MECHANICS OF DEFORMABLE

BODIES
Lecture 3: STRAIN
The strength of material is not the only criterion that
must be considered when designing machine parts or
structures. The stiffness of a material is often equally
important, as are mechanical properties such as
hardness, toughness, and ductility.
 STRAIN
When a body is subjected to some external force, there is some
change of dimension of the body. The ratio of change of
dimension of the body to the original dimension is known as
strain. It is also a geometric quantity that measures the
deformation of a body.

Strain maybe:

1. Normal Strain- Characterizes the dimensional changes in a

body
2. Shear Strain- Describes distortion in a body
3. Volumetric Strain- Describes the volume change in a body.
4. Thermal Strain– describes the dimensional changes in a body
due to temperature.
Mechanical Properties o Materials
• To properly design a structural or mechanical
component, the engineer must understand
the characteristics and work within the
limitations of the material used in the
component.
• One of the simplest and most effective
laboratory tests for obtaining engineering
design information about a material is called
the TENSION TEST.
Universal Testing Machine
Stress-Strain Digram
 PROPORTIONAL LIMIT
• As seen in the figure, the stress-strain diagram is a
straight line from the origin O to a point called the
proportional limit. This plot is a manifestation of Hooke’s
law: Stress Is proportional to strain.

• Hooke’s law does not apply to the entire diagram; its

validity ends at the proportional limit. Beyond this point,
stress is no longer proportional to strain.
• The Elastic Modulus is a measure of the` materials
stiffness. It is important because it defines how much
stretching, compressing, bending or deflecting will occur
in response to loads.
 ELASTIC LIMIT
• If the stress slightly exceeds the proportional limit, the
curve tends to bend and flatten out. This continues
until the stress reaches the elastic limit.
• The material is said to be elastic if, after being loaded,
the material returns to its original shape when the load
is removed. Beyond this point the material is no longer
elastic
• The permanent deformation that remains after the
removal of the load is called the permanent set.
• The elastic limit is slightly larger than the proportional
limit. However, because of the difficulty in determining
the elastic limit accurately, it is usually assumed to
coincide with the proportional limit
 YIELD POINT
• A slight increase in stress above the elastic limit will
result in a breakdown of the material and cause it to
deform permanently. This behavior is called yielding.
• The point where stress-strain diagram becomes almost
horizontal, the corresponding stress is known as yield
stress or yield strength and the deformation is called
plastic deformation.
• Once the yield point is reached the specimen will
continue to elongate without any increase in load.
When the material is in this state they are perfectly
elastic.
 YIELD POINT
• For materials that do not have a well defined
yield point, yield stress is determined by the
offset method.
• This method consists of drawing a line parallel
to the initial tangent of the stress-strain curve:
this line starts at a prescribed offset strain
usually 0.2% Strain=0.002. The intersection of
this line with the stress-strain curve is called
the yield point at 0.2% offset.
YIELD POINT
 ULTIMATE STRESS
• When yielding has ended, an increase in load
can be supported by the specimen, resulting
in a curve that rises continuously but becomes
flatter until it reaches a maximum stress called
ultimate stress or ultimate strength.
• It is the highest stress on the stress-strain
curve.
• The rise in the curve in this manner is called
strain hardening.
 RUPTURE STRESS
• Up to the ultimate stress, as the
specimen elongates the cross-
sectional area decrease. This
decrease is fairly uniform over
the specimen’s entire gauge
length, however just after, at the
ultimate strength, the cross-
sectional area will begin to
decrease in the localized region of
the specimen. As a result, a
constriction or neck tends to form
in this region as the specimen
elongates further this is called
necking until failure occurs. At
this point this is called the
rupture stress.
 WORKING STRESS AND FACTOR OF
SAFETY
• The working stress also called allowable stress, is
the maximum safe axial stress used in design.
• In most designs, the working stress should be
limited to values not to exceed the proportional
limit so that the stresses remain in the elastic
range. However, because the proportional limit is
difficult to determine accurately, it is customary
to base the working stress on ultimate stress
divided by a suitable number called factor of
safety.
ult
• Factor of Safety = n=
w
 NORMAL STRAIN
We begin by considering the elongation of the prismatic bar of length L. The elongation
may be caused by an applied axial force, or an expansion due to an increase in
temperature, or even a force and a temperature increase simultaneously. The normal
strain is defined as the elongation per unit length. Therefore the normal strain in the bar
in the axial direction, also known as the axial strain.


= = normal strain
L
PL
=
EA
If the stress(or strain) in the bar is not
uniform
L
 P
L
 =  dx =  dx
0
E 0
EA

• If variations in loading, cross-section or

material properties:
Pi Li
 =
i Ai Ei
 HOOKE’S LAW AND ELASTIC MODULII
• Hooke’s law states that when a material is
loaded within elastic limit, the stress is
proportional to strain produced by the stress.
• This means that the ratio of the stress to the
corresponding strain is a constant within the
elastic limit. This constant is known as
Modulus of Elasticity or Modulus of Rigidity or
Elastic Modulii.
 Modulus of Elasticity
• The ratio of tensile stress or compressive
stress to the corresponding strain is a
constant. It is known as modulus of Elasticity
denoted by E.

