Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

ELASTICITY
Deforming force:
The force applied on a given body by the virtue of which it changes its shape and size (deforms) is called as
deforming force. Deforming force deform object but does not move.

Elasticity:
The property of materials by the virtue of which, a body regain its original shape and size after the removal
of deforming force. Ex: Spider web, Steel, Graphene

Plasticity:
The property of materials which undergo deformation under stress and do not regain their original shape and
dimension

Stress:
The force with which regain its original shape after removal deforming force. It is defined as restoring force
on body per unit area (Stress or Pressure = Force/Area of surface = F/A )

Strain:
It is defined as the Ratio of change in dimension of body by the application of stress to original dimension
Strain = Change in dimension/Original dimension = ΔD/D
Linear strain (α) - It is defined as the Ratio of change in the length per unit length per unit tension applied.

Lateral strain (β) - It is the lateral contraction in body per unit length per unit tension perpendicular to
force.

Elastic Limit: The elastic limit of a substance is defined as the maximum stress applied on a solid, with
removal of which body regain its original shape, if stress increase above this, substance permanently
deformed and does not return to its original shape and size.
Hooke’s Law:
Hook’s law states that, for sufficiently small stresses, stress is directly proportional to strain;
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
Stress α Strain or 𝐸=
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛

E is constant of proportionality known as modulus of elasticity (Elastic constants) depends on the material
being deformed and on the nature of the deformation.

There are three Moduli of Elasticity, namely Young’s Modulus, Bulk Modulus, Rigidity Modulus.

Young’s Modulus of Elasticity, It is defined as the ratio of longitudinal stress to linear strain.

𝐹/𝐴 𝐹×𝐿
Y = Longitudinal stress / Linear Strain, 𝑌= =
∆𝐿/𝐿 𝐴×∆𝐿

If a weight suspended to an elastic wire then, F = mg

𝑚𝑔𝐿
Therefore, 𝑌 =
𝐴×∆𝐿
Longitudinal stress or tensile stress is applied along the length and hence causes change in length. Linear
strain is the ratio of change in length to original length

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

Bulk Modulus of elasticity = It is the ratio of volume stress to volume strain.

𝐹/𝐴 𝐹×𝑉
B= volume stress / volume Strain 𝐵= =
∆𝑉/𝑉 𝐴×∆𝑉

𝐹×𝑉
𝐵=
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 × ∆𝑉

Application of normal (compressive) stress causes change in volume. Volume strain is the ratio of change in
volume to original volume.

Rigidity Modulus of Elasticity or Shear Modulus (𝜂) :

This is given by the ratio of Tangential stress to shearing strain.

Shearing stress is applied tangential to a surface. As a result, one surface is displaced with respect to another
fixed surface.

𝜂 = Tangential stress / shear Strain

𝑇𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝐹⁄𝐴

𝑇𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 = ∆𝐿⁄𝐿

𝑭/𝑨
𝛈= ⁄∆𝑳/𝑳

∆𝑳
𝒕𝒂𝒏𝜽 = , for small angle of shear tanθ = θ
𝑳

𝐹
Therefore 𝛈=
𝐴×𝜃

Distinction between Three moduli of elasticity

Young’s Modulus Bulk Modulus Modulus of Rigidity

Ratio of Tensil stress to Tensile strain Ratio of volume stress to volume Ratio of shear stress to shear strain
strain

used to calculate the deformation of used to calculate the deformation of used to calculate deformations
an object when a deforming force an object when a deforming force when a deforming force acts parallel
acts at right angles to a surface of the acts at right angles to a surface of the to the surface of an object.
object object

The object under the deforming force The object under the deforming force One of the surfaces of the object get
either gets lengthened or shortened. either gets increase or decreased in displaced with respect to another
volume surface.

Strain = change in length/original Strain = change in volume/original Strain = Tan of angle through which
length volume two surfaces displaced relatively.

Y = FL/Cross sectional area x ΔL B = FV/Total surface area x ΔV η = F/Area x tanθ

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

FACTOR OF SAFETY

When stresses on an elastic material go on increases, the restoring force also keeps on increase upto certain
limit. The maximum stress below which an elastic material restores its original shape and size is called
working stress. If the stress crosses above some limit the material may not restore its original shape and size
set permanently in deformed state is called breaking stress.

