Chapter 2

Stress and Strain

Axial loading

MEE 320: Strength of Materials

 Stress & Strain: Axial Loading
Suitability of a structure or machine may depend on the deformations in the
structure as well as the stresses induced under loading. Statics analyses
alone are not sufficient.

Considering structures as
deformable allows determination
of member forces and reactions
which are statically indeterminate.

Determination of the stress

distribution within a member also
requires consideration of
deformations in the member.

This part is concerned with deformation of a structural member under

axial loading. Later, we will deal with torsional and pure bending loads.
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 2
 Normal Strain
If a load P is applied to end C of a rod, the rod
elongates, below is a plot of P versus the elongation δ

Normal Strain: in a rod under axial strain  

normal
loading it is defined as the deformation L
per unit length of that rod stress 
normal P
A
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 3
 Normal Strain
When the stress does not have a constant
value through the rod, the strain is defined
at a given point.

For example assume the case when the area

A of the member is not uniform. Then the
stress at a given point is:

P
A

Normal Strain: in this case is   lim   d

defined at point Q as: x0 x dx

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 4

 Stress-Strain Test
Test specimen

Machine used to test tensile test specimens Unloaded Loaded

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 5

 Ductile Materials
Ductile materials: characterized by their ability to deform plastically
before rupture. Ex: steel, aluminum, copper

σY : yield strength, stress at which yield is initiated,

elastic plastic transition

σU : ultimate strength, correspond to the maximum

load applied to the specimen

σB : Breaking strength, correspond to rupture

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 6
 Ductile Materials
Yield strength σY : is defined
from the stress strain curve by the
offset method (є = 0.002 or 0.2%)

Measure of ductility:
%EL LB  L0 100 L0 initial length
Percent elongation LB length at rupture
L0
A0 initial area
%RA A0  AB 100 AB area at rupture
Percent area reduction
A0
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 7
 Brittle Materials
Brittle materials: characterized by the fact that rupture occurs without
any noticeable prior change in the rate of elongation. Ex: iron, glass

σU = σB

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 8

 True stress True strain
 
Engineering Strain
L0
Engineering Stress  P
A0

True Strain t ln L

L0
True Stress t  P True stress versus true strain for a typical ductile material
A

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 9

 Hooke’s Law: Modulus of Elasticity
Modulus of Elasticity or Young’s Modulus
is defined below the yield stress as the slop
of the engineering stress strain line.

 E
E : Modulus of Elasticity

Strength is affected by alloying, heat

Stress-strain diagrams for iron treating, and manufacturing processes but
and different grades of steel. stiffness (Modulus of Elasticity) is not.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 10

 Elastic vs. Plastic
If the strain disappears when the stress
is removed, the material is said to
behave elastically.

The largest stress for which this occurs

is called the elastic limit.

When the strain does not return to zero

after the stress is removed, the material
is said to behave plastically.

If the member is loaded again after

being loaded and unloaded, the new
loading curve will closely follow the
earlier unloading curve.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 11

 Fatigue
Fatigue is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when
a material is subjected to cyclic loading in the elastic range of the material.

The fatigue properties are usually shown in a Stress versus Life (number of
cycles to failure) diagram or S-N diagram.

A member may fail due to fatigue at stress

levels significantly below the ultimate
strength if subjected to many loading
cycles.

When the stress is reduced below the

endurance limit, fatigue failures do not
occur for any number of cycles.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 12

 Deformations Under Axial Loading
Assume a member subjected to a centric axial load P
First calculate the normal stress in the member

 P
A
Then from Hooke’s Law calculate the strain:
  E    P 
E AE L
The deformation is calculated from the strain
  PL
AE

With variations in loading, cross-section or material properties,

P
  ii L
i Ai Ei
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 13
 Example 1
2-3: 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.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 14

 Example 2
2-6: A control rod made of yellow brass must not stretch more than 3 mm
when the tension in the wire is 4 kN. Knowing that E = 105 GPa and that the
maximum allowable normal stress is 180 MPa, determine (a) the smallest
diameter rod that should be used, (b) the corresponding maximum length of
the rod.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 15

 Example 3
2-19: both portions of the rod ABC are made of an
aluminum for which E = 70 GPa. Knowing that the
magnitude of P is 4 KN, determine (a) the value of
Q so that the deflection at A is zero, (b) the
corresponding deflection of B.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 16

 Example 3

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 17

 Example 4
2-27: Each of the links AB and CD is
made of aluminum (E = 75 GPa) and has a
cross-sectional area of 258 mm2. Knowing
that they support the rigid member BC,
determine the deflection of point E.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 18

 Example 4

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 19

 Static Indeterminacy
Structures for which internal forces and
reactions cannot be determined from statics
alone are said to be statically indeterminate.
A structure will be statically indeterminate
whenever it is held by more supports than are
required to maintain its equilibrium.

PL
1  1
1
Redundant reactions are replaced with AE
unknown loads which along with the other
loads must produce compatible deformations.
Deformations due to actual loads and redundant P
2  2
2L
reactions are determined separately and then AE
added or superposed.

 1 2 0
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 20
 Example 5
2-37: An axial force of 200 kN is applied to
the assembly shown by means of rigid end
plates. Determine (a) the normal stress in the
aluminum shell, (b) the corresponding
deformation of the assembly.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 21

 Example 5

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 22

 Example 6
2-44: The rigid bar AD is supported by two steel wires of 1.5 mm diameter
(E = 200 GPa) and a pin and bracket at A. Knowing that the wires were
initially taught, determine (a) the additional tension in each wire when a 1.0
kN load P is applied at D, (b) the corresponding deflection of point D.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 23

 Example 6

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 24

 Thermal Strain
Consider a homogeneous rod AB of
uniform cross section, which rests
freely on a smooth horizontal surface.

