Stress and Strain

• Stress is force acting per unit area and is

denoted by σ.
•In general, the stress on a plane surface may
be uniform throughout the area or may vary in
intensity from one point to another.
• Resultant of stresses must be equal to the
magnitude of stress times the cross-sectional
area A of the bar. So, σ = P/A, gives the
intensity of uniform stress in an axially loaded,
prismatic bar of cross-sectional area A.
 Types of stress
• When the bar is stretched by the force P, the
stresses are tensile stresses; if the forces are
reversed in direction, causing the bar to be
compressed, we obtain compressive stresses.
• Stresses act in a direction perpendicular to the
area or surface of the bar, they are called normal
stress.
• Thus normal stresses may be either tensile or
compressive.
• Another type of stress, called Shear stress, that
acts parallel to the area or surface.
• Tensile stresses taken as positive and compressive
stresses as negative.
• Units of normal stress is force per unit area .
 Types of Strain
• Normal strain and Shear strain
• Normal Strain:- A straight bar will change in length
when loaded axially, becoming longer when in tension
and shorter when in compression.
• Elongation per unit length is called strain and is
denoted by ϵ (epsilon), ϵ = change in length (δ)/original
length of bar (L)
• If the bar is in tension, the strain is called tensile strain,
representing an elongation or stretching of the
material.
• If the bar is in compression, the strain is a compressive
strain and the bar shortens.
• Tensile strain is usually taken as positive and
compressive strain as negative.
• The strain ϵ is called a normal strain because it
is associated with normal stress.
• Normal strain is the ratio of two lengths, it is a
dimensionless quantity, it has no units
• Numerical values of strain are usually very
small, because bars made of structural
materials undergo only small changes in
length when loaded.
• Consider a steel bar having length L equal to
2.0 m. When heavily loaded in tension, this
bar might elongate by 1.4 mm, which means
that the strain is ϵ = δ/L = 1.4 mm/2.0 m =
0.0007 =700 x 10-6_.
 Poisson’s Ratio
• When a prismatic bar is loaded in tension, the
axial elongation is accompanied by lateral
contraction (contraction normal to the direction
of applied load).
• The lateral strain at any pint in a bar is
proportional to the axial strain at that same point
if the material is linearly elastic.
• The ratio of these strain is a property of the
material known as Poisson’s Ratio.
• (nu) ν = - (lateral strain/axial or longitudinal
strain)