Principal planes and principal stress

Planes on which only normal stresses act are referred to

as principal planes and the normal stresses as principal
stresses. For any stress state, we may always find
principal planes and principal stresses.

1
Dieter
Principal planes and principal stress

=0

2
n

Direction of principal planes

3
Maximum shear stress

4
s n

2θS and are 2θn orthogonal

θS and are θn are separated in space by 45°

5
Steps to construct the Mohr circle
1. What are the principal stresses acting on the material and at what orientation to
the current X-Y axis. What is the maximum shear stress and at what angle to the
current X-Y axis?
Y
400 MPa
100 MPa

100 MPa
600 MPa
X