8

1-d. Stress on an Oblique Plane Under Axial Loading

Consider the two-force member of Fig. 1-7a which is subjected to axial forces P and P'. If we pass a section
forming an angle θ with a normal plane and draw the free-body diagram of the portion of member located to the left of
that section, Fig. 1-7b, we find from the equilibrium conditions of the free body that the distributed forces acting on the
section must be equivalent to the force P.

(a)

= =

(b) (c) (d)

Fig. 1-7

Resolving P into components F and V, respectively normal and tangential to the section (Fig. 1-7c), we have
F = P cos θ V = P sin θ Eq. 1.4
The force F represents the resultant of normal forces distributed over the section, and the force V the resultant of shearing
forces (Fig. 1-7d). The average values of the corresponding normal and shearing stresses are obtained by dividing,
respectively, F and V by the area Aθ of the section:
F V
  Eq. 1.5
A A
Substituting for F and V from Eq. 1.4 and Eq. 1.5, and observing from Fig. 1-7c that Ao = Aθ cos θ, or Aθ = Ao/cos θ, where
Ao denotes the area of a section perpendicular to the axis of the member, we obtain
P P
 cos2  and  sin  cos Eq. 1.6
AO AO
We note from the first of the above equation that the normal stress σ is maximum when θ = 0; i.e., when the plane
of the section is perpendicular to the axis of the member, and that it approaches zero as θ approaches 90º. Hence,
P
 max  Eq. 1.7
AO
The second equation shows that the shearing stress τ is zero for θ = 0 and θ = 90º, and that for θ = 45º it reaches
its maximum value
P
 max  Eq. 1.8
2 AO
1-e. Design Considerations
In engineering applications, the knowledge of stresses is used by engineers to assist in their most important task;
the design of structures and machines that will safely and economically perform a specified function.

1-e.1. Determination of the Ultimate Strength of a Material

An important element to be considered by a designer is how the material that has been selected will behave under
a load. For a given material, this is determined by performing specific tests on prepared samples of the material. For
example, a test specimen of steel may be prepared and placed in a laboratory testing machine to be subjected to a known
centric axial tensile force. As the magnitude of the force is increased, various changes in the specimen are measured; for
example, changes in its length and its diameter. Eventually the largest force which may be applied to the specimen is
reached, and the specimen either breaks or begins to carry less load. This largest force is called the ultimate load for the
test specimen and is denoted by PU. Since the applied load is centric, we may divide the ultimate load by the original
 9

cross-sectional area of the rod to obtain the ultimate normal stress of the material used. This stress, also known as the
ultimate strength in tension of the material, is
PU
U  Eq. 1.9
A
1-e.2. Allowable Load and Allowable Stress; Factor of Safety
The maximum load that a structural member or a machine component will be allowed to carry under normal
conditions of utilization is considerably smaller than the ultimate load. This smaller load is referred to as the allowable
load and sometimes, as the working load or design load. Thus, only a fraction of the ultimate load capacity of the member
is utilized when the allowable load is applied. The remaining portion of the load-carrying capacity of the member is kept
in reserve to assure its safe performance. The ratio of the ultimate load to the allowable load is used to define the factor of
safety. Hence,
factor of safety = FS =
An alternative definition of the factor of safety is based on the use of stresses;

factor of safety = FS =
This factor of safety includes such factors as the uncertainty of the load, the uncertainty of the material properties, and the
inaccuracy of the stress analysis.