The ratio of Breaking stress to working stress is known as factor of safety.

Factor of safety = Breaking stress / Working stress

To avoid permanent deformation due to maximum stress, the engineering tools are to be used within the
elastic limit with a working stress.

Stress-strain graph: Stress strain curve is the plot of the graph of stress applied on given elastic material
against the strain developed on it, taking stress along y- axis and corresponding strain on the x-axis. The
stress strain curve for different material is different. It may vary due to the temperature and loading
condition of the material.
Elastic Deformation:
a) Proportional limit: it is the point up to
which hooks law is applicable i.e., stress is
directly proportional to strain.

b) Elastic limit: there is always the limiting

value of load up to which strain totally
disappear on removal of load. Material
possess elastic nature and properties till elastic
limit. Up to this point material obtains its
original configuration on removing load.

c) Yield point: The stress beyond which

material becomes plastic. .i.e. Load at which
permanent deformation of material starts.

Plastic Deformation:
a) Ductile point: beyond this point neck forms where the local cross-sectional area becomes
significantly smaller than original, material acquires plastic nature.

b) Ultimate point: The point at up to which material can withstand maximum load and ultimate
strength with maximum elongation. Above this point large deformation may possible before
failure.

c) Point of rupture: The extreme stress which makes the material failure of elastic behaviour or
going to break.

FACTORS AFFECTING ELASTICITY

The material will have change in their elastic property because of the following factors.

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

a) Effect of stress: When a material is subjected to large number of cycles of stresses, it loses its elastic
property even within the elastic limit. Therefore, the working stress on the material should be kept lower
than the ultimate tensile strength and the safety factor.

b) Effect of Annealing: Annealing is a process by which the material is heated to a very high temperature
and then it is slowly cooled. Annealing is made to a material it results in the formation of large crystal
grains, which ultimately reduces the elastic property of the material.

c) Effect of temperature: The elastic property of the materials changes with the temperature. Normally
the elasticity increases with the decrease in temperature and vice-versa.
Examples: 1. The elastic property of lead increases when the temperature is decreased.
2. The carbon filament becomes plastic at higher temperatures.
d) Effect of impurities: The addition of impurities produces variation in the elastic property of the
materials. The increase and decrease of elasticity depend upon the type of impurity added to it.
Examples:1. When potassium is added to gold, the elastic property of gold increases.
2. When carbon is added to molten iron, the elastic property of iron decreases provided the
carbon Content should be more than 1% in iron.

e) Effect of nature of crystals: The elasticity also depends upon the types of the crystals, For a single
crystal the elasticity is more and for a poly crystal the elasticity is less.

Stain softening: Strain softening is defined as the region in which the stress in the material is decreasing
with an increase in strain.
This observed in certain materials after yielding point as
represented in the diagram.
It causes deterioration of material strength with increasing
strain, which is a phenomenon typically observed in
damaged quasi brittle materials, including fibre reinforced
composites and concrete.
It is primarily a consequence of brittleness and
heterogeneity of the material.

Strain Hardening
When a material is strained beyond the yield point, more and more stress is required to produce additional
plastic deformation and the material becomes stronger and more difficult to deform this condition is known
as Strain Hardening.
The material is permanently deformed increasing its resistance to further deformation. Strain hardening
reduces ductility and increases brittleness.
A material that does not show any strain hardening is said to be perfectly plastic.
The strain hardening coefficient is given by the expression σ = K εn. σ is the applied stress, ε is strain, n is
the strain hardening coefficient K is the strength coefficient (elasticity).
It is a measure of the ability of a metal to strain hardens. The value of ‘n’ lies between 0.1 and 0.5 for most
metals.

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

A material with a higher value of n has a greater elasticity than a material with a low value of n.

Torsion Pendulum
A normal pendulum is a mass that swings periodically back and forth on a string.
However, torsion pendulum is an object with periodic oscillations, due to rotations about some axis through
the object.
The fiber of the torsion pendulum resists rotation, causing the mass to rotate back to its original equilibrium
position when the mass is rotated from its equilibrium position.
Since the mass is moving very quickly, it overshoots at the equilibrium position. The fiber's restoring force
slows the mass down and causes it to rotate the other way back.
The restoring force is actually proportional to the rotation angle of the mass.

