Strength of Materials

Problem Set 1: Tension and Compression

1. In figure, determine an expression for the total elongation of

an initially straight bar of length , cross-sectional area , and
modulus of elasticity if a tensile load acts on the ends of
the bar.
2. A steel bar of cross section 500 mm2 is acted upon by the
forces shown in the figure. Determine the total elongation of
the bar. For steel, consider = 200 GPa.

3. The pinned members shown in the figure carry the loads

and 2. All bars have cross-sectional area . Determine the
stresses in bar and .

4. In the figure, determine the total increase of length of a bar of

constant cross section hanging vertically and subject to its
own weight as the only load. The bar is initially straight.

5. In 1989, Jason, a research-type submersible with remote TV monitoring capabilities and weighing 35 200 N,
was lowered to a depth of 646 m in an effort to send back to the attending surface vessel photographs of a
sunken Roman ship offshore from Italy. The submersible was lowered at the end of a hollow steel cable having
an area of 452 106 m2 and = 200 GPa. Determine the extension of the steel cable. Due to the small
volume of the entire system, buoyancy may be neglected.

Page 1 of 4
6. Two prismatic bars are rigidly fastened together and support
a vertical load of 45 kN, as shown in the figure. The upper bar
is steel having length of 10 m and cross-sectional area 60 cm2.
The lower bar is brass having length 6 m and cross-sectional
area 50 cm2. For steel = 200 GPa, for brass = 100 GPa.
Determine the maximum stress in each material.

7. In 1989 a new fiber-optic cable capable of handling 40 000 telephone calls simultaneously was laid under the
Pacific Ocean from California to Japan, a distance of 13 300 km. The cable was unreeled from shipboard at a
mean temperature of 22C and dropped to the ocean floor having a mean temperature of 5C.The coefficient
of linear expansion of the cable is 75 106 /C. Determine the length of the cable that must be carried on the
ship to span the 13 300 km.

8. Consider the two thin rods as shown in the figure, which are
pinned at , , and and are initially horizontal and of length
when no load is applied. The weight of each rod is
negligible. A force is applied then (gradually) at point .
Determine the magnitude of so as to produce a prescribed
vertical deflection at point .

9. For the system discussed in problem 8, let us consider rods each of initial length 2 m and cross sectional area
0.6 cm2. For a load of 85 N determine the central deflection by both the exact and approximate relations.
Use = 200 GPa.
10. A square steel bar 50 mm on a side and 1 m long is subject to an axial tensile force of 250 kN. Determine the
decrease in the lateral dimension due to this load. Use = 200 GPa and = 0.3.

11. Consider an elemental block subject to uniaxial tension (see

figure). Derive approximate expressions for the change of
volume per unit volume due to this loading.

12. A square bar of aluminum 50 mm on a side and 250 mm long is loaded by axial tensile forces at the ends.
Experimentally, it is found that the strain in the direction of the load is 0.001. Determine the volume of the bar
when the loading is acting. Consider = 0.33.
13. The general three-dimensional form of Hookes law in which strain components are expressed as functions of
stress components has already been presented. Occasionally it is necessary to express the stress components
as functions of the strain components. Derive these expressions.
14. A steel cube is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure of 1.5 MPa. Because of this pressure the volume decreases
to give a dilatation of 105 . The Youngs modulus of the materials is 200 GPa. Determine the Poissons ratio
of the material and also the bulk modulus.

Page 2 of 4
15. Consider a steel tube surrounding a solid aluminum cylinder,
the assembly being compressed between rigid cover plates by
centrally applied forces as shown. The aluminum cylinder is
8 cm in diameter and the outside diameter of the steel tube is
9.2 cm. if = 200 kN, find the stress in the steel and also in
the aluminum. For steel = 200 GPa and for aluminum =
80 GPa.

16. The three-bar assembly shown in the figure supports the

vertical load . Bar and are identical, each of length
and cross-sectional area 1 . The vertical bar is also of
length but of area 2 . All bars have the same modulus and
are pinned at , , , and . Determine the axial force in each
of the bars.

17. The composite bar shown in the figure is rigidly attached to

the two supports. The left portion of the bar is copper, of
uniform cross-sectional area 80 cm2 and length 30 cm. the
right portion is aluminum, of uniform cross-sectional area of
20 cm2 and length 20 cm. at a temperature of 26C the entire
assembly is stress free. The temperature of the structure drops
and during this process the right support yields 0.025 mm in
the direction of the contracting metal. Determine the
minimum temperature to which the assembly may be
subjected in order that the stress in the aluminum does not
exceed 160 MPa. For copper = 100 GPa, = 17
106 /C, and for aluminum = 80 GPa, = 23
106 /C.

Page 3 of 4
18. A hollow steel cylinder surrounds a solid copper cylinder and
the assembly is subject to an axial loading of 200 kN as shown
in the figure. The cross-sectional area of the steel is 20 cm2,
while that of the copper is 60 cm2. Both cylinders are the same
length before the load is applied. Determine the temperature
rise of the entire system required to place all of the load on the
copper cylinder. The cover plate at the top of the assembly is
rigid. For copper = 100 GPa, = 17 106 /C, while
for steel = 200 GPa, = 12 106 /C.

19. The rigid bar is pinned at and attached to the bars

and as shown. The entire system is initially stress free and
the weights of all the bars are negligible. The temperature of
bar is lowered by 25C and that of bar is raised by
25C. Find the normal stresses in bars and . For ,
which is brass, assume = 90 GPa, = 20 106 /C, and
for , which is steel, take = 200 GPa, = 12
106 /C. The cross-sectional area of is 500 mm2 and of
is 250 mm2.

20. Consider a low-carbon square steel bar 20 mm on a side and

1.7 m long having a material yield point of 275 MPa and =
200 GPa. An applied axial load gradually builds up from zero
to a value such that the elongation of the bar is 15 mm, after
which the load is removed. Determine the permanent
elongation of the bar after removal of the load. Assume
elastic, perfectly plastic behavior as shown in the figure.

Page 4 of 4