STRENGTH OF MATERIALS

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 Aims and Objectives
• To provide knowledge on the concept
of loads, stress and strain that occur in
materials.
• To impart knowledge on the analysis of
plane stress and strain.

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 Learning outcomes
• Analyze and design structural members
subjected to tension, compression, torsion,
bending and combined stresses using the
fundamental concepts of stress, strain and
elastic behavior of materials.
• Utilize appropriate materials in design
considering engineering properties,
sustainability, cost and weight.
• Perform engineering work in accordance
with ethical and economic constraints
related to the design of structures and 3
 Introduction to the course
• The reliability of products/engineering equipment is
guaranteed when strength, stiffness, stability and
durability are taken in mind
• The economy of the production depends on the
material’s expenditure, on the new technology
introduction and on the cheaper materials
application.
• It is obvious that the reliability and the economy are
opposite requirements. Because of that, the Strength
of Materials relies on the experience as well as the
theory and is a science in development.
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 Basic concepts
• Strength is the ability of the
material/product/equipment/structure to resist the
influence of the external forces acting upon it
• Stiffness is the ability of the material to resist the
strains caused by the external forces acting upon it.
• Stability is the property of the material/structure to
keep its initial position of equilibrium.
• Durability is the property of the structure to save its
strength, stiffness and stability during the
exploitation time.

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 Why study strength of materials?
• Engineers study strength of materials in order
to design products/machine/sub-a
assembly/structures which are safe for human
use
• The subject of strength of materials is
important to both civil, mechanical and
industrial engineers

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 Main hypothesis of strength of materials
• Material continuity - The material is uniformly
distributed in a whole body volume.
• Material homogeneity - All points of the body
have the same material properties.
• Material isotropy- The material properties are
the same in each direction of a body.
• Deformability of the body - Strength of
Materials studies the bodies possessing the
ability to deform, i.e. the ability to change its
initial shape and dimensions under the action 7
of external forces.
• Elasticity- Elasticity is the ability of the body
to restore its initial shape and dimensions
when the acting forces have been removed.

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• Local equilibrium: If the body is in
equilibrium, then, each part of the body is
also in equilibrium.
• Statical action of the forces: The magnitude
of the applied external forces increases
gradually from zero to the final value.
• Initial and final position of equilibrium:

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 Principle of hardening
• A body has a definite shape and dimensions before
loading.

• The same body has the definite shape and

dimensions after loading, again, but they are
different than the first ones.

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• Rigid body – a body consisting of particles the
distances between which do not change
• Deformable body – a body consisting of particles the
distances between which change.
• A deformable body is a rigid one only to the definite
loading.

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Loading in Materials: External Loads

• External loads can be Reaction Loads or

Applied Loads!
• Must solve for all unknown external loads
(reaction loads) so that internal loads can
be solved for!
• Internal loads produce stress, strain,
deformation
Tension Compression Shear

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 Stresses produced on loaded materials
• Tensile loading produce tensile stress
• Compressive load produces compressive
stress
• Shear loading cause shear stress
• Stress Loads applied on a material which are
distributed over a surface.
• For example, the point load shown in the
following figure might actually be a uniformly
distributed load that has been replaced by its
equivalent point load. 14
 Another definition of stress

• Stress is the load applied per unit area

of the surface it is applied on.
• Normal stress is the stress normal to a
surface and is denoted by the symbol
P
"σ" (sigma). In the above figure the
normal stress is uniform over the A


surface of the bar and is given by:

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 Normal Stress Equation

P
 =
A
Where:
P is the normal load &
A is the area

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 Shear stress
• Shear stress is the stress tangent to a surface
• For shear stress  (tau) that results in the shear load
V is uniformly distributed over the surface, then the
shear stress can be calculated by dividing the shear
force by the area it is applied on
A


