Introduction to Stress-Strain

• We have seen that at any section cut, there exists a resultant Torque and a
Force vector acting through the centroid of the section.
• However, these are just imaginary quantities that simplify engineering
calculations for us.
• In reality, there are 3D stresses that exist at infinitely small points anywhere in
the body of interest.
 Axial Stresses
Let's focus our attention on a special case where shearing stresses are zero and only normal stress
exists in the direction of pulling/pushing external force:

•Axially Loaded Bar:

Our goal now is to develop a sound understanding of rods frequently used in forming trusses
and complex frameworks. These members only undergo either compression or tension. Hence
their study is crucial for structural engineers.

Above equations indicate that anywhere in the member, only sigma stress exists along the external
force direction. Also, for uniform stress profile, bending moments reduce to zero.
Determine the position x such that normal stress developed in rod is equal to
that present at support C. Rod area = 400mm^2. Support at C = 650 mm^2.
 Shear Stresses
•Average Shear Stresses:
There can be situations where purely in-plane stresses exist at a cross-section. These cases are
typically seen in Steel Connection Details where bolts and welds are used to connect member
parts. Shear stresses also develop due to bending moments and torsion, which will be
discussed in later sections.
• Shear Stresses can be computed as:

•V = Shear Force that exists at the cross-section.

•A= Cross-sectional Area

•It must be realized that for interior body points subjected to 'pure-shear', shear stresses exist only as couples, as
seen below. It can be shown that these stresses are equal in magnitude

• In other words, all four shear stresses must have equal magnitude and be directed either toward or away
from each other at opposite edges of the element. This state is also known as Pure Shear.
 Axial Strains
• Closely related with its stress counterpart, is the notion of Normal and Shearing Strains.

• Normal Strain at any point in the body can be defined as:

• Average Normal Strain ignores the limit concept and takes change in
whole length/Original Length:

• In this course, we will use the average normal strain for most applications.
 Shear Strains
• While, normal strains described stretching and compression of a line segment, shear strain describes angular
deformations:
• For any point in the body, shear strain can be defined as:

• In the cartesian coordinates system, we can use a 3D infinitesimally

small block to describe both the normal and shear deformations:
•For most concrete and steel members, we can safely assume that
both normal and shear strains are very small in the linear elastic
range such that: Sin(theta) = tan(theta) = theta. Cos(theta)=1