The strength of a material is not the only criterion that must be considered

when designing machine parts or structures. The sti¤ness of a material is

often equally important, asConcept
areof Strain
mechanical properties such as hardness,
toughness, and ductility. These properties are determined by laboratory
Terminology
tests. Many- Review
materials, particularly metals, have established standards that
ME 333 F describe
Particle: theamount
A small test procedures in detail.
of mass that occupies We will confine
a single point inour attention
space to in
(of course, only
relative
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS one of the tests—the
terms). F tensile test of steel—and use F its results to illustrate
Rigidseveral important
Body: A collectionconcepts
of many of material
particles behavior.
in which the distance between particles is F
fixed both before and after loading (S = S′ ).
Lecture 2: Generalized Strain Definition a. Normal (axial) strain F
F

S
S
S
Before describing the tensile test, SweS must formalize the definition of normal
0

(axial) strain. We Sbegin by considering the elongation

S
of the prismatic bar of 0

Ravi Sastri Ayyagari length L in Fig. 2.1. The elongation d may be caused S by an applied S0
S 0 axial
force, or an expansion due to an increase in temperature, or even a force and
Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar a temperature increase acting simultaneously. Strain describes the geometry
of deformation, independent of what actually causes the deformation. The
Deformable Body: If loading results in deformations (relative change in distance between
Sem I, 2025-2026 normal strain  (lowercase Greek epsilon) is defined as the elongation per unit
particles) of the body (S , S′ ).
length. Therefore, the normal strain in the bar in the axial direction, also
known as the axial strain, is
[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 1 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 2 / 21

d
¼ (2.1)
L

If the bar deforms uniformly, then Eq. (2.1) represents the axial strain every-
Concept of Strain
where in the bar. Otherwise, this expression should be viewed as the aver-
Concept of Strain

Strain in 1-D age axial strain. Note

Average Strain Definition that normal strain, being elongation per unit length, is

Q Define Strain ? [Example 1] Uniaxial Loading of a Bar

Lf = Lo + δ

P A
P

Lo
Change in Length L − L0 δ
ϵ= = =
Original Length L0 L0
δ is relative displacement and L0 is the original length

If the deformation is uniform along the length of the bar

Deformation is the change in the relative position of points δ 2.1 Deformation of a prismatic bar.
(L + δ) − L FIG.
ϵave = = (Normal Strain)
Strain is dimensionless and therefore no units L L
[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 3 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 4 / 21
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require
 Concept of Strain Concept of Strain

Strain at a Point in 1-D Strain at a Point in 1-D

Q What if the deformation is not uniform ? [Example 1]
Q What if the deformation is not uniform ?
dx dx
x
If the deformation is not uniform: A(x)

ZL P P (x) P (x)
∆δ dδ
ϵ(x) = lim = =⇒ dδ = ϵ(x) dx ∴ δ = ϵ(x) dx
∆x→0 ∆x dx
0
L

If deformation is not uniform:

ZL
∆δ dδ
ϵ(x) = lim = =⇒ dδ = ϵ(x) dx ∴ δ = ϵ(x) dx
∆x→0 ∆x dx
0

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 5 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 6 / 21

Concept of Strain Concept of Strain

Strain at a Point in 1-D Strain at a Point in 1-D

[Example 2] Bar AD is loaded as shown. Find the relative displacement δAD . [Example 2] Contd ...

5 kN 8 kN 4 kN 7 kN
5 kN 8 kN 4 kN 7 kN A1 , E1 A2 , E2 A3 , E3
A1 , E1 A2 , E2 A3 , E3 A B C D
A B C D
5 kN 5 kN 7 kN 7 kN
5 kN 5 kN 7 kN 7 kN
A B C D
A B C D
3 kN 3 kN
3 kN 3 kN
B C
B C
X
N 
Pi Li
 
5LAB
 
3LBC
 
7LCD

Draw free body diagram of each section δAD = = − −
Ai Ei A1 E1 A2 E2 A3 E3
i=1

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 7 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 8 / 21

 Concept of Strain Concept of Strain

Strain at a Point in 1-D Strain at a Point in 1-D

Axial Force Diagram [Example 3] Stepped bar under axial loading.

