SIMPLE GRAPHICAL CONSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DIRECTION OF SHEAR

The determination of the direction and sense of the resolved shear str ess on a generally-oriented plane is greatly simplified by the use of a graphical technique based on the geometry of the representation quad ric of a 'reduced stress tenser'. This tensor is obtained by subtracti ng a constant equal to as from each of the principal stress values. Th e calculation requires knowledge of the orientations of the principal stress axes and the ratio of the principal stress differences. A const ruction for finding the direction and sense of finite shear strain on a given plane is derived in an analogous fashion. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.