SIMPLE STRESSES /CHAPTER 1

Module Overview
This module is devoted to the concept of stress in a member of a structure, and you will be
shown how that stress can be determined from the force in the member. Different classification
of stresses will be discuss in this module. These are normal, shearing and bearing. Definition
and formula of each stress will be discussed in details. Further, stresses in thin walled pressure
vessel and flanged bolt coupling are included in the discussion.

Module Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Identify the Greek symbols associated with normal and shear stress;
2. Draw free-body diagrams of broken components;
3. Convert to consistent units of stress (psi, ksi, Pa, kPa, MPa); and
4. Solve problems associated with the normal stress, shearing stress, bearing stress, stresses
in thin walled pressure vessel and stresses in flanged bolt coupling.

IMPORTANCE

The main aim of studying this subject is to make the structure operational and safe for a
certain amount of time, which is called its design period. It is necessary that the material and
methods being used are adequate and will be safe against the maximum internal effects that may
produce by any combination of applied loads.

The applied loads are the forces or the loads imposed on the body whereas the internal
effects are the deflections or the deformations caused by those loads after they have been applied
on the bodies.

Mechanics- is the physical science that deals with the behavior of bodies under the influence of
forces.  

3 CATEGORIES:

1.) Mechanics of rigid bodies;

2.) Mechanics of deformable bodies; and

3.) Mechanics of fluids.  This course is a beginning course in statics, which is a portion of
the mechanics of rigid bodies.

1. Mechanics of Rigid Bodies:  This course deals solely with the mechanics of rigid bodies.
A rigid body is a body which does not deform under the influence of forces.  In all real
applications, there is always deformation, however, many stuctures exhibit very small
deformations under normal loading conditions, and rigid body mechanics can be used
with sufficient accuracy in those cases.  Also, the principles of rigid body mechanics are
some of the building blocks needed for the mechanics of deformable bodies.

TWO AREAS:

a. Statics - is the study of bodies in equilibrium.  This means there are no unbalanced forces
on the body, thus the body is either at rest or moving at a uniform velocity.

b.  Dynamics - is the study of bodies which are not in equilibrium, thus there is acceleration.
 SUBDIVISION:

b.1 Kinematics - is the study of the motion of a body, without regard for how the motion
is produced.  This is sometimes called the "geometry of motion".  Kinematic principles
are often applied to the analysis of machine members to determine positions, velocities,
or accelerations at various parts of the machines' operation. 

b.2   Kinetics-  is the study of the forces which cause motion, or the forces which result
from motion.

2. Mechanics of Deformable Bodies:  The mechanics of deformable bodies deals with how

forces are distributed inside bodies, and with the deformations caused by these internal force
distributions.  These internal force produce "stresses" in the body, which could ultimately result
in the failure of the material itself.  Principles of rigid body mechanics often provide the
beginning steps in analyzing these internal stresses, and resulting deformations.  These will be
studied in courses called Strength of Materials or Mechanics of Materials.

3. Mechanics of Fluids:  The mechanics of fluids is the branch of mechanics that deals with
liquids or gases.  Fluids are commonly used in engineering applications.  They can be classified
as incompressible, or compressible.  While all real fluids are compressible to some degree, most
liquids can be analyzed as incompressible in many engineering applications.  Applications of
fluid mechanics abound, from hydraulics and general flow in pipes to air flow in ducts to
advanced applications in turbines and aerospace.  The study of the mechanics of fluids will be
studied in courses called Fluid Mechanics, , and others.

IMPORTANCE OF STRENGTH OF MATERIALS Compressible Flow, Hydraulics

- To ensure that the structures that will be used will be safe against the maximum internal
effects that may produce by any combination of loading.

SIMPLE STRESS

Stress - the resisting effect offered by the structural members and defined as the ratio of the
applied force P, divided by the resisting area, A.

P
Stress, σ =
A
Where:
σ = N/m2 , Pa; N/mm2, MPa; kilopound/in2 ;ksi
P = N; KN; Kilopound, kips = contraction of kilopounds
A = m2; mm2

UNIT EQUIVALENT:
1 x 106 = MPa = 1 MN/m2 = N/mm2
1 x 103 = KPa = KN/m2
1 x 109 = GPa = GN/m2

Prefix:
1 Pascal = 1 N/m2 1 MPa = 1 MN/m2 = 1 N/mm2
1 KPa = 1 KN/m2 1 GPa = 1 GN/m2

Stress in tension or compression occurs over a section normal to the load.

Simple Stress – The condition under which the stress is constant or uniform
- 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.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SIMPLE STRESS

1. Normal stress
2. Shear stress
3. Bearing stress

1. NORMAL STRESS - develops when a force is applied perpendicular to the cross-

sectional area of the material and further designated as tensile or compressive.

a. Tensile stress –Stress when the force is going to pull the

material. Tensile stress applied to bar tends the bar to
elongate

b.
Compressive stress -
develops when the
material is being
compressed by two opposing forces. Compressive stress
tend to shorten the bar.

P
Stress, σ =
A

where:

Unit
Name Symbol
Metric English

Stress σ N N kilopound
(Pa); (ksi)
m2 mm2 ¿2
(MPa)

Force P N; KN Kilopound (kips)

Area A m2; mm2 in2

Illustrative Examples:

1. An aluminum tube is rigidly fastened by a bronze rod and a steel rod as shown. Axial loads
are applied at the positions indicated. Determine the stress in each material.

