
Apago PDF Enhancer
99
  Consider first a cubic element of side one (Fig. 2.42) subjected 
to no other stresses than the shearing stresses t
xy
 and t
yx
 applied to 
faces of the element respectively perpendicular to the x and y axes. 
(We recall from Sec. 1.12 that t
xy
 5 t
yx
.) The element is observed 
to deform into a rhomboid of sides equal to one (Fig. 2.43). Two of 
the angles formed by the four faces under stress are reduced from 
p
2
 to 
p
2
2 g
x
, while the other two are increased from 
p
2
 to 
p
2
 1  g
xy
, 
The small angle g
xy
 (expressed in radians) defines the shearing strain 
corresponding to the x and y directions. When the deformation 
involves a reduction of the angle formed by the two faces oriented 
respectively toward the positive x and y axes (as shown in Fig. 2.43), 
the shearing strain g
xy
 is said to be positive; otherwise, it is said to 
be negative.
  We should note that, as a result of the deformations of the 
other elements of the material, the element under consideration can 
also undergo an overall rotation. However, as was the case in our 
study of normal strains, we are concerned here only with the actual 
deformation of the element, and not with any possible superimposed 
rigid-body displacement.†
  Plotting successive values of t
xy
 against the corresponding val-
ues of g
xy
, we obtain the shearing stress-strain diagram for the mate-
rial under consideration. This can be accomplished by carrying out 
a torsion test, as you will see in Chap. 3. The diagram obtained is 
similar to the normal stress-strain diagram obtained for the same 
material from the tensile test described earlier in this chapter. How-
ever, the values obtained for the yield strength, ultimate strength, 
etc., of a given material are only about half as large in shear as they 
are in tension. As was the case for normal stresses and strains, the 
initial portion of the shearing stress-strain diagram is a straight line. 
For values of the shearing stress that do not exceed the proportional 
yx
yx
y
x
xy
xy
1
1
1
Fig. 2.42  Cubic element subjected to 
shearing stresses.
†In defining the strain g
xy
, some authors arbitrarily assume that the actual deformation of 
the element is accompanied by a rigid-body rotation such that the horizontal faces of the 
element do not rotate. The strain g
xy
 is then represented by the angle through which the 
other two faces have rotated (Fig. 2.44). Others assume a rigid-body rotation such that 
the horizontal faces rotate through 
1
2
 
g
xy
 counterclockwise and the vertical faces through 
1
2
 
g
xy
 clockwise (Fig. 2.45). Since both assumptions are unnecessary and may lead to confu-
sion, we prefer in this text to associate the shearing strain g
xy
 with the change in the angle 
formed by the two faces, rather than with the rotation of a given face under restrictive 
conditions.
1
1
y
x
yx
xy
xy
2
xy
2
Fig. 2.43  Deformation of cubic 
element due to shearing stresses.
x
xy
2
xy
Fig. 2.44
x
xy
2
xy
2
1
xy
2
1
Fig. 2.45
2.14 Shearing Strain
bee80288_ch02_052-139.indd Page 99  9/4/10  5:18:22 PM user-f499bee80288_ch02_052-139.indd Page 99  9/4/10  5:18:22 PM user-f499 /Users/user-f499/Desktop/Temp Work/Don't Delete Job/MHDQ251:Beer:201/ch02/Users/user-f499/Desktop/Temp Work/Don't Delete Job/MHDQ251:Beer:201/ch02