Theories of elastic failure

For a structural material which suffers elastic failure, there are many different theories of elastic failure. Unfortunately, not all these theories make the same predictions. Moreover, some of these theories are good for materials such as mild steel, which has a definite yield point, while others are more satisfactory for brittle materials, such as cast iron. Also, for materials such as composites, the theories of elastic failure are very much more complex. The theories can also be affected by the complex combination of stresses that occur on the structure. For these reasons, a study of the theories of elastic failure is important, and many of them are presented in this chapter. The theories of elastic failure for composites are given in Chapter 18.