Chapter 5

Deformation Beyond Elastic Limit

5.1 Bending of Beams Beyond the Elastic Limit (Plastic

Bending)
If pure bending moment is applied to abeam sufficient to cause yielding of the material, the
moment (M) versus bending angle (θ) curve is of the form shown in figure 5.1 below,
M

Figure 5.1:

The onset of yield is less defined than in a simple tension or compression test since it occurs first
in the outer fibres only, and extends towards the axis of the beam.

However the stress-strain relation for any particular fibre which is either in simple tension or
compression, is assumed that after yielding, the stress at a particular point remains constant for a
considerable increase in strain.
σ

σY

Figure 5.2:
Consider a beam of a symmetrical section which is subjected to a bending moment M. The stress
distribution over the section when no yielding has occurred is represented as,
 σ

σ
M M

Figure 5.3:

If M is increased to My such that yielding just starts at the outer fibres of the section, we have,
σY

σY
My My

Figure 5.4:

If M is now increased beyond My yielding penetrates towards the neutral axis of the beam. In this
case the stress distribution is as shown in figure below. the maximus stress remains constant at
the yield stress as M increases.

Figure 5.5:

On continuous application of the bending moment M, the material fully deformed plastically, and
the stress distribution over the section becomes,
 σY

σY
M fp
M fp

Figure 5.6:

In design, , where S.F is the factor of safety which is greater or equal to one. This implies
that σw ≤ σY .

If σw > σY , then the component designed is considered unsafe, and if σw = σY implying that the design
is based on the yield stress, then the design is conservative, that is, the design is in error but on the
safe side.

For beams subjected to pure bending beyond the elastic limit, the following assumptions are made,

• Fibres are on simple tension or compression

• The material is elastic-perfect-plastic

• Any plane cross section will remain plane during the bending, that is, strain distribution is
linear.

Recall for elastic simple bending we have,

The bending moment required to initiate yielding at the outer fibres is,

(5.1)

where y is the distance from the neutral axis of the section to the extreme fibres.

Therefore using equation 5.1, we can determine the bending moment just required to initiate
yielding of the beam.

Consider now a beam subjected to a bending moment which has caused partial yielding of the
beam and assume the section to be rectangular.
 Figure 5.7:

Therefore the bending moment at the onset of yielding is,

If the bending moment is increased beyond yield point, the outer fibres at top and bottom surfaces
begin to yield. as M increases plastic deformation penetrates deeper into the beam. In this case the
elastic-plastic bending moment Me/p is the sum of the moment on the elastic part (Mel) and the
moment on the plastic part (Mpl), that is,

Me/p = Mel + Mpl

The bending moment at the elastic part is given as,

To determine Mpl, lets take an infinitesimal section on the yielded part of thickness dy and at a
distance y from the neutral axis.

Therefore, the total elastic-plastic moment becomes,

For fully plastic case, we have ho = 0 therefore,

The ratio of fully plastic moment to the fully elastic moment is called the shape factor (f). It has
bean shown that the shape factor of a rectangular cross section is equal to .

Assignment 3

For the beam section shown in figure below, show that the shape factor is given as,

d d1
b1

Figure 5.8:
5.1.1 Plastic bending of of beams with one axis of symmetry

For symmetrical beams, the centroidal axis coincide with the neutral axis. For asymmetrical
beams, the centroidal axis doesn’t necessarily coincide with the neutral axis.

Consider the beam shown in the figure below which has one axis of symmetry.
 σY

F1
C1
_
y1 A1

_
y2
F2 C2 A2

σY

Figure 5.9:

The beam is bend to fully plastic condition about oz− axis perpendicular to oy.

A1 is the area of the section above the plastic neutral axis, and A2 is the area below the plastic
neutral axis.

F1 = σY A1

F2 = σY A2
For static equilibrium,

F1 = F2 σY A1

= σY A2

A1 = A2

Note: For fully plastic condition, the neutral axis divide the cross section into two equal areas. the
neutral axis for fully plastic condition is generally different from the neutral axis for linear elastic
ending.

Let C1 be the centroid of area A1 at a distance y1 from the plastic neutral axis, and C2 be the centroid
of area A2 at a distance y2 from the plastic neutral axis.

