A general idea on the missions
of Mechanics of Materials
Chapter 1: Introduction to
stresses and strains
All figures are sourced from the textbook
Ferdinand P. Beer, E. Russell Johnston Jr, John T. DeWolf.
Mechanics of Materials. McGraw Hill. 2006
A general idea on the missions
of Mechanics of Materials
 Strength: the ability of a material or component to
withstand damage
 A high-strength material means it is not easily
damaged
 A component is of sufficient strength means it will
not be easily damaged upon the application of loads
 Under most circumstances, we do not allow
components to have insufficient strengths
 Beams you see in your flat mustn’t be fractured, e.g.
A general idea on the missions
of Mechanics of Materials
 Stability: in this course, it means the ability of
SLENDER, STRAIGHT bar-like components to retain
their straightness under compressive loading
conditions
 For these components, they may bend (sometimes
excessively) under NOT-SO-LARGE compressive loads
 The NOT-SO-LARGE compressive loads can be way
below the compressive yield strengths of the
materials of the bar-like components
 A load-bearing column, if it becomes unstable, may
lose completely its load-bearing capacity and may
cause collapse of the structure
 Structures are made of components (members)


A building is made up of columns, beams, floor plates, etc.
Almost all structures sustain some sort of loads (at the very
least, a structure must be able to bear its own weight)
 When a structure is acted on by external forces and
moments, (most or all of) its constituent
components/members will also be loaded
 How do we guarantee every component can work normally?
 We usually have to consider three factors: strength, rigidity
and stability
1 2
A general idea on the missions
of Mechanics of Materials
 Rigidity: the ability of a component to resist
deformation
 A component that does not exhibit deformation is
said to be rigid (Note: a component having sufficient
strength does NOT mean it has sufficient rigidity)
 For instance, if the ceiling of your flat bends too
much, then paint will come off it, although the ceiling
does not crumple down
 Therefore, we usually specify some allowable values
for the rigidity of components to ensure their normal
operations
3 4
A general idea on the missions
of Mechanics of Materials
 If we just consider mechanics alone, then the
three criteria may be easily met by building
bulkier structures and using bigger
components
 However, we, as engineers, are also
constrained by cost
 The study of Mechanics of Materials helps you
to design structures that meet the criteria in
5 an economically viable way 6
 Some assumptions
 The materials we encounter in this course are
assumed to be continuous
 Therefore, stresses, strains, physical properties
(moduli of elasticity, e.g.) deformations, etc. are
continuous functions
 In reality, there are empty spaces in all materials.
These may be inclusions, dislocation cores, etc.
 These discontinuities are extremely small compared
with the dimensions of the structures/components
we consider in this course, and so they are simply
ignored
Review of (the inadequacy of)
statics
 Statics: a powerful tool we learned in
the previous year
 Although powerful, merely mastering it
is insufficient for us to be mechanical
engineers
Review of (the inadequacy of)
statics
There are 3 equilibrium equations.
M C  0 : Ax  (0.6m)  30kN  (0.8m)  0
 Ax  40kN
 Fx  0 : Ax  C x  0
 C x   Ax  40kN
F y  0 : Ay  C y  30kN  0 (1)
ALL equilibrium equations have already
been used. Yet there are still undetermined
reactions.
Some assumptions
 The materials used in this course are assumed to be
isotropic, meaning that their physical properties are the
same no matter along which direction you measure them
 The materials are also presumed to be homogeneous
 Note that polycrystalline metals are composed of
innumerable grains which may be regarded as single crystals
 Each grain is anisotropic
 But in the macroscopic sense, polycrystalline metals may be
regarded as isotropic (of course, machining processes like
rolling may render them anisotropic)
7 8
Review of (the inadequacy of)
statics
 Objective: check if
this structure can be
used safely or not
 What do we use for
analysis?
 Well, at this stage,
we only have statics
at our disposal
9 10
Review of (the inadequacy of)
statics
Let' s dismember the structure and isolate bar AB.
From the free - body diagram of AB, we write
M B  0 :  Ay (0.8m)  0
 Ay  0
From equation (1), we have C y  30kN
11 12
 Review of (the inadequacy of) Review of (the inadequacy of)
statics statics
Alternatively, we recognise that both bars are 2 - force  At what location will the bone be fractured?
members and thus the resultant force acting at each node
 Logic tells us that it should be somewhere in
must be axially directed.
the middle, slender portion
 However, every cross section is subjected to
So we may draw a force triangle and the forces obey
the same axial force 1200N
this equation
FAB FBC 30kN
 So, we know that the middle portion is
4

