Strength of materials

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Strength of materials, also called mechanics of materials, is a subject which de
als with the behavior of solid objects subject to stresses and strains. The comp
lete theory began with the consideration of the behavior of one and two dimensio
nal members of structures, whose states of stress can be approximated as two dim
ensional, and was then generalized to three dimensions to develop a more complet
e theory of the elastic and plastic behavior of materials. An important founding
pioneer in mechanics of materials was Stephen Timoshenko.
The study of strength of materials often refers to various methods of calculatin
g the stresses and strains in structural members, such as beams, columns, and sh
afts. The methods employed to predict the response of a structure under loading
and its susceptibility to various failure modes takes into account the propertie
s of the materials such as its yield strength, ultimate strength, Young's modulu
s, and Poisson's ratio; in addition the mechanical element's macroscopic propert
ies (geometric properties), such as its length, width, thickness, boundary const
raints and abrupt changes in geometry such as holes are considered.
Contents [hide]
1
Definition
1.1
Types of loadings
1.2
Stress terms
1.3
Strength terms
1.4
Strain (deformation) terms
1.5
Stress strain relations
2
Design terms
2.1
Failure theories
3
See also
4
References
5
Further reading
6
External links
Definition[edit]
In materials science, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an
applied load without failure or plastic deformation. The field of strength of ma
terials deals with forces and deformations that result from their acting on a ma
terial. A load applied to a mechanical member will induce internal forces within
the member called stresses when those forces are expressed on a unit basis. The
stresses acting on the material cause deformation of the material in various ma
nners. Deformation of the material is called strain when those deformations too
are placed on a unit basis. The applied loads may be axial (tensile or compressi
ve), or rotational (strength shear). The stresses and strains that develop withi
n a mechanical member must be calculated in order to assess the load capacity of
that member. This requires a complete description of the geometry of the member
, its constraints, the loads applied to the member and the properties of the mat
erial of which the member is composed. With a complete description of the loadin
g and the geometry of the member, the state of stress and of state of strain at
any point within the member can be calculated. Once the state of stress and stra
in within the member is known, the strength (load carrying capacity) of that mem
ber, its deformations (stiffness qualities), and its stability (ability to maint
ain its original configuration) can be calculated. The calculated stresses may t
hen be compared to some measure of the strength of the member such as its materi
al yield or ultimate strength. The calculated deflection of the member may be co
mpared to a deflection criteria that is based on the member's use. The calculate
d buckling load of the member may be compared to the applied load. The calculate
d stiffness and mass distribution of the member may be used to calculate the mem
ber's dynamic response and then compared to the acoustic environment in which it
will be used.
Material strength refers to the point on the engineering stress strain curve (yiel
d stress) beyond which the material experiences deformations that will not be co
mpletely reversed upon removal of the loading and as a result the member will ha

