Three-Dimensional Stress Analysis

In dealing with the state of stress at a point we consider the element in Fig. 1. la, set in a
Cartesian co-ordinate frame x, y and z. Nine stress components a,, a,,, uZ,r Xyt,r X, t,, r,, T ; , ~
and tna.c t on the six rectangular faces, as shown. The three stress components existing on any
one face might arise as the components of an oblique force applied to that face. In general,
these component stresses are a consequence of any manner of combined loading, consisting
of moments, torques and forces. In the double subscript engineering notation used to identify
shear stress, the first subscript denotes the direction of the normal to the plane on which that
stress acts. The second subscript denotes the direction of the shear stress. Some authors
reverse the order of these subscripts but this does not alter the analysis because of the

sZ

complementary nature of the shear stress. This means that tv = tyxt,x =z qx and
= t7y,
which is a moment equilibrium requirement. As a consequence there are six independent
stress components: three normal ax, a,, and q and three independent shear components.
A stress tensor contains the nine Cartesian stress components shown in Fig. 1. la and is
conveniently represented within a 3 x 3 matrix. We shall also represent these components