ELASTICITY

All bodies can, more or less, be deformed by an applied force. The simplest cases of deformation
are those (i) in which a wire, fixed at its upper end, is pulled down by a weight at its lower end,
bringing about a change in its length; (ii) in which an equal compression is applied in all
directions, so that there is a change of volume but no change in shape; (iii) in which a system of
forces may be applied to a body such that, although there is no motion of the body as a whole,
there is relative displacement of its continuous layers causing a change in the shape/form of the
body with no change in its volume. In all these cases, the body is said to be strained or deformed.
When the deforming forces are removed, the body tends to recover its original condition. For
example, the wire tends to come back to its original length when the force due to the suspended
weight is removed from it. This property of a material body to regain its original condition, on
the removal of the deforming forces, is called elasticity.
Bodies, which can recover completely their original condition, on the removal of the
deforming forces, are said to be perfectly elastic. On the other hand, bodies, which do not show
any tendency to recover their original condition, are said to be plastic. There are, however, no
perfectly elastic or plastic bodies.

Stress and Strain

When a body is subjected to a deforming force, a restoring force occurs in the body which is
equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the applied force. This restoring force per unit
area is known as stress. We can also refer to stress as a measure of the internal force experienced
by an object per unit of cross-sectional area. If the force be inclined to the surface, its component,
perpendicular to the surface, measured per unit area, is called normal stress and the component
parallel to the surface, per unit area, is called tangential stress. Its unit is N/m2.

Strain is simply the measure of how much an object is stretched or deformed. The change
produced in the dimensions of a body under a system of forces, in equilibrium, is called strain,
and is measured by the change per unit length (linear strain), per unit volume (bulk strain), or the
angular deformation (shear strain) according as the change takes place in length, volume or
shape of the body. Thus, being just a ratio, it is a dimensionless and unitless quantity.
 For a perfectly elastic body (i) the strain is always the same for a given stress; (ii) the strain
vanishes completely when the deforming force is removed and (iii) for maintaining the strain, the
stress is constant.

Stress–Strain Curve
The proportionality relation between stress and strain is given by
Stress = Modulus of elasticity x Strain (1)
In a standard test of tensile properties, the tensile stress on a test cylinder (made by steel) is
slowly increased from zero to the point at which the cylinder fractures and the strain is carefully
measured and plotted. The result is a graph of stress versus strain like that in Fig. 1. For a
substantial range of applied stresses, the stress–strain relation is linear, and the specimen
recovers its original dimensions when the stress is removed; it is here that Eq. (1) applies. If the
stress is increased beyond the yield strength Sy of the specimen, the specimen becomes
permanently deformed. If the stress continues to increase, the specimen eventually ruptures, at a
stress called the ultimate strength Su.

Fig. 1. Stress–strain curve for a steel specimen. The specimen deforms permanently when the stress is
equal to the yield strength of the specimen’s material. It ruptures when the stress is equal to the ultimate
strength of the material.

Hooke's law
Hooke's law is the fundamental law of elasticity and states that, provided the strain is small, the
stress is proportional to the strain ; so that, in such a case, the ratio between stress and strain is a
constant, called the modulus of elasticity, (a term first introduced by Thomas Young), or the
coefficient of elasticity. Since stress is just pressure, (or tension per unit area), and strain is just a
ratio, the units and dimensions of the modulus of elasticity are the same as those of stress or
pressure.
Moduli of elasticity
There are three types of elasticity corresponding to the three different types of strain, such as,
(i) elasticity of length, called Young's Modulus, corresponding to linear (or tensile) strain;
(ii) elasticity of volume, called Bulk Modulus, corresponding to volume strain; and
(iii) elasticity of shape, called Modulus of Rigidity, corresponding to shear strain.
(1) Young's Modulus
When the deforming force is applied to the body only along a particular direction, the change per
unit length in that direction is called longitudinal, linear or elongation strain, and the force
applied per unit area of cross-section is called longitudinal or linear stress. The ratio of linear
stress to linear strain, within the elastic limit, is called Young's Modulus, and is usually denoted
by the letter Y.
If F be the force applied normally to a cross-sectional area A, then the stress is F/A. And, if
there be change l produced in the original length L, the strain is given by l/L. So that, Young's
Modulus