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 V
=
•
A
Where V is the shear load and A is the area
• The units of stress are the units of load divided by
the units of area.
• In the SI system the unit of stress is "Pa"and in the
U.S. system it is "Psi". Pa and Psi are related to the
basic units through following relations:
1 N
1 Pa = 10 6 Pa = 1 MPa
1 m2
1 lb
1 Psi = 10 3 Psi = 1 Ksi
1 in 2
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• Basic modes of deformation of a material are:

• Extension,
• Contraction &
• shearing

Extension Contraction Shearing

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• Strain represent the distortion of a body.
• Strain is the geometrical expression of deformation
caused by the action of stress on a physical body.
• Axial strain (normal strain) in a bar is a measure of
the extension of a bar per unit length of the bar
before deformation.
• The following figure shows a bar of initial length “lo”
that is extended by the application of a load to the
length “l”.

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Representation of strain
lo

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• The axial strain, denoted by  (epsilon), in a
homogeneously deforming bar is calculated by
dividing the amount the bar extends by its initial
length.
• A positive axial strain represents extension and a
negative axial strain represents a contraction. Strain
has no units since it is one length divided by another
length.

• Shear strain, denoted by “” (gamma), is a measure

of how the angle between orthogonal lines drawn on
an un-deformed body changes with deformation.
• In the following figure the square has been sheared
into a parallelogram. 22
Shear Strain
u



h 1
 

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• Shear strain is calculated form the following
equation
u
 =
h

• OR  = tan( ) =
u
h

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 Stress strain diagram

• Diagram of how stress is changing in the

sample as a function of the strain for the given
loading.
• A typical stress-strain diagram for a mild steel
is shown below

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 Mild Steel Stress-Strain Curve
Stress, 

Ultimate stress,  u

Yield stress,  y

Strain, 
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 The different regions of the area response
denoted by their characteristics as follows
Stress, 

Ultimate stress,  u

Yield stress,  y

4 5
3
2
1

Strain, 
1. Linear elastic: region of proportional elastic loading
2. Nonlinear elastic: up to yield
3. Perfect plasticity: plastic flow at constant load
4. Strain hardening: plastic flow with the increase of stress
5. Necking: localization of deformation and rupture
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 Brittle versus Ductile behavior
• Brittle materials fail at small strains and in tension.
Examples of such materials are glass, cast iron, and
ceramics. Ductile materials fail at large strains and in
shear. Examples of ductile materials are mild steel,
aluminum and rubber.
• Brittle materials fail at small strains and in tension.
Examples of such materials are glass, cast iron, and
ceramics. Ductile materials fail at large strains and in
shear. Examples of ductile materials are mild steel,
aluminum and rubber.

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• After loading beyond the yield point, the material no
longer unloads along the loading path. There is a
permanent stretch in the sample after unloading.
• As shown in the figure, the unloading path is parallel
to the initial linear elastic loading path.
• Most plastics when loaded continue to deform over
time even without increasing the load. This
continues extension under constant load referred to
as creep.
• If held at constant strain, the load required to hold
the strain decreases with time. 29
 Bearing Stress:
• Bearing stress is not a fundamental type of stress,
however, it is a useful concept for the design of
connections in which one part pushes against
another.
• The compressive load divided by a characteristic area
perpendicular to it yields the bearing stress which is
denoted by “σb“.
• Therefore, in form, the bearing stress is no different
from the compressive axial stress and is given by
F
b =
A 30
• Where: F is the compressive load and
• A is a characteristic area perpendicular to it.
• For example, if two plates are connected by a bolt or
rivet as shown, each plate pushes against the side of
the bolt with load F. It is not clear what the contact
area between the bolt and the plate is since it
depends on the size of the bolt and the shape of the
deformation that results.

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F
F d
t F
t

F
F F

p
Cylindrical bolt or rivet
F
t F
t
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• Also, the distribution of the load on the bolt varies from
point to point, but as a first approximation one can use
the shown rectangle of area (A=td) to get a
representative bearing stress for the bolt as

F
b =
td

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