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 40 mm, length 600 mm, E = 200 GPa) joined end to end with a segment made of aluminium (diameter 50 mm, length 500 mm, E = 70 GPa). It is fixed at one end and pulled at the other. Find the axial load P that stretches it by 0.4 mm in total.
A steel segment (diameter 25 mm, length 600 mm, E = 200 GPa) and a segment made of brass (diameter 40 mm, length 400 mm, E = 100 GPa) are joined end to end and fixed between two rigid walls. An axial load of 20 kN acts at the joint, towards segment 2. Find the magnitude of the stress σ2 in segment 2.
A stepped solid aluminium shaft is fixed at A. Segment AB has diameter 75 mm and length 1.2 m; segment BC has diameter 40 mm and length 1.2 m. A torque of 1000 N·m acts at the free end C. Find the angle of twist φC of end C, in degrees.
A hollow shaft transmits 50 kW at 1500 rpm. Find the maximum shear stress τmax in the shaft.
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.
Find the bending moment Mx at the section x = 1 m from support A. Use sagging moments positive and upward shear on the left face positive.
A 120 mm × 200 mm plate has a circular hole of diameter 30 mm on its vertical centre line, with its centre 70 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 30 kN·m. Find the size of the bending stress σtop at the top edge.
A point has σₓ = 80 MPa and σᵧ = 50 MPa. How large can the shear stress τxy (magnitude) become before the largest principal stress reaches 140 MPa?
A point in a thin plate is in plane stress: σₓ = −70 MPa, σᵧ = −20 MPa and τₓᵧ = 30 MPa (σz = 0). The material has a yield strength of 355 MPa. Find the factor of safety n against yielding by the von Mises (distortion energy) criterion.
A cantilever carries a uniformly distributed load w over its whole length. Find the deflection δ at the free end.
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 aluminium is fixed at both ends. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A solid round column of length L made of steel is fixed at both ends. It must carry 120 kN with a factor of safety of 3 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
Answer: P = 66.39 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: σ2 = 10.46 MPa
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: φC = 11.37 °
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.
Answer: τmax = 5.363 MPa
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.
Answer: C (x = 2 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: Mx = 29.25 kN·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.
Equilibrium of the whole beam.
Only forces left of the cut appear. A UDL portion acts as one force at the middle of that portion.
Answer: Ix = 79.3 × 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 = 61.15 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 = 73.48 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: n = 4.37
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. Yield criteria: von Mises predicts yield when σvM = √(σ₁² − σ₁σ₂ + σ₂²) reaches σY; Tresca when the absolute maximum shear stress reaches σY/2.
n > 1 means the point does not yield; Tresca is slightly more conservative than von Mises.
Answer: δ = 2.105 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 = 230.1 × 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 = 23.55 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 round section has the same I about every axis.
Answer: d = 69.42 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 144.1, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
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