What is Mechanics?

 Mechanics is the branch of physical science which

deals with the state of rest or motion of bodies that are
subjected to the action of forces.

 Mechanics is the study of forces that act on bodies

and the resultant motion that those bodies experience.

 With roots in physics and mathematics, Engineering

Mechanics is the basis of all the mechanical sciences.
 Mechanics
Applied Mechanics is subdivided into two parts:

1. SOLID MECHANICS
Solid mechanics is usually subdivided into further two streams i.e.
a) Mechanics of rigid bodies (i.e. objects that do not get deformed when forces are applied)
Mechanics of rigid bodies is further divided into two parts:
i) Statics
ii) Dynamics
Statics deals with bodies at rest.
Dynamics deals with objects in motion.
b) Mechanics of deformable bodies
The mechanics of deformable solids which is branch of applied mechanics is known by several names i.e. strength
of materials, mechanics of materials etc.

2. FLUID MECHANICS
 Rigid body
 The term "rigid body" refers to a system with any number of
particles, but which are constrained not to move relative to each
other. That is, a rigid body does not deform.

 All particles in a rigid body remain at a fixed distance from one

another even after applying forces.

 A rigid body is nothing but a solid body of finite size in which change
in original shape (deformation in other words) is not allowed.
 Introduction to Mechanics of Materials
Definition: Mechanics of materials is a branch of applied mechanics that deals with
the behaviour of solid bodies subjected to various types of loading.

Compression Tension (stretched) Bending Torsion (twisted) Shearing

Most fundamental concepts in Mechanics of Materials are stress and strain.

 Mechanics of materials
The fundamental areas of engineering mechanics are

1. Statics

2. Dynamics

3. Strength of materials (Mechanics of materials

 Statics and dynamics are devoted primarily to the study of the external effects of forces on rigid bodies i.e.
bodies for which the change in shape (deformation) can be neglected.

 In contrast, strength of materials deals with the relation between externally applied loads and their internal
effects on bodies. Moreover, the bodies are no longer assumed to be rigid; the deformations, however
small, are of major interest.

 The purpose of studying strength of materials is to ensure at that the structure used will be safe against
the maximum internal effects that may be produced by any combination of loading.

 The main objective of the study of the mechanics of materials is to provide the future engineer with the
mean of analyzing and designing various machines and load-bearing structures.

 Both the analysis and the design of a given structure involve the determination of stress and deformations.

 An understanding of how bodies respond to applied loads is the main area of emphasis in the Mechanics
of materials.
 STRESS
 Stress can be defined as a measure of the internal reaction to an externally applied
force. It is due to the internal resistance of particles inside the body.
 When some external forces are applied to a body, then the body offers internal
resistance to these forces. This internal opposing force per unit area is called 'stress'.
It is denoted by the Greek letter σ (sigma) and its formula is as following

(External)

(Geometry)
The unit of stress is the units of force divided by the units of area.

 In SI, force is measured in newtons (N) and area is measured in

square meters (m2). Thus the units for stress are newtons per
square meter (N/m2). Frequently, one newton per square meter is
referred to as one Pascal (Pa).

 In US customary units, force is measured in pounds (lb). With area

measured in square inches, the units for stress are pounds per
square inch (lb/in2), frequently abbreviated as psi.

 Since kip is often used to represent kilopound (1 kip = 1000 lb, 2

kips = 2000 lb etc). ksi is used an abbreviation for 1 kip per square
inch (1000 lb/in2), for example, 8 ksi = 8000 psi.
 Concept of Stress

 The fundamental concepts of stress can be illustrated by considering a straight bar with a constant cross-
sectional area A that is loaded by axial forces F at the ends, as shown in the Figure.

 The external load causes internal forces called stresses. To investigate the internal stresses produced in the
bar by the axial forces, we make an imaginary cut at section c-c. This section is taken perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the bar.

 We now isolate the part of the bar to the left of the cut as a free body. The tensile load F acts at the left hand
end of the free body; at the other end are forces representing the action of the removed part of the bar upon
the part that remains.