1-e.3. Selection of an Appropriate Factor of Safety

The selection of the factor of safety to be used for various applications is one of the most important engineering
tasks. On the one hand, if a factor of safety is chosen too small, the possibility of failure becomes unacceptably large; on
the other hand, if a factor of safety is chosen unnecessarily large, the result is an uneconomical or nonfunctional design.
The choice of the factor of safety that is appropriate for a given design application requires engineering judgment based
on many considerations such as the following:
1. Variations that may occur in the properties of the member under consideration. The composition, strength, and
dimensions of the member are all subject to small variations during manufacture. In addition, material properties
may be altered and residual stresses introduced through heating or deformation that may occur during manufacture,
storage, transportation, or construction.
2. The number of loadings that may be expected during the life of the structure or machine. For most materials, the
ultimate stress decreases as the number of load applications is increased. This phenomenon is known as fatigue and,
if ignored, may result in sudden failure.
3. The type of loadings that are planned for in the design, or that may occur in the future. Very few loadings are
known with complete accuracy – most design loadings are engineering estimates. In addition, future alterations or
changes in usage may introduce changes in the actual loading. Larger factors of safety are also required for
dynamic, cyclic, or impulsive loadings.
4. The type of failure that may occur. Brittle materials fail suddenly, usually with no prior indication that collapse is
imminent. On the other hand, ductile materials, such as structural steel, normally undergo a substantial deformation
called yielding before failing, thus providing a warning that overloading exists. However, most buckling or stability
failures are sudden, whether the material is brittle or not. When the possibility of sudden failure exists, a larger
factor of safety should be used than when failure is preceded by obvious warning signs.
5. Uncertainty due to methods of analysis. All design methods are based on certain simplifying assumptions which
result in calculated stresses being approximations of actual stresses.
6. Deterioration that may occur in the future because of poor maintenance or because of unpreventable natural
causes. A larger factor of safety is necessary in locations where conditions such as corrosion and decay are difficult
to control or even to discover.
7. The importance of a given member to the integrity of the whole structure. Bracing and secondary members may in
many cases be designed with a factor of safety lower than that used for primary members.
 12

1-d. Thin-walled Pressure Vessels

A tank carrying a gas or fluid under a pressure p is subjected to tensile forces that resist the bursting forces
developed in the tank. Cylindrical and spherical vessels are the most common geometric shapes that are used as pressure
vessels. A cylindrical pressure vessel may have flat ends so that geometrically, it is a right circular cylinder, or it may
have spherical caps attached to its ends.
Consider a typical longitudinal section A-A through the pressure-loaded cylinder in Fig. 1-8a. A free-body
diagram of the half-cylinder isolated by cutting plane A-A is shown in Fig. 1-5b. The elementary force acting normal to an
element of the cylinder located at an angle  from the horizontal diameter is

dF  p dA  pL D dθ
2

(a) (b)
Fig. 1-8

A similar force acts on the symmetrically placed element on the other side of the vertical centerline. Since the
horizontal components of such pairs of forces cancel out, the bursting force F is the summation of the vertical components
of these elementary forces:
π  D 
F  0  pL dθ  sin θ  pL   cos θ  0π
D
 2  2
which reduces to
F  pDL
It is apparent that the total bursting force F, acting normal to the cutting plane A-A, is resisted by the equal forces

 F  0] F  pDL  2 P
v
P acting on each cut surface of the cylinder wall. Applying a vertical summation of forces, we obtain
A simpler method of determining the bursting force F is indicated in Fig. 1.9. Here, the lower half of the cylinder
is occupied by a fluid. Since a fluid transmits pressure equally in all directions, the pressure distribution on the cylinder is
the same as that in Fig. 1-8. From the accompanying free-body diagram, it is apparent that the bursting force F, acting
over that surface of the fluid, equals the pressure intensity p multiplied by the area DL over which it acts, or F = pDL as
before.

(a) (b)
Fig. 1-9
The stress in the longitudinal section that resists the bursting force F is obtained by dividing it by the area of the
two cut surfaces. This gives
pDL
σ  F or σt 
A 2 tL
 13

pD
or σt  Equation 1.10
2t
This stress is usually called the tangential stress because it acts tangent to the surface of the cylinder. The other common
names are circumferential stress, hoop stress, and girth stress. The stress computed by this formula is the average stress
for cylinders having a wall thickness equal to 1/10 or less of the inner radius.
The free-body diagram of a transverse section is shown in Fig. 1-10. The bursting force acting over the end of the
cylinder is resisted by the resultant P of the tearing forces acting over the transverse section. The area of a transverse
section is the wall thickness multiplied by the mean circumference, or π D  t  t . If t is small compared to D, it is closely
π 2
σ D  pπ Dt
4
approximated by Dt. Thus we obtain
pD
or σl  Equation 1.11
4t
where l denotes what is called the longitudinal stress because it acts parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder.

Fig. 1-10
Comparing the two equations for stress shows that the longitudinal stress is one-half the value of the tangential
stress. This means that if the pressure in the cylinder is raised to the bursting point, failure will occur along a longitudinal
section or longitudinal seam of the cylinder. Thus, in design, the permissible internal pressure will depend on the strength
of the longitudinal joint. When the ends of the cylinder are rounded or dished, the bursting force on the transverse section
is still equal to the product of the internal pressure multiplied by the projected area of the transverse section.

