What does BSOM mean in UNCLASSIFIED

BSOM stands for Basic Strength of Materials, which is a branch of engineering mechanics that studies the strength and behavior of material objects subjected to various applied forces.

The main objective of BSOM is to assess the behavior of materials when subjected to loads, such as pulling, pushing, shearing or torsion. Additionally, it seeks to understand how a material or structure behaves when exposed to static or dynamic loading conditions.

BSOM studies a variety materials including metals such as steel, aluminum and brass; plastics; timber; rubber; ceramics; concrete; composites; and glass. In addition to these primary materials, other substances studied include joint interfaces (connections between structural elements), soil properties (for geotechnical analysis) and creep analysis (the rate at which an object will deform under sustained loading).

Calculations done under BSOM involve determining stresses within structures from applied loads (stress analysis); assessing deformations due to loading (displacement/strain analysis); predicting deflections due to load application (deflection theory); evaluating vibration characteristics (modal analysis); analyzing buckling effects by determining critical loads that must not be exceeded in order for stability to be maintained (buckling theory); identifying internal force distributions within components based on external applied loads (force transfer theory) ; performing finite element analysis utilizing computer simulations; analyzing structures composed from more than one material type called composites/hybrids; assessing durability against fatigue damage over long periods of time etc.