Mechanics of Materials

Dr. Waseem Arif

Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department

University of Gujrat (UOG)

Mechanics of Materials Introduction

Mechanics of Materials: a branch of mechanics

 Mechanics of materials is a branch of applied mechanics that deals with the behavior
of solid bodies subjected to various types of loading.

 Other names for this field of study are strength of materials and mechanics of
deformable bodies.

Objectives of the study of mechanics of materials:

 The principal objective of mechanics of materials is to determine the stresses, strains,

and displacements in structures and their components due to the loads acting on
them.

 If we can find these quantities for all values of the loads up to the loads that cause
failure, we will have a complete picture of the mechanical behavior of these structures.

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Mechanics of Materials Introduction

Why study of Mechanics of Materials is essential?

 An understanding of mechanical behavior is essential for the safe design of all types of
structures e.g. airplanes and antennas, buildings and bridges, machines and motors, or
ships and spacecraft.

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Mechanics of Materials Stress

Stress:
P Force
 Stress is defined as force per unit area  
A Area
 Stress is denoted by Greek letter  (sigma)
A

Units of Stress:
P
Force
 In USCS units  Stress   Pounds/square inch= lb/in2 = psi
Area

Force
 In SI units  Stress   Newtons/square meter =N/m2= Pa
Area

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Mechanics of Materials Stress
Conversion between psi and Pa:

 Conversion from psi to Pa

Force lb * 4.44822
Stress   2 2
 6896.5 1 lb = 4.44822 N
Area in * (0.0254)
T T
1 in = 0.0254 m
6896.5 * psi  Pa

 Conversion from Pa to psi

Force N * 0.224809 4
Stress   2  1.45 *10 1 N = 0.224809 lb
Area m * (T39.3701) 2 T
1 m = 39.3701 in

1.45 *104 * Pa  psi

 Following units are used for convenience
SI units  1 MPa =106 Pa ; 1 GPa = 109 Pa
T
UCSC units  1 ksi =103 psi ; 1 Msi = 106 psi
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Mechanics of Materials Stress
Normal stresses:

 Tensile stress:

If the forces are directed away from the bar, the bar is said to be in tension. For tensile
stress positive sign is used.

 Compressive stress:

If the forces are directed toward the bar, the bar is said to be in compression. For
compressive stress negative sign is used.

P P
Bar in Tension

P P
Bar in Compression 6
Mechanics of Materials Strain

Strain:

 If a bar is subjected to a direct load, and hence a stress, the bar will change in length. If
the bar has an original length L and changes in length by an amount dL, the strain
produced is defined as follows:

dL
e
L

 Strain is denoted by Greek letter e

 Strain is thus a measure of the deformation of the material and is unitless;

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Mechanics of Materials Strain

Normal Strain:

 Tensile strain:

If the bar is in tension, the strain is called a tensile strain, representing an elongation
or stretching of the material. Tensile strain is usually taken as positive .

 Compressive strain:

If the bar is in compression, the strain is a compressive strain and the bar shortens.
Compressive strain is taken negative.

Strain Percentage:

In practice, the extensions of materials under load are very small, it is often convenient
6
to measure the strains in the form of strain 10 , i.e. microstrain.
Alternatively, strain can be expressed as a percentage strain
dL
Strain (e )  *100%
L
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