Strength of Materials PPB 25403

Lecture 4: Axial Load

Saint-Venant’s Principle
 Saint-Venant’s principle states that both localized
deformation and stress tend to “even out” at a
distance sufficiently removed from these regions.
Elastic Deformation of an Axially Loaded Member
 Using Hooke’s law and the definitions of stress and
strain, we are able to develop the elastic deformation
of a member subjected to axial loads.
 Suppose an element subjected to loads,

L
Px dδ P x dx
and ε
Ax dx 0
AxE
= small displacement
L = original length
P(x) = internal axial force
A(x) = cross-sectional area
E = modulus of elasticity
Elastic Deformation of an Axially Loaded Member
Constant Load and Cross-Sectional Area
 When a constant external force is applied at each
end of the member,
PL
AE

Sign Convention
 Force and displacement is positive when tension and
elongation and negative will be compression and
contraction.
Deformations Under Axial Loading
From Hooke’s Law:
P
E
E AE
From the definition of strain:

L
Equating and solving for the deformation,
PL
AE
With variations in loading, cross-section or
material properties,
Pi Li
i Ai Ei

2- 5
 Example 4.1
The assembly consists of an aluminum tube AB having a cross-sectional area of
400 mm2. A steel rod having a diameter of 10 mm is attached to a rigid collar and
passes through the tube. If a tensile load of 80 kN is applied to the rod, determine
the displacement of the end C of the rod. (Est = 200 GPa, Eal = 70 GPa )

Solution:
Find the displacement of end C with respect to end B.
PL 80 103 0.6
C/B 0.003056 m
AE 0.005 200 109

Displacement of end B with respect to the fixed end A,

PL 80 103 0.4
B 0.001143 0.001143m
AE 400 10 6 70 109
(Ans)
Since both displacements are to the right, C C C/B 0.0042 m 4.20 mm
Principle of Superposition
 Principle of superposition is to simplify stress and
displacement problems by subdividing the loading
into components and adding the results.

Statically Indeterminate Axially Loaded Member

 A member is statically indeterminate when equations
of equilibrium are not sufficient to determine the
reactions on a member.
 Example 4.2
The steel rod has a diameter of 5 mm. It is attached to the fixed wall at A, and
before it is loaded, there is a gap between the wall at and B’ and the rod of 1 mm.
Find the reactions at A and B’ if the rod is subjected to an axial force of P = 20 kN.
Neglect the size of the collar at C. (Est = 200 GPa)

Solution:
Equilibrium of the rod requires

Fx 0; FA FB 20 103 0 (1)
The compatibility condition for the rod is B/ A 0.001 m .
By using the load–displacement relationship,
FA LAC FB LCB
B/ A 0.001
AE AE
FA 0.4 FB 0.8 3927.0 N m (2)
Solving Eqs. 1 and 2 yields FA = 16.6 kN and FB = 3.39 kN. (Ans)
Example 4.3
The A-36 steel rod shown has a diameter of 5 mm. It is attached to the fixed wall at
A, and before it is loaded there is a gap between the wall at and the rod of 1 mm.
Determine the reactions at A and B’.

Solution:
Consider the support at B’ as redundant and using principle of superposition,
0.001 p B (1)
Thus,

PL AC 20 103 0.4
P 0.002037 m
AE 0.0025 200 109
FB LAB FB 1.2 6
B 0.3056 10 FB
AE 0.0025 200 109
Solution:
By substituting into Eq. 1,

0.001 0.002037 0.3056 10 6 FB

FB 3.39 103 3.39 kN (Ans)
From the free-body diagram,

Fx 0; FA 20 3.39 0
FA 16.6 kN (Ans)
Thermal Stress
 Change in temperature cause a material to change
its dimensions.
 Since the material is homogeneous and isotropic,

T TL

= linear coefficient of thermal expansion, property of the material

T = algebraic change in temperature of the member
T = original length of the member
T
= algebraic change in length of the member
Example 4.12
The rigid bar is fixed to the top of the three posts made of A-36 steel and 2014-T6
aluminum. The posts each have a length of 250 mm when no load is applied to the
bar, and the temperature is T1 = 20°C. Determine the force supported by each post
if the bar is subjected to a uniform distributed load of 150 kN/m and the temperature
is raised to T2 = 20°C.

Solution:
From free-body diagram we have

Fy 0; 2 Fst Fal 90 103 0 (1)

The top of each post is displaced by an equal amount and hence,

st al (2)
Solution:
The final position of the top of each post is equal to its displacement caused by the
temperature increase and internal axial compressive force.

st st T st F

al al T al F

Applying Eq. 2 gives

st T st F st T al F

With reference from the material properties, we have

6 Fst 0.25 6 Fal 0.25

12 10 80 20 0.25 2
23 10 80 20 0.25 2
0.02 200 109 0.03 73.1 109
Fst 1.216Fal 165.9 103 (3)

Solving Eqs. 1 and 3 simultaneously yields Fst 16.4 kN and Fal 123 kN (Ans)
 Exercise 1

Ffail=406kN

F fail
F .S
Fallow
fail
F .S
allow

Answer: 12.5mm, 5.8 fail

F .S
Chapter 4: Axial Load allow
Mechanics of Material 7th Edition
© 2008 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
 Solution

Chapter 4: Axial Load

Mechanics of Material 7th Edition
© 2008 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Exercise 2
Steps:
Divide the rod into components
at the load application points.

Apply a free-body analysis on

each component to determine
the internal force

Evaluate the total of the

Determine the deformation component deflections.
of the steel rod shown under
the given loads.

Answer
2- 16 1.73 mm
 SOLUTION: Apply free-body analysis to each
Divide the rod into three component to determine internal forces,
components:
P1 240 103 N
P2 60 103 N
P3 120 103 N

Evaluate total deflection,

Pi Li 1 P1 L1 P2 L2 P3 L3
i Ai Ei E A1 A2 A3
1 240 103 0.3 60 103 0.3 120 103 0.4
200 109 581 10 6 581 10 6 194 10 6
1.73 10 3 m

1.73 mm
L1 L2 0.3m L3 0.4m
A1 A2 581 10-6 m 2 A3 194 10-6 m 2

2- 17
 Exercise 3

Answer Pmax= 186N

Answer