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2.17 STRESS AND STRAIN DISTRIBUTION UNDER 2.17 Stress and Strain Distribution under Axial
Loading; Saint-Venant’s Principle
113
AXIAL LOADING; SAINT-VENANT’S PRINCIPLE
We have assumed so far that, in an axially loaded member, the nor-
mal stresses are uniformly distributed in any section perpendicular P
to the axis of the member. As we saw in Sec. 1.5, such an assumption
may be quite in error in the immediate vicinity of the points of
application of the loads. However, the determination of the actual
stresses in a given section of the member requires the solution of a
statically indeterminate problem.
In Sec. 2.9, you saw that statically indeterminate problems
involving the determination of forces can be solved by considering
the deformations caused by these forces. It is thus reasonable to
conclude that the determination of the stresses in a member requires
the analysis of the strains produced by the stresses in the member.
This is essentially the approach found in advanced textbooks, where
the mathematical theory of elasticity is used to determine the distri-
bution of stresses corresponding to various modes of application of
the loads at the ends of the member. Given the more limited math- P'
ematical means at our disposal, our analysis of stresses will be
Fig. 2.54 Axial load applied
restricted to the particular case when two rigid plates are used to by rigid plates to a member.
transmit the loads to a member made of a homogeneous isotropic
material (Fig. 2.54).
If the loads are applied at the center of each plate,† the plates
will move toward each other without rotating, causing the member
to get shorter, while increasing in width and thickness. It is reason-
able to assume that the member will remain straight, that plane
sections will remain plane, and that all elements of the member will
deform in the same way, since such an assumption is clearly compat-
ible with the given end conditions. This is illustrated in Fig. 2.55,

P'
(a) (b)
Fig. 2.55 Axial load applied by rigid
plates to rubber model.

†More precisely, the common line of action of the loads should pass through the centroid
of the cross section (cf. Sec. 1.5).
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114 Stress and Strain—Axial Loading
P out the member must be uniform. In other words, the axial strain Py
P'
Fig. 2.56 Concentrated
axial load applied to
rubber model.
P P
b be assumed equal to the average value PyA. Thus, at a distance equal
b
 min  0.973 ave
 max  1.027 ave
P'
P P
1 stresses in a structural member, you should keep in mind two impor-
1 4 b
2 b  min
P
 ave  A
 max
 min  0.668 ave  min  0.198 ave
 max  1.387 ave  max  2.575 ave
Fig. 2.57 Stress distributions in a plate under
concentrated axial loads.
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which shows a rubber model before and after loading.† Now, if all
elements deform in the same way, the distribution of strains through-
and the lateral strain Px 5 2nPy are constant. But, if the stresses do
not exceed the proportional limit, Hooke’s law applies and we may
write sy 5 EPy, from which it follows that the normal stress sy is
also constant. Thus, the distribution of stresses is uniform throughout
the member and, at any point,
P
s y 5 1s y 2 ave 5
A
On the other hand, if the loads are concentrated, as illustrated
in Fig. 2.56, 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. This may be verified by observing that strong deformations,
and thus large strains and large stresses, occur near the points of
application of the loads, while no deformation takes place at the
corners. As we consider elements farther and farther from the ends,
however, we note a progressive equalization of the deformations
involved, and thus a more nearly uniform distribution of the strains
and stresses across a section of the member. This is further illustrated
in Fig. 2.57, which shows the result of the calculation by advanced
mathematical methods of the distribution of stresses across various
sections of a thin rectangular plate subjected to concentrated loads.
We note that at a distance b from either end, where b is the width
of the plate, the stress distribution is nearly uniform across the sec-
tion, and the value of the stress sy at any point of that section can
to, or greater than, the width of the member, the distribution of
stresses across a given section is the same, whether the member is
loaded as shown in Fig. 2.54 or Fig. 2.56. In other words, except in
the immediate vicinity of the points of application of the loads, the
stress distribution may be assumed independent of the actual mode
of application of the loads. This statement, which applies not only to
axial loadings, but to practically any type of load, is known as Saint-
Venant’s principle, after the French mathematician and engineer
Adhémar Barré de Saint-Venant (1797–1886).
While Saint-Venant’s principle makes it possible to replace a
given loading by a simpler one for the purpose of computing the
tant points when applying this principle:
1. The actual loading and the loading used to compute the stresses
must be statically equivalent.
2. Stresses cannot be computed in this manner in the immediate
vicinity of the points of application of the loads. Advanced theo-
retical or experimental methods must be used to determine the
distribution of stresses in these areas.
†Note that for long, slender members, another configuration is possible, and indeed will
prevail, if the load is sufficiently large; the member buckles and assumes a curved shape.
This will be discussed in Chap. 10.
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You should also observe that the plates used to obtain a uniform 2.18 Stress Concentrations
115
stress distribution in the member of Fig. 2.55 must allow the mem-
ber to freely expand laterally. Thus, the plates cannot be rigidly
attached to the member; you must assume them to be just in contact
with the member, and smooth enough not to impede the lateral
expansion of the member. While such end conditions can actually be
achieved for a member in compression, they cannot be physically
realized in the case of a member in tension. It does not matter,
however, whether or not an actual fixture can be realized and used
to load a member so that the distribution of stresses in the member
is uniform. The important thing is to imagine a model that will allow
such a distribution of stresses, and to keep this model in mind so
that you may later compare it with the actual loading conditions.

2.18 STRESS CONCENTRATIONS

As you saw in the preceding section, the stresses near the points of
1
application of concentrated loads can reach values much larger than 2d
the average value of the stress in the member. When a structural P' r P
D
member contains a discontinuity, such as a hole or a sudden change
in cross section, high localized stresses can also occur near the dis- 1
2d
continuity. Figures 2.58 and 2.59 show the distribution of stresses in
critical sections corresponding to two such situations. Figure 2.58
refers to a flat bar with a circular hole and shows the stress distribu-
tion in a section passing through the center of the hole. Figure 2.59
P'
refers to a flat bar consisting of two portions of different widths con-
nected by fillets; it shows the stress distribution in the narrowest part  max
of the connection, where the highest stresses occur.
These results were obtained experimentally through the use of  ave
a photoelastic method. Fortunately for the engineer who has to Fig. 2.58 Stress distribution near circular
design a given member and cannot afford to carry out such an analy- hole in flat bar under axial loading.
sis, the results obtained are independent of the size of the member
and of the material used; they depend only upon the ratios of the
geometric parameters involved, i.e., upon the ratio ryd in the case
of a circular hole, and upon the ratios ryd and Dyd in the case of
fillets. Furthermore, the designer is more interested in the maximum
value of the stress in a given section, than in the actual distribution
of stresses in that section, since the main concern is to determine
whether the allowable stress will be exceeded under a given loading, r
and not where this value will be exceeded. For this reason, one P' P
D d
defines the ratio

s max
K5 (2.48)
s ave
 max
of the maximum stress over the average stress computed in the P'
critical (narrowest) section of the discontinuity. This ratio is referred  ave
to as the stress-concentration factor of the given discontinuity. Stress-
concentration factors can be computed once and for all in terms of
the ratios of the geometric parameters involved, and the results Fig. 2.59 Stress distribution near fillets
obtained can be expressed in the form of tables or of graphs, as in flat bar under axial loading.