Mechanics of Solids

ESO 202
Instructor: Dr. P. Chakraborty
Department of Aerospace Engineering

7th August 2023

 Recap

Reactions from joints and supports

 Forces – prevent translation
 Moments – prevent rotation

 Static friction force F = T (applied force) till F <= Fs = fs N

 Kinetic friction force Fk = fk N ≠ T

 A system at rest is statically determinate if the unknown

reactive/member forces & moments can be obtained from
the conditions of static equilibrium
 Indeterminate – number of unknowns > 3 (2D) & 6 (3D)
 Coaxial Linear Springs

A piston supported by an assembly of coaxial

linear springs is subjected to a downward
force F. The springs have stiffness kA & kB.

Piston is rigid. The piston and springs have

negligible weight. Frictionless motion of the
piston.

Find the forces in the spring and downward displacement of

the piston.
 Coaxial Linear Springs

Deformation: The springs undergo

reduction of length along the axis
(uniaxial)
Geometric compatibility: Both
springs undergo same downward
displacement as the piston

 

Force & deformation: F = k  F = k 

 4 equations to solve for 4 unknowns

Coaxial Linear Springs
 Stacked Linear Springs

Find effective stiffness, total deflection

k (distance travelled by piston), deformation
of each spring, force on each spring.

k

Statically determinate?
 Parallel Linear Springs

A light rigid bar is supported by 3

linear springs and is horizontal before
application of load, P.

Find the deflection of the 3 springs,

 and c ,in terms of 

varying between ‐1 and 1 such that  = ‐1 and  = 1 imply that P

acts at the left and right ends respectively

FBD and deformation

of springs
 Parallel Linear Springs

FBD and
configuration of bar

 Equilibrium of the springs from FBD is trivial

 Equilibrium of the rigid bar:
 Parallel Linear Springs

 Force‐deformation relation:

 Compatibility:
Parallel Linear Springs

= c 2kc ‐ c (kB + 2kc) 

= c (kA + kC) + c (kA ‐ kC) 

= c 2kA + c (kB + 2kA) 

Parallel Linear Springs

A k/P = 3d ‐ 4d   k/P = 2d ‐ d 

C k/P = d + 2d  with d = 0.2

 Bar Member

 Bar is a slender member designed to carry load that is

applied along its longitudinal axis (uniaxial loading)
 Slender member: Dimension along the longitudinal axis
significantly larger (in orders of magnitude) than cross‐
sectional dimensions
 Deformation (elongation &
compression) along the axis
 For elongation or
compression till ~ 0.1% of
the original length, bar
members made from most
materials follow a linear
behavior
 Bar Member

Load vs elongation curves from uniaxial experiments on

bars of same material with different cross‐sectional area
and length in linear regime show different slopes

1
For same P, 𝛿 ∝ 𝛿 ∝𝐿
𝐴
 Bar Member

Force over original area (P/A) vs elongation over original

length (/L) for the different bar dimensions of the same
material in the linear regime show a single slope

𝑃 𝛿 and independent of
∝
𝐴 𝐿 bar dimension

𝑃 𝛿
𝐸 Slope: 𝐸 = /
𝐴 𝐿
Is a material property ‐
modulus of elasticity

Simple form of 𝑃𝐿 Unit: N/m2

Hooke’s law: 𝛿 𝐴𝐸
Assembly of Bars

Members AC and BD are made

from copper. Load is applied on the
rigid member AB through a roller.
For a load of 150 kN, find ‘c’ such
that the roller doesn’t roll (AB is
horizontal).
Modulus of elasticity of copper is
120 GPa.
 Assembly of Bars

FBD and  Equilibrium of AB:

configuration of bar

 Geometrical constraint

 Hooke’s law
Assembly of Bars