Twin Forces: The Beauty behind the Façade
By: Jon Paul Cloma and Jharae Estudillo
Civil engineering works have been wonders of the
world over the years. Eiffel tower, Sydney opera house, Petronas twin towers - such
creations were built from incredible minds of those engineers who spent a long
time planning, designing and calculating the right measurement for their
perspective to be a success. But behind those great structures were unseen
inscrutable concept of mathematics linked together to form of what we can see
around as building.
Stress and strain are two of these mathematical
concepts that are very essential in constructing buildings. Stress is the pressure or tension exerted on a material
object, while strain is a force tending to pull or stretch something to an
extreme or damaging degree. They
serve as the base in constructing structures. Engineers determine where the
stress will be the highest on an object so that part can be redesigned or
reinforced. Engineers also specify the materials that objects and structures
are made of, so that airplanes can fly safely, wheels do not fall off of
automobiles, chairs support the weight of people; bridges support the loads
that travel them, and so on.
These twin forces are very complicated and
engineers really need to study them to establish a majestic, yet very safe building.
Below are some points that describe the importance of stress-strain
relationship, and might as well appreciate the hidden beauty of these forces.
Without these forces, the structure will
probably be fragile since it is the foundation to build structures. The safety
of the building will depend upon determining the elasticity of metals used to
construct a building.
Mathematical concepts like Modulus of
Elasticity (Young’s Modulus) and Hooke’s law will determine the elasticity of
metals. A stress-strain diagram (see Fig 1) defines characteristics of a
particular metal being tested and conveys important information about the
mechanical properties and type of behavior. This diagram lead to the creation
of Modulus of Elasticity, which is the ratio of the stress applied to a body or substance to the
resulting strain within the elastic limit.
Hooke’s law, on the other hand, defines the relationship between the applied load
and the resulting elongation of a certain material.
Point of
equilibrium (balanced) will be achieved with the help of these forces. These
forces would determine the causes of failures and the maintenance of such
structures by the use of stress-strain analysis.
Stress-strain
analysis is a tool to design structures that can withstand a specific load
using a minimum amount of material that shows how the materials are joined,
maximum forces that are expected to be applied and the overall quantitative
description of each part. With this analysis, accuracy and precision of
calculations of forces that will be applied will be valid enough to create a
building.
These
forces are essential in the field of mechanics to design foundations and
structures. Determining the stress and strain produced by the loads will
picture out the complete behavior of the body for the safe design of all
structures. Stress and strain will also determine the strength of materials
through various test.
Stress and
strain can identify the behavior of the materials subjected to different
types of loading either algebraic or numerical calculations. Stress and strain
will also determine the strength of materials through various test.
Organizations
all around the world have realized the importance of stress and strain in
building structures. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM),
American Standards Association (ASA) and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS)
are some standardizing organizations that publish specifications and standards
for materials and testing by the use of identifying stress and strain values.
Stress and strain are significant entities in
various disciplines under civil engineering. These forces serve as the
foundation for every step in constructing structures as well as a basis for
every engineering test in identifying properties of materials. Thus, with the
help of these forces, engineers could truly achieved what their creative minds
have built.
Fig 1
Source: https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=stress-strain+diagram+images&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=498&tbm=isch&imgil=XAiGAUwtUrzFmM%253A%253BB5saAFr8px7heM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.mathalino.com%25252Freviewer%25252Fmechanics-and-strength-of-materials%25252Fstress-strain-diagram&source=iu&pf=m&fir=XAiGAUwtUrzFmM%253A%252CB5saAFr8px7heM%252C_&dpr=1.25&usg=__X1XLJCUvwzb63QtMILkqe12ba3o%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjJssOy4c_JAhXUBo4KHQf7COEQyjcILw&ei=SaJoVonqKdSNuASH9qOIDg#imgrc=XAiGAUwtUrzFmM%3A&usg=__X1XLJCUvwzb63QtMILkqe12ba3o%3D
References:
https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=strain&oq=strain&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3.2290j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=stress&oq=stress&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59l3j0l2.3529j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#q=stress+definition
