MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF

SOLIDS
 Deforming force :
• A force which can change the shape
and size of the body is called
deforming force.
 Elasticity
• A body regains its original shape and
size after the removal of deforming
force, it is said to be elastic body and
this property is called elasticity
• Perfectly elastic body
• If a body regains its original size and
shape completely and immediately after
the removal of deforming force, it is
said to be a perfectly elastic body.
 Plasticity
• If a body does not regain its original size
and shape even after the removal of
deforming force, it is said to be plastic
body and its property is called plasticity.
• Perfectly plastic body :
• If a body does not show any tendency to
regain its original size & shape even after
the removal of deforming force, it is said
to be perfectly plastic body.
 Stress
The internal deforming force set up per
unit area of cross-section of deforming
body is called stress.
Applied force (F)
Stress =
Area (A)

S.I. unit of stress is N/m2

The dimensional formula of stress is
[M1L-1T-2]
 Types of Stress
• 1) Tensile stress or Longitudinal stress
• The restoring force set up per unit cross-sectional area of body
when the length of the body increases in the direction of the
deforming force.
• 2) Compressive stress
It is the restoring force set up per unit cross-sectional area of a body
when its length decreases under a deforming force.
3) Hydrostatic stress
If a body is subjected to a uniform force from all sides, then the
corresponding stress is called hydraulic stress.
4) Tangential stress
When a deforming force acts tangentially to the surface of a body, it
produces a change in the shape of the body. The tangential force
applied per unit area is equal to the tangential stress.
 Strain

The ratio of the change in any dimension produced in the body to the
original dimension is called strain.

Change in dimension
Strain =
Original dimension

As the strain is the ratio of two like quantities, it has no unit and dimension.
Types of Strain
1) Longitudinal strain:
It is defined as ratio of change in length to the original length.

Change in length
∆ℓ
Longitudinal strain = =
Original length ℓ
2) Volumetric strain:
It is defined as the ratio of change in volume to the original volume.

Change in volume ∆v
Volumetric strain = =
Original volume v

3) Shear strain:
It is defined as the angle θ, through which a face originally perpendicular to the f
ixed face gets turned on applying tangential deforming force

Relative displacement
between two parallel planes ∆ℓ
Shear strain = θ = tan θ = =
Distance between ℓ
parallel planes
Elastic limit :
The maximum stress within which the body regains its original
size and shape after the removal of deforming force is called
elastic limit.
 Hooks law
• It states that within the elastic limit, the
stress is directly proportional to strain.
i.e stress α strain
OR
stress = constant x strain
stress/strain = constant
The constant of proportionality is called modulus of elasticity
or coefficient of elasticity of the material & defined as ratio of
stress to the corresponding strain, within elastic limit.
The modulus of elasticity is the ratio of stress and strain,
as strain has no unit modulus of elasticity is having the
unit of stress.
* Types of modulus of elasticity :
1) Young’s modulus of elasticity (Y):
Within the elastic limit, the ratio of longitudinal stress to the ℓ
longitudinal strain is called Young’s modulus of the material of the wire.
Longitudinal stress
Young’s modulus =
Longitudinal strain
F/A ∆ℓ
Y=
∆ℓ/ℓ
or F . ℓ
Y= F Area(A)
A ∆ℓ
2) Bulk modulus of elasticity (k):
Within the elastic limit, the ratio of normal stress to the p
volumetric strain is called bulk modulus.
Normal stress
Bulk modulus =
Volumetric strain
F/A
k=- p V - ∆V p
∆V/V
V
F . V
k=-
A ∆V
or pV
k=- p
∆V
where p (= F/A) is normal pressure. Negative sign indicate that the volume
decreases with the increase in stress. { contd….
Note :
The reciprocal of the bulk modulus of a material is called its compressibility (1/k). Its SI
unit is N-1m2
3) Modulus of rigidity or shear modulus (η):
Within the elastic limit, the ratio of tangential stress to shear strain is called
modulus of rigidity
Consider a rectangular block whose lower side is fixed and a tangential force F
is applied over its upper face of area A. An equal & opposite force F comes into play
on its lower fixed face. The two equal and opposite forces form a couple which
exerts a torque. As the lower face of the block is fixed, the couple hears the block
into a parallelopied by displacing its upper face through distance PP’ = QQ’ = ∆ℓ
Let AB = DC = ℓ & PAP’ = θ
Tangential stress
Modulus of rigidity =
Shear strain (tan θ) ≈ θ
∆ℓ
F/A
η=
or ∆ℓ/ℓ ℓ

