Dr. D. B.

Wallace

Mohr's Circle Stress Analysis

Two Dimensional State of Stress:
The state of stress is represented by a stress element that consists of a cube with stresses on four of its faces. It is customary to view the cube perpendicular to the stress free face so that it appears as a square with stresses acting on its side faces.

x xy

Facial Stresses:
Each Stress element has three sets of facial stresses, each consisting of a normal stress and a shear stress. The facial stresses are defined by the stresses acting on the three sets of parallel faces defining the cube. For the stress state shown the stresses are: B Faces Normal Stress, Shear Stress, A A B Left / Right or x-faces or A x - xy Top / Bottom Front / Back or y-faces or z-faces or B or C y 0 xy 0 y

x xy

Note: Normal stress is positive if it is a tensile stress (i.e. points away from the surface) Shear stress is positive if it tends to rotate the element clockwise.

Mohr's Plane:
Mohr's Plane is simply a set of axes that plots normal stress versus shear stress. Therefore each of the three facial stresses (which are defined by a normal stress and a shear stress) can be represented by a point on Mohr's Plane as shown.

Clockwise

xy
C

Tension

xy

Mohr' Circle:
Clockwise

xy
C

B R Q

Tension

xy

Mohr's Circle is constructed by drawing a line from A to B; this is a diameter of the "in-plane" Mohr's circle for this state of stress. Since the shear stresses of A and B are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign, the center of the circle (Q) will always be on the normal stress axis. The center of Mohr's circle (Q) and the radius are determined from: Q= x+ 2
y

and

R=

+ xy

xy

x y
2 R

xy

Note: The radius (R) is determined using one of the two identical triangles and the Pythagorean theorem.

Mohr's Circle Stress Analysis

Dr. D. B. Wallace

Significance of Mohr's Circle:

The "in-plane" Mohr's circle represents the locus of all possible states of stress (normal stress and shear stress) that can exist on the surfaces of the stress element cube as it is rotated about the z axis.

Possible face stresses on planes parallel to the z-axis. B

C A

Principal Stresses and Maximum "in-plane" Shear Stresses:

For design, it is often desireable to know the largest and Clockwise smallest normal stresses which can exist at the point that is represented by the given state of stress. These extreme c stresses are known as principal stresses and are found on C Mohr's circle where the circle crosses the normal stress axis. The third principal stress is at C, the stress-free surface. These are shown on the figure as 1, 2, and 3. Note that the shear stress is zero on the planes represented by these points.
B

max (in-plane)
Q
Principal Stresses

Tension

a ,b = Q R

c = 0

a,b,c = 0

The maximum "in-plane" shear stress is found from the top of Mohr's circle. The normal stress on the maximum "in-plane" shear stress plane is the average of x and y.

( max ) in plane = R THE Maximum Shear Stress:

= Q

The plane with the maximum shear stress may not be on a plane parallel to the z-axis! To find THE maximum shear stress a three dimensional Mohr's circle must be used. This is constructed using the three principal stresses: three circles are constructed using pairs of the principal stresses as endpoints of the diameters. The shaded area between the circles is the locus of all possible facial stresses no matter what the orientation of the face. Therefore, the maximum shear stress is the radius of the largest of the three circles.

Clockwise

max
B

3
C

Q
Principal Stresses

Tension

max = Example:

(1 is the most tensile principal stress and 3 is the most compressive principal stress.)
B
Clockwise 80

1 3 2

1 + 3 2

where 1 > 2 > 3

Q = (100 + ( 60)) / 2 = 20
100

B A

100 MPa
-60

Q (20) C R
-80

Tension

R=

(100 20) 2 + 80 2 = 113

a ,b = Q R = 20 113 = 133, 93 max = R = 113 (in-plane is THE max)

80 MPa 60 MPa

Principal Stresses: 133, 0 , -93 MPa Maximum Shear Stress: 113 MPa