Applications of Elastic Behaviour of Materials

What would happen to a slingshot when you stretch it?  It distorts and regains its unique shape when you quit applying a force. However, let us say that you take a thin steel bar and attempt to twist it. The difference in the conduct of material depends on its elastic behaviour and plastic nature. This is explained by Hooke’s Law.

Elasticity and its behaviour

The elastic portion of the slingshot has high versatility. Flexibility is the capacity of a body to oppose any long-lasting change to it when stress is applied. When stress application stops, the body regains its unique shape and size. Various materials show diverse elastic behaviour. The study of a material’s flexible behaviour is extremely important. Almost every design plan necessitates knowledge of a material’s flexible conductivity. In the development of different designs like bridges, columns, pillars, beams, etc., information on the strength of the materials utilised in the development are of prime significance.

For example, while building a bridge, the amount of traffic that it can bear should be properly measured in advance. Similarly, when building a crane to lift loads, it is important to remember that the rope’s extension does not exceed its elastic limit. The elastic behaviour of the material utilised must be considered first to solve the problem of bending under stress.

Elastic Behaviour of solids:

The atoms or molecules inside a solid body is shifted from its specified points or fixed points (equilibrium positions) when it is deformed, resulting in a shift in interatomic and molecular distances. The interatomic force strives to return the body to its initial position when this force is withdrawn. As a result, the body returns to its former shape.

Thus, the material can get distorted depending on the force applied to it. The force that causes the change in the relocation of these particles is known as the twisting force.

As we know that any force has its inverse and equivalent force, which acts in the opposite direction. After the disfiguring force has been expelled, this force encourages the body to regain its original condition.

Hooke’s Law

Hooke’s law is a law of elasticity developed by the English scientist Robert Hooke in 1660, which asserts that the displacement or magnitude of deformation is directly proportional to the displacement force or load for relatively minor deformations of an object. When the load is removed under these conditions, the item retains its shape and dimensions.

Hooke’s law can alternatively be known as a stress-strain relationship. Stress is the force that occurs as a result of an externally applied force on unit areas within a material. The relative deformation caused by stress is known as strain. Stress is related to strain for relatively small stresses.

The force applied to extend or compress a spring by a fixed distance is directly proportional to that distance, according to Hooke’s law. The elasticity of spring is constant. Stretching a spring twice as long requires twice as much force, according to its elasticity. The linear relationship of displacement on stretching is known as Hooke’s law.

F = -K x is Hooke’s Law Equation, 

where F is the amount of force applied in N, 

x is the spring displacement, and

 k is the spring constant or force constant.

A linear elastic material is a statistical model for analysing solid body deformation. Calculating the relationship between the forces applied to an object and the resulting change in shape is useful. In other words, it connects the material’s stresses and strains.

Application of elastic behaviour in daily life:

Here are a few examples of how elastic behaviour is applied in daily life:

• Steel rope thicknesses used in cranes

Ropes used by cranes to lift loads are constructed so that the maximum load stress does not exceed the breaking stress.

•  Construction of bridges

A bridge must be constructed to bear the weight of moving traffic, the force of winds, and even its weight. The elasticity of beams, or the bending of beams, is a fundamental concern for the structural integrity of structures or bridges.

Conclusion

To sum up, elasticity is the ability of a body to resist any permanent changes to it when Stress is applied. The body regains its original shape and size when stress application ceases. The concept is applied in several fields to understand the basic engineering behind the material and its properties.