THEORY OF

FAILURE
By
Leoline
Nesamithra
I MTSE

Whenever any material is subjected

to an external loading, it deforms.
This deformation of a material can
be said to be its response against
the external loading. If the
external load increases then the
load also increases. A stage is
reached when the deformation,
which is still elastic at any instant,
is excessive or there is too much of
plastic deformation of the material
so that its permanent changes in
size and shape are unacceptable
for its further stage; or there is
complete fracture or separation of
the different parts of the material.
All these phases can be termed as
failure of the material.

DEFINITIO
N OF
FAILURE

YIELD CONDITIONS
The failure of the material may
occur in any of the following
conditions:
Maximum principal stress exceeds
the value yp
Maximum strain exceeds the value

yp /E

Total strain energy exceeds

yp2/2E x volume
Maximum shear stress exceeds
the value yp /2
Shear strain energy exceeds yp2 /
6N x volume

THEORY OF FAILURE
Basically the failure theories are
statements that postulate the
criteria of initiation of yielding or
the onset of plastic behavior
from the elastic response of the
material. The basic themes for
all such failure theories is that
whenever any physical quantity such as
stress, strain and energy stored per unit
volume of the material (the so called energy
density), exceeds a critical value, yielding of
the material initiates.

STRESS STRAIN CURVE

Consider a simple
tension test.

yp stress at yeild point

THEORIES
OF
FAILURE

Maximum principal stress

theory or Rankines theory

Maximum Principal strain

theory or St Venants theory

Maximum
strain
energy
theory or Haigs theory

Maximum
shear
stress
theory or Trescas theory

Maximum distortion energy

theory or Von Misess theory

GENERALIZATION OF THEORIES OF
FAILURE
Following are the important common features for all the theories.

In predicting failure, the limiting strength (yp) values obtained from

the uniaxial testing are used.
The failure theories have been formulated in terms of three
principal normal stresses (1, 2, 3) at a point. For any given
complex state of stress (x, y, z, xy, yz, zx), we can always find its
equivalent principal normal stresses (1, 2, 3). Thus the failure
theories in terms of principal normal stresses can predict the failure
due to any given state of stress.
The three principal normal stress components 1, 2, & 3, each
which can be comprised of positive (tensile), negative (compressive)
or zero value.
When the external loading is uniaxial, that is 1= a positive or
negative real value, 2= 3=0, then all failure theories predict the
same as that has been determined from regular tension/compression
test.

MAXIMUM PRINCIPAL STRESS

THEORY OR RANKINES THEORY

According to this theory, failure will occur if

maximum principal stress exceeds the value yp ,

the direct stress at elastic limit.

MAXIMUM PRINCIPAL
STRAIN THEORY OR ST
VENANTS THEORY
This Theory assumes that
failure occurs when the
maximum strain for a
complex state of stress
system becomes equals to
the strain at yield point in
the tensile test for the
three dimensional complex
state of stress system.
For a 3 - dimensional state
of stress system the total
strain energy Ut per unit
volume in equal to the total
work done by the system
and given by the equation

MAXIMUM STRAIN ENERGY

THEORY OR HAIGS THEORY
The theory assumes that the failure occurs when
the total strain energy for a complex state of
stress system is equal to that at the yield point a
tensile test. Therefore the failure criteria
becomes

Thank you