Now, if a material of unit length and unit area of cross-sectional area could be pulled so as to
increase in length by unity, the force applied would measure the value of Young's Modulus for it.
Here, the elongation produced is not proportional to the force applied, we can still determine
Young's Modulus from the ratio

where dF/A is the infinitesimal increase in the linear stress and dL/L, the corresponding increase
in strain.
N.B. In case of rubber, it requires a much smaller force than steel to stretch it (its elasticity is
much less than that of steel). In fact, the value of Young's Modulus for rubber is about one-
fiftieth of that of steel. What we mean when we say that it is elastic, therefore, is just that it has a
very large range of elasticity, for, whereas a crystalline body can be stretched to less than even
one per cent of its original length before reaching its elastic limit, rubber can be stretched to
about eight times (or 80%) of its original length.
(2) Bulk Modulus
Here, the force is applied normally and uniformly to the whole surface of the body; so that, while
there is a change of volume, there is no change of shape. Geometrically speaking, therefore, we
have here a change in the scale of the coordinates of the system or the body. The force applied
per unit area, (or pressure), gives the Stress, and the change per unit volume, the Strain, their
ratio giving the Bulk Modulus for the body. It is usually denoted by the letter K.
If F be the force applied uniformly and normally on a surface area A, the stress, or pressure, is
F/A or P; and, if ΔV be the change in volume produced in an original volume V, the strain is
ΔV/V and therefore, Bulk Modulus

The Bulk Modulus is sometimes referred to as incompressibility

and hence its reciprocal is called compressibility ; so that, compressibility
of a body is equal to l/K, where K is its Bulk Modulus. It must thus be quite clear that
whereas bulk modulus is stress per unit strain, compressibility represents strain per unit stress.
The concept of Bulk Modulus is used mostly in liquids. In solids, Young’s modulus is used
commonly and the value of K varies in gases, as they are extremely compressible.

(3) Modulus of Rigidity

In this case, while there is a change in the shape of the body, there is no change in its volume.
The modulus of rigidity is the elasticity coefficient for shearing or torsion force.
Consider a rectangular solid cube, whose lower face aDCc, is fixed, and to whose upper face a
tangential force F is applied, in the direction shown in the following figure. The couple so
produced by this force and an equal and opposite force coming into play on the lower fixed face,
makes the layers, parallel to the two faces, move over one another, such that the point A shifts to
A', B to B', d to d' and b to b', i.e., the lines joining the two faces turn through an angle θ.
 The face ABCD is then said to be sheared through an angle θ. This angle (in radians), through
which a line originally perpendicular to the fixed face is turned, gives the shear strain, or the
angle of shear. As can be seen, θ = AA'/DA = l/L, where l is the displacement AA' and L, the
length of the side AD. Thus, the shear strain may also be defined as the relative displacement
between two planes unit distance apart.
On the other hand, the tangential stress is clearly equal to the force F divided by the area of the
face ABbd, i.e., equal to F/A. The ratio of the tangential stress to the shear strain gives the
coefficient of rigidity of the material of the body, denoted by n.

P1. A wire 300 cm long and 0.625 sq cm in cross-section is found to stretch 0.3 cm under a
tension of 1200 kg. What is the Young's modulus of the material of the wire?

P2. A solid ball 330 cm in diameter is submerged in a lake at such a depth that the pressure
exerted by water is 10 kg wt/cm2. Find the change in volume of the ball. (K for the material = 107
dynes/cm2)
Relationships

i.e. compressibility, which is reciprocal of the bulk modulus, is therefore equal to .

