ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the stresses and strains in components resulting from direct loading. It introduces the concept of a factor of safety to ensure that working stresses are within acceptable limits. The chapter analyses the stresses in thin cylinders. It discusses the lateral strain resulting from direct loading and to introduce Poisson's ratio. The chapter also discusses the stresses and strains in components resulting from shear loading. The foregoing discussion of direct stress and strain, in which loading is in the axial direction along a component, has been considered as applying to straight bars. However, there are other types of component that are subject to direct loading and a thin cylinder is one of them. Thin cylinders are widely used in engineering applications and typical examples range from gas cylinders, used for storing compressed gas, through to steam boilers. The pressure causes two types of stress to develop in the cylinder wall, namely 'longitudinal' stress and 'circumferential' stress.
