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StressandStrain
Aquickreviewofthefundamentals

Inordertobetterunderstandthevariousdiscussionsaboutloads,stressesandtheexpectedlifeofcomponents,ithelpstohaveanunderstandingofthefundamentaltermsusedinthose
discussions.Thefollowingparagraphsgiveaverybriefbackgroundonthoseterms.Pleasenotethatthisisaverybasicexplanationofsubjectswhichsomeengineersspendtheirentire
careersstudying.
TENSILEandCOMPRESSIVESTRESS
Stressisavaluewhichdescribestheamountofloadcarriedbyeachunitofcrosssectionalareaofacomponent.Forexample,supposetheblockshowninFigure1weighs10,500pounds
anditissuspendedfromtheshaft(withthearrowhead).Theshaftdiameteris0.504",soithasacrosssectionalareaof0.200squareinches(in).
The stress that the 10,500 pound load applies to the shaft is defined asthe load divided by the crosssectional area of the shaft, which is 10,500
pounds 0.200 square inches = 52,500 pounds per square inch (psi). Note that this "load per unit area" is the PRESSURE concept, presented
inForce,PressureandFriction.
Ifthediameteroftheshaftisincreasedto3/4",thentheareaincreasesto0.4418squareinches(in)andthestressdecreasesto10,5000.4418=
23,766psi.
Sincetheloadshowninthepictureistryingtolengthentheshaft,itiscalledtensilestress.Ifweflippedthepictureoversothattheshaftwassupporting
theblockfromunderneath,theblockwouldbetryingtoshortentheshaft,andthestresswouldbecalledcompressivestress.
Theloadswhichproducetensileandcompressivestressesareactingperpendiculartotheareasonwhichtheyact.Tensileandcompressivestresses
are often referred to as normal stresses. Here, "normal" is not a behavioral term, but a geometric one, which, in this context means "acting
perpendicularto"aparticularareaorplane.

Figure1

SHEARSTRESS
Forceswhichactparalleltotheareasresistingthemareknownasshearforces,andproduceshearstressintheelementswhichcarrythoseloads.

Forexample,supposethetwoclevises(clevi?)inthispicturehaveequaltensileforcesactingontheirends("normal"totheendfaces),asdepictedbythearrows.Thoseforcesaretryingto
pulltheclevisesapart,andinsodoing,theyapplyashearforce(paralleltothecrosssectionalareaofthebolt)ontheboltholdingthepartstogether.Theshearforceistryingtocuttheboltin
halfacrossitsdiameterintwoplaces,wherethetwoouterfacesofthelowerclevismeetthetwoinnerfacesoftheupperclevis.Thisinstanceisknownas"doubleshear"becausethereare
twoseparateareasoftheboltexposedtotheshearforce.
Supposetheboltinthisexampleis3/4"diameter,andthetensileloadsareboth20,000pounds.Thecrosssectionalareaoftheboltis0.4418squareinches(in).Thenshearstressappliedto
theboltwouldbe20,000poundsdividedbytwicetheboltarea(becausetheloadissharedbytwodifferentcrosssectionalareasofthebolt),or22,634psi.
Itisimportanttonotethattheshearstresscapacityofmostmetallicmaterialsisconsiderablylessthanthetensileorcompressivecapacities.

BENDINGSTRESS
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BendingStressoccurswhenacomponentisloadedbyforceswhich,insteadof
tryingtostretchorshrinkthecomponent,aretryingtobendit. Those bending
forcesgenerateacombinationoftensileandcompressivestressintheload
carryingcomponents,knownasbendingstress.
An example of that type of loading is shown in tFigure 3, where the tubular
shaft is resting on two triangular supports. The two vertical arrows represent
downwardforcesappliedtothetube.Thetubedeflects,orbends,downward
undertheinfluenceofthoseforces,asillustrated.
Ifyoucutasectionthroughthetubeattherighthandsupportandwereableto
visualize the internal stresses between metal molecules at the cut face, they
would appear as tensile and compressive stresses, illustrated by the green
arrowsinFigure4.Thestressmagnitudeislargestattheouterextremitiesand
decreasetozeroatthegeometriccenter.
The bending
stress
is
calculated
from
theproperties
of the cross
section and
the
magnitude of
the bending
moment. The
bending
moment is

Figure3

Figure2
themagnitudeoftheappliedforcetimesthedistancefrom
the point where the force is applied to the cross section
beingexamined.Thathorizontaldistancefromthepointofapplicationoftheforce(thepurplearrow)tothecrosssectioniscalledthemomentarm.(Thisisamassivesimplification,butit
illustratestheconcept.)
Figure4

STRAIN
Strainisthemeasureofhowmuchamaterialdeformswhenaloadisappliedtoit,expressedininchesofdeformationperinchofmateriallength.Forexample,ifthe1/2"diametershaft
supportingthe10,000poundloadinFigure1is12"long,itwillstretchabout0.020"(20thousandths)fromitsunloadedlength,whichyoucanmeasure.Thestrainisthemeasureddeflection
(0.020)dividedbythelengthoftheshaft,or0.02012=0.00167inchesperinch.
Supposeyoumeasureaspecimenwhichhasnoloadappliedtoit.Thenyouapplyaloadtothespecimen,thenreleasetheloadandmeasurethespecimenagain.Ifyoufindthatithas
returnedtoitsoriginallength,thenthespecimenexperiencedelasticdeformationwhenitstretchedundertheload.

