Review of Mechanics of Materials

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to reacquaint the reader with some of the fundamental concepts of mechanics of materials, as it is taught to undergraduate engineering students. Mechanics of materials (sometimes referred to as “strength of materials”) is distinguished from the theory of elasticity by its relative disregard for mathematical rigor. In the usual undergraduate treatment of the subject, so-called “engineering” approximations and assumptions are casually proposed and accepted—their validity is based on experimental verification. For a great many engineering applications, this is perfectly acceptable. As long as one does not venture beyond the boundaries of common experience in utilizing the results from mechanics of materials, their accuracy can be relied upon.