CA
Poisson's Ratio
It is a commonly observed fact that when we stretch a string or a wire, it becomes longer but
thinner, i.e., the increase in its length is always accompanied by a decrease in its cross-section. In
other words, a longitudinal or tangential strain produced in the wire is accompanied by a
transverse or a lateral strain in it.
The ratio between lateral strain (β) to the tangential strain (α) is constant for a body of a given
material and is called the Poisson's ratio for that material. It is usually denoted by the letter σ.
Thus, Poisson's ratio is
It follows, therefore, that if a body under tension suffers no lateral contraction, the Poisson's ratio
for it is zero. The relations for K and n above may now be put in terms of Poisson's ratio, as
follows

or, (1)

Similarly,

or, (2)

Combining the relations of (1) and (2), we can write

which gives the value of Poisson's ratio in terms of K and n.

Limiting values of σ
We obtain from the above formula

where K and n are essentially positive quantities. Therefore,

(i) if σ be a positive quantity, the right hand expression, and hence also the left hand
expression, must be positive, and for this to be so, 2 σ < l, or σ < 0.5.
(ii) if σ be a negative quantity, the left hand expression, and hence also the right hand
expression, must be positive, and this is possible only when σ be not lees than - l.
Thus, the limiting values of σ are -1 and 0.5. As will be readily seen from the above relations (1)
and (2), the bulk modulus or the modulus of rigidity would become infinite. Further, a negative
value of σ would mean that, on being extended, a body should also expand laterally. At least, we
know of no such substance so far. Similarly, a value of 0.5 would mean that the substance is
perfectly incompressible and frankly, we do not know of any such substance either. In actual
practice, the value of σ is found to lie between 0.2 and 0.4, although Poisson had a theory that the
value of σ for all elastic bodies should be 0.25.
Theory of Bending Beams
Beam
A beam is a rod of uniform cross-section, circular or rectangular, whose length is very great
compared with its thickness, so that the shearing stresses over any section are small and may be
neglected.
Bending moment
A bending moment is the reaction induced in a structural element (beam) when an
external force or moment is applied to the element causing the element to bend. For equilibrium,
the moment created by external forces (and external moments) must be balanced by the couple
induced by the internal loads. The resultant internal couple is called the bending moment.

Irrespective of the manner in which the beam is bent by the couple applied, its filaments on the
inner or the concave side get compressed, and those on the outer or the convex side get extended,
as shown in Fig. 1. Along a section, there is a layer or surface in between these two portions in
which the filaments are neither compressed nor extended. This surface is called the neutral
surface and its station (EF) which is perpendicular to it, is called the neutral axis.

Fig. 1

Let a small part of the beam be bent, as shown in Fig. 2, in the form of a circular arc, subtending
an angle θ at the centre of curvature O. Let R be the radius of curvature of this part of the neutral
axis, and let a'b' be an element at a distance z from the neutral axis.
Then, a'b' = (R + z) θ,
and its original length ab = R θ.
So the increase in length of the filament
= a'b' – ab = (R + z) θ - R θ = z θ.
Therefore, we have

i.e., the strain is proportional to the distance from the neutral axis. Fig. 2
Now, the stress is
Stress = Y x Strain = Y x z/R
 where Y is the value of Young's modulus for the material of the beam.
If PQRS (Fig. 3), be a crosssection of the beam at right angles to
its length and the plane of bending and the line MN lies on the
neutral surface (b is the breadth of the section and its depth d) and
consider a small area δa about a point A on the elongated line,
distant z from the neutral surface, then the force dF acting outward
on the area δa, Fig. 3
dF = stress x δa = δa.Y.z/R
Again consider a small area δa below the neutral line MN, then the force dF acting inward, so
that both of these small forces act in opposite direction, create the moment of force or couple.
Therefore, the moment of this force about the line MN is the product of the magnitude of that
force and perpendicular distance z from the neutral line MN
= dF.z = Y δa.z2/R.
Since the moments of the forces acting on both the upper and the lower halves, PQNM and
MNRS respectively, of the rectangular section PQRS, are in the same direction, the total moment
of the forces (bending moment) acting on the filaments in the section PQRS is given by

