Mechanics

Module V: Concept of Stress and Strain

Lesson 21: Introduction to Stress - I

When a body, rigid or flexible, is subjected to external loading, it resists
change in shape and volume. This is effected by the internal force system
set-up inside the body, in general, at every point. If the body is sectioned
by an arbitrary plane, the exposed surface is subjected to an equilibrating
force distribution (force per unit area) comprising both normal and tangential
distributions.

Figure 1:

Partitioning the surface into small area elements, as shown in Fig. 1, one

can express the infinitesimal forces transmitted/resisted by an area element

in terms of this areal force distribution. The distribution is usually referred
to as the stress field, and define the normal and shear stresses on the surface.
The stress field is denoted by xx representing normal stress, and xy and
xz representing shear stress components along y and z axes, respectively.
The first subscript indicates the surface normal, while the second subscript
indicates the coordinate direction of the stress/force. One may, therefore,
define
Pxx
,
A0 A

xx = lim

Pxy
,
A0 A

xy = lim

Pxz
.
A0 A

xz = lim

It is customary to represent tensile normal stresses as positive. The unit

of stress in SI system is N/m2 or Pa (Pascal). Stress like force, cannot be
measured directly.

Stress Tensor and State of Stress

It we section an externally loaded body at an arbitrary point by three mutually perpendicular planes with normals along x, y and z axes, one can obtain
nine stress components which can be arranged as a matrix

xx xy xz
[] = yx yy yz
zx zy zz
This matrix is known as the stress tensor.
These stresses may be visualized through an infinitesimal element of the
body, as shown in Fig. 2, where the stresses on the three opposite surfaces are
2

Figure 2:

not shown. From force equilibrium, these will be equal and opposite. Note
that no body forces have been considered as yet. Moment equilibrium about
the x-axis, assuming no body couples, reads
(zy dxdy)dz + (yz dxdz)dy = 0
zy = yz .
Similarly, moment equilibrium about the y and z axes yields xz = zx, and
xy = yx. Thus, the stress tensor [] is symmetric with only six independent
stress components, namely xx , yy , zz , xy , xz , yz .
The stress tensor has been constructed using the stresses on the three
mutually orthogonal and specially oriented planes. However, given [] at a
point, one can determine the normal and shear stresses on any other plane
through that point. The stress tensor is, therefore, said to represent the (tri3

 dA represent an oriented infinitesimal

axial) state of stress at a point. Let n
passing through the
area element on an arbitrary plane with unit normal n
point at which [] is given. We define the infinitesimal force vector
dP = []
ndA = tdA
where t is known as the traction vector. The infinitesimal normal force is
dP = n
T dP, where n
T represents the transpose of the
then given by dPn = n
. Hence, the normal stress on the arbitrary plane is obtained
column vector n
nn =

dPn
dP

t=n
T []
=n
=n
n.
dA
dA

If s1 and s2 are two unit tangent (surface) vectors on the arbitrary plane, the
shear stresses are similarly obtained as
n1 = s1 t = sT1 []
n,

n2 = s2 t = sT2 []
n.

If the nonzero components of the stress tensor occur only in one plane (say
the x-y plane), the stress tensor may be represented in a reduced form as


xx xy
[] =
yx yy
Such a stress distribution is known as a plane state of stress, or a plane stress
distribution.

Axially Loaded Bars

Consider an axially loaded long and slender bar, as shown in Fig. 3. The
corresponding state of stress at A is also shown, and can be represented in
4

Figure 3:

Figure 4:

the x-y coordinate system as

[] =

0
0 0

where = P/A. In the order determine the stresses on a plane with unit
= cos i + sin j and unit tangent vector s1 = sin i + cos j (as
normal n
shown), we determine the traction vector t = []
n = cos i. Therefore, the
normal and shear stresses on the inclined surface are given by, respectively,
t = cos2
nn = n
n1 = s1 t = sin cos
Note that the shear stress n1 is negative, implying that it is in a direction
opposite to the chosen direction of the surface tangent vector s1 . The stresses
on the inclined surface are visualized in Fig. 4.

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

Problem 1
Draw the axial force and axial stress diagrams for the axially-loaded bar
shown in Fig. 5.
Solution
We start by drawing the FBD of the bar, as shown in Fig. 6. The axial force
diagram is drawn by taking sections (perpendicular to the axis of the bar)
at different locations, and using the resulting FBD of the segment of the bar
to calculate the axial force at that section. The sign convention followed for
the axial force and stress is also shown in Fig. 6.
6

Figure 7:

Problem 2
Determine the normal and shear stress on the rivet of cross-sectional area A
connecting the two plates, as shown in Fig. 7.
Solution
Representing the force P in - coordinates, we have P = P (sin 60 +
cos 60). Normal stress on the rivet

P sin 60
3P
n =
=
.
A
2A
Shear stress on the rivet
s =

P cos 60
P
=
.
A
2A