the hot stamping steel based on the Q&FP
conceptual design is significantly better than 22MnB5 in terms of
uniform elongation and total elongation

while the retained austenite in QFP1500 and QFP1800 is plastically

deformed The TRIP effect is exerted in the process, which
improves the work hardening rate and delays the occurrence of
necking

increases the work hardening rate of the steel and thus its
elongation.

Increasing the strength, elongation, and bending fracture strain of

hot stamping steel can increase the fracture resistance of
components, but the mechanism and quantitative relationship of
the elongation and bending fracture strain of materials on the
fracture resistance of components are not fully understood.
Further in-depth research

increase the strain even more you might think okay now we will have
permanent deformation right it turns out no it turns out that even
beyond this point a we are still within the elastic regions