SIMPLE STRESSES 1.

Principle of Superposition When a number of forces act on a body, the resulting strain, according to the principle of superposition, will be the algebraic sum of the strains caused by the individual forces. Free body diagram If an elastic body is subjected to a number of direct forces (tensile or compressive) at different sections along the length of the body, the deformation of individual sections can be very easily found if the free body diagrams are drawn for individual sections. The total deformations of the body will then be equal to the algebraic sum of deformations of the individual sections. Thus in Fig 1(a), the bar AD is acted upon by several forces. The free body diagrams for AB, BC and CD have been drawn in Fig 1 (b), (c) and (d) respectively.
A (a) 100kN B 30kN 20kN C D 90kN

L1

L2 (a)

L3

A 100kN

B (90+30-20) 100kN

B (100-30) 70kN

C (90-20) 70kN

L1 (b) C (100+20-30) 90kN D 90kN

L2 (c)

L3 (d)

Fig 1 To draw the free body diagram for AB, consider all the forces to the left of the normal section at A. The net force is 100kN tensile. Considering all the forces to the right of the normal section at B, the net force acting is equal to (90+30-20)=100kN. Thus the section AB of length L1 is subjected to a tensile force of 100kN. The extension of the section will P L 100L1 be 1 = 1 1 = where A1 is the area of cross-section (section AB). A1E A1E Similarly, for section BC of length L2 consider the algebraic sum of the forces to the left of the normal section at B or the sum of the forces to the right of the normal section at

C. The net force on BC=(100-30)70=90-20=70kN. The extension of the section will be PL 70L 2 2 = 2 2 = . A2E A2E Similarly, section CD will be subjected to a tensile force of 90kN and its extension PL 90L3 will be 3 = 3 3 = . A3 E A3E The total extension of the bar AD will be given by: = 1 + 2 + 3 Example: 1. A steel bar of 25mm diameter is acted upon by forces as shown in Fig 2.Determine the total elongation of the bar. Take E=210kN/mm2.
A 60kN 10kN 1 1.5m 2 1.0m B C 20kN 3 2.0m D 50kN

Fig 2 Solution

D2 252 = = 491mm 2 4 4 Considering the equilibrium of AB, a tensile force of 60kN acts on it. PL 60 103 1500 AB = 1 1 = = 0.873mm A1E 491 210 103 Similarly, the net force on BC=70kN (tensile). PL 70 103 1000 BC = 2 2 = = 0.679mm A 2 E 491 210 103 And the net force on CD=50kN. PL 50 103 2000 Hence CD = 3 3 = = 0.970mm A 3E 491 210 103 Total elongation = AB + BC + CD = 0.873 + 0.679 + 0.970 = 2.522mm
Area of cross section, A =

2. Bars of Varying Sections If an axial force P (tensile or compressive) acts on a bar of varying areas of crosssection, the total elongation or contraction of the bar will be equal to the elongation or contraction of each section under the action of axial force P. Thus referring to Fig 3, the

total elongation will be given by = 1 + 2 + 3 , where 1 , 2 , and 3 and are the elongations of the three portions. Thus =
P L1 L 2 L 3 + + E A1 A 2 A 3

P A1

A2

A3

L1

L2

L3

Fig 3 Example: 2. A rod as shown in Fig 4 is subjected to a pull of 800kN on the ends. Determine the extension of the rod if E=210kN/mm2.

200kN

80

40

60

200kN

400

200

400

Fig 4 Solution: L PL L = 1 + 2 + 3 E A1 A 2 A 3 Area of each section: is given by: 2 A1 = D1 = ( 802 ) = 5027mm 2 4 4 2 A 2 = D 2 = ( 402 ) = 1257mm 2 4 4 2 A 3 = D3 = ( 602 ) = 2827mm 2 4 4 3 20010 400 200 400 = + + 3 21010 5027 1257 2827 200103 = ( 0.38017 ) = 0.362mm 210103