
Exercise      37 
Exercise 1.7 Principal Axes of Stress 
The pressure 
 defined in Eq. (1.6.17) is the mean of the normal stresses, 
that is, one third of the trace of the total stress tensor 
T . It appears that 
 
is meant to be the mean of the principal stresses. Give the definition of the 
principal stresses and its direction of the principal axis. 
Ans . 
When the direction of a stress vector 
n
t  is equal to that of an unit 
normal vector 
n
ˆ
, if 
n
t  is derived from a stress tensor T  by  Cauchy’s 
stress formula, the direction of n
ˆ
 is called the direction of the principal 
axes of stress and the stresses are the principal stresses. 
Thus, in case of 
n
ˆ
 being parallel with the principal axes, we can write 
nnt
ˆ
T
ˆ
  
n
 
(1) 
where 
 is a scalar quantity. Equation (1) gives a relationship written as 
0  IT
ˆ
n  
(2) 
and Eq. (2) has to satisfy 
0  IT
O
 
(3) 
for the condition of 
0zn
ˆ
. Equation (3) is called the characteristic equa-
T . Roots of Eq. (3) give eigenvalues, which are the 
The perfect fluid given by Eq. (1.6.17) is an isotropic fluid in a sense 
that a simple direct stress acting in it does not produce a shearing deforma-
tion. In the functional relation between stress and deformation must be in-
dependent of the orientation of the coordinates system. 
The component form of Eq. (3) is written by 
0
333231
232221
131211
 
O
O
O
TTT
TTT
TTT
 
(4)
with which we have a third order polynomial equation for 
 as follows 
0
32
2
1
3
  III
OOO
 
(5)
tion of stress tensor 
principal stresses for the principal axes.