EXERCISES:

1. A cylindrical steel pressure vessel 400 mm in diameter with a wall thickness of 20 mm is subjected to an internal
pressure of 4.5 MPa. a) Calculate the tangential and longitudinal stresses in the steel. b) To what value may the
internal pressure be increased if the stress in the steel is limited to 120 MPa? (Pytel, 1987) Ans. a) σt = 45 MPa; σl =
22.5 MPa; b) 12 MPa
5
2. The wall thickness of a 4-ft diameter spherical tank is in. Calculate the allowable internal pressure if the stress is
16
limited to 8000 psi. (Pytel, 1987) Ans. 208.333 psi

3. A water tank, 22 ft in diameter, is made from steel plates that are 5 in. thick. Find the maximum height to which the
16
tank may be filled if the circumferential stress is limited to 6000 psi. (Pytel, 1987) Ans. h = 52.448 ft

4. The strength of the longitudinal joint of the tank in the figure is 33 kips/ft, whereas for the girth joint it is 16 kips/ft.
Calculate the maximum diameter of the cylindrical tank if the internal pressure is 150 psi. (Pytel, 1987) Ans. 35.56 in.
 15

CHAPTER 2 – SIMPLE STRAIN

2-a. Introduction
The strength of the material is not the only criterion that must be considered in designing structures. The stiffness
of a material is of equal importance. The mechanical properties such as hardness, toughness and ductility determine the
selection of a material. Strain can be thought of as a measure of the deformation characteristics of a load-carrying
member. Any structure will deform when subject to an external load; hence, strain is always associated with stress.
An axially loaded member undergoes a change in length, becoming longer when in tension and shorter when in
compression. The change in length, called normal or linear strain, is a measure of deformation per unit length of a
member. To obtain the unit deformation or strain, denoted by the Greek letter , we divide the elongation  by the length
L in which it was measured, thereby obtaining
 δ Equation 2.1
L
The strain so computed, however, measures only the average value of strain. The correct expression for strain at any
position is
  dδ
dL
where d is the differential elongation of the differential length dL. However, under certain conditions, the strain may be
assumed constant and its value computed from the equation for average stress for the following conditions:
1. The specimen must be of constant cross section.
2. The material must be homogeneous.
3. The load must be axial, that is, produce uniform stress.
Because normal strain is a ratio of two lengths, it is a dimensionless quantity. However, in practice, it is common to use
units of meters per meter or inches per inch.

2-b. Stress-Strain Diagram

The mechanical properties of materials used in engineering are determined by tests performed on small specimens
of the material. The tests are conducted in materials-testing laboratories equipped with testing machines capable of
loading the specimens in a variety of ways.
The most common materials test is the tension test, in which tensile loads are applied to a cylindrical specimen.
The ends of the specimen are gripped between the jaws of the testing machine. Values of the load and the elongation in a
specified length, called the gage length, are observed simultaneously. These data are then plotted on a graph with the
ordinate representing the load and the abscissa representing the elongation.

Fig. 2-1
Fig. 2-1 shows the stress-strain diagram of a typical structural steel in tension. Strains are plotted on the horizontal
axis and stresses on the vertical axis. The diagram begins with a straight line from the origin O to point A, which means
that the stress and strain are proportional. Beyond point A, the proportionality between stress and strain no longer exists;
hence the stress at A is called the proportional limit. The slope of the straight line from O to A is called the modulus of
elasticity. Because stain is non-dimensional, this slope has the same units as stress. With an increase in the load beyond
the proportional limit, the strain begins to increase more rapidly for each increment in stress. The slope of the stress-strain
curve then becomes smaller and smaller, until, at point B, the curve becomes horizontal. Beginning at this point,
 16

considerable elongation occurs, with no noticeable increase in the tensile force (from B to C). This phenomenon is known
as yielding of the material, and point B is called the yield point. The corresponding stress is known as the yield stress of
the steel. In the region from B to C, the material becomes perfectly plastic, which means that it can deform without an
increase in the applied load.
After undergoing the large strains that occur during yielding in the region BC, the steel begins to strain harden.
During strain hardening, the material undergoes changes in its atomic and crystalline structure, resulting in increased
resistance of the material to further deformation. Additional elongation now requires an increase in tensile load and the
stress-strain diagram has a positive slope from C to D. The load eventually reaches its maximum value and the
corresponding stress at point D is called the ultimate stress. Further stretching of the bar is actually accompanied by a
reduction in the load, and fracture finally occurs at a point such as E, known as rupture strength.
Lateral contraction of the specimen occurs when it is stretched, resulting in a decrease in the cross-sectional area.
The reduction in area is too small to have a noticeable effect on the calculated value of stress up to about point C, but
beyond that point the reduction begins to alter the shape of the diagram. The true stress is larger than the nominal stress
because it is calculated with a smaller area. In the vicinity of the ultimate stress, the reduction in area of the bar becomes
clearly visible and a pronounced necking of the bar occurs. If the actual cross-sectional area at the narrow part of the neck
is used to calculate the stress, the true stress-strain curve will follow the dashed line CE’. The total load the bar can carry
diminishes after the ultimate stress is reached (curve DE), but this reduction is due to the decrease in area of the bar and
not to a loss in strength of the material itself. In reality, the material withstands an increase in stress up to failure (point
E’).

