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POISSON’S RATIO
When a homogeneous slender bar is axially
loaded, the resulting stress and strain satisfy
Hooke’s law, as long as the elastic limit of the
material is not exceeded. Assuming that the load
P is directed along the x axis, σx = P∕A, where A is
the cross-sectional area of the bar, and from
Hooke’s law,

where E is the modulus of elasticity of the material.

all materials are assumed to be both homogeneous and

isotropic (i.e., their mechanical properties are independent
of both position and direction). It follows that the strain
must have the same value for any transverse direction.
Therefore, the loading shown in Fig. 2.29 must have εy = εz.
This common value is the lateral strain. An important
constant that relates this lateral strain to the axial strain for
a given material is its Poisson’s ratio, named after the
French mathematician Siméon Denis Poisson (1781–1840)
and denoted by the Greek letter ν (nu).

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MULTIAXIAL LOADING: GENERALIZED HOOKE’S LAW

All the examples considered so far in this chapter
have dealt with slender members subjected to axial
loads, i.e., to forces directed along a single axis.
Consider now the more general case of structural
elements that are subjected to loads acting in all
three directions of the coordinate axes and
producing normal stresses σx, σy, and σz that are all
different from zero (Fig. 2.32). This condition is a
multiaxial loading.

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To express the strain components ε , ε , ε in terms of the stress components σ , σ ,

x y z x y

σ , consider the effect of each stress component and combine the results. This
z

approach will be used repeatedly in this text, and is based on the principle of
superposition. This principle states that the effect of a given combined loading
on a structure can be obtained by determining the effects of the various loads
separately and combining the results

Equations (2.20) are the generalized Hooke’s law for the multiaxial loading of
a homogeneous isotropic material. As indicated earlier, these results are valid
only as long as the stresses do not exceed the proportional limit and the
deformations involved remain small. Also, a positive value for a stress
component signifies tension and a negative value compression. Similarly, a
positive value for a strain component indicates expansion in the corresponding
direction and a negative value contraction.

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DILATATION AND BULK MODULUS

This section examines the effect of the normal stresses σx,
σy, and σz on the volume of an element of isotropic
material. Consider the element shown in Fig. 2.33. In its
unstressed state, it is in the shape of a cube of unit volume.
Under the stresses σx, σy, σz, it deforms into a rectangular
parallelepiped of volume.

Since the strains εx, εy, εz are much smaller than unity, their products can be omitted in the expansion of the product. Therefore,

The change in volume e of the element is

Since the element originally had a unit volume and Eq. (2.21) gives the change of
this volume, e represents the change in volume per unit volume and is called the
dilatation of the material.

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Substituting for εx, εy, and εz from Eqs. (2.20) into (2.21), the change is

When a body is subjected to a uniform hydrostatic pressure p, each of the stress components is
equal to −p and Eq. (2.22) yields

Introducing the constant

The constant k is known as the bulk modulus or modulus of compression of the material, because
it is a measure of the material’s resistance to volumetric change due to the application of a
hydrostatic pressure. It is expressed in pascals or in psi.

Because a stable material subjected to a hydrostatic pressure can only decrease in volume, the
dilatation e in Eq. (2.25) is negative, and the bulk modulus k is a positive quantity. Referring to
Eq. (2.24), 1 – 2 ν > 0 or ν < 1/2 .

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