Transverse Shear CHAPTER OBJECTIVES In this chapter, we will develop a method for finding the shear stress in a beam having 2 prismatic cross section and made from homogeneous material that behaves in a linear-elastic manner. The method of analysis to be developed will be somewhat limited to special cases of cross- sectional geometry. Although this is the case, it has many wide-range applications in engineering design and analysis. The concept of shear flow, along with shear stress, will be discussed for beams and thin-walled members. The chapter ends with a discussion of the shear center. 7.1 Shear in Straight Members In general, a beam will support both shear and moment. The shear V is the result of a transverse shear-stress distribution that acts over the beam’s cross section. Due to the complementary property of shear, however, this stress will create corresponding longitudinal shear stresses which will act along longitudinal planes of the beam as shown in Fig. 7-1 Teansverse shear sess Longitudinal PR) + shear stress 359360 Chapter 7 TRANSVERSE SHEAR Boards not bonded together Boards bonded together — SSS= Shear connectors are “tack welded” to this corrugated metal floor liner so that when the conerete floor is poured, the connectors will prevent the concrete slab from slipping fon the liner surface. The two materials will thus at as a composite stab. @ ©) Fig. 7-2 To illustrate this effect, consider the beam to be made from three boards, Fig, 72a. If the top and bottom surfaces of each board are smooth, and the boards are not bonded together, then application of the load P will cause the boards to slide relative to one another when the beam deflects. However, if the boards are bonded together, then the longitudinal shear stresses acting between the boards will prevent their relative sliding, and consequently the beam will act as a single unit, Fig. 7-26. ‘As a result of the shear stress, shear strains will be developed and these will tend to distort the ctoss section in a rather complex manner, For example, consider the short bar in Fig. 73a made of a highly deformable material and marked with horizontal and vertical grid lines, When a shear Vis applied, it tends to deform these lines into the pattern shown in Fig. 7-36, This nonuniform shear-strain distribution will cause the cross section to warp. (©) After deformation Fig. 7-3As a result, when a beam is subjected to both bending and shear, the cross section will not remain plane as assumed in the development of the flexure formula, Although this is the case, we can generally assume the cross-sectional warping due to shear is small enough so that it can be neglected, This assumption is particularly true for the most common case of a slender beam; that is, one that has a small depth compared with its length. 7.2. The Shear Formula Because the strain distribution for shear is not easily defined, as in the case of axial load, torsion, and bending, we will develop the shear formula in an indirect manner. To do this we will consider the horizontal force equilibrium of a portion of the element taken from the beam in Fig. 7-4a.A free-body diagram of this element is shown in Fig. 7-4b. This distribution is caused by the bending moments M and M + dM. We have excluded the effects of V.V + dV, and w(x) on the free-body diagram since these loadings are vertical and will therefore not be involved in a horizontal force summation. The element in Fig, 7-40 will indeed satisty DF, = 0 since the stress distribution on each side of the element forms only a couple moment and therefore a zero force resultant. Section plane kel C} Fig 74 7.2. Tue Sitear Foamuta 361362 Section plane Chapter 7 TRANSVERSE SHEAR Areas" Now consider the shaded top portion of the clement that has been sectioned at y’ from the neutral axis, Fig. 74a. This segment has a width tat the section, and the two cross-sectional sides each have an area A’ Because the resultant moments on each side of the element differ by 4M, it can be seen in Fig. 7~4c that EF, = 0 will not be satisfied unless a longitudinal shear stress + acts over the bottom face of the segment. We will assume this shear stress is constant across the width f of the bottom face. It acts on the area t dx. Applying the equation of horizontal force equilibrium, and using the flexure formula, Eq. 6-13, we have fovea [oda — ras) 0 [(t5epa- [Puen (#) [owe = a(t dx) (7-1) 1a : nae) ve This equation can be simplified by noting that V = dM/dx (Eq, 6-2) ‘Also, the integral represents the moment of the area A’ about the neutral axis. We will denote this by the symbol Q. Since the location of the centroid of the area A’ is determined from y’ = [yy dA'/A’, we can also write 22F, Solving for 7, we get o= [yaa =y 0) ‘Three-dimensional view © Proll view Fig, 7-4 (cont)7.2. Tae Sear FoRMuLA 363 The final result is therefore (7-3) Here, as shown in Fig. 7-5, ‘7 = the shear stress in the member at the point located a distance y’ from the neutral axis. This stress is assumed to be constant and therefore averaged across the width f of the member he internal resultant shear force, determined from the method of sections and the equations of equilibrium T= the moment of inertia of the entire cross-sectional area calculated about the neutral axis 1 = the width of the member's cross-sectional area, measured at the point where 7 is to be determined Q A‘, where A’ is the area of the top (or bottom) portion of the member's cross-sectional area, above (or below) the section plane where ris measured, and 9’ is the distance from the neutral axis to the centroid of A’ The above equation is referred to as the shear formula. Although in the derivation we considered only the shear stresses acting on the beam’s Iongitudinal plane, the formula applies as well for finding the transverse shear stress on the beam’s cross-section, Recall that these stresses are complementary and numerically equal Also, because the flexure formula was used in the derivation, it is necessary that the material behave in a linear elastic manner and have a modulus of elasticity that is the same in tension as it is in compression, Fig. 7-5364 Chapter 7 TRANSVERSE SHEAR