Advanced Mechanics of Materials and Applied Elasticity: Analysis of Stress
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Scope of Treatment
- 1.3 Analysis and Design
- 1.4 Conditions of Equilibrium
- 1.5 Definition and Components of Stress
- 1.6 Internal Force-Resultant and Stress Relations
- 1.7 Stresses on Inclined Sections
- 1.8 Variation of Stress Within a Body
- 1.9 Plane-Stress Transformation
- 1.10 Principal Stresses and Maximum in-plane Shear Stress
- 1.11 Mohr's Circle for Two-Dimensional Stress
- 1.12 Three-Dimensional Stress Transformation
- 1.13 Principal Stresses in Three Dimensions
- 1.14 Normal and Shear Stresses on an Oblique Plane
- 1.15 Mohr's Circles in Three Dimensions
- 1.16 Boundary Conditions in Terms of Surface Forces
- 1.17 Indicial Notation
- References
- Problems
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
1.1 Introduction
There are two major parts to this chapter. Review of some important fundamentals of statics and mechanics of solids, the concept of stress, modes of load transmission, general sign convention for stress and force resultants that will be used throughout the book, and analysis and design principles are provided first. This is followed with treatment for changing the components of the state of stress given in one set of coordinate axes to any other set of rotated axes, as well as variation of stress within and on the boundaries of a load-carrying member. Plane stress and its transformation are of basic importance, since these conditions are most common in engineering practice. The chapter is thus also a brief guide and introduction to the remainder of the text.
Mechanics of Materials and Theory of Elasticity
The basic structure of matter is characterized by nonuniformity and discontinuity attributable to its various subdivisions: molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. Our concern in this text is not with the particulate structure, however, and it will be assumed that the matter with which we are concerned is homogeneous and continuously distributed over its volume. There is the clear implication in such an approach that the smallest element cut from the body possesses the same properties as the body. Random fluctuations in the properties of the material are thus of no consequence. This approach is that of continuum mechanics, in which solid elastic materials are treated as though they are continuous media rather than composed of discrete molecules. Of the states of matter, we are here concerned only with the solid, with its ability to maintain its shape without the need of a container and to resist continuous shear, tension, and compression.
In contrast with rigid-body statics and dynamics, which treat the external behavior of bodies (that is, the equilibrium and motion of bodies without regard to small deformations associated with the application of load), the mechanics of solids is concerned with the relationships of external effect (forces and moments) to internal stresses and strains. Two different approaches used in solid mechanics are the mechanics of materials or elementary theory (also called the technical theory) and the theory of elasticity. The mechanics of materials focuses mainly on the more or less approximate solutions of practical problems. The theory of elasticity concerns itself largely with more mathematical analysis to determine the "exact" stress and strain distributions in a loaded body. The difference between these approaches is primarily in the nature of the simplifying assumptions used, described in Section 3.1.
External forces acting on a body may be classified as surface forces and body forces. A surface force is of the concentrated type when it acts at a point; a surface force may also be distributed uniformly or nonuniformly over a finite area. Body forces are associated with the mass rather than the surfaces of a body, and are distributed throughout the volume of a body. Gravitational, magnetic, and inertia forces are all body forces. They are specified in terms of force per unit volume. All forces acting on a body, including the reactive forces caused by supports and body forces, are considered to be external forces. Internal forces are the forces that hold together the particles forming the body. Unless otherwise stated, we assume in this text that body forces can be neglected and that forces are applied steadily and slowly. The latter is referred to as static loading.
In the International System of Units (SI), force is measured in newtons (N). Because the newton is a small quantity, the kilonewton (kN) is often used in practice. In the U.S. Customary System, force is expressed in pounds (lb) or kilopounds (kips). We define all important quantities in both systems of units. However, in numerical examples and problems, SI units are used throughout the text consistent with international convention. (Table D.2 compares the two systems.)
Historical Development
The study of the behavior of members in tension, compression, and bending began with Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Galileo Galilei (1564–1642). For a proper understanding, however, it was necessary to establish accurate experimental description of a material's properties. Robert Hooke (1615–1703) was the first to point out that a body is deformed subject to the action of a force. Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) developed the concepts of Newtonian mechanics that became key elements of the strength of materials.
Leonard Euler (1707–1783) presented the mathematical theory of columns in 1744. The renowned mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736–1813) received credit in developing a partial differential equation to describe plate vibrations. Thomas Young (1773–1829) established a coefficient of elasticity, Young's modulus. The advent of railroads in the late 1800s provided the impetus for much of the basic work in this area. Many famous scientists and engineers, including Coulomb, Poisson, Navier, St. Venant, Kirchhoff, and Cauchy, were responsible for advances in mechanics of materials during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The British physicist William Thomas Kelvin (1824–1907), better known by his knighted name, Sir Lord Kelvin, first demonstrated that torsional moments acting at the edges of plates could be decomposed into shearing forces. The prominent English mathematician Augustus Edward Hough Love (1863–1940) introduced simple analysis of shells, known as Love's approximate theory.
Over the years, most basic problems of solid mechanics had been solved. Stephan P. Timoshenko (1878–1972) made numerous original contributions to the field of applied mechanics and wrote pioneering textbooks on the mechanics of materials, theory of elasticity, and theory of elastic stability. The theoretical base for modern strength of materials had been developed by the end of the nineteenth century. Following this, problems associated with the design of aircraft, space vehicles, and nuclear reactors have led to many studies of the more advanced phases of the subject. Consequently, the mechanics of materials is being expanded into the theories of elasticity and plasticity.
In 1956, Turner, Clough, Martin, and Topp introduced the finite element method, which permits the numerical solution of complex problems in solid mechanics in an economical way. Many contributions in this area are owing to Argyris and Zienkiewicz. The recent trend in the development is characterized by heavy reliance on high-speed computers and by the introduction of more rigorous theories. Numerical methods presented in Chapter 7 and applied in the chapters following have clear application to computation by means of electronic digital computers. Research in the foregoing areas is ongoing, not only to meet demands for treating complex problems but to justify further use and limitations on which the theory of solid mechanics is based. Although a widespread body of knowledge exists at present, mechanics of materials and elasticity remain fascinating subjects as their areas of application are continuously expanded.* The literature dealing with various aspects of solid mechanics is voluminous. For those seeking more thorough treatment, selected references are identified in brackets and compiled at the end of each chapter.