MECHANICS - THEORY

Maximum and Minimum Normal Stress

Rotating the stress state of a stress element can give

stresses for any angle. But usually, the maximum
normal or shear stresses are the most important. Thus,
this section will find the angle which will give the
maximum (or minimum) normal stress.

Start with the basic stress transformation equation for

the x or y direction.

To maximize (or minimize) the stress, the derivative

of σx′ with respective to the rotation angle θ is equated
Rotating Stresses from x-y Coordinate to zero. This gives,
System to new x'-y' Coordinate System
dσx′ / dθ = 0 - (σx - σx) sin2θp + 2τxy cos2θp = 0

where subscript p represents the principal angle that

produces the maximum or minimum. Rearranging
gives,

The angle θp can be substituted back into the rotation

stress equation to give the actual maximum and
minimum stress values. These stresses are commonly
referred to as σ1 (maximum) and σ2 (minimum),

Principal Stresses, σ1 and σ2,

at Principal Angle, θp

For certain stress configurations, the absolute value

of σ2 (minimum) may actually be larger
than σ1 (maximum).
 For convenience, the principal stresses, σ1 and σ2, are
generally written as,

where the +/- is the only difference between the two

stress equations.

It is interesting to note that the shear stress, τx′y′ will go

to zero when the stress element is rotated θp.

Maximum Shear Stress

Like the normal stress, the shear stress will also have a
maximum at a given angle, θτ-max. This angle can be
determined by taking a derivative of the shear stress
rotation equation with respect to the angle and set
equate to zero.

When the angle is substituted back into the shear

stress transformation equation, the shear stress
maximum is
Maximum Shear Stresses, τmax,
at Angle, θτ-max

The minimum shear stress will be the same absolute

value as the maximum, but in the opposite direction.
The maximum shear stress can also be found from the
principal stresses, σ1 and σ2, as
 Plotting Stresses vs Angle

The relationships between principal normal stresses

and maximum shear stress can be better understood
by examining a plot of the stresses as a function of the
rotation angle.

Notice that there are multiple θp and θτ-max angles

because of the periodical nature of the equations.
However, they will give the same absolute values.

At the principal stress angle, θp, the shear stress will

always be zero, as shown in the diagram. And the
maximum shear stress will occur when the two
Stresses as a Function of Angle
principal normal stresses, σ1 and σ2, are equal.

Principal Stresses in 3D

In some situations, stresses (both normal and shear)

are known in all three directions. This would give three
normal stresses and three shear stresses (some may
be zero, of course). It is possible to rotate a 3D plane
so that there are no shear stresses on that plane. Then
the three normal stresses at that orientation would be
the three principal normal stresses, σ1, σ2 and σ3.

These three principal stress can be found by solving

the following cubic equation,

This equation will give three roots, which will be the

three principal stresses for the given three normal
stresses (σx, σy and σz) and the three shear stresses
(τxy, τyz and τzx).