568 Theory of Elasticity

Stress and strain in engineering materials

What is Elasticity?

Elasticity is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its
original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. In metals,
the atomic lattice changes size and shape when forces are applied. When forces are
removed, the lattice goes back to the original lower energy state. For rubbers and
other polymers, elasticity is caused by the stretching of polymer chains when
forces are applied.

What is hooks law?

Hooke’s law states that the forces required to deform elastic objects should be
directly proportional to the distance of deformation, regardless of how large that
distance becomes. Most engineering materials exhibit a linear relationship
between stress and strain with the elastic region.

σ = E

E represents the constant of proportionality, also called the modulus of elasticity

or Young’s modulus

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Stress definition

Stress is defined as force per unit area within materials that arises from externally
applied forces, uneven heating, or permanent deformation and that permits an
accurate description and prediction of elastic, plastic, and fluid behavior.

Stress = Force/Area

σ = F/A

where, σ is the stress applied, F is the force applied and A is the area of the force
application. The unit of stress is N/m2

Strain definition

Strain is the amount of deformation experienced by the body in the direction of

force applied, divided by the initial dimensions of the body. The following
equation gives the relation for deformation in terms of the length of a solid:

ε = δι /L

where is the strain due to the stress applied is change in length and L is the
original length of the material.

Stress-Strain Curve

We can learn about the elastic properties of materials by studying the stress-strain
relationships, under different loads, in these materials. The material’s stress-strain
curve gives its stress-strain relationship. In a stress-strain curve, the stress and its
corresponding strain values are plotted. An example of a stress-strain curve is
given below.

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Engineering Materials

Engineering materials refers to the group of materials that are used in the
construction of manmade structures and components. The primary function of an
engineering material is to withstand applied loading without breaking and without
exhibiting excessive defection. The materials includes: Metals, Polymers,
Ceramics composites.

Stress and Strain in Engineering Materials

Stresses in engineering materials: Compression, Tension, Shear, Bending, Torsion

and Fatigue

Strain in engineering materials:

 Normal strain – elongation or contraction of a line segment

 Shear strain – change in angle between two line segments originally
perpendicular

Real life example: Retractable pen

The retractable pens are also known as click pens. Retractable pens usually
consists of springs that are attached to the top and the bottom of the ink cartridge.

How the retractable pen works

A plastic tube is present in-between this arrangement, which is fixed in a particular

place. The springs attached to the internal mechanical arrangement of the plunger
and cam body of a retractable pen work on the Hooke’s principle and are
responsible to lock and release the ink cartridge as per the requirement.
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Hooks law

Hooke’s law state’s that the amount of force needed to compress or stretch a spring
is inversely proportional with the size of the deformation. Diagrammatical and
Graphical Representations of Hooke’s Law Experiment

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  Hooke's law, F = kx, where the applied force F equals a constant k times the
displacement or change in length x.

where

i. Δ x = stretched length – original length

ii. The negative sign on the springs force shows that the force exerted by the spring
in bringing it back to it’s original shape and size opposes the spring displacement

Application of Hook’s law in real life

Inflation of baloon

The nature of a balloon is elastic. It expands when air molecules are blasted
through it. Similar to that, it gets smaller when it is expelled. The balloon operates
according to Hooke's law because the force with which air is pressed into it
determines how much the balloon will expand and contract.

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What is the purpose of Hooke's Law?

 it describes the relationship between an object’s elastic potential and the

level of force required to enact this potential. Hooke’s law also governs the
limits of an object’s elasticity, a metal spring, for instance, can only stretch
so far before excess force causes it to break. In engineering, Hooke’s law has
a very practical purpose: to ensure that components can withstand a pre-
calculated level of force

 Limitations of Hooke’s law

The disadvantages of Hooke’s Law is as follows:

 Hooke’s Law is applied only in the elastic region.

 Hooke’s Law gives accurate results only for solid bodies if the forces and
deformations are small.

 Hooke’s Law is not a universal law.

It is seen that Hooke’s law play a vital role in mechanical engineering and has
some limitations out side engineering.

Stress Tensors

• A tensor is a multi-dimensional array of numerical values that can be used to

describe the physical state or properties of a material. For example, stress
acting within a body.

• Therefore, stress tensor is a convenient and concise way of expressing the

stress state within a material.

 1 stress normal to the surface (also known as direct stress)

 2 stresses tangential to the surface (also known as shear stresses)

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 Figure 1: Stresses acting on a unit cube of material in three dimensions

Stress Tensors and it’s Application

S/N Stress Tensors Application

1. Cauchy stress tensor Classical physics

2. Deviator Stress tensor Classical physics

3. Piola-Kirchoff stress sensor Continuum mechanics

4. Viscous stress tensor Continuum mechanics

5. Energy stress tensor Relativistic theories

6. Maxwell stress tensor Electromagnetism

Rank of a sensors

• The rank of a tensor is the number of indices required to uniquely select

each element of the tensor. Rank is also known as “order”, “degree”, or
“ndims.”

• Tensors are referred to by their "rank" which is a description of the tensor's

dimension.

 Zero rank tensor: scalar

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  First rank tensor: a one-dimensional array of numbers.

 Second rank tensor: a typical square matrix.

 Third rank tensor: a three-dimensional matrix.

Tensor transformation

• It is often desirable to know the value of a tensor property in a new

coordinate system, so the tensor needs to be "transformed" from the original
coordinate system to the new one.

• This can be done by noting the angle between each axis of the new
coordinate system and each axis of the new coordinate system; altogether
there will be 9 transformations.

Figure 2: Stresses acting on a plane Figure 3: Three dimension Stress Tensors

Compiled by Adamu H.A

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May 2023

References

m.wikipedia.org

britannica.com/science/elasticity

engineeringtoolbox.com/

mechanicalc.com/engineering-materials

study.com/learn/lesson

studiousguy.com/hookes-law

https://byjus.com/physics/stress-and-strain/