ve a permanent deflection. The ultimate strength refers to the point on the engi
neering stress strain curve corresponding to the stress that produces fracture.
Types of loadings[edit]
Transverse loading - Forces applied perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a
member. Transverse loading causes the member to bend and deflect from its origin
al position, with internal tensile and compressive strains accompanying the chan
ge in curvature of the member.[1] Transverse loading also induces shear forces t
hat cause shear deformation of the material and increase the transverse deflecti
on of the member.
Axial loading - The applied forces are collinear with the longitudinal axis of t
he member. The forces cause the member to either stretch or shorten.[2]
Torsional loading - Twisting action caused by a pair of externally applied equal
and oppositely directed force couples acting on parallel planes or by a single
external couple applied to a member that has one end fixed against rotation.
Stress terms[edit]
A material being loaded in a) compression, b) tension, c) shear.
Uniaxial stress is expressed by
{\displaystyle \sigma ={\frac {F}{A}}} \sigma ={\frac {F}{A}}
where F is the force [N] acting on an area A [m2].[3] The area can be the undefo
rmed area or the deformed area, depending on whether engineering stress or true
stress is of interest.
Compressive stress (or compression) is the stress state caused by an applied loa
d that acts to reduce the length of the material (compression member) along the
axis of the applied load, it is in other words a stress state that causes a sque
ezing of the material. A simple case of compression is the uniaxial compression
induced by the action of opposite, pushing forces. Compressive strength for mate
rials is generally higher than their tensile strength. However, structures loade
d in compression are subject to additional failure modes, such as buckling, that
are dependent on the member's geometry.
Tensile stress is the stress state caused by an applied load that tends to elong
ate the material along the axis of the applied load, in other words the stress c
aused by pulling the material. The strength of structures of equal cross section
al area loaded in tension is independent of shape of the cross section. Material
s loaded in tension are susceptible to stress concentrations such as material de
fects or abrupt changes in geometry. However, materials exhibiting ductile behav
ior (most metals for example) can tolerate some defects while brittle materials
(such as ceramics) can fail well below their ultimate material strength.
Shear stress is the stress state caused by the combined energy of a pair of oppo
sing forces acting along parallel lines of action through the material, in other
words the stress caused by faces of the material sliding relative to one anothe
r. An example is cutting paper with scissors[4] or stresses due to torsional loa
ding.
Strength terms[edit]
Mechanical properties of materials include the yield strength, tensile strength,
fatigue strength, crack resistance, and other characteristics.[5]
Yield strength is the lowest stress that produces a permanent deformation in a m
aterial. In some materials, like aluminium alloys, the point of yielding is diff
icult to identify, thus it is usually defined as the stress required to cause 0.
2% plastic strain. This is called a 0.2% proof stress.[6]
Compressive strength is a limit state of compressive stress that leads to failur
e in a material in the manner of ductile failure (infinite theoretical yield) or
brittle failure (rupture as the result of crack propagation, or sliding along a
weak plane - see shear strength).
Tensile strength or ultimate tensile strength is a limit state of tensile stress
that leads to tensile failure in the manner of ductile failure (yield as the fi
rst stage of that failure, some hardening in the second stage and breakage after
a possible "neck" formation) or brittle failure (sudden breaking in two or more
pieces at a low stress state). Tensile strength can be quoted as either true st
ress or engineering stress, but engineering stress is the most commonly used.

Fatigue strength is a measure of the strength of a material or a component under

cyclic loading,[7] and is usually more difficult to assess than the static stre
ngth measures. Fatigue strength is quoted as stress amplitude or stress range (
{\displaystyle \Delta \sigma =\sigma _{\mathrm {max} }-\sigma _{\mathrm {min} }}
\Delta\sigma= \sigma_\mathrm{max} - \sigma_\mathrm{min}), usually at zero mean
stress, along with the number of cycles to failure under that condition of stres
s.
Impact strength, is the capability of the material to withstand a suddenly appli
ed load and is expressed in terms of energy. Often measured with the Izod impact
strength test or Charpy impact test, both of which measure the impact energy re
quired to fracture a sample. Volume, modulus of elasticity, distribution of forc
es, and yield strength affect the impact strength of a material. In order for a
material or object to have a high impact strength the stresses must be distribut
ed evenly throughout the object. It also must have a large volume with a low mod
ulus of elasticity and a high material yield strength.[8]
Strain (deformation) terms[edit]
Deformation of the material is the change in geometry created when stress is app
lied (as a result of applied forces, gravitational fields, accelerations, therma
l expansion, etc.). Deformation is expressed by the displacement field of the ma
terial.[9]
Strain or reduced deformation is a mathematical term that expresses the trend of
the deformation change among the material field. Strain is the deformation per
unit length.[10] In the case of uniaxial loading the displacements of a specimen
(for example a bar element) lead to a calculation of strain expressed as the qu
otient of the displacement and the original length of the specimen. For 3D displ
acement fields it is expressed as derivatives of displacement functions in terms
of a second order tensor (with 6 independent elements).
Deflection is a term to describe the magnitude to which a structural element is
displaced when subject to an applied load.[11]