To illustrate how this concept is applied, lets consider a section of rectangular shape, bend to fully
plastic condition. The fully plastic moment is,
 A1

C1 h
_ h
y1 2
4
h
_ h
y2
4 h
C2
2

A2

Figure 5.10:

Bending moment at the onset of yielding is,

Therefore the shape factor is,

Example 5.1

Determine the shape factor of the T-section shown in figure below. All units are in mm. First lets
find the bending moment at onset of yielding,

100
 Figure 5.11:

To determine the fully plastic bending moment, lets first locate the position of the plastic neutral
axis which divides the section into two equal areas.

Shape factor therefore is,

Example 5.2

A 8cm × 3cm rectangular bar is used as a simply supported beam on a span of 1.2m and loaded at
mid span. The yield stress is 275MPa and the long edges of the section are vertical. Assuming that
after yielding, the stress remains constant at 275MPa, determine the load required to cause
yielding for a depth 1cm at the top and bottom of the section at mid span.

Solution: For a simply supported beam loaded at the mid-span, the bending moment is;

The elastic-plastic moment is,

The required load at mid span is,

Example 5.3

The flange and web of a T-section are each 12mm thick, the flange width is 100mm and the overall
depth is 100mm. The beam is simply supported over a length of 2m and it is subjected to a point
load W at the mid-span. Calculate the maximum value of W if the beam is to be designed such that
yielding is permitted to penetrate the web to a depth of 20mm. The yield stress of the beam
material is 300MPa.

Solution: Yielding starts at the bottom of the web, and the stress distribution is,

Figure 5.12:
Using similarity, we have,

σ” =
The position of the neutral axis is defined by the following condition, force

above the neutral axis=force below the neutral axis, that is

F1 + F2 = F3 + F4

The individual forces are,

Therefore,

The forces are F1 = 72kN, F2 = 93kN, F3 = 9.3kN and F1 = 1555.7kN, Therefore the bending moment
is obtained by summing the moments due to these forces about the neutral axis.

But for a simply supported beam with a point load at mid-span

5.2 Torsion of Shafts Beyond the Elastic Limit (Plastic

Torsion)
Equation applies only to elastic torsion

In torsion beyond the elastic limit, the following assumptions are made during analysis,
 1. The material is elastic perfect plastic

2. A plane section remain plane as in the case of elastic torsion

3. Radial lines remain radial during twisting as in the case of elastic torsion.

From equation , if applied torque is less that the torque which can initiate yielding at the
surface of the shaft, that is T < TY shear stress increases from zero at the shaft axis to a maximum
at the surface of the shaft. This is shown below,

τ max

O ro r

Figure 5.13:
When the torque is increased such that yielding just starts at the surface of the shaft, then τmax = τY
, and the shear stress distribution is as shown below, In this case,

TY

TY

τY

O ro r

Figure 5.14:

(5.2)
Using equation above, we can determine the torque which the solid shaft can accommodate before
yielding starts at the surface of the shaft.

If torque is increased beyond TY , plasticity penetrates towards the center of the shaft, and the
shear stress distribution is as shown below, In this case the elastic-plastic torque Te/p is the sum of
the torque on the elastic part (Tel) and the torque on the plastic part (Tpl), that is,

Te/p = Tel + Tpl

The torque at the elastic part is given as,

The torque on the plastic part is,

Therefore the total elastic-plastic torque is,

Figure 5.15:

If the whole section is fully plastic, then re = 0 and,

The ratio of fully plastic torque to the torque at onset of yielding is,

This implies that for a solid shaft, the torque at yield point needs to be increased by to yield the
shaft completely.

Angle of twist at plastic torsion

From equation , the angle of twist at yield point is,

Beyond yield point, (elastic-plastic condition),

The angle of twist at the elastic region is,

Since radial lines remain radial during plastic torsion, the angle of twist at the plastic region is
equal to the angle of twist at the elastic region, that is,

Figure 5.16:

Therefore,

As re → 0, that is for fully plastic situation, θpl → ∞, implying that a shaft will rotate many times
before failing.
Example 5.4

A mild steel shaft in a power transmission system is 40mm diameter and 250mm length. It is
transmitting a torque of 1800Nm which is known to have caused shear yielding on the shaft.
determine the radial depth to which plasticity has penetrated, and the angle of twist if τY = 120MPa
and G = 80GPa.

