1

Chapter 04

Axial Load
Mechanics of Materials 1
 Saint-Venant’s Principle
2

 The localized deformation that occurs at each end tends to even

out and become uniform throughout the midsection of the bar
 If the material remains elastic, then the strains caused by this
deformation are directly related to the stress in the bar
 The stress will be distributed more uniformly throughout the cross-
sectional area when the section is taken farther and farther from
the point where any external load is applied
 The distance of section c – c should at least be equal to the
largest dimension of the loaded cross section
 Saint-Venant’s Principle
3

 The fact that stress and deformation behave in this manner is referred
to as Saint-Venant’s principle ,
 French scientist Barré de Saint-Venant in 1855
“Stress and strain produced at points in a body sufficiently removed from the
region of load application will be the same as the stress and strain produced
by any applied loadings that have the same statically equivalent resultant,
and are applied to the body within the same region”

"... the difference between the effects of two different but statically equivalent
loads becomes very small at sufficiently large distances from load“
(Wikipedia)
 Elastic Deformation of an Axially Loaded
Member
4

 To find the relative displacement d (delta) of one end of the bar with
respect to the other end
 We will neglect the localized deformations that occur at points of
concentrated loading and where the cross section suddenly changes.
 From Saint-Venant’s principle, these effects occur within small regions of the
bar’s length and will therefore have only a slight effect on the final result.
 For the most part, the bar will deform uniformly, so the normal stress will be
uniformly distributed over the cross section.
 Elastic Deformation of an Axially Loaded
Member
5

 The stress and strain are

 Provided the stress is within proportional

limit

 For the entire length L of the bar

 Axially Loaded Member (Constant P & A)
6

 If the bar is subjected to several different axial forces along

its length, or the cross-sectional area or modulus of elasticity
changes abruptly from one region of the bar to the next
 The above equation can be applied to each segment of the bar where
these quantities remain constant.
 The displacement of one end of the bar with respect to the
other is
 Sign Convention
7

 Positive for tension

 Negative for compression
 Example 4-1
8
 Problem 4-9
9
 Problem 4-13
10
 Problem 4-21
11
 Principle of superposition
12

The resultant stress or displacement at the point can be determined

by algebraically summing the stress or displacement caused by each
load component applied separately to the member.
 Assumptions

 The loading must be linearly related to the stress or displacement that is

to be determined
 The loading must not significantly change the original geometry or
configuration of the member.
 Statically Indeterminate Axially Loaded Member
13

 When equilibrium equation(s) are not sufficient to determine

the unknowns

 An additional equation is necessary

 An equation that specifies the conditions for displacement is
referred to as a compatibility or kinematic condition.
 What equation can be made in this case?
 Example 4-6
14
 The Force Method of Analysis for Axially Loaded
Members
15

 Flexibility or force method of analysis

 Statically indeterminate problems are solved by writing the compatibility equation using
the principle of superposition
 Example 4-8
16
 Problem 4-40
17
 Problem 4-44
18
 Problem 4-47
19
 Problem 4-54
20
 Problem 4-61(Self Study)
21
 Problem 4-64
22
 Thermal Stresses
23

 If the material is homogeneous and isotropic, the dimension

changes linearly with the change in temperature

a = Linear coefficient of thermal expansion

 Statically determinate
 Change in length can be calculated using above eq.
 Statically Indeterminate
 Thermal displacements will be constrained by the supports, thereby
producing thermal stresses.
 Determining these thermal stresses is possible using the methods of
superposition
 Example 4-10
24
 Problem 4-78
25
 Problem 4-84
26
 Stress concentration
27

 when an axial force is applied

to a member, it creates a
complex stress distribution
within the localized region of
the point of load application.
 Stress concentration
28

 Magnitude of resultant force

 This force is the area under the curve and

passes through the centroid
 In engineering practice, the actual stress
distributions do not have to be determined.
 Instead, only the maximum stress at these
sections must be known, and the member is
then designed to resist this stress when the
axial load P is applied.
 Stress concentration
29

 Specific values of this maximum normal stress can be determined by

experimental methods or by advanced mathematical techniques using the
theory of elasticity.
 The results of these investigations are usually reported in graphical form
using a stress-concentration factor K (ratio of the maximum stress to the
average normal stress acting at the cross section)

 K depends only on the bar’s geometry and the type of discontinuity.

 Stress concentration
30
 Stress concentration
31
 Stress concentration
32
 Inelastic Axial Deformation
33

 Sometimes, a member may be

designed so that the loading causes the
material to yield and thereby
permanently deform
 Such members are often made from a
highly ductile metal
 elastic perfectly plastic or elastoplastic
 Inelastic Axial Deformation
34
 Example 4-12
35
 Problem 4-87
36
 Problem 4-96
37
 Problem 4-97
38
 Problem 4-108
39
40 End
Chapter 4