SHEAR STRESS (SINGLE AND DOUBLE SHEAR)

Shear stress is a kind of stress that acts parallel or tangential to the surface. The shear stress is denoted by τ (tau). Shearing stresses are commonly found in rivets, pins and bolts. If the plates, which are connected by a rivet as shown in the following figure, are subjected to tension forces, shear stresses will develop in the rivet. The shear force P in the shear plane is equal to tension force F. The average shear stress in the plane is τ_ave= F/A. This joint is said to be in single shear.

If the plates, which are connected by a rivet as shown in the following figure, are subjected to tension forces, shear stresses will develop in the rivet. This joint is said to be in double shear. To determine the average shear stress in each shear plane, free-body diagrams of rivet and of the portion of rivet located between the two planes are drawn. Observing that the shear P in each of the planes is P = F/2, the average shearing stress is τ_ave= F/2A.

List of Equations:

Reference:

• Beer.F.P. , Johnston.E.R. (1992). Mechanics of Materials , 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill