Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.

(Sami J.)

CHAPTER ONE
1. STRENGTH OF MATERIAL
1.1 Introduction
Before explaining the term ‘‘Strength of material’’, first you have to know ‘‘what the
material is’’ and ‘‘what types of materials are used for which purpose’’.
So, ‘Materials’ are defined as 'any substances of which something is composed (made)’
or 'any substances of which products (systems) are produced according to the needs and
demands of the society’. The materials which are used for a building or construction
purpose are known as building materials or construction materials. They are also called
as Engineering materials. Engineering science: - is usually subdivided into solid
mechanics, fluid Mechanics and heat transfer.
Solid mechanics: - as a subject may be defined as a branch of applied mechanics that deals
with behaviors of solid bodies subjected to various types of loadings. This is usually
subdivided into two streams.
❖ Mechanics of rigid bodies (statics) and
❖ Mechanics of deformable bodies (strength of materials).
Mechanics of rigid bodies (statics): - is a branch of applied mechanics, which is primarily
concerned with the static behavior under external forces of engineering components and
systems which are treated as infinitely strong and rigid. Rigid body means the body that
do not stretch, bend, or twist. The assumption of rigidity does not match reality perfectly,
but they make the math much easier.
Mechanics of deformable bodies (strength of materials): - is a branch of applied
mechanics, which is more concerned with the internal forces and associated changes in the
geometry of the components involved. In materials science, the strength of a material refers
to the material's ability to withstand an applied stress without failure.
Examples:
❖ real cables stretch under tension,
❖ real floor joists bend when you walk across a wood floor, and
❖ real axle shafts twist under torsional load
Hence, the strength of material, whatever its nature, is defined largely by the internal
stresses, or intensities of the force, in the material.
The primary objective of the strength material is:
❖ To determine the stress and strain
❖ To determine the deflections of the structure under various types of loadings.
Therefore, a knowledge of these quantities is essential for the safe design of all types of
structures; whether airplane, tower, building, bridge, machines, ship and etc…
In all engineering constructions, the component parts of a structure must be properly
proportioned to resist the actual or probable forces that may be imposed upon them. Thus,
the structural members should be designed to satisfy strength, stiffness and stability
requirements. i.e.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
(Sami J.)
❖ A pressure vessel must be of adequate strength to withstand the internal
pressure………………………………………………………...………Strength.
❖ The parts of a structure must be strong enough so as not to deflect or “sag”
excessively when in operation under the imposed loads ……………...Stiffness.
❖ A member with adequate strength might sometimes deflect/buckle
excessively………………………………………………………….... Stability.

1.2 Types of engineering materials

Based on their physical nature they can be classified as solid, liquid, and gas. But based on
their mode of production they can be classified as naturally accessible materials, synthetic
(industrially produced) materials, and materials produced at construction site.
❖ Naturally accessible materials: are those that are unprocessed or minimally
processed by industry, such as mud and clay, sand, stone-rock, lumber, metal, glass,
thatch (grass) and brushwood (branches, twigs and leaves) etc.
❖ Synthetic (industrially produced) materials: are those made in industrial settings
after much human manipulations, such as foam, fabrics, plastics and petroleum-
based paints.
❖ Materials produced at construction site: are those produced during construction
process takes place, such as concrete, bricks and blocks, ceramics, cement
composites.

Figure 1.1 Different types of materials

In ancient ages, people all over the world have used mud and clay, stone, brush and fibrous
materials together to create homes to suit their local weather conditions. In these buildings,
stone and/or brush are used as basic structural components while mud and clay is used to
fill in the space between, acting as a binder and insulation.
Soil and especially clay is very good at keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes
built with earth tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather.
Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over a period of time like stone.
However, in this modern age of technology, steel, in its various forms, and concrete are
the basic and most widely used materials in civil engineering construction.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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Steel is fabricated into a variety of structural shapes for use as beams, columns, plates,
connectors and reinforcement in the comparatively weak tensile zones of concrete beams.
Concrete by itself is used in the construction of beams, columns, floor slabs and
foundations and decoratively as wall cladding. Generally, as we have noted, structural
concrete is reinforced by steel bars in its weak tensile zones and is sometimes used to
encase steel columns as a precaution against fire damage. Instances of unreinforced
structural concrete are few and are usually restricted to gravity structures such as dams and
comparatively light loaded foundations.
Additionally, timber is employed extensively in civil engineering as formwork during the
construction of concrete structures and in its own right as a structural material in light roof
trusses and decorative beams. Frequently timber beams and arches are laminated/coated to
eliminate the less desirable characteristics of timber such as cracking, shrinkage and
warping. Non-structurally, timber is found in floors, ceilings, wall panels, etc.
Of other materials in general use, masonry, ceramics and plastics are the most common.
Masonry is used to support compressive loads as columns or walls and is also used to form
in-fill panels in steel or concrete skeletal structures. Ceramics and plastics fulfil mainly
non-structural roles and are frequently used decoratively as wall, floor or ceiling cladding.