F . ℓ
Y= Area = A
A ∆ℓ F

0
* Stress-strain curve for a metallic wire
Stress strain curve for metal wire gradually loaded is as shown in figure
1) The initial part OA of the graph is straight line indicating
that stress is proportional to strain. Up to the point A, Hooks
law is obeyed. The point A is called the proportional limit. In
this region the wire is perfectly elastic.
2) After the point A, the stress is not proportional to strain &
a curved portion AB is obtained. However, if the load is
removed at any point between O & B, the curve is retraced
along BAO & the wire attains its original length. The portion
OB of the graph is called elastic region and the point B is
called elastic limit or yield point and corresponding stress is F
called yield strength (Sy).
.
3) Beyond the point B strain increases more rapidly than the stress. If the load is removed at
any point C, the wire does not come back to its original length but trace dashed line CF. Even
on reducing the stress to zero, a residual strain equal to OF is left in the wire. The material is
said to have acquired is permanent set. The fact that the stress-strain curve is not retraced
on reversing the strain is called elastic hysteresis.
4) Further increase in load beyond C produces a large increase in strain or length of the wire.
The stress corresponding to the highest point D on the graph is called ultimate strength or
tensile strength (Su) of the material. Beyond this point additional strain is produced even if
the wire is unloaded and finally the wire breaks at the fracture point or breaking point E. In
this region between B & E the length of wire goes on increasing even without any addition of
load. This region is called plastic region and the material is said to undergo plastic flow or
plastic deformation.
{ contd….
Note :
1) The material which have large plastic
range of extension are called ductile
material. As shown in the stress strain
curve their breaking point/fracture point
is widely separated form the yield point/
elastic limit. So they can be drawn in to
thin wire. For example copper, silver,
iron, aluminium etc.
2) The material which have very small range of plastic extension are called brittle material.
Such material break as soon as the stress is increased beyond the elastic limit/yield point.
Their breaking point lies just close to their elastic limit/yield point. Ex cast iron glass,
ceramic. Etc.
3) The material which can be elastically stretched to large
values of strain are called elastomers. Such a material has
very small Young’s modulus at slow strain, very large
elastic region, but it does obey Hook’s law. For example,
rubber can be stretched to several times its original length
but still it can regain its original length when the applied
force is removed. In our body, the elastic tissue of aorta
(large blood vessel carrying blood form the heart) is an
elastomer, for which stress-strain curve is shown in figure.
4) Elastic after effect : The delay in regaining the original state by a body on the removal of
the deforming force is called elastic after effect.
5) Elastic fatigue : Elastic fatigue is defined as loss in the strength of a material caused due
to repeated alternating strains to which the material is subjected.
0
Applications of elasticity :
1) Thickness of rope in crane :
The thickness of metallic ropes used in cranes to lift heavy load is decided from the
knowledge of elastic limit of the material and the factors of safety. Suppose a crane having
steel ropes is required to lift load of ten ton i.e. 104 kg. The rope is usually designed for a
safety factor of 10 i.e., it should not break even when a load of 10 4 x 10 = 105 kg applied to it.
If r is the radius of the rope, then
F
Ultimate stress =
A
mg
=
πr2
105 x 9.8
= 9.8 x 105
πr2 r =
2

The ultimate stress should not exceed the 9.42 x 108

elastic limit of steel (= 30 x 107 Nm-2) for steel
9.8 x 10-3
105 x 9.8 r2 =
= 30 x 10 7
9.42
πr2
r2 = 1.040 x 10-3
or 9.8 x 105 r2 = 10.40 x 10-4
r =
2

3.14 x 30 x 107 r = 3.22 x 10-2 m

r = 3.22 cm
A single wire of this much radius would be a rigid rod. For the ease in
manufacture and to impart flexibility and strength to the rope. It is always made of
large number of thin wires braided together. { contd….
 2) Designing of bridge :
The knowledge of elasticity is applied in designing a bridge such that it does not
bend too much or break under the load of traffic, the force of wind and under its own
weight. Consider a rectangular bar of length l, breadth b and thickness d supported at
both ends, as shown in figure. When load w is suspend at its middle, the bar gets
depressed by an amount given by.

Wℓ3
δ=
4y bd3 (i) (ii) (iii)

The bending can be reduced by using a material with large

Young’s modulus Y. As δ is proportional to d-3 & only b-1, so
depression can be decreased more effectively by increasing the
depth d rather than the breadth b. But a deep bar having tendency
of buckling as shown in fig (ii). Hence a better choice is to have a
bar of I-shaped cross-section as shown if fig (iii). This section
provides a large load bearing surface and enough depth to prevent
bending. Also, this shape reduces the weight of the beam without
sacrificing its strength & hence reduce the cost.
 3) The maximum height of mountain :

• The maximum height of mountain on the earth

depends upon shear modulus of the rock. At the
base of the mountain, the stress due to all the rock
on the top should be less than the critical shear
stress at which the rock begins to flow. Suppose
the height of the mountain is h and the density of
its rock is ρ. Then the fore per unit area at the base
= hρg. The material at the base experiences this
force per unit area in the vertical direction, but
sides of the mountain are free. Hence there is a
tangential shear of the order of the order of hρg.
The elastic limit for a typical rock is about 3 x 10 8
N/m2 and its density is 3 x 103 kg m3. HENCE
• hmax ρg = 3 x 108
3 x 108 105 10 x 104
hmax = = =
3 x 10 x 9.8
3
9.8 9.8

≈ 10 x 104

i.e hmax = 10 km

Height greater than this will not be able

to withstand shearing stress due to the
weight of the mountain.
Poisson’s ratio derivation
Let us consider a cylinder. Let’s take the original length as L
and the original diameter as D. Let △L be the change in
length and △D be referred to as the change in diameter.
Now, when we apply a tensile force along the cylinder’s
length (i.e. pull the cylinder), then
Longitudinal (Linear) Strain= △L / L , and
Lateral (Transverse) Strain= △D / D
Poisson’s ratio (ν, Greek letter pronounced as nu) is the
measure of the change in lateral (transverse or normal) strain
over the change in linear (axial or longitudinal) strain, i.e.,
Poisson’s ratio (ν)= -Lateral Strain / Longitudinal Strain = –
(△D / D) /(△L / L)
Thank You