Summary of Failure Criteria

The following table summarizes the failure criteria used to assess the safety of designs.

Criterion Factor of Safety Material Type
Maximum von Mises stress σlimit / σvonMises Ductile
Maximum shear stress σlimit / (2 * τmax) Ductile
Mohr-Coulomb stress
  • σ1 > σ 2 > σ3,
  • If (σ1> 0 and σ3 > 0) then (σ1 ≥ σTensile Limit)

  • If (σ1< 0 and σ3 < 0) then (|σ3| ≥ σCompressive Limit)

  • If (σ1> 0 and σ3 <0) then (σ1 / σTensile Limit + |σ3| / σCompressive Limit ≥1)
    When the third principal stress σ3 is in compression (negative), both values for σ3 and the material's compressive limit have positive signs for the FOS calculation.
Brittle materials with different tensile and compressive strengths
Maximum normal stress σlimit / σ1 Brittle
Maximum stress criterion (composites)

FOS = 1/F.I.

Brittle
1 and 2 stand for material directions. X and S are normal and shear strengths of the composite.
Tsai-Hill Failure criterion (composites)

FOS = 1 / SQRT (F.I.)

Brittle
Tsai-Wu Failure criterion (composites)

Brittle