MIT School of Engineering, Pune

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Principal Stresses and

Strains
Prepared by

Prof. Ganesh H. Kekan

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
MIT School of Engineering

1
 Introduction
• A structural member may be subjected to different types of
stresses (normal and shearing stresses) simultaneously.
• It is therefore necessary to find the region where the effect of these
stresses will be critical from the design point of view.
• In complex system of loading, there exists three mutually
perpendicular planes on each of which the resultant stress is
completely normal (with no shear stresses at all)
• These planes are known as Principal planes and normal stresses
across these planes are called as Principal stresses.
• In two dimensional problem, third principal stresses is taken to be
zero.
• It is necessary to find out the major principal stresses which shall
not exceed a permissible value for the safety of the design.

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Principal Plane
The planes on which only normal stresses act (no shear stress) are
known as Principal planes.
Principal Stress
The normal stresses across Principal planes are called as Principal
stresses.

• One of these principal stresses is the greatest normal stress called

as major principal stress and one is minimum called as minor
principal stress.
• The corresponding planes are known as major and minor principal
planes.

3
 Resultant Stresses

Angle of Obliquity

4
Sign Convention for Stresses acting
on the body
• All tensile stresses and strains are taken
to be positive
• All compressive stresses and strains are
taken to be negative
• Shear stress which tend to rotate the
element in clockwise direction is
positive.
• Shear stress which tend to rotate the
element in anticlockwise direction is
negative.

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Stresses on an oblique section of a body subjected
to direct stress in one plane

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Stresses on an oblique section of a body subjected
to direct stress in one plane

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𝝈𝑹 = 𝝈𝑵2+ 𝝉2
Stresses on an oblique section of a body subjected to
direct stress in two mutually perpendicular directions

στθ

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Stresses on an oblique section of a body subjected to
direct stress in two mutually perpendicular directions

𝝈𝒙 + 𝝈𝒚 𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝝈𝒏 = − . 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐 𝜽
𝟐 𝟐
𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝝉= . 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟐 𝜽 𝝉 is maximum when 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟐 𝜽 = 1
𝟐 2𝜽 = 900
𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚 𝜽 = 450
𝝉𝐦𝐚𝐱 =
𝟐
9 𝝈𝑹 = 𝝈𝑵 2+ 𝝉2
Stresses on an oblique section of a body subjected to
direct stress in two mutually perpendicular directions
accompanied by a simple shear stress

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 𝝈𝒙 + 𝝈𝒚 𝝈 𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝝈𝒏 = − . 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐 𝜽 − 𝝉xy.sin2 𝜽 … … … . (𝟏)
𝟐 𝟐
𝝈 𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝝉= . 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟐 𝜽 − 𝝉xy.cos2 𝜽 … … … … … … … … … (𝟐)
𝟐
To get 𝜽𝒑 put 𝝉 =0 𝜽𝒑 = direction of Principal Plane

𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝝉= . 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟐 𝜽𝒑 − 𝝉xy.cos2 𝜽𝒑 = 𝟎
𝟐
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 𝟐𝝉xy
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝟐 𝜽𝒑 = … … … … … … … … … (𝟑)
𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
The above equation is satisfied by following two cases

From case (1)

…….(4)

Put Values from equation (4) in equation (1)

…………….….…….(5)
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 From case (2)
…….(6)

Put Values from equation (6) in equation (1)

…………….….…….(7)

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To find direction of Principal Plane (𝜽𝒑)
From equation (3) we have

𝟐𝝉xy
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝟐 𝜽𝒑 =
𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
From above equation we get 𝜽𝒑1

𝜽𝒑𝟐 = 𝜽𝒑1 + 900

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Maximum shear stress(𝝉max) and its direction (𝜽𝒔)
we have

𝝈𝒑𝟏 − 𝝈𝒑𝟐
𝝉𝐦𝐚𝐱 =
𝟐

𝝈𝒙 − 𝝈𝒚
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝟐 𝜽𝒔 =
𝟐𝝉xy
From above equation we get 𝜽𝒔1
𝜽𝒔𝟐 = 𝜽𝒔1 + 900
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List of Formulae

Normal Stress on
inclined plane

Shear Stress on
inclined plane

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 Maximum Principal Stress

Minimum Principal Stress

Maximum shear Stress

Maximum shear Stress

Resultant Stress
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Direction of Principal Plane (𝜽𝒑)

This gives 𝜽𝒑1

Direction of Plane of maximum shear stress (𝜽𝒔)

This gives 𝜽𝒔1

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Graphical Solution using Mohr’s circle
of Stresses
 The transformation equations of plane stress can be
represented in a graphical form which is popularly known as
Mohr's circle.
 Normal Stresses are plotted along X axis.
 Shear stresses are plotted along Y Axis

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Sign Convention for graphical Method
• Angle traced with reference to X-X axis in clockwise direction is
positive
• Angle traced with reference to X-X axis in anticlockwise direction
is negative.
• Measurements above X-X axis and to right of Y-Y axis are positive.
• Measurements below X-X axis and to left of Y-Y axis are negative.

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Representation of Mohr’s circle of Stresses

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22 10/5/2020