CHAPTER III – SHEARING STRESSES

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights shearing stresses in discussing the strength of materials. A given shearing stress acting on one plane is always accompanied by a complementary shearing stress on planes at right angles to the given stress and to the plane on which it acts. It is seen, whenever there is a shearing stress over a plane passing through a given line, there must be an equal complementary shearing stress on a plane perpendicular to the given plane and passing through the given line. The directions of the two shearing stresses must be either both towards, or both away from, the line of intersection of the two planes in which they act. It is thus extremely important to realize the existence of the complementary shear stress, for its necessary presence has a direct effect on the maximum stress in the material.