Tension and

Compression

M. F. Baidoo
01.06.2023
Stress and Strain
What is Stress?
• A body under the influence of an external force or load may undergo some
deformation.
• The body may resist deformation due to cohesive forces between its
molecules or atoms.
• The force of resistance per unit area offered by the body against
deformation is termed Stress
• Stress is a measure of the internal effects of external forces acting on a body.
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
• Mathematically , Stress =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
where P is the external force or load
A is the cross sectional area of the body
Units of Stress
𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛
• SI unit is = 𝑁Τ𝑚2
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎

• If the area is expressed in mm2, then the unit is 𝑁Τ𝑚𝑚2

Conversions: 1 𝑁Τ𝑚2 = 10−4 𝑁Τ𝑐𝑚2 = 10−6 𝑁Τ𝑚𝑚2

1 𝑁ൗ 2 = 1 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙 = 1𝑃𝑎
𝑚
Types of Stresses
• There are two types of stresses that a structure can experience.
 Normal Stresses
• There are two types of Normal stresses.
• Tensile Stress: Stress induced in a body when subjected to two equal and
opposite forces such that the body is stretched as shown in the figure 1a.

• Compressive Stress: Stress induced in a body when subjected to two equal and
opposite forces such that the body is compressed as shown in figure 1b.

Sign Convention: tensile stress are positive (+) whilst compressive are negative (-)
Shear Stress
• The stress induced in a body, when subjected to two equal and
opposite forced which are acting tangentially along the resisting
section such that the body shears off across the section. It is
represented by τ.
Normal Strain
• Defined as the elongation per unit length.
• It is a measure of the deformation produced in a body by a load.
• If a rod of length, L, is in tension and the stretch or elongation
produced is δ , then the normal strain, ε is defined at the ratio of the
elongation to the original length.
𝛿
• Mathematically, strain, ε = σ
𝑙𝑜
P

l
• It is dimensionless.
• If a body is in tension, the strain is termed tensile strain and when it is
in compression, it referred to a compressive strain.
Example 1
The rod in the Figure Q2 below is made up of two different materials
bonded firmly together. It is made of brass of diameter 4 cm and steel of
diameter 3 cm, and is subjected to an axial force, P of 20 kN. Take the
modulus of elasticity of brass to be 105 GPa and that of steel to be 200
GPa.
a. Draw a free body diagram of the rod components and
Determine
b. the stresses in each component
c. the deformation in each component
d. the total deformation in the rod Figure Q2
Example 2
A hollow circular nylon pipe shown in Figure Q3 supports a load PA 7800
N, which is uniformly distributed around a cap plate at the top of the
lower pipe. A second load PB is applied at the bottom. The inner and
outer diameters of the upper and lower parts of the pipe are d1 = 51 mm,
d2 = 60 mm, d3 = 57 mm, and d4 = 63 mm, respectively. The upper pipe
has a length L1 350 mm; the lower pipe length is L2 400 mm. Neglect
the self-weight of the pipes.
(a) Find PB so that the tensile stress in upper part is 14.5 MPa. What is the Figure Q3
resulting stress in the lower part?
(b) If PA remains unchanged, find the new value of PB so that upper and
lower parts have same tensile stress.
(c) Find the tensile strains in the upper and lower pipe segments for the
loads in part (b) if the elongation of the upper pipe segment is known to
be 3.56 mm and the downward displacement of the bottom of the pipe is
7.63 mm.
Application of Stress and Strain
The Stress-Strain Curve
• The mechanical behaviour of a material may be ascertained by
a simple stress-strain test, if the load is applied slowly and
uniformly over a cross-section area.
• The test are commonly conducted for materials at room
temperature.
• The stress is determined from the applied load and the strain is
calculated on the deformation produced.
• The stress is the plotted against the strain to generate the
stress-strain curve from which the mechanical properties can
be determined.
Tensile Tests

EL

Tensile test apparatus

Stress Strain Curve

Determination of the Elastic limit (special
cases)
Determination of Yield Strength from S-S curve
Ductile or Brittle %𝐸𝐿 =
𝑙𝑓 − 𝑙𝑜
× 100
𝑙𝑜

𝐴𝑜 − 𝐴𝑓
% 𝑅𝐴 = × 100
𝐴𝑜
 Modulus of Resilience
• It is determined from the area under the stress strain curve up to the elastic limit or
yield point. The proportional limit may also be used as show in the diagram.