1.3 Properties of Engineering Material

For a material to be considered as building material, it should have required engineering
properties suitable for construction works. These properties are responsible for its quality
and capacity and also helps to decide applications of these material. Generally, the
properties of engineering materials are categorized as follows.
❖ Electrical properties
❖ Magnetic properties
❖ Chemical properties
❖ Thermal properties
❖ Physical properties
❖ Mechanical properties

1.3.1 Electrical Properties of Engineering Materials

The properties of a material to conduct or to resist electricity through them are electrical
properties of material. For example, wood have great electric resistance and stainless steel
is a good conductor of electricity.

1.3.2 Magnetic Properties of Engineering Materials

The magnetic properties of materials like permeability, hysteresis etc. are required in the
case of generators etc. iron is magnetic material and aluminum is non-magnetic material.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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1.3.3 Chemical Properties of Engineering Materials
The properties of materials against the chemical actions or chemical combinations are
termed as chemical properties. And they are:
❖ Chemical resistance
❖ Corrosion resistance
Chemical Resistance: is the ability of a construction materials to resist the effects by
chemicals like acids, salts and alkalis. Underground installations, constructions near sea
etc. should be built with great chemical resistance.
Corrosion Resistance: Formation of rust (iron oxide) in metals, when they are subjected
to atmosphere is called as corrosion. So, the metals should be corrosive resistant. To
increase the corrosion resistance proper measures should be considered. Otherwise, it will
damage the whole structure.

1.3.4 Thermal Properties of Engineering Materials

❖ Thermal capacity
❖ Thermal conductivity
❖ Thermal resistivity
❖ Specific heat
Thermal Capacity: is the property of a material to absorb heat and it is required to design
proper ventilation. It influences the thermal stability of walls. It is expressed in J/N oC and
it is calculated by the following formula.
Thermal capacity, T = [H/ (M (T2 – T1))]
Where H = quantity of heat required to increase the temperature from T1 to T2.
T1 = Initial temperature.
T2 = Final temperature.
M = Mass of material in N.
Thermal Conductivity: is the ability of the material to conduct (transfer) some amount of
heat through its unit area with unit thickness in unit time. It is measured in kelvins. It
depends on material structure, porosity, density and moisture content. High porous
materials and moist materials have more thermal conductivity.
Thermal Resistivity: is the ability of the material to resist heat conduction. And it is the
reciprocal of thermal conductivity. When it is multiplied by thickness of material it gives
thermal resistance. Thermal resistivity of soil varies from 30 to 500 0C-cm/W.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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Specific Heat: is the quantity of heat required to heat 1 N of material by 1 oC. It is useful
when we use the material in high temperature areas. Specific heat values of some
engineering materials are given below.
Material Specific heat J/N.oC
Steel 0.046 x 103
Wood 0.239 to 0.27 x 103
Stone 0.75 0.09 X 103

1.3.5 Physical properties of Engineering Materials

These are the properties required to estimate the quality and condition of the material
without any external force. The physical properties of engineering materials are as follows.
❖ Bulk density
❖ Porosity
❖ Durability
❖ Density
❖ Density index
❖ Specific gravity
❖ Fire resistance
❖ Frost resistance
❖ Weathering resistance
❖ Spalling resistance
❖ Water absorption
❖ Water permeability
❖ Hygroscopicity
❖ Coefficient of softening
❖ Refractoriness

Bulk Density: is the ratio of mass to the volume of the material in its natural state that is
including voids and pores. It is expressed in kg/m3. Bulk density influences the mechanical
properties of materials like strength, heat and conductivity etc. bulk density values of some
of the engineering materials are given below.
Building material Bulk density (Kg/m3)
Brick 1600 – 1800
Sand 1450 – 1650
Steel 7850
Heavy concrete 1800 – 2500
Light concrete 500 – 1800
Granite 2500 – 2700

Porosity: is the ratio of volume of pores to the volume of material. It gives the volume of
the material occupied by pores. Porosity influences many properties like thermal
conductivity, strength, bulk density, durability etc.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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Durability: is the property of a material to withstand against the combined action of
atmospheric and other factors. If the material is more durable, it will be useful for longer
life. Maintenance cost of material is dependent of durability.
Density: is the ratio of mass of the material to its volume in homogeneous state. Almost
all the physical properties of materials are influenced by its density values. Density values
of some building materials are given below.
Material Density (kg/m3)
Steel 7800 – 7900
Brick 2500 -2800
Granite 2600 – 2900

Density Index: is the ratio of bulk density of material to its density. Hence it gives the
volume of solid matter in the material. In nature, fully dense material is not available so,
density index is always less than 1 for any building material.

