1.

2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Gravity and Mass
The mass of an object is defined from its
acceleration when a force is applied, i.e. from the
equation F = Ma, not from gravity.
Gravity is normally the largest force acting on a
structure. The gravitational force on a mass M is:


The gravitational force on an object is called its
weight. Thus an object will have a weight of 9.81N
per kg of mass
s
m/ 9.81 = g where
Mg = F
2
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Types of strength
In engineering the term strength is always
defined and is probably one of the following
- Compressive strength
- Tensile strength
- Shear strength
depending on the type of loading.

Compression
, tension,
bending and
shear
Shear
Stress
This cylinder
is in Tension
Forces
Flexural (bending)
stress
This cylinder
is in
compression
Tension and Compression
Structures lab
Testing for strength
Applying Loads
Stress
This is a measure of the internal resistance in
a material to an externally applied load. For
direct compressive or tensile loading the
stress is designated o and is defined as:

stress =
load W
area A
o
Types of stress
Compressive
stress
Compressive
load
Tensile load
Compressive
load
Tensile load
Tensile
Stress
Measuring:
Stress = Load/area
Shear Stress
Similarly in shear the shear stress t is a
measure of the internal resistance of a
material to an externally applied shear load.
The shear stress is defined as:

shear stress =
load W
area resisting shear A
t
Shear stress
Shear force
Shear Force
Area resisting
shear
Ultimate Strength
The strength of a material is a measure of the
stress that it can take when in use. The
ultimate strength is the measured stress at
failure but this is not normally used for design
because safety factors are required. The
normal way to define a safety factor is :

stress e Permissibl
stress Ultimate
loaded when stress
failure at stress
= factor safety =
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Strain
We must also define strain. In engineering this is
not a measure of force but is a measure of the
deformation produced by the influence of stress. For
tensile and compressive loads:


Strain is dimensionless, i.e. it is not measured in
metres, killogrammes etc.


For shear loads the strain is defined as the angle
This is measured in radians
strain =
increase in length x
original length L
c
shear strain
shear displacement x
width L
~
Shear stress and strain
Shear force
Shear Force
Area resisting
shear
Shear displacement (x)
Shear strain is angle
L
Units of stress and strain
The basic unit for Force and Load is the Newton (N)
which is equivalent to kg m/s
2
. One kilogramme (kg)
weight is equal to 9.81 N.
In industry the units of stress are normally Newtons per
square millimetre (N/mm
2
) but this is not a base unit for
calculations.
The MKS unit for pressure is the Pascal. 1 Pascal = 1
Newton per square metre
Pressure and Stress have the same units 1 MPa = 1
N/mm
2

Strain has no dimensions. It is expressed as a percentage
or in microstrain (s).
A strain of 1 s is an extension of one part per million. A
strain of 0.2% is equal to 2000 s
Measuring: Strain = extension/length
Elastic and Plastic deformation
Stress
Strain
Stress
Strain
Permanent
Deformation
Elastic deformation
Plastic deformation
Stress-Strain curve for steel
Yield
Elastic

0.2%
proof
stress
Stress
Strain
0.2%
Plastic
Failure
Steel Test in Laboratory
High Tensile Steel
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
-1 0 1 2 3 4
Extension mm (extensometer)
L
o
a
d

N
Energy absorbed
Stress
(force)
Strain (distance)
Final strain
Area = average stress

final strain
= Energy absorbed
= work done
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Modulus of Elasticity
If the strain is "elastic" Hooke's law may be used to
define


Young's modulus is also called the modulus of
elasticity or stiffness and is a measure of how much
strain occurs due to a given stress. Because strain is
dimensionless Young's modulus has the units of
stress or pressure
A
L

x
W
=
Strain
Stress
= E Modulus Youngs
Measuring modulus of elasticity
Initial Tangent and Secant Modulus
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Flexural Strength
d=depth
deflection x
Span L
Tension region
Compression region
b=breadth
Load W
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Fatigue
Stress
Strain
Failure
1.2 STRENGTH OF MATERIALS
1.2.1 Mass and Gravity
1.2.2 Stress and strength
1.2.3 Strain
1.2.4 Modulus of Elasticity
1.2.5 Flexural loads
1.2.6 Fatigue Strength
1.2.7 Poisson's ratio
1.2.8 Creep

Poissons Ratio
This is a measure of the amount by which a solid
"spreads out sideways" under the action of a load
from above. It is defined as:
(lateral strain) / (vertical strain)
and is dimensionless.
Note that a material like timber which has a "grain
direction" will have a number of different
Poisson's ratios corresponding to loading and
deformation in different directions.
How to calculate deflection if the proof stress is applied and
then partially removed.
If a sample is loaded up to the 0.2% proof stress and then unloaded to a stress s
the strain x = 0.2% + s/E where E is the Youngs modulus

Yield
0.2% proof stress
Stress
Strain 0.2%
Plastic
Failure
s
0.002 s/E