The course begins with a quick reminder of the static calculation of beams and the notion of stresses around a point, followed by three chapters on the calculation of stresses and strains under the effect of shear force, bending moment, and torque. Then come four chapters on calculation methods such as the theorem of the virtual works, the area of ​​moments method, the three-moment method, and lines of influence. And at the end, two chapters are dedicated to the effect of axial loading covering the buckling design and the compound and deflected bending design.

The resistance of materials (RDM) is a particular discipline of continuum mechanics, allowing the calculation of the stresses and deformations in the structures of the different materials (machines, mechanical engineering, building and civil engineering). RDM makes it possible to reduce the study of the global behavior of a structure (relationship between stresses — forces or moments — and displacements) to that of the local behavior of the materials composing it (relationship between stresses and deformations). The objective is to design the structure according to criteria of resistance, admissible deformation and acceptable financial cost. When the stress intensity increases, there is first elastic deformation (the material deforms in proportion to the applied force and returns to its initial shape when the stress disappears), sometimes followed (depending on the ductility of the material) plastic deformation (the material does not return to its initial shape when the stress disappears, a residual deformation remains), and finally rupture (the stress exceeds the intrinsic resistance of the material).