Specific Gravity: is the ratio of mass of given substance to the mass of water at 4oC for
the equal volumes. Specific gravity of some materials is listed below.
Material Specific gravity
Steel 7.82
Cast iron 7.20
Aluminum 2.72

Fire Resistance: is the ability to withstand against fire without changing its shape and
other properties. Fire resistance of a material is tested by the combined actions of water
and fire. Fireproof materials should provide more safety in case of fire.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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Frost Resistance: is the ability of a material to resist freezing or thawing. It depends upon
the density and bulk density. Denser materials have more frost resistance. Moist material
have low frost resistance and they lose their strength in freezing and become brittle.

Weathering Resistance: is the property of a material to withstand against all atmospheric

actions without losing its strength and shape. Weathering effects the durability of material.
Example: Corrosion occurs in iron due to weathering. To resist this paint layer is provided.
Spalling Resistance: is the ability of a material to undergo certain number of cycles of
sharp temperature variations without failing. It depends of coefficient of linear expansion.
Water Absorption: is the capacity of a material to absorb and retain water in it. It is
expressed in % of weight of dry material. It depends up on the size, shape and number of
pores of material.

Water Permeability: is the ability of a material to permit passing of water through it.
Dense materials like glass, metals etc. are called impervious materials which cannot allow
water through it.

Hygroscopicity: is the property of a material to absorb water vapor from the air. It depends
on the relative humidity, porosity, air temperature etc.

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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Coefficient of softening of a material: is the ratio of compressive strength of a saturated
material to its compressive strength in dry state. It affects the strength of water absorbent
materials like soil.
Refractoriness: is the property of a material which cannot melts or lose its shape at
prolonged high temperatures (1580oC or more). For example, fire clay is high refractory
material.

Among these properties, mechanical properties have great practical significance and a
broad understanding of these properties and the behavior of materials under load is
essential. So, the structural designer requires a knowledge of the behavior of materials
under different types of loads before he/she can be reasonably sure of designing a safe and
economic structure since it is dependent upon the principal characteristics of the material
and its properties.

1.4 Mechanical properties of Engineering Materials

These properties are those which effect the mechanical strength and ability of material to
be molded in suitable shape. They are found out by applying external forces on them. These
are very important properties which are responsible for behavior of a material in its job.
The most important mechanical properties of engineering materials are listed below:
1. Strength 4. Toughness 7. Ductility 10. Hardness 13. Creep
2. Elasticity 5. Resilience 8. Malleability 11. Fatigue
3. Plasticity 6. Stiffness or Rigidity 9. Brittleness 12. Abrasion resistance
Strength:
❖ It is a property in which a material resists fracture/rupture against the action of
various external static forces (compressive, tensile, bending, shear, and torsion) and
dynamic forces (impact and vibratory loads).
❖ It is determined by dividing the material’s ultimate load by its cross-sectional area.
❖ It is an important aspect of the design of any structures.
❖ To avoid the failure of structure, the strength of the structure must be greater than
the load applied.
❖ To provide maximum safety in strength, factor of safety is provided for materials.
❖ It is selected based on nature of work, quality of material, economic conditions etc.

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1. Tensile Strength: is the ability of a material to withstand stretching
(tensile) loads without breaking.

2. Compressive Strength: is the ability of a material to withstand

compressive (squeezing) loads without being crushed or broken.

3. Shear Strength: is the ability of a material to withstand offset loads, or

transverse cutting (shearing actions) without breaking.

4. Impact Strength: is the ability of a material to survive sudden (impact)

loads by undergoing some deformation without causing rupture.
Elasticity:
❖ It is the ability (capacity) of a material to deform and return partially or fully to its
original shape and size after any force acting on it has been removed. This state is
called elastic state of the material. Then the material is said to be partially or
perfectly elastic material.
❖ The recovery of the original form of deformed body (any kind of material) depends
on the magnitude of the applied load and the elastic property of the material. So,
the deformation produced may be permanent or temporary.
❖ As the magnitude of the applied load increase the deformation increases, a point is
reached beyond which the original form is not fully recovered; this point is called
elastic limit of the material.
❖ Ideally elastic materials obey Hooke’s law in which stress is directly proportional
to strain gives modulus of elasticity as the ratio of unit stress to unit deformation.
❖ Most engineering materials are elastic-plastic and behave in an elastic manner until
the elastic limit is reached after which they behave plastically. Materials included
in this category are steel, aluminum, copper, stone, concrete, etc…