𝑈𝑒𝑙 1 𝜎𝑒𝑙
𝑢𝑟 = = 𝜎𝑒𝑙 𝜀𝑒𝑙 =
𝑉 2 2𝐸
𝑈𝑦 1 𝜎𝑦
𝑢𝑟 = = 𝜎𝑦 𝜀𝑦 =
𝑉 2 2𝐸

Where ur is the modulus of resilience

All other symbols have their usual meaning.
The subscript el, may also be replaced with pl or
yp
• The unit is Nm/m3 or J/m3
 Modulus of Toughness
• It is determined from the area under the stress strain
curve up to the point of fracture or break point
𝜎𝑦 + 𝜎𝑡 1
𝑢𝑡 = ∙ 𝜀𝑢 − 𝜀𝑦
2 2

2
𝜎𝑦 + 𝜎𝑢 𝜎𝑦 + 𝜎𝑢 1
𝑢𝑡 = ∙ 𝜀𝑢 − ∙
2 2 2𝐸

Where ut is the modulus of toughness

εu is the ultimate strain but is taken as the total strain at failure
All other symbols have their usual meaning

• The unit is Nm/m3 or J/m3

Factor of Safety
• To avoid failure, the load a structure is capable of supporting must be
greater than the loads it will be subjected to when in service.
• The actual strength of a structure must exceed the required strength.
• The ratio of the actual strength to the required strength is called the factor
of safety, n.

Mathematically, factor of safety is given by

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑛=
𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

• Factor of safety should be greater than 1 if failure is to be avoided.

• Typically ranges between 1 to 10
Working or Allowable Stress/Strength
• Also known as the allowable stress.
• It is defined as a ratio of the ultimate strength to the factor of safety

𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ =
𝑛

• Typically for many structures, it is important for the materials to

remain in the linearly elastic range in order to prevent permanent
deformations when the loads are removed. The working stress can be
determined from the yield strength as follows

𝑌𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ =
𝑛
 Example 1: Stress-Strain Curve
The data shown in the table below were obtained from
a tensile test of high-strength steel. The test specimen
had a diameter of 13 mm and a gage length of 50 mm
(see figure below). At fracture, the elongation between
the gage marks was 3.0 mm and the minimum
diameter was 10.7 mm. Plot the engineering stress-
strain curve for the steel and determine the
proportional limit, modulus of elasticity, yield stress at
0.1% offset, ultimate stress, percent elongation in 50
mm, and percent reduction in area (ductility)
Try: Question 1
The steel rod shown Fig T1 is fixed to a wall at its left end. It has two
applied forces. The 3 kN force is applied at point B and the 1 kN force
is applied at point C. The area of the rod between A and B is 1000
mm2, and that between B and C is 500 mm2. Take E = 210 GPa,
Find:
a. the stress in each section of the rod
A B 3 kN C
b. the horizontal displacement at the points B and C. 1 kN

200 mm 200 mm
Fig. T1
Question 2
Consider the steel rod shown in Fig. T2. It is assumed that the rod is
built into the walls before the load is applied. Find:
a. the stress in each section of the rod
b. the horizontal displacement at the point B.
A B 3kN C

200mm 200mm
Fig. T2
Question 3
A tensile test is carried out on a bar of mild steel of diameter 2cm. The
bar yields under a load of 80kN. It reaches a maximum load of 150kN,
and finally breaks at a load of 70 kN. Find the following:
a. The stress at the yield point.
b. The ultimate or tensile strength
c. The average stress at the breaking point if the diameter of the
fractured neck is 1 cm.