Department of Mechanical Engineering

B.Sc. Engineering, Semester 4 (ME & MT)

ME 3062 Mechanics of Materials II Tutorial/Short notes -(Failure Criteria)

Failure Criteria, Yielding Theories of Failure

Introduction
As the tensile loading of a ductile member is increased, a point is eventually reached at which changes in
geometry are no longer entirely reversible. The beginning of inelastic behaviour is thus marked. The extent of
this inelastic deformation preceding fracture is very much dependent upon the material involved.

The behaviour of materials subjected to uniaxial normal stresses or pure shearing stresses is readily presented
on stress-strain diagrams. The onset of yielding in these cases is considerably more apparent than in situations
involving combined stress. From the view point of mechanical design, it is imperative that some practical
guides be available to predict yielding under the conditions of stress as they are likely to exist in service.

To meet this need and to understand the basis of material failure, a number of failure theories have been
developed. Unfortunately, no theory can claim to be the final answer.

In the development which follows, the yield stress obtained in a simple tension test is denoted by
Y
, and in a
simple compression test by
Y
. The principal theories of failure are outlined in detail below, in which is
the tensile stress at the elastic limit in simple tension, and
1
,
2
,
3
the principal stresses in any complex
system.

1. The Maximum Principal Stress Theory/ Criterion (or Rankine criterion)

According to the maximum principal stress theory, credited to W.J.M. Rankine (1802-1872), a material fails
by yielding when the maximum principal stress exceeds the tensile yield strength, or when the minimum
principal stress exceeds the compressive yield strength. That is, at the onset of yielding
Y
' o o =
1
or
Y
" o o =
2
----------- (1)

The region of failure is shown graphically by referring to the Mohrs circle representation of Fig. 1. Failure
occurs when the circle extends beyond either of the dashed vertical lines.
For the materials possessing the same yield stress in tension and compression
Y Y Y
" ' o o o = = , in the case of
plane stress (
3
= 0), Eq. (1) becomes
Y
o o =
1
or
Y
o o =
2
. This may be written 1
1
=
Y
o
o
or 1
2
=
Y
o
o

These conditions are depicted in Fig. 2, the boundaries represent the onset of failure due to yielding. The area
within the boundary of the figure is thus a region of no yielding.












Y
o
o
2

O
Fig. 2
Y
o
o
1

a
c
b d
1
-1
1
-1


C

Y
"

Fig. 1
- 2 -
Limitations of the theory/criterion (maximum principal stress):

- A material may be weak in simple compression; it may nevertheless sustain very high hydrostatic
pressure without yielding or fracturing. This is inconsistent with the maximum stress theory.

- Failure in ductile materials in fundamentally a shearing phenomenon, and one would therefore assume
the failure criteria for such materials to rely upon shearing rather than tensile stresses.

The maximum principal stress criterion is useful for brittle materials. The theory is nevertheless presented
because of its widespread application in the design of members in a uniaxial state of stress.


2. The Maximum Shear Stress Theory/Criterion (or Tresca criterion) or stress difference theory.

The maximum shear stress theory is an outgrowth of the experimental observation that a ductile material yields
as a result of slip or shear along crystalline planes. Proposed by C.A. Coulomb (1736-1806) it is also referred
to as the Tresca or Guest theory in recognition of the contribution of these scientists to its application.

This theory predicts that yielding will start when the maximum shear stress in the material equals the
maximum shear stress at yielding in a simple tensile test.

In the case of plane stress (
3
= 0), the maximum shearing stress is (
1

2
)/2. Thus, the yield condition is
given by
Y Y
o t o o
2
1
2
1
2 1
= = , which may be restated 1
2 1
=
Y Y
o
o
o
o


When
1
and
2
carry the same sign, with
1
>
2
, the maximum shearing stress equals
(
1

3
)/2 =
1
/2.