5

3 weaker, but how do we quantify the
 FAB  40kN , FBC  50kN vulnerability of the middle portion?
 We need the concept: stress
Question: Now that we know the axial forces, but
can we tell if this structure is safe or not under
the action of the 30kN external force? 13 14

Normal stress Normal stress

Let' s check if bar BC can safely sustain the given loading conditions. Assume that bar BC is made of steel with
 Knowing the axial force is insufficient to tell if a
a maximum allowable stress
member can safely support a certain load σ all  165MPa
 The following are also important (*We will delve a bit deeper into allowable stress later on)
-- cross-sectional area of the member
-- the material of which the member is made Diameter of the circular portion of bar BC is r  20mm, so its cross - sectional area is
A  πr 2    (10 10 3 m) 2  314 10 6 m 2
 Stress: force per unit area, i.e., intensity of force
distributed over the cross section
The normal stress acting in bar BC is
 Here, we consider a cross section that is FBC 50 103 N
perpendicular to the bar axis  BC    159 MPa
A 314  10 6 m 2
F
 (2)
A Inasmuch as  BC   all , the circular poriton of bar BC will NOT fail under the loading conditions
  0 (tensile stress)
 But note that a more thorough analysis is needed to ascertain safety of the
  0 (compressive stress) structure (we will come back to this later on)
15 16
F is in N, A in m and  in Pa
2

Normal stress Normal stress

Circular bar BC is an axially loaded member of a structure, i.e., the resultant FBC acts through the centroid C When the normal stress is not uniformly distributed over the cross section, we should define
of the cross section. And therefore we may assume the stress to be UNIFORMLY distributed
normal stress in the following manner.
over the cross - section penpendicular to the bar axis.

However, in a lot of cases, the normal stress may not be uniformly distributed For determination of the normal stress at point Q, we isolate a small area A. The force
over the cross section. The stress distributed over the cross section of the curved member distributed over this small area is ΔF , which may be taken to be roughly uniform. And so
is absolutely NOT uniform due to the presence of the bending moment.
ΔF
the normal stress acting on ΔA is .
ΔA

When the small area contracts and approaches zero as a point,

we may get the normal stress acting at point Q as
ΔF
σ  lim (3)
ΔA0 ΔA

17 18
 Shear stress Shear stress
 Axially loaded members: forces P and P’ are parallel to the axis. To maintain equilibrium of the left portion, we know that there must be
And the resultant of the internal force will be perpendicular to a resultant force P acting parallel to the cross - section (area A).
the axis
 When P and P’ are perpendicular to the bar axis and are very These elementary internal forces (and their resultant) are called shear
close to each other, the resultant of the internal force acting on forces.
the cross section C is parallel to the cross section
The average shear force acting on the cross section is defined as
P
 avg  (4)
A

 Note that the distribution of the shear stress (and shear forces) cannot be
assumed to be uniform (as opposed to the internal forces of axially loaded
members)
19 20