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Example:
If it is made from an elastic material, it will
be the same length before and after the load
is applied, despite the fact that it will be
longer whilst the load is being applied. This
is only true for most materials, if the load is
relatively small and within the elastic range
of the material being tested.
Plasticity:
❖ It is state of material which is loaded beyond elastic state and deforms permanently.
❖ It is the exact opposite to elasticity, since plastic materials do not return to their
original shape and size after the removal deforming force. So, no strain disappears.
❖ Then the material is said to be ‘perfectly plastic’.
❖ Materials with high plasticity are not brittle. They give resistance against bending,
impact etc. Examples: steel, hot bitumen etc.
❖ This property is useful in the design of structures because of its ultimate strength.
Example:

Toughness (impact resistance):

❖ It is the ability of a material to absorb the energy and gets plastically deformed
without shattering/fracturing.
❖ It is the property that determines whether or not a material will break under a sudden
impact. Its numerical value is determined by the amount of energy per unit volume.
Its unit is Joule/ m3. Value of toughness of a material can be determines by stress-
strain characteristics of material.
❖ Materials having good strength but limited ductility
is not tough enough. Conversely, materials having
good ductility but low strength are also not tough
enough. Therefore, to be tough, material should have
good strength as well as ductility.
❖ If the materials shatter, they are brittle (e.g. Glass) or if they do not shatter, they are
tough (e.g. Rubbers and most plastic materials).
❖ As shown in the figure, if the spread of surface cracks does not occur or only occurs
to small extent, the material is said to be tough.

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Resilience:
❖ It is the ability of material to absorb the energy when it is deformed elastically by applying
stress and release the energy when stress is removed.
❖ Proof resilience is defined as the maximum energy that can be absorbed without permanent
deformation.
❖ The modulus of resilience is defined as the maximum energy that can be absorbed per unit
volume without permanent deformation. It can be determined by integrating the stress-
strain cure from zero to elastic limit. Its unit is joule/m3.
Stiffness (Rigidity):
❖ It is a property that allows the material to withstand high stress without great strain.
❖ It is the material’s ability not to deflect under an applied load.
❖ to resist. In other words, a body is said to be stiff if it sustains large loads without
too much deformations. Depending on the magnitude of the applied load and the
elastic property of the material the deformation produced may be permanent or
temporary.
❖ E.g. Under a light load cast iron deflects less than steel since cast iron is more rigid.
But steel is much stronger than cast iron. Thus, a material which is rigid is not
necessarily strong.
Ductility:
❖ It is a property of a solid material which indicates that how easily a material gets
deformed under tensile stress (to be stretched in to a wire by pulling or drawing).
❖ A material is said to be ductile if it is capable of withstanding large strains
(undergoing considerable plastic deformation) under load before fracture/ absolute
failure occurs. These large strains are accompanied by a visible change in cross-
sectional dimensions and therefore give warning of impending failure.
❖ Ductile materials possess both the properties of elasticity and plasticity.
❖ Ductility is also temperature dependent. With rise of temperature, the ductility of
material increases.
❖ Materials in this category include mild steel, aluminum and some of its alloys,
copper and polymers.
Example:

Malleability:
❖ It is solid material’s ability to get easily deformed under compressive stress (to be
formed in the form of thin sheet by hammering or rolling).
❖ It allows a material to be extended in all dimensions (hammered or rolled in to other
sizes and shapes) without rupture. Copper, iron and steel are malleable materials.
❖ A malleable material possesses high degree of plasticity. They are generally used
in forging, hot-rolling, rivet heading and drop stamping.

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❖ Malleability of material is temperature dependent. With rise of temperature, the
malleability of material increases.
❖ Materials in this category include mild steel, aluminum and some of its alloys,
copper and polymers.
Example:

In forming the head of a rivet by hammering

the rivet needs to be made from a malleable
material to withstand this treatment.