Solution: and L = 250mm. The elastic-plastic torque in a solid

shaft is given by,

The radial depth to which plasticity has penetrated is,

d = ro − re = 20 − 15 = 5mm

Angle of twist is,

5.3 Tutorial 1
Q1 A beam has a T-section and is made by welding together two plates, the cross section of which
are rectangular with dimensions 160mm×10mm. The beam is subjected to a bending
moment of such magnitude that yielding occurs at the lower part of the over a depth of 40mm
of the web, although yielding does not occur at the top surface of the flange. The yield stress
of 250MPa may be assumed constant over the yielded area, while over the remainder of the
section, the stress is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis. Determine the
position of the neutral axis, the stress at the top of the flange and the moment of resistance
of the section.(ANS: Neutral axis is 45mm from the top edge, M = 24.5kNm)

Q2 A thick walled cylindrical vessel is to be autofrettaged prior to use. The radius ratio is 2.5 and
20% of the wall thickness has to be yielded. If the material yield stress in simple tension is
σY = 400MPa, and assuming tresca’s yield criterion;

(a) calculate the internal pressure required to achieve the specified plastic
deformation(ANS: 250.9MPa)
(b) calculate the values of hoop stress at the bore, at the elastic-plastic boundary and atthe
outer surface caused by that internal pressure (ANS: 149.1MPa, 254.1MPa and
108.2MPa)
 (c) determine the residual stresses at the bore, the interface and outer surface of the
vesselafter the autofrettage process is complete assuming elastic unloading (ANS:
Radial stresses-0,−17.0MPa,0 and Hoop stresses-−197.4MPa,
29.6MPa,12.6MPa)

Q3 A compound steel cylinder has a bore of 80mm and an outside diameter of 160mm, the
diameter of the common surface being 120mm. Find the radial pressure pressure at the
common surface which must be provided by the shrinkage, if the resultant maximum hoop
tension in the inner cylinder under a superimposed pressure of 60MPa is to be half the value
of the maximum hoop stress which would be produced in the inner cylinder if that cylinder
alone was subjected to an internal pressure of 60MPa. (ANS: 6.11MPa)
Determine the hoop stresses at the inner and outer surfaces of both cylinders under the
internal pressure of 60MPa, and sketch a graph to show how the hoop stresses varies across
the cylinder wall.(ANS: Inner cylinder: -78MPa, -39.6MPa, Outer cylinder: -77.3MPa,
55.7MPa)

Q4 Show that the shape factor for a beam of elastic-perfect material subjected to pure bending
and of a circular cross-section is 1.7.

Q5 A shaft having a diameter of 90mm is turned down to 87mm diameter for part of its length. If
a torque is applied to the shaft of sufficient magnitude just to produce yielding at the surface
of the shaft in the unturned part, determine the depth of yielding which would occur
in the turned part. Find also the ratio of angle of twist per unit length in the turned part to
that in the unturned part of the shaft.ANS;5.3mm,1.18)

Q6 A hollow shaft 50mm outside diameter is made of steel with a yield stress in shear of 150MPa
and a modulus of rigidity 83MPa. Calculate the torque and the angle of twist when the
material first yields if the length of the shaft is 2m. On the assumption that the shear yield
stress remains constant after yielding, calculate the depth of penetration of plastic yield for
an increase in torque of 10% above the initial yield. Determine also the angle of twist of the
shaft at the increased torque.(ANS : 3.45kNm,8.290,2.84mm,9.340)

Q7 A solid circular shaft is subjected to pure torsion and the material is elastic-perfect-plastic
with a yield stress in shear of 152MPa. When the shear stress at one-third of the radius from
the center of the shaft reaches the yield stress, determine the shear strain on the outer
surface. Also find the ratio of the torque carried in the above condition to the maximum
elastic torque for the shaft. Take G = 83GPa. (ANS : 5.5 × 10−3,1.32)

Q8 A rectangular beam 30mm wide and 50mm deep is simply supported over a length of 2m. If
it is subjected to a uniformly distributed load of 8kN/m, calculate the depth of penetration of
plastic deformation in the beam. The yield stress of the beam material is 240MPa.