Ka=osr—| Fig. 7-6 Limitations on the Use of the Shear Formula. One of the major assumptions used in the development of the shear formula is that the shear stress is uniformly distributed over the width f at the section. In other words, the average shear stress is calculated across the width. We can test the accuracy of this assumption by comparing it with a more exact mathematical analysis based on the theory of elasticity. For example, if the beam’s cross section is rectangular, the shear-stress distribution across the neutral axis as calculated from the theory of elasticity varies as shown in Fig. 7-6. The maximum value, 1" gax, OCCUrS at the sides of the cross section, and its magnitude depends on the ratio jh (width/depth). For sections having a B/h = 0.5, 7’ maxis only about 3% greater than the shear stress calculated from the shear formula Fig, 7-64. However, for flat sections, say b/h = 2, r'max i8 about 40% greater than 7y,q. Fig. 7-6b. The etror becomes even greater as the section becomes flatter, or as the /h ratio increases. Errors of this magnitude are certainly intolerable if one uses the shear formula to determine the shear stress in the flange of the wide-flange beam shown in Fig. 7-7. It should also be pointed out that the shear formula will not give accurate results when used to determine the shear stress at the flange-web junction of a wide-flange beam, since this is a point of sudden cross-sectional change and therefore a stress concentration occurs here. Fortunately, these limitations for applying the shear formula to the flanges of a wide-flange beam are not important in engineering practice, Most often engineers must only calculate the average maximum shear stress in the beam, which occurs at the neutral axis, where the bjh (width/depth) ratio for the web is very small, and therefore the calculated result is very close to the actual maximum shear stress as explained above. Fig. 7-7Another important limitation on the use of the shear formula can be illustrated with reference to Fig. 7-8a, which shows a member having a cross section with an irregular or nonrectangular boundary. If we apply the shear formula to determine the (average) shear stress 7 along the line AB, it will be directed downward as shown in Fig. 7-8. However, consider an clement of material taken from the boundary point B, Fig. 7-8. Here + on the front face of the clement is resolved into components, 7’ and +" acting perpendicular and parallel to the boundary. By inspection,’ must be equal to zero since its corresponding longitudinal component 7’, on the stress-free boundary surface, must be zero, To satisly this boundary condition, therefore, the shear stress acting on this element must actually be directed tangent fo the boundary. As aresult, the shear-stress distribution across line AB is directed as shown in Fig. 7-8d. Here specific values for the shear stress must be obtained using the theory of elasticity, Note, however, that we can apply the shear formula to obtain the shear stress acting across each of the colored lines in Fig, 7-Ba, These lines intersect the tangents to the boundary at right angles, and as shown in Fig. 7-8e, the transverse shear stress is vertical and constant along cach line To summarize the above points, the shear formula does not give accurate results when applied to members having cross sections that are short or flat, ot at points where the cross section suddenly changes, Nor should it be applied across a section that intersects the boundary of the member at an angle other than 90°, Instead, for these cases the shear stress should be determined using more advanced methods based on the theory of elasticity. Shear-stress distribution @ from shear formula o © Fig. 7-8 7.2. Tue Sitear Foamuta Suresstree outer surtace o) a 43 @ 365366 Chapter 7 TRANSVERSE SHEAR enn © Shear forces in beams cause nonlinear shear-strain distributions over the cross section, causing it to warp. © Due to the complementary property of shear stress, the shear stress developed in a beam acts over the toss section of the beam and along its longitudinal planes. © The shear formula was derived by considering horizontal force equilibrium of the longitudinal shear-stress and bending_stress distributions acting on a portion of a differential segment of the beam. © ‘The shear formula is to be used on straight prismatic members made of homogeneous material that has linear elastic behavior. Also, the internal resultant shear force must be directed along an axis of symmetry for the cross-sectional area, © The shear formula should not be used to determine the shear stress on cross sections that are short or flat, at points of sudden cross-sectional changes, or at a point on an inclined boundary. eek cuun ny In order to apply the shear formula, the following procedure is suggested Internal Shear. © Section the member perpendicular to its axis at the point where the shear stress is to be determined, and obtain the internal shear V at the section. Section Properties. © Determine the location of the neutral axis, and determine the moment of inertia /of the entire cross-sectional area about the neutral axis. © Pass an imaginary horizontal section through the point where the shear stress is to be determined, Measure the width f of the cross-sectional area at this section, © The portion of the area lying either above or below this width is A’. Determine @ by using Q = yA’. Here y’ is the distance to the centroid of A’, measured from the neutral axis. It may be helpful to realize that A’ is the portion of the member's cross-sectional area that is being “held onto the member” by the longitudinal shear stresses. See Fig. 4c. Shear Stress. © Using a consistent set of units, substitute the data into the shear formula and calculate the shear stress r. © Itis suggested that the direction of the transverse shear stress r be established on a volume element of material located at the point where it is calculated. This can be done by realizing that r acts on the cross section in the same direction as V. From this, the corresponding shear stresses acting on the other three planes of the element can then be established.