Couple per twist of the cylindrical wire: The pendulum contains wire and a disk is suspended from the
wire. When the disk is rotated through the and angle θ, the wire twists through an angle φ, therefore the
displacement of point B to B’ is given by,
𝑥𝜃
l φ = x θ or 𝜑 = --------------------- 1
𝑙

Where l – length of the wire and x – radial distance from center.

Force per unit area on the wire is given by,
F = n φ ------------------------------------------------2
𝑛𝑥𝜃
From equation 1 and 2 we have, 𝐹 = 𝑙
𝑛𝑥𝜃 2𝜋𝑛𝑥 2 𝜃
For the whole perimeter 2πx, 𝐹 = 2𝜋𝑥𝑑𝑥 = 𝑑𝑥
𝑙 𝑙

2𝜋𝑛𝑥 3 𝜃
𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 = 𝐹𝑥 =
𝑙 B B’
2𝜋𝑛𝜃 𝑅
Total twisting couple for angle 𝜃, 𝑙
∫0 𝑥 3 𝑑𝑥 R – Radius of wire
O’
𝐂 𝝅𝒏𝑹𝟒
Therefore, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 = =
𝛉 𝟐𝒍

Time period of oscillation,

2𝜋
We know that, 𝑇 = 𝜔

For the tensional Simple harmonic oscillation, hence

w = √C/I , substitute in above equation we get,

T = 2π√I/C
Applications of Tensional Pendulum:
1. The working of Torsion pendulum clocks is based on torsional oscillation.

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

2. The freely decaying oscillation of Torsion pendulum in medium (like polymers), helps to determine their
characteristic properties.
3. Determination of frictional forces between solid surfaces and flowing liquid environments using forced
torsion pendulums.

4. Clothes Pins. The working of clothes pins is facilitated by the torsion springs. These springs provide an
excellent clamping action.
5. Automotive: Torsion springs are known for providing even tension, along with smooth and frictionless
motion. These springs are widely used in the automotive industry for various parts such as a vehicle
suspension system, chassis, automotive valves, clutches, and gear shifters.

6. Medical Equipment: In the medical industry, the torsion springs are used in medical immobilization
devices, hospital beds, several dental applications, wheelchair lifts and many more.

7. Door Hinges: These springs are widely used in different types of door hinges. These springs allow the
door to come back to its original position.
Bending Moment of Beam.
When a beam having an arbitrary cross section is subjected to a transverse loads the beam will bend. In
addition to bending the other effects such as twisting and buckling may occur, and to investigate a problem
that includes all the combined effects of bending, twisting and buckling could become a complicated one.
Thus, we are interested to investigate the bending effects alone, in order to do so; we have to put certain
constraints on the geometry of the beam and the manner of loading.

Assumptions Bending Moment of Beam:

1. Material of the beam will be homogenous and isentropic. Homogeneous means material composition of
the beam will be same throughout the beam. Isentropic means elastic properties i.e. modulus of elasticity
of the material will be same in all the directions.

2. Beam will be straight before loading and will remain straight once load will be removed.
3. The sections of the beam which were plane before bending must remain plain after bending too.

4. Beam material must be stressed within its elastic limit and therefore beam material must follow the
principle of Hooke’s law.
5. The radius of curvature, during bending of the beam, will be large as compared with the dimensions of
the cross-section of the beam and beam will have symmetrical cross-section.
6. Beam will be subjected with the pure bending action.
7. Load will be applied in the plane of bending and each layer of the beam will be free to expand or
contract, independently of the layer, above or below it.

Problems:
A man weighing 70.0 kg supports 90% of his body on his upper leg bone. Determine the change in the
length of the upper leg bone (the femur) considering it as a rod of an elastic material, assume bone is 40.0
cm long and 2.00 cm in radius Young’s modulus of bone is 9x109 Nm-2.

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

Cross section area of bone, A = πr2 = 3.142x 0.022 = 12.57x10-4m,

Tension on bone F = mg = 63x9.8 = 617.4 N

𝐹×𝐿
𝑌=
∆𝐿 × 𝐴
617.4×40×10−2
→ 9𝑥109 = ∆𝐿×12.57𝑥10−4

Therefore∆𝐿 = 0.21 mm.

