Stress (mechanics)
Methods

Stress analysis may be carried out experimentally, by applying loads to the actual artifact or to scale model, and measuring the resulting stresses, by any of several available methods. This approach is often used for safety certification and monitoring. Most stress is analysed by mathematical methods, especially during design.The basic stress analysis problem can be formulated by Euler's equations of motion for continuous bodies (which are consequences of Newton's laws for conservation of linear momentum and angular momentum) and the Euler-Cauchy stress principle, together with the appropriate constitutive equations. Thus one obtains a system of partial differential equations involving the stress tensor field and the strain tensor field, as unknown functions to be determined. The external body forces appear as the independent ("right-hand side") term in the differential equations, while the concentrated forces appear as boundary conditions. The basic stress analysis problem is therefore a boundary-value problem.

Stress analysis for elastic structures is based on the theory of elasticity and infinitesimal strain theory. When the applied loads cause permanent deformation, one must use more complicated constitutive equations, that can account for the physical processes involved (plastic flow, fracture, phase change, etc.). Engineered structures are usually designed so the maximum expected stresses are well within the range of linear elasticity (the generalization of Hooke's law for continuous media); that is, the deformations caused by internal stresses are linearly related to them. In this case the differential equations that define the stress tensor are linear, and the problem becomes much easier. For one thing, the stress at any point will be a linear function of the loads, too. For small enough stresses, even non-linear systems can usually be assumed to be linear.

Stress analysis is simplified when the physical dimensions and the distribution of loads allow the structure to be treated as one- or two-dimensional. In the analysis of trusses, for example, the stress field may be assumed to be uniform and uniaxial over each member. Then the differential equations reduce to a finite set of equations (usually linear) with finitely many unknowns. In other contexts one may be able to reduce the three-dimensional problem to a two-dimensional one, and/or replace the general stress and strain tensors by simpler models like uniaxial tension/compression, simple shear, etc.

Still, for two- or three-dimensional cases one must solve a partial differential equation problem.Analytical or closed-form solutions to the differential equations can be obtained when the geometry, constitutive relations, and boundary conditions are simple enough. Otherwise one must generally resort to numerical approximations such as the finite element method, the finite difference method, and the boundary element method.
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