|
Published:
July 12, 2011

Mechanics of Materials For Dummies

Overview

Your ticket to excelling in mechanics of materials With roots in physics and mathematics, engineering mechanics is the basis of all the mechanical sciences: civil engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and aeronautical and aerospace engineering. Tracking a typical undergraduate course, Mechanics of Materials For Dummies gives you a thorough introduction to this foundational subject. You'll get clear, plain-English explanations of all the topics covered, including principles of equilibrium, geometric compatibility, and material behavior; stress and its relation to force and movement; strain and its relation to displacement; elasticity and plasticity; fatigue and fracture; failure modes; application to simple engineering structures, and more.

  • Tracks to a course that is a prerequisite for most engineering majors
  • Covers key mechanics concepts, summaries of useful equations, and helpful tips

From geometric principles to solving complex equations, Mechanics of Materials For Dummies is an invaluable resource for engineering students!

Read More

About The Author

James H. Allen III, PE, PhD is an assistant professor of civil engineering and a registered professional engineer. His specialty areas include structural engineering, numerical analysis and error control, and steel design. He is also the author of Statics For Dummies.

Sample Chapters

mechanics of materials for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

Students and professional engineers in the mechanical sciences know that mechanics of materials deals extensively with stress on objects — from determining stress at a particular point to finding stresses in columns. Knowing how to apply some important laws and graphic representations can help you tackle stressful mechanics of materials problems with ease.

HAVE THIS BOOK?

Articles from
the book

Knowing how to compute the stress in a column (compression member) is a basic point of knowledge in mechanics of materials. Determine if the column is ' short, slender, or intermediate by computing its maximum slenderness ratio (KL/r). For short columns, the stress of a member in compression is the basic axial stress formulation.
When dealing with mechanics of materials, choosing the correct formula to calculate the stress at a given point can be difficult. Normal and shear stresses come in a wide variety of applications, each stress application with its own calculation formula. The most common stress types you deal with in basic mechanics of materials fall into several major categories: Axial tension: ANET is equal to the gross area of the cross section minus any holes that may exist.
Students and professional engineers in the mechanical sciences know that mechanics of materials deals extensively with stress on objects — from determining stress at a particular point to finding stresses in columns. Knowing how to apply some important laws and graphic representations can help you tackle stressful mechanics of materials problems with ease.
Deformations measure a structure's response under a load, and calculating that deformation is an important part of mechanics of materials. Deformation calculations come in a wide variety, depending on the type of load that causes the deformation. Axial deformations are caused by axial loads and angles of twist are causes by torsion loads.
Anyone in the mechanical sciences is likely familiar with Mohr's circle — a useful graphical technique for finding principal stresses and strains in materials. Mohr's circle also tells you the principal angles (orientations) of the principal stresses without your having to plug an angle into stress transformation equations.
In mechanics of materials, Hooke's law is the relationship that connects stresses to strains. Although Hooke's original law was developed for uniaxial stresses, you can use a generalized version of Hooke's law to connect stress and strain in three-dimensional objects, as well. Eventually, Hooke's law helps you relate stresses (which are based on loads) to strains (which are based on deformations).
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6630d85d73068bc09c7c436c/69195ee32d5c606051d9f433_4.%20All%20For%20You.mp3

Frequently Asked Questions

No items found.