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Tension is the pulling or stretching force transmitted axially along an object such as a string, rope, chain, rod, truss member, or other object, so as to stretch or pull apart the object. In terms of force, it is the opposite of compression. Tension might also be described as the action-reaction pair of forces acting at each end of an object.
If the load is compression on the bar, rather than stretching it, the analysis is the same except that the force F and the stress change sign, and the stress is called compressive stress. The ratio σ = F / A {\displaystyle \sigma =F/A} may be only an average stress.
In a solid, the amount of compression generally depends on the direction , and the material may be under compression along some directions but under traction along others. If the stress vector is purely compressive and has the same magnitude for all directions, the material is said to be under isotropic compression , hydrostatic compression ...
The amount of stretch or compression along material line elements or fibers is the normal strain, and the amount of distortion associated with the sliding of plane layers over each other is the shear strain, within a deforming body. [2] This could be applied by elongation, shortening, or volume changes, or angular distortion. [3]
[1]: 58 For example, low-carbon steel generally exhibits a very linear stress–strain relationship up to a well-defined yield point. The linear portion of the curve is the elastic region, and the slope of this region is the modulus of elasticity or Young's modulus. Plastic flow initiates at the upper yield point and continues at the lower ...
There is some interaction, however. For example, for some solid objects, twisting, bending, and other distortions may generate thermal energy, causing the material's temperature to rise. Thermal energy in solids is often carried by internal elastic waves, called phonons. Elastic waves that are large on the scale of an isolated object usually ...
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Diagram of Geologic Tension. In geology, the term "tension" refers to a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions. The rocks become longer in a lateral direction and thinner in a vertical direction. One important result of tensile stress is jointing in rocks.