Stress Definition

Stress Definition

Stress is internal force exerted by either of two adjacent parts of a body upon the other across an imagined plane of separation. When the forces all parallel to the plane, the stress is called shear stress, when the forces are normal to the plane the stress is called normal stress, when the normal stress is directed toward the part on which it acts it is called compressive stress, when it is directed away from the part on which it acts is called tensile stress.