When the temperature is raised by ΔT,

the rod elongates by an amount δT
which is proportional to both ΔT and
length of the rod L. Let α be the
coefficient of thermal expansion then

T T L

The thermal strain associated with In this case no stress is associated

the deformation is with the thermal strain
T T

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 25

 Thermal Stresses
A temperature change results in a change in
length or thermal strain. There is no stress
associated with the thermal strain unless the
elongation is restrained by the supports.

Treat the additional support as redundant and

apply the principle of superposition.
T TL P  PL
AE

The thermal deformation and the deformation

from the redundant support must be compatible.
 T P 0 P  AET
T L PL0   P  ET
AE A
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 26
 Example 7
2-52: A rod consisting of two cylindrical portions AB and BC is restrained at
both ends. Portion AB is made of brass (Eb =105 GPa, αb = 20.9×10-6/oC) and
portion BC is made of aluminum (Ea = 72 GPa, αa = 23.9×10-6/oC). Knowing
that the rod is initially unstressed, determine (a) the normal stresses induced in
portions AB and BC by a temperature rise of 42°C, (b) the corresponding
deflection of point B.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 27

 Example 7

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 28

 Example 8
2-58: Knowing that a 0.5 mm gap exists when the temperature is 24°C,
determine (a) the temperature at which the normal stress in the aluminum bar
will be equal to −75 MPa, (b) the corresponding exact length of the aluminum
bar.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 29

 Example 8

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 30

 Poisson’s Ratio
For a slender bar subjected to axial loading:

x  x y z 0
E

The elongation in the x-direction is

accompanied by a contraction in the other
directions. Assuming that the material is
isotropic (no directional dependence),
y z  0
Poisson’s ratio is defined as
lateral
strain y z
   
axialstrain x x
y z   x   x
E
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 31
 Generalized Hooke’s Law

For an element subjected to multi-axial loading,

the normal strain components resulting from the
stress components may be determined from the
principle of superposition. This requires:
1) strain is linearly related to stress
2) deformations are small

Effect of x alone

Calculate the effect of x , y and z 

x   x
separately and then add the results E

y   x
E
z  x
E
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 32
 Generalized Hooke’s Law
Effect of y Effect of z
y 
x   x   z
E E
y
y   y  z
E E
y z  z
z  
E E

 y z
x    
x
E E E
Principle of  y z
y    x
E E E
Superposition
 y z
z    x
E E E

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 33

 Shearing Strain
A cubic element subjected to a shear stress τxy
will deform into a rhomboid. The corresponding
shear strain γxy is quantified in terms of the
change in angle between the sides,
xy  f  xy

A plot of shear stress vs. shear strain is similar to

the previous plots of normal stress vs. normal
strain except that the strength values are
approximately half. For small strains,

xy G xy yz G yz zx G zx

where G is the modulus of rigidity or shear

modulus.
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 34
 Relation Among E, , and G
Young’s modulus: E x  Ex

Poisson ratio: ν y z x

Modulus of rigidity: G xy Gxy

Relation between E, ν and G

E  1
2G

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 35

 Example 9
2-61: A 20 mm diameter rod made of an
experimental plastic is subjected to a tensile force
of magnitude P = 6 kN. Knowing that an
elongation of 14 mm and a decrease in diameter of
0.85 mm are observed in a 150 mm length,
determine the modulus of elasticity, the modulus of
rigidity, and Poisson’s ratio for the material.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 36

 Example 10
2-68: A fabric used in air-inflated structures is subjected to a biaxial loading
that results in normal stresses σx = 120 MPa and σz = 160 MPa. Knowing that
the properties of the fabric can be approximated as E = 87 GPa and ν = 0.34,
determine the change in length of (a) side AB, (b) side BC, (c) diagonal AC.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 37

 Example 10

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 38

 Example 11
2-79: An elastomeric bearing (G = 0.9 MPa) is
used to support a bridge girder as shown to provide
flexibility during earthquakes. The beam must not
displace more than 10 mm when a 22 kN lateral
load is applied as shown. Knowing that the
maximum allowable shearing stress is 420 kPa,
determine (a) the smallest allowable dimension b,
(b) the smallest required thickness a.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 39

 Saint-Venant’s Principle
We assumed so far that in an axially loaded
member, the normal stresses are uniformly
distributed in any section perpendicular to the
axis of the member.

Loads transmitted through rigid plates result in

uniform distribution of stress and strain.

If the loads are concentrated, the elements in the

immediate vicinity of the points of application of the
loads are subjected to very large stresses, while
other elements near the ends of the member are
unaffected by the loading

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 40

 Saint-Venant’s Principle
Stress and strain distributions become uniform at a
relatively short distance from the load application points.

Saint-Venant’s Principle:
Stress distribution may be assumed independent of the mode of load
application except in the immediate vicinity of load application points.
(Starting at a distance equal to the width of the element from either end)

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 41

 Stress Concentration
Circular Hole
Discontinuities of cross section may result Stress concentration factor
K max
in high localized or concentrated stresses.
ave

ave  P
A

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 42

 Stress Concentration
Fillet
Discontinuities of cross section may result Stress concentration factor
K max
in high localized or concentrated stresses.
ave

ave  P
A
MEE 320: Strength of Materials 43
 Example 12
2-98: For P = 100 kN, determine the
minimum plate thickness t required if
the allowable stress is 125 MPa.

MEE 320: Strength of Materials 44