CHE150-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 1

4th Quarter AY 2015-2016

COMPRESSIVE STRESS (Carver Press)

Ricky Jay C. Gomez1
1
Student, Mapúa Institute of Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry

ABSTRACT

In the design of engineering structures such as machines, motors, building and bridges, quantifying the strength of
materials is vital. This would help to meet the proper requirement for the specific design of structure. One factor for
this requirement is measuring the stress. Stress is defined as the amount of force that a material can withstand due
application. This is equal to the ratio of the force applied to the cross-sectional area of the material. This area could
be normal to the force or parallel to the force. The type of stress where the force is normal to the cross-sectional area
is the normal stress. Tensile and compressive stress are the types of normal stress. Tensile stress shows a material
being stretched after the application of force. This also shows a positive deformation. Compressive stress is observed
when the material is being compressed. This also shows a negative deformation. When the force is applied tangentially
to the area, the type of stress is shear stress. Shear stress is commonly observed in the flow of fluids. The shorter length
of the material shows high resistance to compression compared to the longer one of the same material. The longer
material cannot withstand too much compressive stress, which furtherly result to breakage or buckling in specific. In
tensile stress perspective, same amount of tensile stress can be observed for both short and long materials of the same
kind. Stress can be also represented using stress-strain curve, wherein the material experiences elastic deformation to
plastic deformation and further increasing the stress leads to fracture.

Keywords: stress, compressive stress, deformation.

INTRODUCTION 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 (𝐹)

𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (𝑆) = (1)
𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠−𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝐴)

One of the essential considerations in designing

different structures for engineering processes such as
for machines, motors, building and bridges is the basic
understanding of mechanical behavior of a material.
Some factors must be determined in order to meet the
different qualifications that a design require. One of
these factors is determining the stress. Stress is
measured as the force acting on unit area of a plane
and is expressed as:
Also, stress is defined as the internal resistance set up
by a body when it is deformed. This is measured in
N/m2 or Pascal.
There are two general types of stresses. One is the
normal stress and the other one is shear stress. When
the stress is applied at a section perpendicular to the
plane of the section, it is called normal stress. The

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normal stress that makes a material being stretched is
called tensile stress. The type wherein the material is
being compressed is called compressive stress.

FIGURE 1: Illustration of the application of normal

stress.

When the force acts at a direction tangential to the

plane of the section, it is called shear stress.

FIGURE 3: Diagram of Carver Press.

FIGURE 2: Illustration of the application of shear
stress.
The stress pattern for a material with uniform cross-
sectional area is the same all over its whole length,
which signifies the uniform distribution of the stress.
METHODOLOGY
The materials and equipment used in the experiment
were ceramic tile, hollow block, 2x2 piece wood (with
lengths of 3 and 6 inches) and Carver Press
The area of the material was measured, the one that
has contact with the upper metal slab. The gauge was
initially set to zero reading. Each material was placed
on top of the lower slab while the upper slab has firmly
gripped. This was done for each of the material
consecutively. Stress was applied by pumping the
jack. Pumping was continuously done until the red and
black needles start to separate from each other. The red
needle reading was then determined. The pressure was
released by turning the knob of the relief valve in
counterclockwise direction. The reading was turned
back to zero by turning the know of the black needle
in clockwise direction. Finally, the compressive stress
of each material was computed, and the procedures
were repeatedly done for the remaining materials.

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The data gathered from the experiment are tabulated

below:

Type A(in2) F(lbf) Stress(lb/in2) Stress(Pa)

Tile 18.75 18959.56 1011.18 6971816.38

Hollow
31.46 18518.64 588.64 4058521.40
Block FIGURE 4: Stress-Strain Curve for a typical specimen.

Wood(long) 2.29 8377.48 3658.29 25222921.40 In the stress-strain curve, the linear part signifies the
elastic deformation of the material, wherein it follows
Wood(short) 2.29 10141.16 4428.45 30533010.11
Hooke’s Law. In elastic deformation, the material is

TABLE 1: Data for the stress force and area of temporarily being deformed but self-reversing after

different materials used in the experiment.
TABLE 1 shows the maximum allowable stress of tile,
hollow block and woods that were used in the
experiment. The data signifies that the length of the
material upon the application of stress affects the
resulting force applied. Comparing the woods, shorter
wood shows higher amount force endured during the
the force applied is removed. After the linear part, the
curve part shows the plastic deformation, wherein
permanent deformation occurs. In tensile stress,
plastic deformation results to necking. The red point
represents the point of fracture, wherein the material
starts to break or failed the buckling.
Some other experiments show different factors that

compression process than the longer one. The tile has affect the compressive strength of a material. These

small thickness compared to the hollow block, that is are the shape and size, height to diameter ratio, rate of

why the amount of force endured by the tile is higher application of load and moisture content in the test

in magnitude than that of the hollow block. The shorter specimen.

the material, the more compression it can withstand.

This experiment has possible errors. One of these is
Long materials can resist too much compression,
during the compression process. The force applied to
which furtherly results to buckling.
the materials were somehow inaccurate because the

The amount of stress is sometimes being described by compression doesn’t actually reach the first evidence

the stress-strain curve. of fracture, which shows the true force or load that a
particular material can withstand. This results to the
inaccurate computation of the stress. Another possible
source of error is the inaccurate measurement of the
area of such material.

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CONCLUSION 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
Quantifying the strength of material is essential in the
18959.56
design of a specific structure. This would be helpful in =
18.75
meeting the requirement that the design demands. One
of the methods of measuring the strength of material is = 1011.15 𝑝𝑠𝑖
determining its compressive strength. Stress is the unit
force of the material. = 6971816.38 𝑃𝑎

Two factors affect the amount of compressive stress in REFERENCES

a material. One is the force applied and the cross

[1] (n.d.). Retrieved from
sectional area where the force is being applied as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressive_s
From the results of the experiment, the length of the trength

material has significant effect to the value of the [2] (n.d.). Retrieved from
compressive stress. The shorter the material, the http://civilblog.org/2015/02/26/what-are-
the-factors-influencing-compressive-
higher compression it can hold. The longer the strength-test-results-of-concrete/
material, the higher the possibility that it can fail the
[3] (n.d.). Retrieved from
buckling, which is the effect of the application of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_of_m
compressive force. Due ultimate strength which is the aterials

highest peak in the stress-strain curve, the maximum [4] (n.d.). Retrieved from
allowable stress is attained. At point of fracture, the http://www.garrettsbridges.com/design/thefo
rces/
material already failed buckling and results to
breakage. [5] (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.eduresourcecollection.com/civil
_sm_Stresses.php
APPENDIX
[6] Geankoplis, C. J. (n.d.). Transport Processes
Sample Computations: and Separation Processes Principles.

[7] Perry, R. H., & Green, D. W. (2008). Perry's

For tile: Chemical Engineer's Handbook. McGraw-Hill
Companies.
0.3937 𝑖𝑛 2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 121 𝑐𝑚2 ( ) [8] Mapua Institute of Technology. (n.d.).
1 𝑐𝑚 Chemical Engineering Laboratory Manual Part 1.

= 18.75 𝑖𝑛2

1000 𝑘𝑔 2.2046 𝑙𝑏𝑚 1 𝑙𝑏𝑓

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 8.6 𝑡𝑜𝑛 ( )( )( )
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛 1 𝑘𝑔 1𝑙𝑏𝑚

= 18959.56 𝑙𝑏𝑓

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