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Normal stress

Normal stress is the force divided by the cross-sectional area, and it is the starting point for all sizing against tension and compression. Uniform distribution assumes the force acts through the centroid of the section and that the section is far from holes or notches.

Symbols

Example

A bar with $A = 100$ mm², $F = 10$ kN:

$\sigma = 10\,000/100 = 100$ N/mm² $= 100$ MPa.

Safety factor →

Part of Machine Design: Stress and sizing.