Definition:Strain

Definition

Strain is a measure of the deformation of a body as a result of stress set up within that body caused by an external force or forces

Strain can be expressed as:

Change in length per unit length

Change in area per unit area

Change in volume per unit volume

all of which are dimensionless.

Or strain can be a shear strain, which is an angular deformation without change in volume.

In this case it is measured in radians.

Also see

• Definition:Stress
• Definition:Shear (Physics)

• Results about strain can be found here.

Sources

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): strain
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): strain