A quick computation of factor of safety for biaxial stress states

Determination of overall factor of safety of a design involves repeated cal culation of factor of safety at critical points in the design. For a given stress state at a point, the factor of safety is calculated by first findin g the principal stresses and then comparing them with the maximum safe stre ss that can be applied without causing failure of the material according to an appropriate failure theory. In this paper, we suggest quick and ready-t o-use expressions and graphs for calculating factor of safety for biaxial s tress states for a number of commonly-used failure theories. These graphs c an be directly used as design charts for computing factor of safety in engi neering design activities.