Axial stress & strain
- Normal stress
- σ = F/A
- Strain
- ε = ΔL/L
- Hooke’s law
- σ = E·ε
- Elongation
- ΔL = FL/(EA)
- Thermal strain
- εT = α·ΔT
Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 14 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
A bar is made of a steel segment (diameter 25 mm, length 300 mm, E = 200 GPa) joined end to end with a segment made of copper (diameter 30 mm, length 500 mm, E = 120 GPa). It is fixed at one end and pulled at the other. Find the axial load P that stretches it by 0.25 mm in total.
The stepped bar is fixed at the wall and loaded at its free end. Find the total elongation δ.
A solid aluminium shaft 1.5 m long carries a torque of 1000 N·m. The angle of twist between its ends must not exceed 1°. Find the smallest diameter d that meets this limit.
A hollow shaft must transmit 20 kW at 1800 rpm. Its inner diameter is to be 0.6 times its outer diameter, and the shear stress must not exceed 60 MPa. Find the smallest outer diameter do.
The marks A to G split the beam into six equal parts. At which mark is the bending moment largest in size, sagging or hogging? Click it in the diagram.
The simply supported beam carries a uniformly distributed load over part of its span. Find the distance x0 from A to the section where the bending moment is largest.
A 200 mm × 150 mm plate has a circular hole of diameter 30 mm on its vertical centre line, with its centre 105 mm above the bottom. Find the second moment of area Ix about the horizontal axis through the centroid.
The T-section is used as a beam with the flange on top and carries a sagging bending moment of 50 kN·m. Find the size of the bending stress σtop at the top edge.
A point has σₓ = 50 MPa and σᵧ = −50 MPa. How large can the shear stress τxy (magnitude) become before the largest principal stress reaches 100 MPa?
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = 160 MPa, σᵧ = 40 MPa and τₓᵧ = 50 MPa (tension positive). Find the normal stress σθ on a plane whose normal is rotated 30° counter-clockwise from the x-axis.
A simply supported beam carries a uniformly distributed load w over its whole span. Find the maximum deflection δmax, at midspan.
A simply supported beam carries a uniformly distributed load w. Its deflection may not exceed span/360. Find the smallest second moment of area Ireq that meets this limit.
A column of length L made of steel is fixed at both ends. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A solid round column of length L made of aluminium is fixed at the base and pinned at the top. It must carry 45 kN with a factor of safety of 2 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
Answer: P = 27.93 kN
Two materials: in series (one after the other) every segment carries the same force and the elongations add: δ = P·Σ L/(E·A). In parallel (side by side between rigid plates) both parts shorten by the same amount, so their strains are equal: the stiffer part takes the larger share, Pi = P·EiAi/ΣEA, and σi = Ei·ε. A bar held between two rigid walls with a load at the junction is statically indeterminate: the two segments share the load in proportion to their stiffness k = EA/L.
Answer: δ = 1.871 mm
Axially loaded members: each prismatic segment obeys δ = PL/(AE). For members in series the elongations add.
The free end carries P, so every section of the bar carries the same axial force P. Only the areas and materials change.
Answer: d = 76.17 mm
Torsion of circular shafts: shear stress grows linearly from zero at the centre to τmax = T·r/J at the surface, with J = πd⁴/32 for a solid shaft and J = π(do⁴ − di⁴)/32 for a hollow one. The angle of twist is φ = TL/(GJ) in radians. Power and torque are linked by P = T·ω.
In practice you would round up to the next standard size.
Answer: do = 21.79 mm
Torsion of circular shafts: shear stress grows linearly from zero at the centre to τmax = T·r/J at the surface, with J = πd⁴/32 for a solid shaft and J = π(do⁴ − di⁴)/32 for a hollow one. The angle of twist is φ = TL/(GJ) in radians. Power and torque are linked by P = T·ω.
A solid shaft would need d = 20.81 mm; the hollow one is a little larger but much lighter.
Answer: C (x = 4 m)
Largest bending moment: M changes slope wherever the shear force changes, so its peaks sit where the shear force crosses zero: under a point load, inside a distributed load, or over a support of an overhang. At a fixed support of a cantilever the moment is largest at the wall. Compare the size of M at those places, sagging or hogging.