E=

 Problem 1
• Determine the deformation of the steel rod
shown in the figure under the given loads.Use
E= 29 000 000 psi.
 Problem 2
• The cross-section of the 10-m-long flat steel
bar AB has a constant thickness of 20 mm, but
its width varies as shown. Calculate the
elongation of the bar due to the 100-kN axial
load. Use E= 200 Gpa for steel.
 Problem 3
• The rigid bar BC in the
figure is supported by
the steel rod AC of a
cross-sectional area of
0.25 in^2. Find the
vertical displacement of
point C caused by the
2000-lb load. Use E= 29
x10^6 psi for steel.
 Problem 4
• The rigid bar BDE is supported by two links AB
and CD. Link AB is made of Aluminum (E= 70 Gpa)
and has a cross-sectional area of 500 mm^2; link
CD is made of steel (E= 200 Gpa) and has a cross-
sectional area of 600 mm^2. For the 30 kN force
shown, determine the deflection (a) B, (b) D and
(c) of E.
PA-3 Normal Strain
 PA-3.1
• The steel strip has a uniform thickness of 50
mm. Compute the elongation of the strip
caused by the 500-kN axial force. The modulus
of elasticity of steel is 250 Gpa.
 PA-3.2
• The compound bar containing steel, bronze, and aluminum
segments carries the axial loads shown in the figure. The
properties of the segments and the working stresses are
listed in the table. Determine the maximum allowable value
`of P if the change in length of the entire bar is limited to
0.08 in and the working stresses are not to be exceeded.
 PA-3.3
• The rigid bar AB, attached to aluminum and
steel rods, is horizontal before the load P is
applied. Find the vertical displacement of
point C caused by the load P= 150 kN. Neglect
all weights.
 PA-3.4
• The structure in the figure is composed of two-rigid bars
(AB and CD) and two vertical rods made of aluminum and
steel. All connections are pin joints. Determine the
maximum force P that can be applied through the structure
if the vertical displacement of its point of application is
limited to 6 mm. Neglect the weights of the members.
 PA-3.5
• For the steel truss (E= 29
X 10^6 psi) and loading
shown. Determine the
deformation of members
BD and DE.Knowing that
their cross-sectional
areas are 2 in^2 and 3
in^2 respectively.
 PP-1 TRUSS ANALYSIS WITH STRESS
• Design the required
cross-sectional areas of
each member of the
truss shown. If the
ultimate stress is
limited to 252 MPA. Use
FS=1.8.
• Determine the
deformation of each
member knowing the
cross sectional area of
the members is 1935
mm^2. Use E= 200 Gpa.
 SHEAR STRAIN
Shear strain is defined as angular change
at some point in shape.

It measures the amount of distortion.

It is the angle γ, always expressed in

radians.

It can be shown that the relationship

between shear stress and shear strain is
linear within elastic range that is,
which is Hooke’s Law for shear.
 = G
Shear modulus of elasticity is related to the
modulus of elasticity E and Poisson’s ratio
by NOTE: The total normal strain in a
diagonal is equal to half the shear
strain
 SHEAR STRAIN

x
 =
L

  
 '= − = −
2 L 2
 PROBLEM 1

An initially rectangular element of material is deformed as shown in the

figure(note that the deformation is greatly exaggerated).
a. Calculate the shear strain of the element.
b. Calculate the angle of distortion at point P.
 Problem 2
• Two 1.75-in-thick rubber
pads are bonded to three
steel plates to form the
shear mount shown. Find
the displacement of the
middle plate when the
1200-lb load is applied.
Consider the deformation of
rubber only. Use E= 500 psi
and = 0.48 for rubber.
 Problem 3
• An initially rectangular element of
material is deformed as shown in
the figure (note that the
deformation is greatly exaggerated).
Calculate the ff:
(a) Normal strains along x direction.
(b) Normal strain along y direction.
(c) The shear strain for the element.
(d) The final Angle at A.
PA-4 Shear Strain
 PA-4.1
• An initially rectangular
element of a material is
deformed into the shape
shown. Find:
(a) Normal Strain along x
direction.
(b) Normal Strain along y
direction.
(c) The shear strain for the
element.
 PA-4.2
• The square element of a material undergoes
the shear strain. Assuming that shear strain
<<1, Determine the normal strains of the
diagonals AC and BD.
 PA-4.3
• The plastic block shown
is bonded to a rigid
support and to a vertical
plate to which a 55-kip
load P is applied.
Knowing that for the
plastic used G= 150 ksi,
determine the
deflection of the plate.
 PA-4.4
• Two blocks of a rubber with a
modulus of rigidity G= 10 Mpa
are bonded to rigid supports and
to a plate AB. Knowing that b=
200 mm and c= 125 mm,
determine the largest allowable
P and the smallest allowable
thickness a of the blocks if the
shearing stress in the rubber is
not to exceed 1.5 Mpa and the
deflection of the plate is limited
to 6 mm.