2-c. Hooke’s Law: Axial and Shearing Deformations

Most structural materials have an initial region on the stress-strain diagram in which the material behaves both
elastically and linearly (the region from the origin O up to the proportional limit at point A in Fig. 2-1). When a material
behaves elastically and also exhibits a linear relationship between stress and strain, it is said to be linearly elastic. This
type of behavior is extremely important in engineering because many structures and machines are designed to function at
low levels of stress in order to avoid permanent deformations from yielding or plastic flow. Linear elasticity in the initial
region of the stress-strain diagram is a property of many solid materials including metals, wood, concrete, plastics, and
ceramics.
The linear relationship between stress and strain for a bar in simple tension or compression can be expressed by
the equation
σ  E
in which E is a constant of proportionality known as the modulus of elasticity for the material. The modulus of elasticity is
the slope of the stress-strain diagram in the linearly elastic region, and its value depends upon the particular material being
used.
The equation  = E is commonly known as Hooke’s Law, named after the famous English scientist Robert
Hooke who first investigated the elastic properties of materials, thus establishing the linear relationship between the
applied load and the resulting elongation. Another English scientist, Thomas Young, introduced the constant of
proportionality E that came to be known as Young’s modulus which eventually was called modulus of elasticity.
A convenient variation of Hooke’s law is obtained by replacing  by its equivalent P and replacing  by δ
A L
resulting to the equation
δ  PL or δ  σL Equation 2.2
AE E
This equation is subject to all restrictions previously discussed in connection with the equation for axial deformation
which are
1. The load must be axial.
2. The bar must have a constant cross section and be homogeneous.
3. The stress must not exceed the proportional limit.
Shearing forces cause a shearing deformation in which the element subject to shear undergoes a change in shape
from a rectangle to a parallelogram, as shown in Fig. 2-2. The action may be visualized as equivalent to the infinitesimal
sliding and infinitely thin layers past each other, thereby resulting in the total shearing deformation s in the length L.
The average shearing strain, , is found by dividing s by L; i. e.,
s

L
 17

Ps s

L


Ps
Fig. 2-2
The relation between shearing stress and shearing strain, assuming Hooke’s law to apply to shear, is
 = G
in which G represents the modulus of rigidity. The relation between the shearing deformation and applied shearing forces
is expressed by
VL
δs 
As G
in which V is the shearing force acting over the shearing area As.

EXERCISES

1. A uniform bar of length L, cross-sectional A, and a unit mass  is suspended vertically from one end. Show that its
ρgL2 MgL
total elongation is δ  . If the total mass of the bar is M, show also that δ  .
2E 2 AE

2. A steel rod having a cross-sectional area of 300 mm2 and a length of 150 m is suspended vertically from one end. It
supports a tensile load of 20 kN at the lower end. If the unit mass of steel is 7850 kg/m3 and E = 200  103 MPa, find
the total elongation of the rod. (Pytel, 1987) Ans. 54.33 mm

3. An 18-m-long steel wire of 5-mm diameter is to be used in the manufacture of a prestressed concrete beam. It is
observed that the wire stretches 45 mm when a tensile force P is applied. Knowing that E = 200 GPa, determine (a)
the magnitude of the force P, (b) the corresponding normal stress in the wire. (Beer, 2012) Ans. a) 9.82 kN
(b) 500 MPa

4. A homogeneous prismatic bar is loaded by forces P1, P2, and P3 acting at points B, C, and D, respectively. The
dimensions of the bar are as follows: a = 1.0 m, b = 0.4 m, and c = 0.6 m. Assuming that P2 = 15 kN and P3 = 9 kN,
determine the force P1 so that the lower end D of the bar does not move vertically when the loads are applied. (Gere,
1991) Ans. 39 kN

a
P1

B 
b
C 

c
P2
D

P3