Now, is the geometrical moment of inertia (Ig) of the section about MN, and therefore,
2
equal to ak , where a is the whole area of the surface PQRS and k, its radius of gyration about
MN.
Hence, the total moment of the forces about MN is

The quantity is called the flexural rigidity of the beam. We can rewrite
Bending moment = flexural rigidity / R

Limitations of the simple theory of bending

i. That the cross-section of the beam remains unaltered during bending.
ii. That the radius of curvature of the bent beam, or rather that of its neutral surface, is large
compared with its thickness. This is almost always true for all cases of elastic bending.
iii. That the minimum deflection of the beam is small compared with its length. In the case of a
clock spring, the deflection produced is very large even within the elastic limit.
Determination of the geometric moment of inertia for a rectangular cross-section of the beam
Imagine the section as a rectangular plate of unit mass per unit area, (Fig. 4). Then, area of the
strip AB, of length b and breadth dz, is equal to b.dz.

Therefore, its mass = b.dz.1 = b.dz.

Fig. 4

Hence, geometric moment of inertia of the strip about MN = b.dz. z2, and, therefore, moment of
inertia of the whole plate or section about MN

The quantity YIg = Y.ak2 is called the flexural rigidity of the beam. Therefore,
Bending moment = flexural rigidity / R,

The geometrical moment of inertia (Ig) of the section equals ak2, where a is the whole area of the
surface and k, its radius of gyration; depends on the shape of the cross-section. As for example,
For a rectangular cross-section,

For a circular cross-section,

 Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam fixed horizontally at one end and loaded at the other.
(I) Cantilever loaded at the free end. Here, two cases arise, viz., (a) when the weight of the beam
itself produces no bending, and (b) when it does so; (II) Cantilever loaded uniformly.
(a) When the weight of the beam itself is ineffective
Let AB, (Fig. 1) represents the neutral axis of a cantilever, of length L fixed at the end A, and
loaded at B with a load W at the free end, so as to be bent a little into the position B'. Clearly the
neutral axis AB of the beam will now take up the position AB', so that the depression/deflection
of the loaded end is BB'.

Consider a section P of the beam at a

distance x from the fixed end A. The moment of
the external couple at P, due to the load W or
the bending moment acting on it

Since the beam is in equilibrium, this must be

Fig. 1
equal to YIg/R = Y.ak2/R, where R is the radius
of curvature of the neutral axis at P. Therefore,

For understanding
The geometrical moment of inertia (Ig) of the section equals ak2, where a is the whole area of the
surface and k, its radius of gyration; depends on the shape of the cross-section. As for example
For a rectangular cross-section,

For a circular cross-section,

Since the moment of the load increases as we proceed towards the fixed end A, the radius of
curvature is different at different points and decreases as we approach the point A. For a point Q,
however, at a small distance dx from P, it is practically the same as at P. So that,

Substituting the value of R into (1) gives

Now, the tangents are drawn to the neutral axis at P and Q, meeting the vertical line through BB'
in C and D respectively. Then, the angle subtended by them is also equal to dθ the radii at P and
Q being perpendicular to the tangents there. Now, clearly, the depression of Q below P is equal
to CD, equal to dy, say. Then

Therefore, the depression y = BB' of the loaded end B below the fixed end A, is obtained by
integrating the expression for dy between the limits, x = 0 to L.

Thus, the free end of the cantilever is depressed by

(b) When the weight of the beam itself is effective

In this case, in addition to the load W at B, the weight of the portion (L- x) of the beam is also
acting at the mid-point or the c.g. of this portion; so that, if w be weight per unit length of the
beam, a weight w(L- x) is acting at a distance (L- x)/2 from the section PQ. Therefore, the total
bending moment on the beam

Since the beam is in equilibrium, this must be equal to YIg/R = Y.ak2/R.

i.e., the beam now behaves as though it is loaded at the end B with a load W plus 3/8ths of the
weight of the beam.

