MAE 243 - Mechanics of Materials Section 002

Spring 2016
Chapter 3b Lecture

Instructor: Derrick Banerjee

Office Hours: M, Th 3:30-5 PM

3.4: Hookes law

Many structural materials such as metals, wood, plastics and ceramics
behave both elastically and linearly when first loaded and their stressstrain curve begin with a straight line passing through origin (line OA)

Stress-strain diagram for a typical

structural steel in tension (not to scale)
FIG. 1-10

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

Linear elastic materials are useful for designing structures and machines
when permanent deformations, due to yielding, must be avoided

Hookes law
The linear relationship between stress and strain for a bar
in simple tension or compression is expressed by:
is axial/normal stress
is axial/normal strain
E is modulus of elasticity

=E

Hookes law

Robert Hooke
(1635-1703)

The above equation is a limited version of Hookes Law relating only the
longitudinal stresses and strains that are developed during the uniaxial
loading of a prismatic bar
Robert Hooke was an English inventor, microscopist, physicist,
surveyor, astronomer, biologist and artist, who played an important role
in the scientific revolution, through both theoretical and experimental
work.

Modulus of elasticity
E is called modulus of elasticity or Youngs modulus and
is a constant
It is the slope of the stress strain curve in the linearly
elastic region
Units of E are the same as the units of stress (i.e. psi for
USCS and Pa for SI units)
For stiff materials E is large (i.e. structural metals).
Esteel = 190 - 210 GPa
Plastics have lower E values than metals.
Epolyethylene = 0.7 1.4 GPa
Appendix H, Table H-2 contains values of E for materials
Thomas Young was an English polymath, contributing to the scientific
understanding of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, and
Egyptology.

Chart of Modulus of Elasticities vs. Densities

Elasticity
What happens when the load is
removed (i.e. the material is unloaded)?
Tensile load is applied from O to A
(fig 1.18a) and when load is removed
the material follows the same curve
back. This property is called elasticity
If we load the same material from O to
B (fig 1.18b) and then unloading
occurs, the material follows the line
BC. Line OC represents the residual or
permanent strain. Line CD represents
the elastic recovery of the material.
During unloading the material is
partially elastic

Stress-strain diagrams illustrating

(a) elastic behavior, and (b) partially elastic
behavior
FIG. 1-18

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

Plasticity
Plasticity is the characteristic of a material which undergoes inelastic
strains beyond the strain at the elastic limit

When large deformations occur in a ductile material loaded in the

plastic region, the material is undergoing plastic flow

Reloading of a material
If the material is in the elastic range, it
can be loaded, unloaded and loaded
again without significantly changing the
behaviour
When loaded in the plastic range, the
internal structure of the material is
altered and the properties change
If the material is reloaded (fig 1-19),
CB is a linearly elastic region with the
same slope as the slope of the tangent to
the original loading curve at origin O
By stretching steel or aluminium into
the plastic range, the properties of the
material are changed

Reloading of a material and raising

of the elastic and proportional limits
FIG. 1-19

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

Things to do:

1. Read through Chapter 3 and start homework

2. Quiz on WEDNESDAY! Bring a calculator for quiz
3. Cheer on the Mountaineers tomorrow night!
4. Have a safe and great weekend!