STRESS - STRAIN RELATIONS CIVIL ENGINEERING BASICS AND TUTORIALS

STRESS - STRAIN RELATIONS BASIC INFORMATION
What is Stress - Strain Relations?

Materials deform in response to loads or forces. In 1678, Robert Hooke published the first findings that documented a linear relationship between the amount of force applied to a member and its deformation.

The amount of deformation is proportional to the properties of the material and its dimensions. The effect of the dimensions can be normalized. Dividing the force by the cross-sectional area of the specimen normalizes the effect of the loaded area.

The force per unit area is defined as the stress in the specimen (i.e., ). Dividing the deformation by the original length is defined as strain of the specimen (i.e., length/original length). Much useful information about the material can be determined by plotting the stress–strain diagram.

Figure 1.2 shows typical uniaxial tensile or compressive stress–strain curves for several engineering materials. Figure 1.2(a) shows a linear stress–strain relationship up to the point where the material fails. Glass and chalk are typical of materials exhibiting this tensile behavior.

Figure 1.2(b) shows the behavior of steel in tension. Here, a linear relationship is obtained up to a certain point (proportional limit), after which the material deforms without much increase in stress.

On the other hand, aluminum alloys in tension exhibit a linear stress–strain relation up to the proportional\ limit, after which a nonlinear relation follows, as illustrated in Figure 1.2(c).

Figure 1.2(d) shows a nonlinear relation throughout the whole range. Concrete and other materials exhibit this relationship, although the first portion of the curve for concrete is very close to being linear.

Soft rubber in tension differs from most materials in such a way that it shows an almost linear stress–strain relationship followed by a reverse curve, as shown in Figure 1.2(e).