 These forces are continuously distributed over the cross section. The intensity of force (that is, the force per
unit area) is called the stress and is commonly denoted by the Greek letter σ (sigma). Assuming that the
stress has a uniform distribution over the cross section (see Figure), we can readily see that its resultant is
equal to the intensity σ times the cross-sectional area A of the bar.
 Strength
 It is a material property which defines the maximum stress a body can
withstand before failure occurs.
 It is the resistance offered by a material when subjected to external loading.
So, stronger the material the greater the load it can withstand.
 Depending upon the type of load applied the strength can be tensile,
compressive, shear or torsional.
 Types of stresses
 When we apply some external force on the body, some amount of internal force which is equal but opposite in direction is
generated, this internal force per unit area is called stress. We denote this by Greek symbol σ and its formula is as following
σ = F/A . In SI, the units are Pascal (Pa).

The important types of simple stresses are

1. Shear stress
2. Normal stress
3. Thermal stress

 Tensile and compressive stress is causes by forces perpendicular to the areas on which they act.
For this reason, tensile and compressive stresses are frequently called normal stresses.

 When we apply two equal forces but opposite in direction on a rod towards outside, it elongates and the type of stress generate
at that time is called tensile stress.

 When we apply two equal forces but opposite in direction on a rod in such a way that it compresses the rod, then the type of
stress generates at that time is called compressive stress.
 Shear stress
 Shear stress is caused by forces acting along or parallel to the area resisting the forces. For this
reason, a shearing stress may be called a tangential stress. A shearing stress is produced
whenever the applied loads cause one section of a body to tend to slide past its adjacent section.
Shear stress is denoted by Greek letter τ and the formula is as following

 τ =Tangential force/ Resisting area

 In (a) the rivet resists shear across its cross-sectional area, whereas in the clevis at (b) the bolt
resists shear across two cross-sectional areas.

 In (c) a circular slug is about to be punched out of a plate; the resisting area is similar to the
milled edge of a coin. In each case, the shear occurs over an area parallel to the applied load.
This may be called direct shear in contrast to the induced shear that may occur over sections
inclined with the resultant load, as was illustrated in figures a-c.
Shear : load parallel to area

Normal : load perpendicular to area

 .
A shearing stress is produced whenever the applied loads cause one section of a body to tend to slide past its adjacent section
Rivets resist shear across its cross-sectional area.
 In Figure (c) a circular slug is about to be punched out of a plate; the resisting
area is similar to the milled edge of a coin. In this case, the shear occurs over
an area parallel to the applied load.

Die

Slug

Slug: a piece of metal shaped like a coin

Sample Problem #06

d  Diameter of hole  20mm  20 10 3 m

t  Thickness of plate  25mm  25 10 3 m
  Shear strength  350MN / m 2
v  Shear force  ?

SOLUTION :
v
 Shear area =
A Circumference of the
punched circle multiplied by
the specimen thickness
Area  Circumference  Thickness
A  D  t

v v
 
A Dt
 v  Dt 
v   (20 10 3 )(25 10 3 )(350 106 )
v  549778.7 N  550kN
 Thermal Stress
 All of the members and structures that we have considered so far were assumed to
remain at the same temperature while they were being loaded. We are now going
to consider various situations involving changes in temperature.

 If the temperature increases, generally a material expands, whereas if the

temperature decreases, the material contract.

 Ordinarily, this expansion or contraction is linearly related to the temperature

increase or decrease that occurs.

 If this is the case, and the material is homogeneous and isotropic, it has been
found from experiment that the deformation of a member having a length L can be
calculated using the formula
 Thermal Stresses

At room temperature 

After raising the

temperature by DT

 A temperature change results in a change in length or thermal strain. There

is no stress associated with the thermal strain unless the elongation is
restrained by the supports.
Long structures such as railway tracks and
pipelines can fail from buckling instability by such
stresses. In the picture shown, a worker inspects
a buckled railway track that has failed from the
action of heat. The rail component - which is
welded at both ends to the next bit of track - is
constrained to the original length and so the
thermal expansion, in turn, introduces a
compressive stress along its length. When this
stress becomes too large, the rail cannot sustain
it in its original shape and it buckles sideways as
shown.
This process is highly unstable and can lead to
unsafe designs if the mechanics of this type of
system are not well understood. It can be seen in
the photograph that the buckling is localized to
one section of track, this is an important and
generic characteristic of long structures that have
some sort of support along their length.
Railway track: Railway tracks are an example where the concept of thermal expansion is used.
Space is left between railway tracks as an allowance for their expansion when temperature
increases, otherwise the rails may buckle.

