Simple Strain

Shear Strain
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin
- Green Bay
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Simple Shear
Perhaps the most familiar illustration of shear is the movement of
rocks on opposite sides of a fault as shown here. Because this type
of shear is the easiest to visualize, it is called simple shear.

Imagine when the fault starts moving we draw a line at right angles
to the fault. As the fault slips, the line rotates (and also lengthens),
and angle A increases. However, angle A will never reach 90
degrees unless the slip on the fault is infinite.

We can define shear strain exactly the way

we do longitudinal strain: the ratio of
deformation to original dimensions. In the
case of shear strain, though, it's the amount
of deformation perpendicular to a given line
rather than parallel to it. The ratio turns out
to be tan A, where A is the angle the sheared
line makes with its original orientation. Note
that if A equals 90 degrees, the shear strain
is infinte.

Note that we are not concerned about the line changing length.
That's longitudinal strain. With shear strain we are only concerned
about the change in angles.

Pure Shear
Any time an object is deformed, shear occurs.
For example, in the top row a block is deformed
without changing area. It looks like the only
deformation involved is compression and
extension.
However, if we examine the diagonals of the
block (bottom row) we see that there is indeed
shear because the angle between the diagonals
changes. This sort of shear is called pure shear.

Pure shear is harder to see than simple shear because there is no

stationary frame of reference. Imagine that you have planted your
feet firmly along one of the diagonals of the block. As the block
deforms, you see the other diagonal rotate just as you did with
simple shear. To an outside observer, you also rotate, but from your
perspective the two situations look identical.
Even the principal strain directions look the same. In the simple
shear case above, the major and minor axes of the deforming ellipse
rotate clockwise as strain progresses. The same thing happens
under pure shear as well.
Directions of Greatest Shear

If we inscribe a square at different orientations in a block and

deform it, we can see that the square oriented at 45 degrees to the
principal strains is sheared the most.

Simple and Pure Shear Compared

The blocks above have undergone shear strains of 0, 0.5, 1.0 and
1.5. The top row has undergone simple shear, the bottom row pure
shear. Angles 90-A and 90+A (shown for the shear=0.5 case) are the
same in each corresponding pair of diagrams. Note that the ellipses
are the same shape.
Simple Shear:
One direction remains constant and everything else rotates
relative to it. Approximates the situation in a shear zone.
Pure Shear
Directions of greatest compression and extension are constant.
The major and minor axes of the deforming ellipse remain
constant. All other lines rotate.
An Unkind Parting Thought
Neither of the situations described in simple and pure shear is likely
to occur exactly in nature. Most of the time stress directions and
magnitudes change over time and everything in a deforming body of
rock rotates. Shear may be clockwise at one time and
counterclockwise at others. The real complexity of deformation in
rocks has led some geologists to claim: "Pure shear is pure
nonsense and simple shear is simple nonsense". However, like
bodies falling without air resistance or sliding without friction, they
are useful ideal concepts and first approximations to complex reality.

Dissipative scale effects in straingradient plasticity: the case of simple

shear
Maria Chiricotto, Lorenzo Giacomelli, Giuseppe Tomassetti
(Submitted on 22 Jan 2015)
We answer in the affirmative to a conjecture formulated in [L. Anand et. al. (2005) J. Mech.
Phys. Solids, 53:1789--1826] concerning a variational characterization of the \emph{actual yield
strength} Y, the threshold for the inset of plastic flow, in a thin strip undergoing simple shear.
Moreover, we find a new formula relating Y to the height of the strip. Our formula confirms that
thinner specimens display higher actual yield strength.