MECH 32B - STRENGTH OF MATERIALS Introduction

The strength of a material, whatever its nature, is defined largely by the internal stresses, or intensities of force, in the material. Knowledge of these stresses is essential to the safe design of a machine, aircraft, or any type of structure. It deals with the relations between externally applied loads and their internal effects on bodies. The purpose of studying strength of materials is to ensure that the structures used will be safe against the maximum internal effects that may be produced by any combination of loading.

Simple Stress
Simple stresses are expressed as the ratio of the applied force divided by the resisting area or = Force / Area. It is the expression of force per unit area to structural members that are subjected to external forces and/or induced forces. Stress is the lead to accurately describe and predict the elastic deformation of a body. Simple stress can be classified as normal stress, shear stress, and bearing stress. Normal stress develops when a force is applied perpendicular to the cross-sectional area of the material. If the force is going to pull the material, the stress is said to be tensile stress and compressive stress develops when the material is being compressed by two opposing forces. Shear stress is developed if the applied force is parallel to the resisting area. Normal Stress The resisting area is perpendicular to the applied force, thus normal. There are two types of normal stresses; tensile stress and compressive stress. Tensile stress applied to bar tends the bar to elongate while compressive stress tend to shorten the bar.

Where P is the applied normal load in Newton and A is the area in mm2. The maximum stress in tension or compression occurs over a section normal to the load.

Illustrative Problems 1. A composite bar consists of an aluminium section rigidly fastened between a bronze section and a steel section. Axial loads are applied at the position indicated. Determine the stress in each section. Aluminum Bronze A = 1.8 in2 Steel 2 A =1.2 in A = 1.6 in2 4000 lb 9000 lb 2000 lb 1.3 ft 1.6 ft 1.7 ft Solution: To calculate the stresses, we must first determine the axial load in each section. The appropriate free-body diagrams are shown, from which we determine Pbr = 4000 lb (tension), Pal = 5000 lb (compression), and Pst = 7000lb (compression).