Transverse Shear

Shear in Straight Members

Shear Formula
Shear Stresses in Beams
Shear Stresses in Beams of
Rectangular Cross Section
In the previous chapter we examined the
case of a beam subjected to pure bending
i.e. a constant moment along axis .
When a beam is in pure bending, the only
stress resultants are the bending moments
and the only stresses are the normal
stresses acting on the cross sections.
Most beams are subjected to loads that
produce both bending moments and shear
forces (non-uniform bending)
Shear Stresses in Beams of
Rectangular Cross Section
In these cases, both
normal and shear
forces are developed
in the beam.
Normal stresses are
calculated with the
Flexure Formula.
We will now look at
the Shear Stresses
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
Consider a beam of rectangular cross
section subjected to a positive shear
force.
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
We assume
That the shear stresses are parallel to the
shear force
That the shear stresses are uniformly
distributed across the width of the beam.
Using these assumptions we can determine
the intensity of the shear stresses at any
point on a cross section.
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
For analysis we isolate At any point in the
a small element
beam, these
We determined back
in section 1.5 that complementary
there are horizontal shear stresses
shear stresses acting have the same
between horizontal
layers of the beam as
magnitude.
well as vertical shear
stresses acting on the
cross section.
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
Consider a cantilever
beam made up of planks
that are not bonded and
subjected to transverse
loading.
Each individual plank will
be subjected to slip at
the interfaces.
Plane sections before
deformation do not
remain plane after
deformation.
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
If the planks are
bonded together to
form a single beam,
longitudinal shear
stresses must develop
to prevent the relative
sliding between layers.
There is maximum shear
distortion at the middle
plank, while distortion is
zero at the top and
bottom of the beam
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
Because of shear deformation, plane
sections do not remain plane.
This is in contradiction with theory of pure
bending in which plane sections were
assumed to remain plane after deformations.
So, we will assume that the shear
deformations have little effect on the
distribution of flexural stresses as long as
the beam is slender, say length at least 10
times the depth.
Vertical & Horizontal
Shear Stresses
Also the following assumptions will be
retained, i.e.
       The transverse shear strains are
not simple to determine and will be
ignored for a long slender beam.
       The shear stresses will only be
determined from equilibrium rather
than from the strains as before.
Derivation of Shear Formula

Now we can derive a formula for the shear

stresses in a rectangular beam.
Instead of evaluating the vertical shear
stresses acting on a cross section, it is
easier to evaluate the horizontal shear
stresses acting between layers of the
beam.
Remember, the vertical shear stresses
have the same magnitude as the horizontal
shear stresses.
Derivation of Shear Formula

Consider a beam with non-

uniform bending.
Take two adjacent cross
sections a distance dx apart.
The bending moment and
shear force acting on the
left side is M and V.
Since the moment and shear
force may change along the
axis of the beam, the right
side is noted as M+dM and V
+dV.
Derivation of Shear Formula

The normal
stresses on the
section are found
with the Flexure
Formula.
Next if isolate a
sub-element by
passing a horizontal
plane through the
element.
Derivation of Shear Formula

Because the bending On the left side

moments vary along the x-
axis (non-uniform then:
bending), we can
determine the shear force My
acting on the bottom dA  dA
surface of the sub- I
element by equilibrium. The total force
The force acting on this
element is dA over the are of the
 is the normal stress face of the sub-
obtained from the flexure
formula element is:
My
F1    1dA   dA
I
Derivation of Shear Formula

The Force acting on the right side would be

found similarly.
Knowing F1 and F2, we can then find the
force on the bottom of the sub-element,
by equilibrium (see equation 7-1)
The integral in the final equation is
evaluated over the shaded part of the
cross section.
This is called the first moment of area.
Q   ydA  y ' A'
Shear Formula VQ

It
Solving for  yields the Shear Formula
The shear formula can be used to
determine the shear stress at any point in
the cross section of a rectangular beam.
Note
for a specific cross section, the shear force V,
moment of inertia I, and width t are all
constants.
Q – the first moment of area varies with the
distance from the neutral axis.
Calculation of Q

The first moment of area can be calculated

for the cross-section above the neutral axis
+Q or below the neutral axis -Q.
The first moment of the entire cross section
with respect to the neutral axis is zero.
However, we usually don’t bother with sign
conventions for V and Q.
We treat all terms in the shear formula as
positive and determine the direction of shear
stresses by inspection.
Distribution of Shear Stresses
in a Rectangular Beam
We can now determine
h
2
b  h2 2
Q   ydA   ybdy    y1 

the distribution of the y1
2 2 
shear stresses in a
beam that has a
rectangular cross
section.
Substituting the
expression for Q into
the shear formula
yields V h 2
2
   y1 
2I  4 
Distribution of Shear Stresses
in a Rectangular Beam
The shear stresses in
a rectangular beam
vary quadratically with
the distance from the
neutral axis.
Note that the shear
stress is zero when y1=±
h/2
When plotted along
the height of the
beam, they would look
like:
Distribution of Shear Stresses
in a Rectangular Beam
The maximum value of shear stress
occurs at the neutral axis (y1=0) the
first moment Q has a maximum value.
Substituting y1=0 into the previous
equation we get:
Vh 2 3V V
 max    1.5
8I 2A A
Distribution of Shear Stresses
in a Rectangular Beam
Limitations
Same restrictions as the flexure formula.
Valid only for beams of linearly elastic
materials with small deflections.
In rectangular beams, the accuracy depends on
the width to height ratio of the cross section.
Exact for very narrow beams (h much larger than b)
When b=h, the true maximum shear stress is about
13% larger than the value given by the formula.
Distribution of Shear Stresses
in a Rectangular Beam
A common error is to apply the shear
formula to cross sectional shapes for which
it is not applicable.
It is not applicable to triangular or semicircular
shapes.
Applies only to prismatic beams (constant cross
section)
Edges of the cross section must be parallel to
the y axis
Shear stresses must be uniform across the
width of the cross section.
Stresses in thin-walled sections

Thin-walled section beams are beams with

sections for which the wall thickness is
significantly smaller than the overall
dimensions of the cross section of a tubular
beam, or the depth of a wide-flange beam.
When dealing with thin walled beams, we can
consider the following:
Shear stress distribution is uniform across the
thickness of the wall.
Shear stresses can be approximated as being
parallel to the wall axis.
Shear stress in web-flange
beams
Sections (web and flanges) are much more
efficient than compact sections such as
rectangular sections in their resistance to
bending (for the same area)
Basically efficiency refers to strength to
weight.
We will now examine the shear stress
distribution in the section, i.e. in the
flanges and the web by making appropriate
cuts and exposing the internal forces.
Shear stress in web-flange
beams
As shown in the FBD, a
shear force dF acting on the
cutting plane is required to
balance the flexural
stresses acting on each side
of the section of elemental
length dx.
The shear flow is defined as
dF
q  by the
and is dictated
dx in the
direction of dF
longitudinal plane of cut.
Shear stress in web-flange
beams
Thus:
dF tdx QV
q   t 
dx dx I
It is noted that only shear
flow parallel to the wall is
considered, and the one
across the width t is zero.
The term Q refers to the
first moment area of
shaded area about neutral
axis.
Shear stress in web-flange
beams
The variation of shear
flow across the section
depends only on the
variation of the first
moment
For a box beam, q grows
smoothly from zero at A
to a maximum at C and C’
and then decreases back
to zero at E.
Shear stress in web-flange
beams
For a wide-flange
beam, the shear
flow increases
symmetrically from
zero at A and A',
reaches a maximum
at C and the
decreases to zero
at E and E‘
See Figure 7-7c