When water and an unknown liquid of same volume, subjected to pressure of 107Nm-2, it is observed
that, change in volume of water is 13.56 times of that unknown liquid. Determine Bulk modulus of the
unknown liquid if the Bulk modulus of water is 2.2x109Nm-2.

𝑃
Volume of water 𝑉 = ∆𝑉×𝐵
𝑤
𝑃
Volume of unknown liquid 𝑉 = ∆𝑉×𝐵
𝐿

1. Two litre of water enclosed in a flexible container subjected to pressure 107Nm-2. Determine the
difference observed in the volume of water. Compare this difference with the difference observed in
mercury of same volume when subjected same pressure as that of water. (Bulk modulus of water and
Mercury are 2.2x109Nm-2 and 28.5x109Nm-2 respectively

𝑃𝑋𝑉 𝑃𝑉
𝐵= 𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑉 =
∆𝑉 𝐵

For water For mercury

B = 2.2x109Nm-2 B = 28.5x109Nm-2
V = 2 litre V = 2 litre
P = 107Nm-2 P = 107Nm-2

𝑃𝑉 107 𝑃𝑉 107
∆𝑉𝑊 = = 1.2x109 = 0.0083𝑙𝑖𝑡 ∆𝑉𝐻𝑔 = = 28.5x109 = 0.00035𝑙𝑖𝑡
𝐵 𝐵

∆𝑉𝐻𝑔
= 0.042 or ∆𝑉𝐻𝑔 = 0.042∆𝑉𝑊
∆𝑉𝑊

2. A steel bar and a bar made of unknown material of length 6m, are having the cross section area
5cmx2.5cm are used to hang a load of 2000kg separately. Determine the stretched length of steel bar
and Young modulus of unknown material if it stretched 1.2 times of steel bar (Young’s modulus of steel
20x1010Nm-2).

𝐹𝑋𝐿 𝑃𝑉
𝑌= 𝑜𝑟 ∆𝑉 =
𝐴∆𝐿 𝐵

For steel wire, y= 20x1010Nm-2, L = 6m, A = 5cmx2.5cm = 12.5x10-4m2, m= 2000kg g= 9.8 ms-2

𝐹𝑋𝐿 𝑚𝑔𝐿 2000×9.8×6

𝑌= or ∆𝐿 = = = 4.7x10-4m
𝐴∆𝐿 𝐴𝑌 12.5x10−4 ×20x1010
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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

Δl for the unknown wire is 1.2x4.7x10-4 = 5.64x10-4 m

𝐹𝑋𝐿 2000×9.8×6
𝑌= = = 16.68x1010 Nm-2
𝐴∆𝐿 12.5x10−4 ×5.64x10−4

3. Find the pressure necessary to change a volume of the water by reduce the volume by 1%. Express the
pressure in terms of atmospheric pressure unit.

Original volume of water = V, ΔV = 0.01V, B = 2.2x109Nm-2

𝑃𝑋𝑉
𝐵= , 2.2x109 = P/0.01, P = 2.2x107Nm-2,
∆𝑉

4. Determine the force required to produce a shear breakdown of an iron bar having 3cm2 cross section, if
breaking strain is 6o = 0.1 rad. is ( Shear modulus of rigidity of Irom, n = 10x109Nm-2)

𝐹
𝛈= 𝑜𝑟 𝐹 = 𝑛 × 𝐴 × 𝜃
𝐴×𝜃
𝐹 = 10 × 109 × 3 × 3 × 10−4 × 0.1 = 9 × 105 𝑁

5. A steel wire of length (l ) 30 cm and the radius (R) 2mm is used in the construction of torsional
pendulum. Estimate couple per twist developed in the wire and time period, if MI of wire is 0.212kgm2
( Shear modulus of rigidity of Irom, n = 10x109Nm-2)

= 8.37 Nm-1 =1sec

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Engineering Physics Materials by Praveen N. Vaidya, SDMCET, Dharwad.

https://hemantmore.org.in/science/physics/elasticity-modulus-rigidity/2812/