Vocabulary

Question	Answer
Concept	An idea conceived in the mind.
Spatial	Relating to Space.
Temporal	Relating to Time.
Coordinate System	A location and orientation in 3D space.
Point	A location in time or space definable by a reference time or spatial coordinate system.
Continuum	A medium assumed to be continuous so that small spatial variations from point to point are ignored.
Homogeneity	A homogeneous material has identical properties at all points.
Isotropy	Property of material is same in all directions.
Anisotropy	Property of material is NOT the same in all directions.
Infinitesimal element	A vanishingly small volume of material in a continuum generally assumed to be initially rectangular in shape with sides oriented parallel to reference system.
Coordinate transformation	A change of coordinates often associated with rotation but also reflection.
Scalar	Quantity possessing magnitude only.
Vector	Quantity possessing both magnitude and direction.
Variable	Symbolic representation of a quantity that can vary spatially and/or temporally
Field	Spatial domain over which certain mathematical functions apply.
Field variable	Symbolic representation of a quantity existing in a field
Displacement or deflection	Spatial motion of a point relative to an initial position defined in a coordinate system.
Translation	Motion along a line.
Rotation	Circular motion about a line.
Force	An action having a vector considered acting at a point
Moment	An action having a vector where force is acting at a distance tends to cause rotation.
Gradient	Variation of a quantity either in time or space.
Strain	Deformation of a continuum defined by spatial gradients in displacement.
Normal Strain	Change in length per unit length at a point in a direction.
Shear Strain	Change in angle in radians of initially orthogonal lines at a point in a plane.
Stress	A force per unit area at a point on a plane in a continuum.
State of stress	Defined by the normal and shear stresses on the faces of an infinitesimal element.
Hydrostatic Stress	A state of stress at a point where the normal is the same in all directions.
Dilatation	Change in volume per unit volume.
Engineering strain	Strain measure in which increments in strain are based on the original dimensions of the structure.
Engineering stress	Stress measure based on the original cross-sectional area.
True (logarithmic) strain	Strain measure in which increments in strain are base on current dimensions of the structure.
True stress	Stress measure based on current cross-sectional area.
Principal stress	A normal stress acting at a point on a plane where the shear stress is zero. Also, it is an extreme value of normal stress with respect to orientation of the plane at a point.
Stress concentration	A condition in which the maximum normal stress is much greater than the average normal stress due to geometric discontinuity in the structure or concentration of load.
Ultimate stress	The maximum stress the material can withstand.
Plane stress	A condition, usually in thin plate-like structures, in which the out of plane stresses are zero or negligible.
Plane strain	A condition of strain associated with an orientation of a plane where the out of plane strains are zero.
Deformation	Motion of material so as to change its position and shape.
Fracture	The failure of a material due to rupture, where new surfaces are created.
Ductile	A material characteristic generally associated with metals where they have the capacity to undergo permanent strain well beyond the elastic strain prior to fracture.
Static	Relating to bodies at rest.
Dynamic	Relating to force and motion.
Equilibrium	Condition in which the sum of forces and moments acting on a body equal zero.
Static equilibrium	Condition in which the sum of static forces and moments acting on a body equal zero.
Quasi-static	Condition where static behavior is assumed because dynamic effects exist but are negligible or constant.
Statically determinate	The character of a static structure with simple supports in which the support reactions can be determined by equilibrium conditions alone.
Indeterminacy	State of being indeterminate or difference between the number of unknown reactions and the number of equilibrium conditions.
Uniaxial	Acting along a straight line.
Biaxial	Acting along two lines usually perpendicular to each other.
Boundary conditions	Conditions of force or displacement specified on the boundaries of a body.
Elastic	A material behavior where the shape of a body prior to loading is recovered upon removal of all loads.
Linear elastic	A type of elastic material where the magnitude of the deformations is proportional to the magnitude of the loads.
Proportional	Linear stimulus-response relationship.
Inelastic	A material behavior where loading causes permanent deformation.
Modulus of elasticity	Property of a material measured as the ratio of normal stress to strain in a uniaxial plot
Poisson's ratio	Property of a material measured as the negative of the ratio of lateral strain to axial strain in a uniaxially loaded member.
Strength	A limiting capacity of a material; usually a stress magnitude defining a design limit.
Yield strength	Minimum stress that will induce permanent deformation.
Ultimate strength	Maximum stress before rupture.
Column	A structural member, generally with high aspect ratio, subject to loads applied parallel to the long dimension of the member.
Beam	A structural member, generally with high aspect ratio, subject to loads perpendicular to the long dimension or the member causing the member to bend.
Transverse loading	Loads that act perpendicular to the long axis of a beam.
Beam column	A beam that is additionally subject to axial loads.
Shaft	A beam-like member subject to torsional loading.
Torsion	Applied moment about the long axis of a beam-like member.
Work	Force acting through a distance does work.
Horsepower	A unit of rate of doing work.
Energy	The capacity to do work.
Joule	Unit of energy.
Watt	Unit of rate of doing work.
Prism	A polyhedron with 2 polygonal faces lying in parallel planes and with the other faces parallelograms.
Prismatic	Relating to or constituting a prism.
Oblique	Neither perpendicular or parallel.
Projected area	Area of the 2D projection of a 3D surface.
Chord	A straight line connecting two points on a curve.
Radian	A unit of angular measurement. On a circle, one radian is the angle subtended by an arc equal in length to the radius.
Solid	A material that can support a static shear stress.
Fluid	A material, either gas or liquid that cannot support a static shear stress.
Loading	Any stimulus or combination of stimuli that cause deformation or stress in a structure.
Superposition	In linear elastic mechanics the sum of a structure's responses to two separate loading's is equal to the response to the combined loading.
Factor of safety	The ratio of strength to stress assuming strength is defined by a stress limit.

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	Created by Blair Kerley about 6 years ago