(II) Cantilever loaded uniformly

Let the uniform load on the cantilever be w per unit length. Then, the weight of the portion of
the beam (L - x), i.e., w(L - x) alone produces a bending moment about the section PQ, there
being no weight suspended from the end B. And, since this weight w(L - x) acts at a distance (L -
x)/2 from the section PQ, we have
 Depression of a Beam supported at the ends and determination of Y

When the beam is loaded at the centre:

Let a beam be supported on two knife edges at its two ends A and B, as shown in Fig. 2, and let
it be loaded in the middle at C with a weight W. The reaction at each knife edge will clearly be
W/2, in the upward direction.

Fig. 2

Since the middle part of the beam is horizontal, the beam may be considered as equivalent to two
inverted cantilevers, fixed at C, the bending being produced by the loads W/2, acting upwards, at
A and B.
If, therefore, L be the length of the beam AB, the length of each cantilever (AC and BC) is L/2,
and the elevation of A or B above C or, what is the same thing, the depression of C below A and
B is given by

If the beam be of a circular cross-section, we have , where r is the radius of the

cross-section; so that, for such a beam,

And, if the beam be of a rectangular cross section, of breadth b and depth d, we have
, and therefore, for such a beam,

For a given load, the depression of the beam is

(i) directly proportional to the cube of its length,
(ii) inversely proportional to its breadth,
(iii) inversely proportional to the cube of its depth, and
(iv) inversely proportional to the Young's modulus for its material.
It follows, therefore, that the depression of a beam may be small for a given load, its length
should be small, i.e. its span should be small, its breadth and depth should be large and the
Young's modulus for its material should also be large.
Twisting Couple on a Cylinder/Wire

Consider, a cylinder, clamped at one end and twist it through an angle θ (radians) about its axis,
is said to be under tension. Let l be the length and r be the radius of the cylindrical rod of a
material which has the coefficient of rigidity n. At the position of equilibrium, the twisting
couple is equal and opposite to the restoring couple.

Fig. 1(b)

Fig. 1(a)

Fig. 1(b) shows the sketch of the bottom plane of the cylinder which consists of a shell, whose
radius from its centre O is x and thickness is dx. Let AB, [Fig. 1(a)], be a line, parallel to the axis
OO´, before the cylinder is twisted. On twisting, only the point B shifts to B', the line AB takes
up the position AB', because the point A is at the fixed plane. The angle through which this
cylinder is sheared is, therefore, BAB' = ϕ, say.
We have,

or,
Obviously, ϕ will have the maximum value where x is the greatest, i.e., the maximum strain is on
the outermost part of the cylinder, and the least, on the innermost.
From the definition of the modulus of rigidity, we obtain

Or,
Since we need to estimate the twisting couple at the entire surface, first we have to calculate the
total torque at the shell. Now, the area of the shell is 2πxdx, then the total shearing force on this
area

Therefore, the moment of this force about the axis OO' of the cylinder is

Integrating equation (4) between the limits, x = 0 and x = r, we have the total twisting couple on
the cylinder

or,
where,

is called the torsional rigidity of the cylinder/wire which is defined as the twisting couple per unit
twist of that cylinder/wire.
Note. If the cylinder be a hollow one, of inner and outer radii, equal to and respectively, the
twisting couple on the cylinder
 Flat and Non-flat spiral springs

Springs
A spring, an elastic object, is a mechanical device designed to store energy when deflected and to
return the equivalent amount of energy when released.

