Design Analysis and Review of Stresses at a Point

Need for Design Analysis: To verify the design for safety of the structure and the users.
Safety is an important consideration in any product design. In CAD, a design safety can
be checked by finite element analysis. To understand the results obtained in FEA, it is
necessary to have the theoretical knowledge of the stresses developed in various loading
conditions. A brief review of the terms, loading and the related theory is given here. A
detailed and comprehensive discussion of the followings can be found in:
1. Mechanical Engineering Design, 4th edition, by Shigley and Mischke. McGraw
Hill, 1989.
2. Advanced Strength and Applied Stress Analysis, Second Edition, by Budynas.
McGraw Hill, 1999.
The following discussion is presented to provide a brief discussion and understanding of
the terms listed below. The terms are listed at random and their discussion may not occur
in the listed order.

Some important terms that frequently occur in Design Analysis

Uniaxial stresses
Biaxial Stresses
3-D Stresses
Torsional Stress
Bending Stress
Normal Stress
Combined Stresses
Mohrs Circle
Failure Theories
Von-Mises Stress
Yield Strength
Factor of safety
Margin of safety
Buckling
Fatigue Stresses
Modal Analysis
Impact Loading
Resonance
Stresses in Cylinders
Rotating Rings

Stresses at a Point
3-D Stresses

y
y

yz
yx
xy
zy

x
xz

zx

z
2-D Stress Distribution

yx
xy

xy

yx

Principal Stresses
In the above figure, the stresses at a point are given in the Cartesian coordinate (x, y, z)
directions. Stresses in any direction (measured from the x-axis) are given by the
following equation,
= (1/2) (

= (1/2) (

x-

y)
x)

+ (1/2) (

sin 2 +

x-

x)

xy cos

cos 2 +

xy sin

The normal stress and shearing stress vary in magnitude with angle . When the
shearing stress = 0, the normal stresses become maximum and minimum in magnitude.
These stresses are called principal stresses.
Mohrs Circle is used to convert stresses at a point into principal stresses and the
relationship is given as,
1=

(1/2) (

y)

+ [(1/2) (

2=

(1/2) (

y)

- [(1/2) (

xx-

2
x)
2
x)

+
+

1/2
xy]

1/2
xy]

Uniaxial Stress
Uniaxial stress occurs when a bar or a plate
structure is either stretched or compressed.
The resulting stress in the bar is given as,
= F/A
Where: F is the applied force, and A is the
cross-section area of the bar.

L
F

Stress-strain relations:
=E

Where: E is the Youngs modulus and is the strain.

Strain-deflection relationship:

= Change in length/original length = L/L

Biaxial Stresses
When a plate-like structure is loaded in its plane, there are biaxial stresses and strains,
Y
x

The plate shown is loaded in the x-direction, but the strains will occur in both, x and ydirections.
The plate stretches in the x-direction, but due to the poisons effect, it will shrink in the ydirection, thus creating bi-directional strains.
If loads are applied in both x and y-directions,
the plate will have a bi-directional stress distribution.

Stress-Strain Relations

Assuming that the x and y axes are principal directions, stresses and strains are related by
the following equations:
1

=E(

2)/(1

=E(

1)/(1

=0

1/E

= -

2/E

2/E

1/E

1/E

2/E

Beam in Bending

Normal Stress: For a beam in pure bending, the normal stress is given as
= Mc/I
Where, I is the moment of inertia about the axis of beam rotation.

Transverse Shear: The transverse shear is given as

= VQ/Ib
Where,
V is the shearing force
c

Q = y dA
y

I = Moment of inertia about the bending axis

b = width of the beam
If a beam is slender, the transverse shear is negligible and ignored. However, if a beam is
not very slender, the transverse shear becomes significant and cant be ignored.

Shear and Bending Moment Diagrams

For a beam, the maximum stress occurs at the point where the bending moment is
maximum. When the location of the maximum moment is not obvious, we need to draw a
shear and bending moment diagram to find the magnitude and location.

Sign Convention for Shear and Bending Moment Diagrams

Positive Shear and moments

Torsion
The shearing stress in pure torsion is given as
= Tr/J
where r is the radial distance from the center
of the shaft, and J is the polar moment of inertia.

r
T

Stress Concentration
In the stress equations for axial, bending, and torsion, it is assumed that the cross section
is uniform and no discontinuities exist. If there are holes, notches, fillets, change in cross
section, etc., these equations cannot be used. Stresses in the irregular regions are always
higher than the uniform sections as much as by a factor of 3 or more.
The stress concentration factor is given as,
Kt =

max/ average

Where,
max =

Maximum stress at some point

average

= Stress at the above point, calculated as if there is no stress concentration, and

the area is the net area.

Uniform cross section

Stress concentration

The stress concentration factor Kt can be found in engineering handbooks and texts (see
the books by Shigley, Martin, Roark and Young, etc.)

Deflections

Deflection occurs when a static load is applied on a structure at rest (in equilibrium). All
deflections are assumed as deformation in the structure. Rigid body motion doesnt result
in stresses, and is not important in FEA, unless it is due to either buckling or warping.
Buckling and warping require separate analysis, which is carried out after conduction the
static analysis.
Elastic Structures
All elastic structures follow the Hooks law,
F=kx
Most engineering structures are considered as elastic and follow the Hooks law.
Tension, Compression, and Torsion
Deflection for tension and compression loading is given as,
= FL/AE
The stiffness can be found by,
k = F/x = (F)/ = (F)/(FL/AE) = AE/L
Torsion
Angular deflection in torsion is,
= TL/JG
The stiffness is,
k = T/ = GJ/L
Bending
Since there are numerous loading and support conditions that can be applied to a beam,
the deflection equation can be found in an engineering textbook or a handbook. Shigley,
Norton, and Roark and Young are good source of information.
Buckling
Buckling occurs in long columns that are loaded by compressive forces. A beam
structure, that has several load members, should always be checked for buckling. In
buckling, a structure can fail even before reaching the yield stress point, and therefore,
the standard failure criteria are not valid.

To check for buckling, the critical buckling load should be calculated, which will
determine the maximum allowable load magnitude.
Eulers formula gives the critical buckling load equation,
PCR = C 2EI/L2
C depends on the end-constraint of the part under buckling. It has the following values,
Column End
Condition
Fixed-Free

Recommended
Value
1/4

Pin-Pin

Fixed-Pin

1.2

Fixed-Fixed

1.2

Some textbooks use the term Load Factor, which is similar to the Factor of Safety in
stress analysis, and is defined as,
LF = Pcr/Papplied
For safety, the Load Factor (LF) must be greater than 1.

Failure of Engineering Structures

Generally, there are two types of engineering materials that are used in FEA: ductile and
brittle.
Ductile Materials
According to the ductile material failure theory, failure occurs when the Von-Mises stress
(VMS) in the structure exceeds the yield strength of the material. The VMS is calculated
from the principal stresses by the formula,
VM =

[( 1)2 + ( 2)2 -

2]

1/2

Brittle Materials
Brittle materials, such as, cast iron and concrete are governed by Modified Mohr or
Coulomb-Mohr theories. In FEA, computer is unable to distinguish between a ductile and
a brittle material. Since the expected results are seldom exact answers, FEA software uses
the Von-Mises stresses for checking failure in structures, regardless of the applicable
theory for the material used.

Structure Loads

Generally, all loads applied in FEA are static loads. The structure is assumed to be in an
equilibrium condition when the loads are applied. For other types of loads, such as,
impact, vibrations, and fatigue, there are more advanced FEA software, which can handle
these loads.