Shear stress Shear stress

Double shear :
P F /2 F
P F  avg   
 avg   A A 2A
A A
21 22

Bearing stress Analysis of a simple structure

 Connections like pins, bolts are • We would like to determine
used extensively the stresses in the members
 These connections and and connections of the
members that are connected
by them are subjected to structure shown.
bearing stresses
 Distribution of bearing stresses • From a statics analysis:
are very complex FAB = 40 kN (compression)
 So we make approximation as
follows FBC = 50 kN (tension)
P P
b   (5) • We must consider
A td
d : diameter of connection maximum normal stresses
t : thickness of plate
in AB and BC, and the
shearing stress and bearing
stress at each pinned
t  d represents the projection of the connection on the plate section 23
connection
24
 Analysis of a simple structure: Analysis of a simple structure:
normal stresses normal stresses
Previously, we TENTATIVELY concluded that the circular part of bar BC was OK. But we For the rectangular member AB, the cross - sectional area of its central portion is
have not checked whether the flat parts (at both ends) are all right or not. AAB  30mm  50mm  1.5 10 3 m 2

At section 1 - 1, there exists a hole and so the cross section is reduced The normal stress is
ABC @11  (20mm)  (40mm  25mm)  300 10 6 m 2 F  40kN
σ AB  AB   26.7 MPa   all
P 50 103 N AAB 1.5 10 3 m 2
So, σ BC@1-1    167 MPa   all
A 300 10 6 m 2
Therefore, bar BC will fail in the vicinity of the hole (even though its central circular
Usually, compressive stresses are not as detrimental as tensile stresses.
portion is Okay)
 The above calculation seems to show that the narrowest part of bar BC is
only marginally unsafe. Nonetheless, we have to note that stress Note that the sections of minimum area at A and B are NOT under stress, because
concentration does exist around the hole and so the stresses near the hole AB is in compression and so it pushes on the pins (instead of pulling the pins as BC
are further amplified 25 does). 26

Analysis of a simple structure: Analysis of a simple structure:

shear stresses shear stresses
The next step is to check if the connections will fail. Pin A is in double shear (sections D - D' and E - E' ), the average
The pins at A, B and C are subjected to shearing. shear stresses acting on sections D - D' are E - E' can be calculated as
P 20kN 20kN
 avg     40.7 MPa
Pin C is in single shear (section D - D' ), the average AD  D ' (or AE-E' )  ( 25mm ) 2 491 10 6 m 2
2
shear stress acting on section D - D' is
P 50kN 50kN
 avg     102 MPa
AD  D '  ( 25mm ) 2 49110 6 m 2
2

27 28

Analysis of a simple structure: Analysis of a simple structure:

shear stresses shear stresses
The pin at B may be divided into five protions, which are
acted on by forces exerted by AB, BC and the bracket.
 Member BC (and AB in a similar manner) may also
be sheared along the cross-sections as indicated by
If we draw the free - body diagram, we see that the force acting the dashed lines
in section E is PE  15kN and the force acting in section G is  Check this out by yourself
PG  25kN . Hence, the largest shear stresses occur in sections Gand H
PG 25kN
 avg    50.9 MPa
A 49110 6 m 2

29 30
 Analysis of a simple structure:
bearing stresses Example 1
We have to heed that all the pins and plates are subjected to  The upper portion of link ABC is
bearing stresses. 3/8 inches in thickness and the
lower portions are each ¼ inch
thick. Epoxy is used to bond the
The bearing stress at A in member AB is upper and lower portions at B.
F
σ b  AB 
40kN
 53.3MPa The diameters of pins A and C
td (30mm)(25mm) are equal to 3/8 inches and ¼
inch, respectively. (a)
The bearing stress in the bracket at A is determine the shear stresses in
F 40kN pins A and C; (b) the largest
σ b  AB   32.0 MPa normal stress in link ABC; (c)
td (50mm)(25mm)
the average shear stress at the
bonded surfaces at B and (d)
The bearing stresses at other parts may be calculated in
31 the bearing stress at C 32
a similar fashion