Spiral spring
This is a spring consisting of a uniform wire coiled usually in a flat spiral or in a helix.
We may imagine the spiral spring formed by winding the wire uniformly on a cylinder of radius
R. Two cases arise, i.e.
The plane of the wire may either be practically perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, or it
may make a small angle with it.
Flat spiral spring
When the plane of the wire may be practically perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, then the
type of spiral spring formed is referred to as flat.
Suppose a load W is attached to the free end. By
considering the equilibrium of the part of the spring below
a section at A (Fig. 1), there must be a shearing force equal
to W acting vertically over the section, and a couple of
moment WR. The effect of the latter is to produce a
uniform twist ϕ per unit length of the wire, and this is
balanced by the torsional resistance nπr4ϕ/2, where r is the
radius of the wire, is small compared with R. For
equilibrium

If l be the total length of the wire, the twist at the free end
lϕ, and the work done in twisting the wire is

Fig. 1

which is stored up in the wire as potential energy. Suppose the load W is depressed and then
released. When its displacement is x, the twist in the wire is increased by an amount ϕ1 per unit
length, i.e. , and the additional potential energy is

In this position, W has been lowered by x and the center of gravity of the spring by x/2, so that
the change of potential energy from these effects is
where W1 is the weight of the spring. At the same position, the load W will have kinetic energy
(KE) equal to , and the spring itself possesses KE. Due to the vertical oscillations of a
loaded spring, the vertical depression at any point in the spring is proportional to its distance s
from the fixed end, measured along the wire, and the velocity will be . If m is the mass per
unit length, the KE of an element ds will be

and of the whole spring is given by

The total KE of the system is therefore

From the principle of energy conservation

Differentiating this with respect to t and rearranging the terms, we have

which represents the differential equation for the periodic motion of a loaded flat spiral spring, taking
place about a displacement zero with a period t0, given by

Effective mass of a spring

It is defined as the mass that it seems to have when responding to forces.

In a real spring–mass system, the spring itself has a mass m. Since not all of the spring's length
moves at the same velocity v as the suspended mass M, its kinetic energy is not equal to mv2/2.
As such, m cannot be simply added to M to determine the frequency of oscillation, and the
effective mass of the spring is defined as the mass that needs to be added to M to correctly
predict the behavior of the system.
The effective mass of the spring in a spring-mass system when using an ideal spring of
uniform linear density (measure of a quantity of any characteristic value e.g. mass, charge etc.
per unit of length) is 1/3 of the mass of the spring and is independent of the direction of the
spring-mass system (i.e., horizontal, vertical, and oblique systems all have the same effective
mass) because of no external acceleration for the period of motion around the equilibrium point.
Non-flat spiral spring
If an element of the spiral is inclined at an angle α with the
horizontal plane when the spring is stretched by a force W, then
the spring will be non-flat.
Consider any point A on the coils, if R is the radius of the
cylinder on which the coils are wound, the external/torsional
couple at A is WR. This couple, produced by the load W, may be
resolved into two components, one WR cosα acting in the plane of
the section at A and producing a uniform twist ϕ per unit length of
the wire, given by

The other component WR sinα acting with its axis perpendicular to section at A, constitutes a
bending moment and produces a change in curvature at A given by

so that, if ds is an element of the length of the wire, this element is bent through an angle

Considering the vertical displacements of the free and resulting from the twisting and bending,
we have from (3), since the section is inclined at an angle α to the vertical, a vertical
displacement equal to

and, arising from (4), an additional vertical movement

Hence, the total vertical displacement is

In addition to the vertical motion of the free end, there will be angular displacement in the
horizontal plane. Thus, from (3), the torsion gives rise to a horizontal angular shift of

this will cause the spring to coil up, since it acts inwards.
In a similar manner the bending moment will produce a horizontal angular rotation of the free
end, which from (4), is given by
and this causes the spring to uncoil, since it acts outwards.
The total angular displacement as the spring coils up is therefore

and is greatest, when α = 45°.

The spring will coil up, or uncoil, according as

For most metals, Y > 2n, and spiral springs formed of wires of circular cross-sections tend to coil
up when an extending force is applied to their free ends.