Brittleness:
❖ It is a property that the material fails suddenly without causing any deformation
when it is subjected to a force or load. Then the material is called brittle material.
❖ A brittle material breaks instantly, without any intermediate stage of bending (lack
of ductility or plasticity). They exhibit little deformation, the strain normally being
below 5%, then may fail suddenly without visible warning.
❖ It is converse to ductility. It also is temperature depended. Some metals which are
ductile at normal temperature become brittle at low temperature.
❖ Brittle materials include concrete, cast iron, high carbon steel, glass, ceramics.
Hardness:
❖ It is the ability of a material to resist surface scratching (abrasion) or indentation by
another hard body or (resist permanent shape change due to external stress).
❖ It is an indication of wear resistance of the material. It influences the workability.
❖ There are various measures of hardness.
1. Scratch Hardness: is the ability of material to oppose the scratch to outer
surface layer due to external force.
2. Indentation Hardness: is the ability of material to oppose the dent due to
punch of external had and sharp object.
3. Rebound (dynamic) Hardness: is determined by the height of “bounce” of a
diamond tipped hammer dropped from a fixed height on the material.
❖ The common tests used to measure hardness are Brinnel and Rockwell tests.
❖ The Brinnel test is often used to test hardness of materials with a coarser structure
than the Rockwell test is capable of.

Example:

The brinnel test

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Strength of Materials 4 CEng 2016 E.C.
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The figure above shows a hardened steel ball (5 – 10mm diameter) being pressed first in
to a hard material and then in to a soft material by the same load (500 – 3000 Kg) for a
dwell time of 10 – 15 seconds. The ball only makes a small depression in the hard material,
but it makes a very much deeper depression in the softer material. By using a low-powered
microscope, the diameter of the indentation is measured and its surface area is calculated
or a charter is referenced. Then the hardness value is calculated with the formula:
𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 (𝑲𝒈)
𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 (𝑩𝑯𝑵) =
𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌 (𝒎𝒎𝟐 )
Fatigue: is the weakening of material caused by the cyclic (repeated) loading of material.
❖ When a material is subjected to cyclic (repeated) loading, and loading greater than
certain threshold value but much below the strength of material (ultimate tensile
strength limit or yield stress limit), microscopic cracks begin to form at grain
boundaries and interfaces.
❖ Eventually the crack reached to a critical size and propagates suddenly and then the
structure gets fractured.
❖ The shape of structure effects the fatigue very much. Square holes and sharp corners
lead to elevated stresses where the fatigue crack initiates.
Abrasion Resistance:
❖ Abrasion is the loss of material due to rubbing of particles while working. The
abrasion resistance for a material makes it durable and provided long life.
Creep:
❖ It is the property of material which indicates the tendency of material to move
slowly and deform permanently under the influence of external mechanical stress.
❖ It is the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods.
❖ It is almost negligible in normal conditions. But at high temperature conditions
creep occur rapidly.
❖ It is time dependent and occurs at very slow rate.

Testing of Materials for Mechanical Properties

Mechanical tests are those used to examine the performance of construction materials
under the action of external forces. They are classified under the following headings: -
A) With reference to the arrangement and direction of the external forces.
B) With reference to the rate and duration of the load Application.
C) With reference to the effect of the test on the specimen.

A) With reference to the arrangement and direction of the external forces

i) Tension test: Under this test:
❖ The specimen is subjected to an axial tensile force.
❖ Tensile stress is produced on x-sectional area normal to the line of action of a force.
❖ The specimen increases in length.
❖ Strength, ductility, elasticity and stiffness are properties of the materials that can be
evaluated/determined by tensile testing.

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ii) Compression test: Under this test:
❖ The specimen is subjected to an axial compressive force.
❖ Compressive stress is produced on cross-sectional area perpendicular to the line of
action of the force.
❖ The specimen decreases in length.
iii) Shear test: Under this test:
❖ The shearing stress in a specimen is determined on cross-sectional areas parallel to
the line of action of the external force.
iv) Bending test: Under this test:
❖ A specimen is subjected to forces that give rise to bending moments.
❖ Compressive stress on one side of a neutral plane and tensile stress on the other.
❖ Shear stresses exist throughout the beam.
v) Torsion test: is indirect test used to determine the shearing strength of materials.
Test specimens for torsion test are generally cylindrical shape, solid or hollow.

B) With reference to the rate and duration of the load application

i) Static tests: are made with gradually increasing the load, such as the ordinary tests
in tension, compression tests.
ii) Dynamic tests: are made with suddenly applied loads, as by falling weight or
pendulum. Such as drop impact test.
iii) Wear tests: are made to determine resistance to abrasion and impact as in the case
of paving materials.
iv) Long-time tests: are made with loads applied to the object under test for a long
period. They are used for materials such as concrete.
v) Fatigue tests: are made with fluctuating stresses repeated many a times.

C) With reference to the effect of the test on the specimen

i) Destructive test: under this test the specimens are either crushed or ruptured and
made useless at the end of the test. Examples: tension in steel and compression test
in concrete.
ii) Non-destructive test: these are usually used to test the strength of members of
existing structures without affecting their performance. Example: hammer test in
concrete.

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