Chapter 6

Stress and
Strain
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this unit are to :

1. Distinguish elasticity of solid material from stressing and

straining the material.
2. Understand elasticity of solid material and application of
elasticity real life situation
 Stress

● Stress on the body is defined as magnitude of force dividing by

cross sectional area which the force acts

● Unit: Newton per meter square (N/m2) or Pascal (Pa)

● Compression force makes a body shorter

● Tensile force makes a body longer

Stress, σ = Force (N)

/ Area (m2)
 Strain

● The relative change in the size or shape of a body due to applied

stress is called strain

● Strain is defined as the extension per unit length

● Unit: dimensionless

Strain, ε = l – lo / lo
l = final length
lo = initial length
 Stress / Strain

Example01
A metal wire is 2.5 mm diameter and 2 m long. A force of 12 N is
applied to it and it stretches 0.3 mm. Assume the material is
elastic. Determine the following.

a) The stress in the wire 

b) The strain in the wire 

 Stress / Strain

Example01

Solution:

a) A = π d2 / 4 = π (2.5 x 10-3)2 / 4

= 4.91 x 10-6 m2

stress,  = force / area = 12 / 4.91 x 10-6

= 2.44 x 106 Pa = 2.44 MPa

b) the strain in the wire 

 Stress / Strain

Example01

Solution:

b) l = 2000 + 0.3

= 2000.3 mm

strain,  = l – lo / lo

= 2000.3 – 2000 / 2000

= 1.5 x 10-4
 Tensile Testing

●A tensile test is the most fundamental type of mechanical test you

can perform on material

● Tensile tests are simple, relatively inexpensive, and fully

standardized

● The tensile test is conducted in order to find the following

properties of a material.

a) The yield or proof stress.

b) The ultimate tensile stress.
c) The elastic range.
d) The ductile range.
e) The modulus of elasticity
Tensile Testing
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
● The elastic limit of a material is the maximum stress that can be
applied to body without causing a permanent deformation

● For stresses below the elastic limit, the material exhibits elastic
behavior: when the stress is removed, the body returns to its
original size and shape

● This constant is known as Young's Modulus (Pa)

Young’s Modulus, E
= Stress / strain
Application of Stress and Strain
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
Example02:
A steel wire of diameter 0.4 mm and initial length 2.0 m is hung
vertically from a fixed support. 80N weight is suspended from
the lower end of the wire so that the wire extends by 6.4mm.
Calculate the young’s Modulus of material of the wire
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
Example03:
A mass of 11 kg is suspended from the ceiling by an Aluminium wire
of length 2 m and diameter 2 mm. What is the extension produced?
The Young’s Modulus of Al is 7 X 1010 Pa.

Solution:

Stress,  = force / area = mg / π d2 / 4

= 11 x 9.81 / π (2 x 10-3)2 / 4

= 3.43 x 107 Pa
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
Example03:
Solution:

Strain, ε = l - lo / lo extension = l – lo = ∆ l

=∆l/2
Young’s modulus, E = stress / strain

7 x 1010 = 3.43 x 107 / ∆ l / 2

∆l = 2 x (3.43 x 107 / 7 x 1010 )

= 2 x (3.43 x 107 / 7 x 1010 )

= 9.8 x 10-4 m
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
Example04:
A 1.6 m long steel piano wire has a diameter of 0.2 cm. How
great is the tension in the wire if it stretch 0.3 cm when
tightened? The Young’s Modulus of steel is 2 X 1011 Pa.

Solution:

Strain, ε = l - lo / lo
= 160.3 – 160 / 160

= 1.875 x 10-3
 Hooke’s Law and
Young’s Modulus
Example04:

Solution:

Young’s modulus, E = stress / strain

2 x 1011 = stress / 1.875 x 10-3

stress = 375 x 106 Pa

F/A = F / π (1 x 10-3)2 = 375 x 106

F = 375 x 106 x π (1 x 10-3)2

= 1178.1 N
Stress – Strain
Graph

Stress vs. Strain curve typical of

aluminum

1. Ultimate strength

2. Yield strength

3. Elastic limit

4. Rupture
 Stress – Strain
Graph
Ultimate strength -the maximum stress attained by a
structural member prior to rupture which is the ultimate load
divided by the original cross-sectional area of the member

Yield strength of a material is defined as the stress applied

to the material at which plastic deformation starts to occur while
the material is loaded

Elastic Limit - The lowest stress at which permanent

deformation can be measured.

