solid mechanics Solid mechanics, also known as mechanics of solids, is the branch of continuum mechanics that studies the behavior of solid materials, especially their motion and deformation under the action of forces, temperature changes, phase changes, and ...

, shearing forces are unaligned

force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

s acting on one part of a

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of animal ...

in a specific direction, and another part of the body in the opposite direction. When the forces are collinear (aligned with each other), they are called tension forces and compression forces. William A. Nash defines shear force in terms of

planes Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * ''Planes' ...

: "If a plane is passed through a body, a force acting along this plane is called a ''shear force'' or ''shearing force''."

Force required to shear steel

This section calculates the force required to cut a piece of material with a shearing action. The relevant information is the area of the material being sheared, ie the area across which the shearing action takes place, and the shear strength of the material. A round bar of steel is used as an example. The shear strength is calculated from the tensile strength using a factor which relates the two strengths. In this case 0.6 applies to the example steel, known as EN8 bright, although it can vary from 0.58–0.62 depending on application. EN8 bright has a tensile strength of 800MPa and mild steel, for comparison, has a tensile strength of 400MPa. To calculate the force to shear a 25 mm diameter bar of EN8 bright steel; : area of the bar in mm² = (12.5²)(π) ≈ 490.8mm² : 0.8kN/mm² × 490.8mm² = 392.64kN ≈ 40tonne-force : 40tonne-force × 0.6 (to change force from tensile to shear) = 24tonne-force When working with a

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

ed or tensioned

bolted joint A bolted joint is one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. It consists of a male threaded fastener (e. g., a bolt) that captures and joins other parts, secured with a matching female screw thread. There are two main t ...

, the strength comes from friction between the materials bolted together. Bolts are correctly torqued to maintain the friction. The shear force only becomes relevant when the bolts are not torqued. A bolt with property class 12.9 has a tensile strength of 1200MPa (1MPa = 1N/mm²) or 1.2kN/mm² and the yield strength is 0.90 times tensile strength, 1080MPa in this case. A bolt with property class 4.6 has a tensile strength of 400MPa (1MPa = 1N/mm²) or 0.4 kN/mm² and yield strength is 0.60 times tensile strength, 240MPa in this case.

References

{{reflist Force Civil engineering

Force required to shear steel

See also

References