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 bronze (diameter 50 mm, length 400 mm, E = 110 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.
The stepped bar is fixed at the wall and loaded at its free end. Find the total elongation δ.
In a torsion test, a solid specimen of diameter 20 mm is twisted by a torque of 50 N·m. The two ends of a gauge length of 400 mm rotate 2.81° relative to each other (the material is still elastic). Find the shear modulus G of the material.
A solid brass shaft of diameter 40 mm is fixed to rigid walls at both ends A and B. A torque of 250 N·m is applied at C, 2 m from A and 3 m from B. Find the angle of rotation φC of section C, in degrees.
The simply supported beam carries two point loads. Find the maximum bending moment Mmax in the beam.
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 second moment of area Ix of the T-section about the horizontal axis x through its 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 in a loaded part has σₓ = −70 MPa, σᵧ = 0 MPa and τₓᵧ = −30 MPa (tension positive). Find the angle θp from the x-axis to the direction of the largest principal stress, between −90° and 90°.
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = −60 MPa, σᵧ = −40 MPa and τₓᵧ = 40 MPa (tension positive). Find the normal stress σθ on a plane whose normal is rotated 15° counter-clockwise from the x-axis.
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 point load P at b = 1 m from support B. Find the maximum deflection δmax of the beam.
A column of length L made of steel is fixed at the base and free at the top. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A solid round column of length L made of aluminium is pinned at both ends. It must carry 90 kN with a factor of safety of 3 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
Answer: P = 81.5 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 = 2.718 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: G = 25.96 GPa
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.
Compare: steel ≈ 80 GPa, brass ≈ 39 GPa, aluminium ≈ 26 GPa.
Answer: φC = 1.754 °
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. When both ends are fixed, statics alone gives only TA + TB = T₀; the second equation is compatibility (equal twist of both parts at the loaded section).
Use segment AC: it is fixed at A and carries TA.
Answer: Mmax = 75 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. 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.
Keep the part left of each load.
Answer: B (x = 1 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: Ix = 88.52 × 10⁶ mm⁴
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.
Answer: σtop = 93.63 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: θp = −69.7 °
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.
Point x sits at an angle 2θp from the σ-axis on Mohr’s circle; the quadrant follows from the signs of σₓ − σᵧ and τₓᵧ.
Positive angles are counter-clockwise.
Answer: σθ = −38.66 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: δ = 11.63 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: δmax = 74.15 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.
Setting the slope in the longer segment to zero gives the position.
Answer: Pcr = 25.7 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 = 65.06 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 92.23, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
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