5 kN 8 kN 4 kN 7 kN A1 , E1 , L1
A1 , E1 A2 , E2 A3 , E3
A B C D A2 , E2 , L2 P3

F (kN) P1 P2 A3 , E3 , L3 P4

5
P3
x
−3
−7
X
N 
Pi Li

δ=
Ai Ei
i=1

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 9 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 10 / 21

Concept of Strain Concept of Strain

Types of Motion Types of Motion

Rigid Body Motions : Deformations :
y y a0 d0 a0
a0 ua
ua ua ud
a a c
a0 a d a
ua
uc

c0 c0
b0 c0 θ
uc
ub uc
b c (b, b0 ) θ c u c c0 c
(b, b0 )

x x

No relative change in distance between the points of the grid. Relative change in distance between the points of the grid (Dilation, Distortion).

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 11 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 12 / 21

 Strain at a Point Strain at a Point

Deformation of Infinitesimal Element Strain at a Point in 2-D

Deformations in xy plane :
Deformations in xy plane :
The strain components :
The strain components :
y D0 ∆x + (∂u/∂x)∆x − ∆x ∂u
O′ C′ − OC ϵx = lim =
E0 ϵx = lim ∆x→0 ∆x ∂x
∆x→0 OC
E ϵy = lim
∆y + (∂v/∂y)∆y − ∆y
=
∂v
D O′ E′ − OE ∆y→0 ∆y ∂y
∆y O0 C0 ϵy = lim
∆y→0 OE
(∂v/∂x)∆x (∂u/∂y)∆y
′ ′ ′ γxy = lim +
y O C γxy = lim (∠COE − ∠C O E ) ∆x→0
∆y→0
∆x ∆y
∆x→0
∆y→0
x ∆x π  ∂v ∂u
= lim − ∠C′ O′ E′ = +
x ∆x→0
∆y→0
2 ∂x ∂y

Ref: An Introduction to Mechanics of Solids, Crandall et. al.

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 13 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 14 / 21

Strain at a Point Strain at a Point

Small Strain Theory Large Deformations

[Example 4] Rigid rotation about the z-axis: [Example 5] Deformations in a Tennis Ball
x′ = x + u; y′ = y + v; z′ = z + w
= x cos α + y sin α; = −x sin α + y cos α; =z
Small strain theory y
∂u ∂x′ C0
ϵxx = = − 1 = cos α − 1;
∂x ∂x
∂v ∂y ′
ϵyy = = − 1 = cos α − 1;
∂y ∂y D B0 C
∂u ∂v
γxy = +
∂y ∂x
D0
∂x′ ∂y′
= + = sin α − sin α = 0 α
∂y ∂x x
A B
Ref: Instron Inc.
[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 15 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 16 / 21
 Strain at a Point Strain at a Point

Large Deformations Strain Measure

[Example 6] Deformations in biological materials
Q When is a body strained ?

When relative position of points in a continuous body is altered, we say that the
body is strained.
Rigid Body : It is an ideal body such that the distance between every pair of points
remains unaltered throughout history of body.
Till now the definition of strain is one-dimensional. However, in reality strain is the
tensorial measure in 3D.

Ref: Stefan Münster et al., PNAS 2013

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 17 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 18 / 21

Strain at a Point Strain at a Point

Generalized Strain Description Generalized Strain Description

z
Steps :
1 Consider a point P(x, y, z) in an unloaded state (undeformed and unstressed)
P 0 (x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) 2 Upon loading point P moves to P′ (x′ , y′ , z′ )
∆ w 3 The primed coordinates are functions of unprimed coordinates and vice-versa, i.e.,
r0
P (x, y, z)
y x′ = x′ (x, y, z); x = x(x′ , y′ , z′ )
0
z
z r v 0 y′ = y′ (x, y, z); y = y(x′ , y′ , z′ )
u x
y
z′ = z′ (x, y, z); z = z(x′ , y′ , z′ )
y0
x Requirement :
x
(0, 0, 0) 1 Above functions are continuous and differentiable
Origin
2 Above functions are invertible and single valued

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 19 / 21 [email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 20 / 21

 Strain at a Point

Reading Assignment

Chapter 2: Section 2.7.1

[email protected] ME 333 Sem I, 2025-2026 21 / 21