STRENGTH OF MATERIALS

Mechanics of Materials is the foundation for all structural and machine designs.

External Forces Internal Forces

Elongation Deformation

I. History

II. Ferris Wheel

Hefty observation wheels could sink into the ground under their own weight, or fall over if not
properly supported. So engineers use two opposite forces: compression and tension. Giant A-frames
under the axis, or hub, support the wheel's weight. The A-frame legs rest on a compression base.
Compression is a force that pushes against a material and threatens to buckle it. In this case, the
wheel's weight pushes down to put the base under compression.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

If forces acted in only one direction, a giant wheel could become a giant flop. Engineers offset
compression by attaching Stay cables from the wheel's hub to another base on the ground. These
cables create tension-a force that pulls and stretches--that tugs up from the ground. The opposite
forces of compression and tension balance each other out, so the wheel stays in place.

III. Roller Coaster

Most of the actual design and layout of a roller coaster is done on a computer. The height of the first
incline must be calculated to give the cars enough energy to propel them all the way through the
ride and back to the station. The horizontal and vertical forces that the loaded cars exert on the
track must be calculated at every point to ensure that the support structure is adequate. Likewise,
the forces exerted on the passengers must be calculated at every point. These forces are usually
expressed as "g's," which are multiples of the force that gravity exerts on our bodies. For example, if
a person weighs 100 lb (45.5 kg), then a 2 g force would exert 200 lb (91 kg) of force on that person.
Coasters in the United States generally exert no more than about 3.5 g's, which is the limit that most
people find tolerable. Three coasters outside the United States exert more than 6.5 g's and are
considered ultra-extreme. Jet fighter pilots black out at about 10 g's.
Because each coaster usually incorporates one or more new and untried features, a working
prototype of the new features may be built for testing and evaluation. The prototype is erected at
the manufacturer's facility, and weighted test cars outfitted with instrumentation are propelled
through the test section at the desired speed. Based on these tests, the designers may alter their
original design before building the final product.
When the calculations, design, and testing are complete, a computer-aided drafting (CAD) program
is used to prepare detailed drawings for each of the thousands of parts that will be used to build the
new coaster.
 As better technology became available, engineers began to use computerized design tools to
calculate the forces and stresses that the ride would subject passengers to. Computers are now used
to design safe coasters with specially designed restraints and lightweight and durable materials.
Today, tubular steel tracks and polyurethane wheels allow coasters to travel over 100 miles per hour
(160 km/h), while even taller, faster, and more complex roller coasters continue to be built.

steel is widely-used for its strength, but it must also meet certain requirements for stiffness,
depending on the end product it is used to make. A material can have high strength and low
stiffness. If a metal cracks easily, it has low strength, but if it has low stiffness, it can deflect a high
load. All steel has approximately the same stiffness, but comes in many different strengths
depending on the alloying metals used

Tubular roller coaster track is typically formed by heating and then permanently bending steel pipe
into the desired shape. However, this process can cause significant fatigue in the material of the
pipe. The roller coaster track needs to support static loads during construction and installation and
dynamic loads as a coaster train travels along it. During the lifetime of the roller coaster, the stresses
due to the aforementioned loads along with the initial manufacturing stress results in the pipe
needing to be replaced- a very costly endeavor….

Read more: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Roller-Coaster.html#ixzz57Hj4WnKi

IV. Drop Tower

V. Vikings (Pirate Ride)

Water parks
Water parks around the world employ many different types of engineers, for a
multitude of purposes.

 Computer engineers are needed to calculate everything from mass and friction to rider spacing
and curve sizes for optimal safety and fun.

 Design engineers plan the layout and aesthetics at a water park, from landscaping and
hardscaping, as well as building facades, fences, artificial rocks, paintings and murals–
everything that hides the mechanical aspects and makes them look great.

 Industrial and structural engineers are in charge of using gravity, waterflow and velocity in the
best combinations to reduce friction and overcome air resistance and inertia.
 Civil engineers are employed to apply physics principles to make water slides fast and fun,
while maintaining structural integrity and safety.

Stress
So how much force and object can handle is obviously pretty important
but we need a bit more knowledge to make important decisions. So this
is where the idea of stress comes in. Stress is the force a material
experiences divided by the area over which its acting. If you think about
it, stress describes force per size. If I am designing a component, stress
lets me figure out how big that component has to be to handle the force
acting on it.

Strain
When an object experiences a force or stress, it stretches. Strain is how
much difference there is in length between the original
component/material and what it is in when you apply things like forces
and temperature.