Take moments about one support, then use the vertical force balance.
Sum the moments of all forces on one side of the cut. Sagging is positive, hogging negative.
Answer: x0 = 5.563 m
Method of sections: cut the beam where you want the internal forces and keep one side. The shear force V balances the vertical forces on that side, and the bending moment M balances their moments about the cut. Maximum moment: since dM/dx = V, the bending moment has its peak where the shear force passes through zero, either at a point load or inside a distributed load.
Equilibrium of the whole beam.
The shear force starts at RA, stays constant over any unloaded part and falls with slope w inside the load.
Answer: Ix = 55.56 × 10⁶ mm⁴
Sections with holes: treat a hole as a negative area. The centroid is ȳ = (A₁y₁ − A₂y₂)/(A₁ − A₂), with A₁, y₁ for the full plate and A₂, y₂ for the hole. For the second moment of area about the centroidal axis, use the parallel-axis theorem for each part and subtract the hole: I = (Ic1 + A₁d₁²) − (Ic2 + A₂d₂²), where d is the distance from each part's own centroid to the axis through ȳ. A rectangle has Ic = bh³/12 and a circle Ic = πd⁴/64.
Answer: σtop = 172.3 MPa
Composite areas: split the section into rectangles. The centroid is the area-weighted average ȳ = ΣAᵢyᵢ/ΣAᵢ. The second moment of area about the centroidal axis adds each part’s own bh³/12 and its parallel-axis term A·d², where d is the distance from the part’s centroid to the overall centroid. Bending stress is σ = M·y/I.
Measure every y from the bottom edge.
The top edge is h − ȳ from the axis.
Answer: τxy = 86.6 MPa
Plane stress transformation: on a plane rotated by θ, σ = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 + (σₓ − σᵧ)/2·cos 2θ + τₓᵧ·sin 2θ. Mohr’s circle shows all planes at once: its centre is at C = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 and its radius is R = √(((σₓ − σᵧ)/2)² + τₓᵧ²). The principal stresses are C ± R, and the largest in-plane shear stress is R.
Answer: σθ = 173.3 MPa
Plane stress transformation: on a plane rotated by θ, σ = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 + (σₓ − σᵧ)/2·cos 2θ + τₓᵧ·sin 2θ. Mohr’s circle shows all planes at once: its centre is at C = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 and its radius is R = √(((σₓ − σᵧ)/2)² + τₓᵧ²). The principal stresses are C ± R, and the largest in-plane shear stress is R.
Answer: δmax = 4.844 mm
Beam deflection: deflections come from integrating the curvature M/(EI) twice. Standard cases are tabulated, for example PL³/(3EI) for a cantilever with an end load and 5wL⁴/(384EI) for a simply supported beam under a full uniform load. Deflections from separate loads add (superposition).
Work in N and mm: P in N, w in N/mm (kN/m = N/mm), L in mm, E in N/mm² (GPa × 1000), I in mm⁴.
Answer: Ireq = 1.831 × 10⁶ mm⁴
Beam deflection: deflections come from integrating the curvature M/(EI) twice. Standard cases are tabulated, for example PL³/(3EI) for a cantilever with an end load and 5wL⁴/(384EI) for a simply supported beam under a full uniform load. Deflections from separate loads add (superposition).
Answer: Pcr = 177.7 kN
Euler buckling: a slender column becomes unstable at Pcr = π²EI/(KL)², where KL is the effective length: K = 1 for pinned–pinned, 2 for fixed–free, 0.7 for fixed–pinned and 0.5 for fixed–fixed. It buckles about the axis with the smallest I. The formula holds for slender columns, whose critical stress stays below the yield stress.
A rectangle buckles about its weak axis, using the smaller dimension cubed.
Answer: d = 82.72 mm
Euler buckling: a slender column becomes unstable at Pcr = π²EI/(KL)², where KL is the effective length: K = 1 for pinned–pinned, 2 for fixed–free, 0.7 for fixed–pinned and 0.5 for fixed–fixed. It buckles about the axis with the smallest I. The formula holds for slender columns, whose critical stress stays below the yield stress.
Check: the slenderness KL/r is 203.1, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
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