Example 1 Example 1
Link ABC is a 2 - force memeber and so the direction of Because pin C is in double shear, its shear stress is equal to
1
the reaction force at A is strictly upward. FAC
375lb
C  2   7640 psi
AC 1
 (0.25in) 2
Taking moment about point D, we have 4
M D 0
As regards the largest normal stress acting in link ABC, it
 (500lb)(15in)  FAC (10in)  0
should occur at A (where the hole is present) as its
 FAC  750lb
cross - sectional area is the smallest
F 750lb
The shear stress acting at pin A is thus easily calculated to be  A  AC   2290 psi
Anet @ A ( 3 in)(1.25in  0.375in)
FAC 750lb 8
A    6790 psi
AA 1
 (0.375in) 2
4 At B, both surfaces are bonded and so the shear force
acting on each of the surfaces is FB  750lb / 2  375lb
FB 375lb
33 So,  B    171.4 psi 34
AB 91.25in)(1.75in)

Example 1 Example 2
The nominal bearing area at C is (0.25in)(0.25in)  0.0625in 2
 The steel tie bar shown is
designed to carry a tension
375lb
 b@C 
0.0625in 2
 6000 psi force P=120kN when it is
bolted between the double
brackets at A and B. The bar is
of thickness 20mm. The
allowable stresses for this type
of steel are: σall=175MPa,
τall=100MPa and σb_all=350MPa.
Determine the diameter of the
bolt, and dimensions b and h of
35
the bar 36
 Example 2 Example 2
We first analyse the part of the bar where a hole is present.
The bolt is in double shear and so the shear stress acting
The tensile stress must not exceed σ all .
in the bolt is 1
P
F1 60kN 60kN
   all  2  175MPa 
1 2 1 2 ta a(0.02m)
πd πd  a  17.14mm
4 4
60kN Since b  d  2a  28mm  2(17.14mm)  62.3mm
Setting  as  all  100MPa, we get 100MPa 
1 2
πd The height of the bar h may be determined in a similar
4
 d  28mm manner
P 120kN
The bolt is also acted on by bearing stress. We therefore should  all   175MPa 
th (0.020m)h
check if the bolt of diameter d  28mm will be crushed to damage  h  34.3mm
P 120kN
σ b_bolt    214 MPa   b _ all (OK) 37 38
td (0.020m)(0,028m)

Design consideration: ultimate Design consideration: Allowable

strength of a material load and allowable stress
 Ultimate load is the largest force (PU) reached  The load that a structure is allowed to carry is
in a uniaxial tensile test usually much LOWER than the ultimate load
 Going over the ultimate load and the material of the constituent material of the structure
will either break or become less capable of  The lower load is called allowable load
carrying loads  The ‘unused’ fraction of the load- carrying
 The ultimate stress is defined as capacity of the structure is kept in reserve to
σU=PU/A ensure its safe operation
 The ultimate shear load may also be
determined experimentally
39 40

Design consideration: factor of How to select an appropriate

safety FS?
Factor of safety (FS) 
Ultimate load
Allowable load
(6)  FS too small: the risk of failure increases (may
Factor of safety (FS) 
Ultimate stress
(7)
not be allowable if failure may result in loss of
Allowable stress
life)
When the relationship between the load and the stress is linear
 FS too big: uneconomical, clumsy design
the two defintions of FS are identical.
(structure may even be un-functional)
But linear relationship does not exist as the load approaches its ultimate
value in most engineering applications. And Eq.(7) does NOT yield a true
 As a would-be engineer, you will have to
assessment of the safety of a given design. make judicious decisions in the future
The above being said, we have to note that ALLOWABLE - STRESS
METHOD OF DESIGN utilising Eq.(7) IS WIDELY USED IN PRACTICE. 41 42
 How to select an appropriate
FS? Example 3
 The following are factors (usually beyond your control) that  (a)Rod AB is made of a steel
may affect your decision in selecting an appropriate FS having an ultimate normal
stress of 600MPa. Determine
---Properties of the structure: composition, dimensions, loading the diameter of the rod for
history etc. which the factor of safety is
3.3.
---Number and nature of loadings that the structure may
 (b) the pin at C is made of a
experience during its lifespan steel having an ultimate shear
---The mode of failure: brittle or ductile. Loss of stability may stress of 350MPa. Find the
diameter of the pin if the FS
be without warning and a large FS may be needed when is 3.3.
loss of stability is a potential threat  Determine the required
thickness of support at C of
--- Uncertainty due to methods of analysis the bracket BCD if the
--- There is no guarantee that a structure may get sufficient allowable bearing stress of
the steel used to make the
maintenance in the future 43
bracket is 300MPa 44

