Materials and Structures

Compression – squeeze structure/material together

Tension – stretch material or structure
Shear – one layer of the material slides over the other
Bending – tension on the top compression on the bottom

Extension = change in length = final length – original length

Note (Mass to Weight F=mg)

Hook’s Law
K = force constant (gradient of force/extension graph)
High value of K means a stiff material

Stress = =
Units Pa or N

Tensile/Compressive strength = max stress a material can

withstand before failing
F= (Units = Pa or M ) symbol ( )

Safety factor
If safety factor = 2 then permissible limit =

Strain

(Young’s modulus) / (modulus of elasticity)

Measure of stiffness (constant till the elastic
limit) (elastic limit = max stress before plastic)

Toughness – the amount of energy a material can absorb before breaking

The area under a stress strain is the energy stored in the material graph
measured in

Strain energy stored in the material = volume of material * area under the
graph

Condition for translational equilibrium

and

Condition for rotational equilibrium, sum of torques = 0