Strain Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
- Strain is also a biological term.
If strain is equal over all parts of the body, it is referred to as homogeneous strain; otherwise, it is inhomogeneous strain.
Strain in the Earth resulting from stresses across faults results in motion over the fault surface and a combination of brittle and ductile deformation of the surrounding rockss. Brittle strain is exhibited as fractures, faults and other discontinuous breaks in the fabric of the rock. Ductile strain occurs as shear zones, flow bands and folding.
l is the change in length
l0 is the original undeformed length
If e is positive, the body has been lengthened; if it is negative, it has been compressed.
This equation is commonly used to calculate the beta factor for lithospheric extension during the formation of sedimentary basins.
In structural engineering the (relative) strain is given as:
where
ε = unitless measure of engineering strain;
Δl = deformation elongation or change in length; and
l0 = the original length before any load is applied.Quantifying strain
Given that strain results in the deformation of a body, it can be measured by calculating the change in length of a line or by the change in angle between two lines (where these lines are theoretical constructs within the deformed body). The change in length of a line is termed the stretch and may be given by
where