Gaps between successive lengths of rails

Thermal stresses can cause the failure of machine components, buildings, and
structural members. Expansion joints and other means, including gaps between
successive lengths of rails, gaps between the blocks of a dam, and rollers on
bridge supports, are used to prevent such failures.

Bridges have expansion joints to allow for

thermal expansion of concrete.
Most bridges are built with gaps that allow the bridge to expand
without cracking the material.
 Strain
 Whenever a force is applied to a body, it will tend to change the body’s shape and
size. These changes are referred to as deformation.

 Load will cause all material bodies to deform and, as a result, points in the body will
undergo displacements or changes in position.

 Normal strain is a measure of the elongation or contraction of a small line segment in

the body.

 To obtain the unit of deformation or strain ε, we divide the elongation δ by the length L
in which it was measured, thereby obtaining
 Stress-Strain Diagram
 From the data of a tension or compression test, it is possible to compute various
values of the stress and corresponding strain in the specimen and then plot the
results. The resulting curve is called the stress-strain diagram.

 Using the recorded data, we can determine the nominal or engineering stress by
dividing the applied load P by the specimen’s original cross-sectional area Aₒ. This
calculation assumes that the stress is constant over the cross section and throughout
the region between the gauge points, we have

 Likewise, the nominal or engineering strain is found directly from the stain gauge
reading or by dividing the change in the specimen’s gauge length by the specimen’s
original length Lₒ. Here the strain is assumed to be constant throughout the region
between the gauge points. Thus
A tension test was performed on a steel specimen having an original
diameter of 12.5 mm and gauge length of 50 mm. Using the data listed in the
table, plot the stress–strain diagram
The corresponding values are plotted as a graph, for which the vertical axis is
the stress and horizontal axis is the strain, the resulting curve is called a
conventional stress-strain diagram. This diagram is very important in
engineering since it provides the means for obtaining data about a material’s
tensile or compressive strength without regard for the material’s physical size
or shape i.e. its geometry.

No two stress-strain diagrams for a particular material will be exactly the same, since the results
depend on such variables as the material’s composition, microscopic imperfections, the way it is
manufactured, the rate of loading, and the temperature during the time of the test.
We will now discuss the characteristics of the conventional stress-strain curve as it pertains to steel, a commonly used material for
fabricating both structural members and mechanical elements.

From this curve we can identify four different ways in which the material behaves, depending on the amount of strain induced in
the material.

1) Elastic behavior
2) Yielding
3) Strain hardening
4) Necking

Other concepts developed from the stress-strain curve are the following:

1) Proportional limit
2) Elastic limit
3) Yield Point
4) Ultimate stress or Ultimate strength
5) Rupture strength
 Hooke’s Law
Let us now return to a consideration of the striaght-line portion of the stress-strain diagram as shown in figure.

From the origin O to a point called the proportional limit shows that stress-strain diagram is a straight line.

From this we deduce the well known relation, first postulated by Rober Hook in 1678, that Stress is proportional to
strain.

The slope of that line is the ratio of stress to strain. It is called the modulus of elasticity and is denoted by E.

which is usually written in the form

  E
In this form it is known as Hooke’s law.

Modulus of elasticity E is the ratio of unit stress to unit strain within the proportional limit of a material in tension
or compression.
 Poisson's ratio
When a deformable body is subjected to an axial tensile force, not only does it elongate, but it also
contracts laterally.
For example, if a rubber band is stretched, it can be noted that both the thickness and width of the
band are decreased.
Likewise, compressive force acting on a body causes it to contract in the direction of the force yet
its sides expand laterally.
Poisson showed in 1811 that the ratio of the unit strains in these directions is constant for stresses
within proportional limit.
Accordingly, this ratio is named after him; it is denoted by nu and defined by

The negative sign is used here since longitudinal elongation (positive strain)
causes lateral contraction (negative strain), and vice versa.
Thank you!