The boundary of the hexagon thus marks the onset of yielding (as depicted in Fig. 3), with points outside the
shaded region representing a yielded state.
The theory shows a good agreement with experiments for ductile materials, and offers an additional advantage
in its ease of application.


3. The Maximum Principal Strain Theory/Criterion (St. Venant theory)

According to the maximum principal strain theory, a material fails
by yielding when the maximum principal strain exceeds the tensile
yield strain or when the minimum principal strain exceeds the
compressive yield strain. Assuming the same yield strength in
tension and compression;

The condition for yielding is when
1

2
=
Y


*This theory has been used with some success in the design of
thick-walled cylinders.






Y
o
o
2

O
Fig. 3
Y
o
o
1

1
-1
1
-1
Von Mises
Tresca
- 3 -


4. The Shear Strain Energy Theory/Criterion (von Mises theory or The Maximum Distortion Energy
Theory)
This theory was proposed by H.T. Huber in 1904 and further developed by Richard von Mises(1913) and H.
Hencky (1925).
According to the shear strain energy theory, failure by yielding occurs when the shear strain energy in a state
of combined stress becomes equal to that associated with yielding in a simple tension test. In terms of principal
stresses,
( ) ( ) ( )
2 2
1 3
2
3 2
2
2 1
2
Y
o o o o o o o = + +
This theory finds considerable experimental support in situations involving ductile materials and plane stress.
For this reason, it is on common use in design. The elliptical boundary marking the onset of yielding in
von Mises criterion is also shown in Fig.3.

5. The Strain Energy Theory/Criterion (Haighs theory)

This theory is based on the argument that as the strains are reversible up to the elastic limit, the energy
absorbed by the material should be a single-valued function at failure, independent of the stress system causing
it.
That is, stain energy per unit volume causing failure is equal to the strain energy at the elastic limit in simple
tension, expressed by;
( )
2
1 3 3 2 2 1
2
3
2
2
2
1
2
Y
o o o o o o o u o o o = + + + +

Conclusions
Considerable experimental work has been done on various stress systems, such as tubes under the action of
internal pressure, end loads, and torsion; also on different materials. So far, however, no conclusive evidence
has been produced in favour of any one theory.
In case of brittle materials such as cast iron the maximum principal stress theory should be used. For ductile
materials the maximum shear stress or strain energy theories give a good approximation, but the shear strain
energy theory is to be preferred, particularly when the mean principal stress is compressive. The maximum
strain theory should not be used in general, as it only gives reliable results in particular cases.
It should be noted that, since the shear stress and shear strain energy theories depend only on stress
differences, they are independent of the value of the mean stress and imply that a material will not fail under a
hydrostatic stress system. In practice the effect of such stress system, if tensile, is to produce a brittle type
fracture in a normally ductile material, no plastic deformation having taken place.
Conversely, a tri-axial compressive system will produce a ductile type failure in a normally brittle material. In
general the tendency to ductility is increased as the ratio of maximum shear to maximum tensile stress under
load increases.

Problems
1. A solid circular shaft of tensile yield strength
YP
= 350 MPa is subjected to a combined state of loading
defined by bending moment M = 8 kNm and torque T = 24 kNm.
Calculate the diameter d which the shaft must have in order to achieve a factor of safety N =2 by applying
the failure criteria (a) Maximum principal stress (Rankine), (b) Maximum shearing stress (Tresca) (c)
Maximum principal strain ( St. Venant ) and (d) Maximum energy of distortion (von Mises)

2. A hollow shaft, 50 mm outside diameter and 30 mm inside diameter, is subjected simultaneously to a
bending moment of 2 kNm and a torque of 1 kNm. Find the direction and magnitude of both the maximum
direct stress and maximum shear stress. Assuming that Trescas yield criterion applies and that the yield
stress of the material in simple tension is 250 MN/m
2
, determine the maximum torque which can be
applied to the hollow shaft if the bending moment remains constant at 2 kNm.