other types of stress.

Tensile stresses can cause fracture, however, which is a

failure mode that�s sudden and, therefore, usually catastrophic. This is just
about the worst thing that can happen to your structure.
Tensile stresses may also cause yielding, but the consequences are, perhaps,
not quite as disastrous as fracture. Some yielding occurs in many structures,
whether in a bolt torqued to installation requirements or in a member at a
stress riser, without robbing the structure of its usefulness. It�s only when the
yielding is excessive that failure has occurred.
We�ll keep these limit states in mind as we discuss the Aluminum Specification�s
requirements. Identifying the limit of a structure�s usefulness and
then providing an adequate safeguard against reaching that limit are what
design specifications are all about.
5.1.1 Tensile Strength
Aluminum Specification Section 3.4.1 effectively defines axial tensile strength
as:
1) Yield strength on the gross area
2) Ultimate strength on the net area.
Each of these strengths is factored by its respective safety factor in allowable
stress design. (The strengths are factored by a resistance factor in load
and resistance factor design [LRFD]. We�ll stick to allowable stress design
for now.) The resulting allowable strength of a member is:
Fty Ag Ftu An F # min # , # (5.1) t n kn y t u
where:
A # gross area of the member g
A # net area of the member n
F # tensile yield strength ty
F # tensile ultimate strength tu
k # coefficient for tension members (see Aluminum Specification t
Table 3.4-2)
n # factor of safety on yield y
n # factor of safety on ultimate strength u
This Specification section is highlighted in Aluminum Specification Table 3.4-
3 reproduced here as Figure 5.1. The general equations are evaluated for
various alloys in the Aluminum Design Manual, Part VII, Tables 2-2 through
2-23, with 6061-T6 being found on Table 2-21 (reproduced here as Figure
5.2).