Mechanical Properties
of Materials
Experimental Stress-Strain Diagram
Which one to use
in engineering
design?
Engineering
stress-strain
True stress-strain
Hookes Law
Stressstrain diagrams exhibit a linear relationship between stress and
strain within the elastic region
An increase in stress causes a proportionate increase in strain
Known as Hookes Law
represents the constant of proportionality, which is called the
modulus of elasticity or Youngs modulus
Represents the equation of the initial straight lined portion of the
stressstrain diagram up to the proportional limit
Hookes Law
Modulus of elasticity represents the slope of stress strain curve in
elastic region
Since strain is dimensionless, has the same units as stress, such as
psi, ksi, or pascals
Proportional limit for a particular
type of steel alloy depends on its
carbon content
However, most grades of steel,
have about the same modulus of
elasticity, generally accepted to
be 29x103 ksi or 200 GPa
Hookes Law
Modulus of elasticity is a mechanical property that indicates the
stiffness of a material
Materials that are very stiff, such as steel, have large values of E=200
GPa, whereas spongy materials such as vulcanized rubber may have
low values E=0.7 MPa
Strain Hardening
If a material is loaded into the plastic
region and then unloaded, elastic
strain is recovered
As the material returns to its equilibrium
state. The plastic strain remains
The material is subjected to a
permanent set
If load is reapplied, the new stress-strain
diagram now has a higher yield point
Greater elastic region
Less ductility
Poissons Ratio
When a deformable body is
subjected to an axial tensile force,
not only does it elongate but it also
contracts laterally
Compressive force causes body to
contract in the direction of the force
and its sides expand laterally
Poissons Ratio
Consider a bar, radius r and length L
Subjected to the tensile force P
Force elongates the bar by an amount
Radius contracts by an amount
Strains in the longitudinal and in the
lateral direction
Within the elastic range, the ratio of these strains is a constant. This
constant is referred to as Poissons ratio
Poissons Ratio
Mathematically
Negative sign indicates that longitudinal elongation (positive
strain)causes lateral contraction(negative strain), and vice versa
Poissons ratio is a dimensionless quantity
For an ideal material having no lateral deformation when it is
stretched or compressed Poissons ratio will be 0
It can be shown that maximum possible value for Poissons ratio is 0.5
Example
Example
Example
Shear Stress-Strain Diagram
Consider a small element of material is subjected to pure shear
Equilibrium requires that equal shear stresses must be developed on
four faces of the element
If the material is homogeneous and isotropic, then this shear stress
will distort the element uniformly
Shear strain measures the angular distortion of the element relative
to the sides
Shear Stress-Strain Diagram
Pure shear can be studied using specimens in the shape of thin tubes
and subjected to torsional loading
Data can be used to determine the shear stress and shear strain,
and a shear stressstrain diagram plotted
Elastic behaviour is linear, and so
Hookes law for shear
Shear Stress-Strain Diagram
G is called the shear modulus of elasticity or the modulus of rigidity
Represents the slope of the line on the shear stress-strain diagram
Units of G are same as that of
The three material constants , E, and G are related by the equation
Example
Example
Example