Rupture – the material is fail / break

 Percentage
Elongation
● A useful measure of the degree of ductility of a material

Percentage elongation =
final length – initial length X 100%
initial length

Percentage elongation =
final area – initial area X 100%
initial area
 Exercise

1. A 5 kN load is hung on a wire having a length of 8.5m and

cross- sectional area 0.8 x 10-2 m2. If the wire stretched to 5mm,
calculate:

i. Stress, σ(625 x 103Pa)

ii. Strain, ε (5.88 x 10-4)
iii.Young’s modulus for the steel, E (1.06 x 109Pa)
iv.Percentage of elongation (0.06%)

2. A 8 kN load is hung on a wire having a length of 5.8m and

cross-sectional area 0.5 x 10-2 m2. If the wire stretched to 8mm,
calculate:

i. Stress, σ(1.6 x 106Pa)

ii. Strain, ε(1.38 x 10-3)
iii.Young’s modulus for the steel, E(1.16 x 109Pa)
iv. Percentage of elongation (0.14%)
3. A steel rod, 15m long and 3.5mm diameter, is subjected to a pull
of 500N. Calculate the elongation, if the modulus of elasticity, E is
200 GPa.

4. A steel wire, 25m long and 5.5mm diameter, is subjected to a pull

of 500N. Calculate the elongation, if the modulus of elasticity, E is
350 Gpa

5. A 15 m long steel piano wire has a diameter of 0.8 cm. Determine

the tension in the wire if it stretch 0.58 cm when tightened. Given
the Young’s Modulus of wire, E is 3 X 1011 Pa.

6. A mass of 18 kg is suspended from the ceiling by an

Aluminium wire of length 5 m and diameter 8 mm. Calculate
the extension of the aluminium wire if the Young’s Modulus is
8X 1015 Pa.
 Proof Stress

OC is termed as proof stress. Proof

stress is defined as stress required
to give non-proportional elongation
 Factor of Safety

● Factor of safety = tensile strength

permissible tensile stress
-Tensile strength is a maximum tensile load divided by cross
sectional area

-Permissible tensile stress should be below the tensile strength or

elastic limit
Compression
 Shearing

●Shear force is a force applied sideways on material (transversely

loaded)

● Shear stress is the force per unit area carrying the load
F

F
 Shearing

example of practical situation where the shear force is

being applied.
When a pair of shears cuts a material.
When a material is punched.
When a beam has transverse load.
When a pin carries a load.
 Single Shear

● Forces cause only one shear “drop” across the bolt.

 Double Shear

● Forces cause two shear changes across the bolt.

 Shear Strain

● The shear strain is defined as the ratio of the distance

deformed to height x/L
 Shearing

Example05:
Calculate the force needed to shear a pin 8 mm diameter given that
the ultimate shear stress is 60 N/mm2

so,
 Shearing

1. i. Define shear force.

ii. Give three (3) example of practical situation where the

shear force is being applied.

iii. Calculate the force needed to shear a pin of 8 mm

diameter given that the ultimate shear stress is 120 MPa.
 Hardness

● Hardness is the property of a material to resist and

indention.

● There are many forms of test to measure hardeness

● For example Brinell test and Vickers test.

 Brinell Test

● A hard steel ball is pressed into surface with a known force and
the diameter of the impression is measured

● HB is the Brinell hardness number, D is the diameter of the ball

and d is the diameter of indentation. P is applied load in kgf

● To ensure the indentation is a sensible size, an appropriate

combination of ball diameter and load needed. This is calculated
as follows. P/D2 = K.

● K is constant
Brinell Test
 Vickers Test

● This is similar in principle to the Brinell test and the same

machine is often used to conduct.

● It is most useful on hard tool steels.

● The indenter is a diamond in the form of a square pyramid with

an angle of 136o between faces.
 Vickers Test

● The Vickers Pyramid Number (HV) is then determined by

● l is the average length of diagonal left by the indenter

● P is the force applied to the diamond