University of Wah

Wah Engineering College

Department of Chemical Engineering
Assignment # 03

Course Title: Applied Physics

Semester: 2nd Semester Course Teacher: Arslan Mehmood

Total Marks: 10

Course Code: PHY-101(Lab)

Student Name: Hashir Farhan Arif Reg No.UW-19-CHE-BSC-38

Note: Attempt all question.

Question 1:

What is meant by helical spring and where we used it in practical life? (3)

Question 2:

a) State the Hook’s law and explain the elasticity of materials stress, strain and modulus.
(7)
Best of Luck

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 Helical Spring

The helical springs are made up of a wire coiled in the form of a helix and are primarily intended

Figure 1 Stainless steel helical spring

for compressive or tensile loads. The
cross-section of the wire from which the sprin

g is made may be circular, square or rectangular

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.

Uses:

 It can be designed to carry, pull, or push loads.

 Twisted helical (torsion) springs are used in engine starters and hinges.
 Tamping
 Stressing
 Grinding
 Loading
 Transportation cars
 Shock absorbance
 Torsion provision
Figure 2 Helical Spring
 Machining

Hooke’s Law:

Hooke’s law states that:

The strain of the material is proportional to the applied stress within the elastic limit of
that material.”

When force is applied to a material, we know that it either stretches or compresses in response to
the applied force. In mechanics, the force applied per unit area is known as stress and is denoted
by the symbol σ. The extent to which the material compresses or stretches is known as strain.
Different materials respond differently to applied stress.  This information is necessary for
engineers while selecting materials for their structures.

Discovery:

In 19th-century, while studying springs and elasticity, English scientist Robert Hooke noticed
that many materials exhibited a similar property when the stress-strain relationship was studied.

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There was a linear region where the force required to stretch the material was proportional to the
extension of the material. This is known as Hooke’s Law.

When the elastic materials are stretched, the atoms and molecules deform until stress is been
applied and when the stress is removed they return to their initial state.

Mathematically, Hooke’s law is commonly expressed as:

F = – k.x

Where,

 F is the force

 x is the extension length
 k is the constant of proportionality known as spring constant in N/m


Figure 3 Hooks law F = kx

Example

A spring is displaced by 5 cm and held in place with a force of 500 N. What is the spring
constant of the spring?

 Solution:
We know that the spring is displaced by 5 cm, but the unit of the spring constant is
Newtons per meter. This means that we have to convert the distance to meters.
Converting the distance to meters, we get
5 cm = 0.05 m
Now substituting the values in the equation, we get
F = –k.x

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 Now, we need to rework the equation so that we are calculating for the missing metric
which is the spring constant, or k. Looking only at the magnitudes and therefore omitting
the negative sign, we get
500 N/0.05 m = k
k = 1000 N/m
Therefore, the spring constant of the spring is 1000 N/m.

The material exhibits elastic behavior up to the yield strength point, after which the material
loses elasticity and exhibits plasticity.

From the origin till the proportional limit nearing yield strength, the straight line implies that the
material follows Hooke’s law. Beyond the elastic limit between proportional limit and yield
strength, the material loses its elastic nature and starts exhibiting plasticity. The area under the
curve from origin to the proportional limit falls under the elastic range. The area under the curve
from a proportional limit to the rupture/fracture point falls under the plastic range.

The ultimate strength of a material is defined based on the maximum ordinate value given by the
stress-strain curve (from origin to rupture). The rupture strength is given by the value at a point
of rupture.

Elasticity of materials:

The ability of a deformed material body to return to its original shape and size when the forces
causing the deformation are removed. A body with this ability is said to behave (or respond)
elastically.

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 Figure 4 Elasticity Deformation

Stress

In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity that expresses the internal forces that
neighboring particles of a continuous material exert on each other, while strain is the measure of
the deformation of the material.

In SI base units: Pa = kg/ms2

Other units: lbf per square inch (lbf/in2) psi, bar

Common symbols: σ

Graphycal Representation

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 Figure 5 Stress on a cylinder

Strain
Strain is the response of a system to an applied stress.

When a material is loaded with a force, it produces a stress, which then causes a material to
deform. That deformation is called strain. Engineering strain is defined as the amount of
deformation in the direction of the applied force divided by the initial length of the material. This
results in a unit less number.

 Example

The strain in a bar that is being stretched in tension is the amount of elongation or change in
length divided by its original length. As in the case of stress, the strain distribution may or may
not be uniform in a complex structural element, depending on the nature of the loading
condition.

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 Figure 6 Strain produced

Young Modulus

Young's modulus, or the Young modulus, is a mechanical property that measures the stiffness
of a solid material. It defines the relationship between stress (force per unit area) and strain
(proportional deformation) in a material in the linear elasticity regime of a uniaxial deformation.

F
tensile stress A
 E = =
tensile strain ∆L
L

Where

 F is the applied force

 L is the initial length
 ∆L is the change in length
 A is the square area,
 E is Young's modulus in Pascal (Pa).

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Reference

 https://www.google.com/search?
q=helical+spring&rlz=1C1CHNY_enPK893PK893&oq=helical+spring&aqs=chrome..69
i57j0l7.3756j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 https://www.jamesspring.com/news/helical-springs-used-in-railway-industry-
applications/
 http://engg-learning.blogspot.com/2011/03/helical-spring.html
 https://byjus.com/physics/hookes-law-equation-experiment/
 https://www.britannica.com/science/Hookes-law
 https://www.britannica.com/science/elasticity-physics
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(mechanics)
 https://www.ndeed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/St
ressStrain.htm

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