Círculos de Mohr: un laboratorio virtual para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de estados tensionales planos

Abstract

Linear elasticity is a discipline that studies the elastic solid under external forces that generate a mechanical response in linear elastic regime. In particular, it is of special interest to study the stresses and strains at any point of the solid, which is known as the elastic problem. Moreover, the problem of plane stress state -that is, in two dimensions- it is very common in engineering. Prior to its study, it is necessary to first obtain the so-called stress state in the differential vicinity around a point of the elastic solid, then calculating the different values that can reach the tensions at that point in any direction. This paper shows a virtual laboratory based on the graphical method called Mohr's Circle -attributed to engineer Otto Christian Mohr (1835-1918)- which allows to represent the stress state at a point from a user-defined set of variables. The virtual laboratory MOHR, implemented with the MATLAB package through its graphical user interface (GUI), allows full interactivity and can obtain the values of the stresses in any direction. This application is an excellent tool to support the teaching and learning process of mechanics-related subjects in engineering studies.