Is permissible stress and tensile strength the same?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between permissible stress and tensile strength, exploring their definitions and implications in engineering contexts. Participants seek to clarify whether these terms are synonymous and how they relate to safety factors in design calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants clarify that tensile strength refers to the maximum stress a material can withstand before failure, while permissible stress is the level of stress that will not cause failure.
  • There is mention of the factor of safety, which is the ratio of tensile strength to permissible stress, typically ranging from 2.5:1 to 8:1.
  • One participant expresses a specific need for tensile strength in the context of gear design, indicating they have permissible stress and the Lewis factor but lack the factor of safety.
  • Another participant suggests that modern design incorporates load factors and characteristic strength, which are measured according to standards.
  • There is a distinction made between older permissible stress approaches and modern limit state analysis, noting that both methods cannot be applied simultaneously.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the definitions of tensile strength and permissible stress, but there is no consensus on how to derive tensile strength without the factor of safety. The discussion remains unresolved regarding alternative methods to find tensile strength.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific design methodologies and safety factors, indicating that the discussion is influenced by varying engineering practices and standards. The relationship between permissible stress and tensile strength is not fully resolved, and assumptions about material properties and design contexts are present.

socrates_1
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Hi, I am trying to find out if permissible stress and tensile are the same.If not,what is their relation?Thank you.
 
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First thing to decide is if you mean tensile strength as in your title or tensile stress as your post implies.

Tensile stress refers to a type of stress.
Strength refers to the maximum possible stress of that type that can be applied without failure.
So tensile strength refers to the maximum possible tensile stress, at which point the subject fails.

Permissible stress refers to an amount of stress that will not cause failure.

You should look up 'factor of safety.'

This is the ratio of the strength to permissible ie maximum to permissible and is usually in the range 2.5 : 1 to 8 :1.
 
Studiot said:
First thing to decide is if you mean tensile strength as in your title or tensile stress as your post implies.

Tensile stress refers to a type of stress.
Strength refers to the maximum possible stress of that type that can be applied without failure.
So tensile strength refers to the maximum possible tensile stress, at which point the subject fails.

Permissible stress refers to an amount of stress that will not cause failure.

You should look up 'factor of safety.'

This is the ratio of the strength to permissible ie maximum to permissible and is usually in the range 2.5 : 1 to 8 :1.

Thank you very much for your response 'Studiot'.
I refer to tensile strength.I know this relation with the factor of safety,but I just have the Lewis factor and premissible stress of the gear,and the calculator for maximum load through Lewis equation requires the tensile strength.I don't have the factor of safety.
Is there any other way to find tensile strength?

Thanks again.
 
section 7.5 here for instance provides various safety factors.

http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/IIT-MADRAS/Machine_Design_II/pdf/2_7.pdf

You should note that such factors in modern design are compound factors and are called load factors.
Modern design also provides factors applicable to the strength of a material. The strength used is known as the 'characteristic strength' and is measured according to some standard scheme.

Edit

Please note further that you either apply the safety factor to the stress to achieve a safety factor and use the actual nominal loads.
This is the older simpler method called the permissible stress approach.

or

You apply the safety factors to the loads and material properties but use the actual stresses calculated.
This is the more modern, more complicated method, known as limit state analysis.

You do not apply both.
 
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