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Part 1 – Mechanics
Chapter 2- part 1
[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
Example:
When you push on a piece of material, the material is deformed.
The relative displacements of the material are proportional to the force (the
behavior is elastic).
Strain:
The result of stress.
Measure the degree of deformation.
Types of strains: tensile, shear and volume.
o Tensile Strain is the elongation per unit length
Has no unit
Hook's law:
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
The constant E:
o The proportionality factor between stress and strain.
o Called the modulus of elasticity or elastic modulus.
o The value of E depends on the type of stress and its corresponding
strain which depends on the nature of material.
o Unit of E/elastic modulus: N/m2
From diagram:
The stress and strain are proportional (linear line) until point a is reached.
o The point a is called the proportional limit of the material.
From a to b on the diagram:
o Stress and strain are not proportional.
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
o If the stress is removed at any point between O and b, the curve will
be retraced in the opposite direction and the material will return to its
original shape and length.
In the region O-b:
o The material is said to be elastic or to exhibit elastic behaviour.
o The point b is called the elastic limit or yield point.
o Up to point b (elastic limit or yield point), the forces exerted by the
material are conservative when the material returns to its original
shape, work done in producing the deformation is recovered.
o The deformation is said to be reversible.
Further increase of stress beyond c:
o Produces a large increase in strain until point d is reached at which
fracture takes place.
From b to d, the metal is said to undergo plastic deformation.
Notes:
A plastic deformation is irreversible.
Breaking stress or ultimate strength:
o Stress required to cause fracture of a material.
If large plastic deformation takes place between the elastic limit (b) and the
fracture point (d) the metal said to be ductile.
If fracture occur soon after the elastic limit (b) is passed, the metal said to be
brittle.
The yield point is a point beyond proportional limit.
Safety factor:
It is not allowed to apply stress on any material beyond its elastic limit.
The stress must be smaller than the proportional limit.
Used by international standards to keep the material safe to use so the allowed
stress is a fraction of the stress at the proportional limit.
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
Elastic modulus:
The ratio of stress to strain.
o Or the stress per unit strain.
The stress required to produce a given strain depends on the nature of the
material under stress.
Calculations:
Consider a wire clamped at one end and a load is applied at the other.
o Let L represent the wire's original length
o A its cross sectional area
o the elongation produced by the applied force F
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
Which means if the proportional limit is not exceeded, the ratio of the stress to
strain is constant Hook's Law
Hook's Law:
Within the proportional limit, the elastic modulus of a given material is constant.
Example:
A 80 Kg mass is hung on a steel wire having 18 m long and 3mm diameter. What
is the elongation of the wire, given that Young's modulus for steel is 21 x 1010
N/m2
Solution:
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
Calculations:
From Hook's Law:
The total work done against the restoring force in stretching the wire by an
amount is given by:
∫ ( )
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[CHAPTER 2 – ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS]
( )
So:
So:
Back to:
( )
( )
So ( )
Where u is the elastic energy per unit volume (elastic energy density)
( ) ( )
Remember that elastic potential energy per unit volume equal to the
area lie below the stress- strain curve in its elastic part.
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