Solution:
 Compute the stresses for each material:

Pb PA Ps
a. Bronze; σb = b. Aluminum; σA = c. Steel; σs =
Ab AA As

To calculate the axial load in each material, pass section in each material and take the
appropriate free body diagram (FBD)

a. Bronze (consider FBD of left portion section a-a)

∑ FH = 0
20 – Pb = 0

Pb = 20 KN (Compression)

Pb
From stress formula: Bronze; σb =
Ab

N
20 KN x 1000
σb = KN
700 mm2

N
σb = 28.57 = 28.57MPa //ans.
mm2

b. Aluminum: (consider FBD of left portion section b-b)

∑ FH = 0
20 –15+ PA = 0 PA = 15-20 = -5 KN

PA = 5KN (Tension)****** Compression

PA
From stress formula: Aluminum; σA =
AA
 N
5 KN x 1000
σA = KN
1000 mm2

N
σA = 5 = 5MPa // ans.
mm2

c. Steel: (consider FBD of right portion section c-c)

∑ FH = 0
PS = 10KN (Tension)

PS
From stress formula: Steel; σs =
As

N
10 KN x 1000
σs = KN
800 mm2

N
σs = 12.5 = 12.5MPa// ans.
mm2

2. For the truss shown, determine the stresses in members AC and BD. The cross-sectional area
of each member is 900 mm2.

Solution:

Required: Compute for the stresses of members AC & BD

Stress Formula:

P AC P BD
a. σ AC = b. σ BD =
A AC A BD

 Take the FBD of the whole structure, mark the required members to know what
method will be use. Solve first for the end reaction at A, then a combination of
Method of Joints (for Load at PAC) and Method of Section (for Load at P BD) will be
applied.
 +ΣM = 0
H

RA (16) -30(12) – 70(4) = 0

4 RA = 90 +70

RA = 40KN(C)

Take the FBD of Joint A to solve for PAC:

+ ƩFx = 0

4
PAC – PAB( ¿ = 0
5

PAC = 53.36 KN (T)

From stress formula:

N
P AC 53. KN x 1000
σ AC = = KN = 59.3 MPa //ans.
A AC 2
900 mm

Take the FBD of the left portion of section @-@, to solve for PBD:

ΣM E= 0 From stress formula:

+
P BD
RA (8) – 30 (4) – PBD (3) = 0 σ BD =
A BD
N
66.7 . KN x 1000
PBD = 66.7KN (C) σ BD= KN = 74.11
900 mm2
MPa //ans.

3. Determine the largest weight W which can be supported by the two wires in wires as shown.
The stresses in wires AB & AC are not to exceed 100MPa and 150MPa, respectively. The
cross sectional areas of the two wires are 400mm2 for wire AB and 200mm2 for wire AC.
 Two methods can be applied – Parallelogram (Component) Method and Polygon Method.

 1st Solution: Parallelogram (Component) Method. Show the FBD of the forces at
Joint A indicating their directions

∑ Fx = 0 ∑ Fy = 0
PACx – PABx = 0 PACy + PABy = W
PAC cos 45° – PAB cos30° = 0 PAC sin45° + PAB sin30° = W 2
P cos 30 °
PAC = AB 1
cos 45 °

Substitute equation 1 in equation 2

P AB cos 30 °
(sin 45 ° ) + PAB sin30° = W
cos 45 °
a
W = 1.366 PAB PAB = 0.732W

Substitute value of PAB = 0.732W to equation 2

PAC sin45° + PAB sin30° = W

PAC = W - PAB sin30°

PAC = W – [(0.732W) sin30°]

b
PAC = 0.89657W

P AB
From Stress Formula: σ AB =
A AB

PAB = σ AB (AAB)

N
PAB = 100 (400 mm2) = 40KN
mm2

Substitute PAB in equation a

W = 1.366 PAB

W= 1.366 (40KN) = 54,640N

P AC
From Stress Formula: σ AC =
A AC

PAC = σ AC (AAC)
 N
PAC = 150 (200 mm2) = 30KN
mm2

From equation 1 PAC = 0.89657W

Therefore: W = 33,460.85 N

The largest safe weight is 33,460.85N //ans.

 2nd Solution: Polygon Method. The forces are drawn from head to tail to form a
polygon.

Use Sine Law:

P AB W P AC
= =
sin 45 ° sin 75° sin 60°

For Wire AB: For Wire AC:

P AB W P AC W
= =
sin 45 ° sin 75° sin 60° sin 75°

PAB = 0.732W PAC = 0.896W

P
From Stress Formula: σ =
A

P AB P AC
σ AB = σ AC =
A AB A AC

N 0.7320W N 0.896 W
100 2 = 100 2 =
mm 400 mm 2 mm 200 mm2

W= 54.6 KN W = 33.46 KN

The largest safe weight is 33.46 KN or 33,460.85N //ans.

The least computed amount is chosen because if the greater value is used, wire AC will be
overstressed and will collapsed/fail.

4. Cast iron column supports an axial compressive load of 250KN. Determine the inside
diameter of the column if its outside diameter is 200mm and the limiting compressive stress is
50 MPa.

where:
D = outside diameter
d = inside diameter

π
Area circle, A = (D2 - d2)
4
 P
σ=
A

1000 N
250 KN x
N KN
50 =
mm2 π
( 2002−d 2 )
4

π
50 [( ¿ ¿)] = 250,000
4

1570800 - 39.27d 2 = 250,000

39.27d 2 = 1570800 - 250,000

1570796.327−250,000
d=
√ 39.27

d = 183.40mm