Example 3 Example 3
Analysis of the equilibrium of the entire bracket yields
M C  0 : P(0.6m)  (50kN )(0.3m)  (15kN )(0.6m)  0 The FS of the pin at C is 3.3, so
 P  40kN τ 350 MPa
τ all  U   106.1MPa
F x  0 : C x  P  40kN FS 3.3
F y  0 : C y  65kN
The resultant of the reaction at C is
Noting that the pin is in double shear,
C  C x2  C y2  76.3kN
we have
σU 600MPa
For rod AB : σ all    181.8MPa C/ 2 (76.3kN ) / 2
FS 3.3
Areq _ C    360mm 2
τ all 106.1MPa
Because P  40kN, the cross - sectional area required is
P 40kN
Areq _ AB    220 10 6 m 2
 all 181.8MPa
4 Areq 4  360mm 2
 Areq _ AB 
 2
d AB  220 10 6 m 2  d AB  16.74mm 45 From Areq_C , we get d C    22mm 46
4  

Example 3 Example 4
 A rigid beam BCD is attached by
Using d C  22mm, the nominal bearing area of each bracket is 22  t. bolts to a control rod at B, to a
Inasmuch as th force sustained by each bracket is C/ 2 and the allowable hydraulic cylinder at C and to a fixed
support at D. Diameters of the bolts
bearing stress is 300MPa, we write are: dB=dD=3/8in, dC=1/2in. Each
bolt is in double shear and is made
C/ 2 (76.3kN ) / 2 of a steel whose ultimate shear
Areq _ Bracket    127.2mm 2
σ all 300 MPa stress is τU=40ksi. The control rod
have a diameter of dA=7/16in and is
made of a steel for which the
Hence, 22  t  127.2  t  6mm ultimate tensile stress is σU=60ksi.
Find the largest force that may be
exerted by the hydraulic cylinder at
C if a safety factor of 3 is used for
the entire setup.
47 48
 Example 4 Example 4
We have to examine the rod and each of the three bolts. The allowable shear stress of the bolt at B is calculated to be
U 40ksi
Firstly, we express the force exerted by the hydraulic cylinder  all    13.33ksi
FS 3
in terms of reactions at B and D.
M D  0 : B(14in)  C (8in)  0 The allowable force B that can be exerted on the bolt is
 C  1.75B (A) 1 3
B  2 F1  2( all A)  2(13.33ksi)  ( in) 2  2.94kips
M B  0 :  D(14in)  C (6in)  0 4 8
 C  2.33D (B) From Eq.(A), C  1.75B  1.75(2.94kips)  5.15kips
The allowable stress of the control rob is :
σ 60ksi Referring to the schematic, the allowable force D is the same as B
σ all  U   20ksi
FS 3 and is equal to 2.94kips
The allowable force in the rod is : From Eq.(B), C  2.33D  2.33(2.94kips)  6.85kips
1 7
B  σ all A  (20ksi)  ( in) 2  3.01kips
4 16
According to Eq.(A), the permitted value of C is then equal to
49 50
C  1.75B  1.75(3.01kips)5.27kips

Example 4
The bolt at C has an allowable shear stress  all  13.33ksi
1 1
C  2 F2  2 all A  2(13.33ksi)  ( in) 2  5.23kips
4 2

Among the four values of C, we pick the smallest one, i.e.,

C  5.15kips

51