COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL & ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

CVEN 214: STRENGTH OF MATERIALS

Chapter 2: STRAIN
WAEL I. ALNAHHAL, Ph. D., P. Eng
Spring, 2015

Introduction

Strain

Stability and Deformations of a body depend on the intensity of

the external forces applied on the body as well as the load
carrying capacity of the body

Applied
External Load

Internal
Loading

Determine Using
Equilibrium
Equations

Internal
Stresses

Deformations

Strain (deformation) terms

Deformation of the material is the change in
geometry when stress is applied
Deformation is expressed by the displacement
field of the material
Strain is the deformation per unit length
Deflection is a term to describe the magnitude
to which a structural element bends under a
load

Deformation
When a force is applied to a body, the internally
generated stress will change the bodys shape and size.
These changes are deformation.

Note the before and after

positions of 3 line segments
where the material is
subjected to tension.

Strain
1. Normal Strain
The elongation / contraction of a line segment per unit of length is
referred to as normal strain.

avg

s 's
=
s

Average normal strain is defined as

If the normal strain is known, then the approximate final length is

s ' (1 + )s

+ line elongate
- line contracts

Units
Normal strain is a dimensionless quantity since it is a ratio of two lengths

Normal Strain

P
= = normal stress
A

2P P
=
=
2A A

P
A

= normal strain
L

=
L

=
2L L

Normal Strain tends to change the volume, Length or Size of a material

Shear Strain
Change in angle between 2 line segments
that were perpendicular to one another
refers to shear strain.
nt =

lim '

B A along n
C A along t

<90 +shear strain

>90 -shear strain

Shear Strain
Cubic element subjected to a shear stress will deform into a rhomboid. The
corresponding shear strain is quantified in terms of the change in angle between
the sides

A
B

Note: Normal Strain tends to change the volume or Size of a material

While Shear Strain tends to change the Shape of a material

EXAMPLE 2.2

EXAMPLE 2.2 (CONTINUED)

EXAMPLE 2.2 (CONTINUED)

Example 2.3
The plate is deformed into the dashed shape. If, in this deformed shape, horizontal lines on
the plate remain horizontal and do not change their length, determine (a) the average
normal strain along the side AB, and (b) the average shear strain in the plate relative to the
x and y axes.

Solution:
Part (a)
Line AB, coincident with the y axis, becomes line after deformation, thus the length of
this line is

AB' =

(250 2)2 + 32

= 248.018 mm

The average normal strain for AB is therefore

( AB )avg = AB' AB = 248.018 250 = 7.93(103 ) mm/mm (Ans)

AB

250

The negative sign indicates the strain causes a contraction of AB.

Solution:
Part (b)
As noted, the once 90 angle BAC between the sides of the plate, referenced from the
x, y axes, changes to due to the displacement of B to B.
Since

xy

xy = 2 then
' xy

is the angle shown in the figure. Thus,

3
= tan
= 0.0121 rad (Ans)
250 2
1

Example 2.4

Solution Example 2.4

CONCEPT QUIZ
1) The rectangular membrane has an
unstretched length L1 and width L2. If the
sides are increased by small amounts L1
and L2, determine the normal strain along
the diagonal AB.
L1
L2
A)
+
L1
L2
L1 + L2
C)
L1 + L2

L12 + L22
B)
L12 + L22

D)

(L
(L

2
1

+ L22

2
1

+ L22

CONCEPT QUIZ (cont)

2)

The rectangular plate is subjected to the

deformation shown by the dashed line.
Determine the average shear strain xy of the
plate.
A)

3
150

C)

150
200

B)

D)

17
1200

(150

3
2

+ 200 2