Material behaviors

When subjected to various forces, whether normal, cutting, torsional or bending, materials undergo deformation. When considering a specific structural section, we use the term "stress" to designate the resultant of these forces concentrated at the section's center of gravity. When these forces are related to the unit area, they are called "stresses".

The linear elastic behavior of solids under tensile stress is defined by Hooke's law. The hardness of a metal can be increased through work-hardening, which enables hardening following plastic elongation.

Materials can be homogeneous or isotropic. Longitudinal and transverse behavior in relation to the applied force is characterized by Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio, respectively.

A classic example of the application of these fundamental concepts is the calculation of stresses on an embedded beam when subjected to an oblique force.