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Mostmaterialsareelastic.Thatis,ifyouapplyaloadtothematerial,itwilldeforminsomeway,byanamountwhichisproportionaltotheload.Whenyouremovetheload,thematerialwill
returntoitsoriginalshape,aslongastheloadwasn'ttoolarge.Thedeformationmightbetoosmalltomeasure,butitstilloccurs.
If,aftertheloadisreleased,youcanmeasuresomepermanentdeformationinthespecimen,(thespecimendoesnotreturntoitsoriginallength),thenthematerialhasbeenstressedbeyond
itselasticlimitandhasexperiencedplasticdeformation.
YIELDSTRESSandULTIMATESTRESS
Therearetwobasicvalueswhichcharacterizethestrengthofametal.Eachofthosevaluesisastresslevelatwhichaparticulareventoccurs.
ThedarklineinFigure5showsthestretchofaspecimeninresponsetoanappliedtensilestress.Inthisexample,from0toto
70,000 psi the stretch (strain) is proportional to the stress, and if the load is removed, the specimen returns to its original
length.Thisisknownaselasticdeformation.
However,iftheload(inthisexample)exceeds70,000psi,noticethatthestrainbecomesgreaterperunitincreaseinstress,
andisnolongerproportionaltothestress.Oncethisspecimenhasbeenloadedbeyond70,000psi,thespecimendoesnot
return to its original length (red line) when the load is removed. The specimen has been permanently deformed
(plasticdeformation).
The stress level at which a material no longer behaves elastically, but instead experiences a small permanent (plastic)
deformationisknownastheYieldStress(YS),(alsoknownastheproportionallimit). That is the stress level at which the
elasticlimitofthematerialhasbeenexceeded.
ThesecondinterestingvalueiscalledtheUltimateTensileStress(UTS).Itisthestressvalueatwhichthematerialwillbreak
undertheinfluenceofpuretensilestress.
Aspecializedtestmachineisusedtomeasurethosevalues.Asmallsampleofthesubjectmetal(usually0.357"or0.504"
diameter)isinstalledinthemachine,asshowninFigures6and7below.

Figure5

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Figure6

Figure7

Themachineappliesatensionloadonthespecimen,andincreasestheloaduntilthespecimenbreaks.Thecomputerwhichcontrolsthemachineplotstheloadvs.deflectioninrealtime,
anddetectstheyieldpoint. At some point after the material begins to yield, the operator pauses the test and removes the deflection gauge (to prevent it from being destroyed when the
specimenfractures).Theoperatorthenresumesthetestandthemachinecontinuestoincreasetheloaduntilthespecimenbreaks.Theloadatwhichthespecimenbrokeisdividedbythe
originalcrosssectionalarea(0.100infor0.357"diameteror0.200infor0.504"diameter)tofindtheUTSvalue.Asthespecimenapproachesthefailurepoint,aportionofthediameter
(wherethefailurewilloccur)beginstoplasticallydeformandreduceindiameter("neckingdown").Thepercentagethatthecrosssectionalareaofthematerialreducesisameasurementof
theductility(lackofbrittleness)ofthematerial,andisstatedas%reductioninarea(ROA).
STRESSCONCENTRATION
Ithasbeenknownforalongtimethatthepresenceofirregularitiesordiscontinuitiesinapart(holes,rapidchangesindiameter,shoulders,grooves,notches,etc.)significantlyincreasesthe
valueoftheactualstresswhichoccursinapartwhencomparedtothestressvaluecalculatedbasedonthecrosssectionofthepart.Theseincreasesinstress,calledstressconcentrations,
occurintheimmediatevicinityofthediscontinuity.
Theratiooftheactualstresstothecalculatedstressisknownasastressconcentrationfactor.Themagnitudeofstressconcentrationfactorscanbe3,4,ormoredependingontheseverityof
theparticulardiscontinuity.
Thisphenomenoncanbedemonstratedintests.Thereisalargebodyofaccumulateddatarelatingthephysicalcharacteristicsofvarioustypesofdiscontinuitiestotheincreaseinobserved
stresstheycause.Thereareseveralbookswhichpresentthemethodstocalculatethesefactors.OneofthemostacceptedworksonthissubjectisPeterson'sStressConcentrationFactors
(ref2:4).SomeFEAsystemshaveincorporatedtheeffectofdiscontinuitiesintotheircalculations.
There are also several accepted methods to diminish the stressincreasing effect of discontinuities, including tapers, large fillet radii, radiused undercuts, and gentle discontinuities
surroundinganecessarilyabruptone.
Asanexampleofthesestechniques,considerthepicturebelow,showingatypicalinputshaftforanautomotivetransmission,withashoulderforthesupportingbearingandasnapring
retainingthebearingontheshoulder.
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Thefollowingtwopicturesshowacrosssectionthroughtheshaftpicturedabove,withoutthebearingorsnapringinstalled.Figure8showsthetypicalshaftimplementation,withasharp
corneredsnapringgroove(necessarytocleartheedgesofthesnapring),andasharpcorneredshoulder,requiredtoclearthesmallradiusontheedgeofthebearing,typicallylessthan
0.040".Thesharpcornersinthegrooveandtheshoulderprovidesevereconcentrations(asmuchas10to1)fortheappliedstresses,makingthematerialbehaveinfatigue(nexttopic)asif
theappliedstresswassignificantlygreater.ComparetheshaftinFigure8tothebetterconfigurationshowninFigure9,whichhasteardrop,largeradiusgroovesonbothsidesofthesharp
corneredsnapringgroove,andwhichhasalargeradiusundercutintothebearingshoulder.Theseprovisionsdramaticallyreducethestressconcentrations(downtoaslowas1.5to1)as
comparedtoFigure8.

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Figure8

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Figure9

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