For procedures, see your mechanical laboratory manual.

Title: Shear Force in a Beam Experiment


Theory

Shearing forces are unaligned forces pushing one part of a body in one specific direction, and another part of the body in the opposite direction. It is also defined as the force transverse to the beam at a given section tending to cause it to shear at that section. When the forces are aligned with each other, they are called compression forces. An example is a deck of cards being pushed one way on the top, and the other at the bottom, causing the cards to slide.

A shear force is a force applied perpendicular to a surface, in opposition to an offset force acting in the opposite direction. This results in a shear strain. In simple terms, one part of the surface is pushed in one direction, while another part of the surface is pushed in the opposite direction.

This is different from compression, which occurs when the two opposing forces are pushing into each other at the same point (i.e. they are not offset), resulting in compressive stress.

Applications

1. Design of Structural members primarily beams

2. Quality control – for the production of powders - for industrial applications the flowability index of the powders is monitored to ensure trouble-free operation.

3. Design of handling equipment – engineering department - for some storage and conveyor equipment, mathematical models exist which require appropriate mechanical powder properties. The shear test provides these parameters for a wide range of applications. The static and technological calculations contribute to safe and reliable process equipment.

4. Technological calculations of the process equipment requires the powder properties. The correctly determined powder properties will ensure the proper working of the installation only then if the raw materials are checked and are found to correspond with the purchase specification. During the process, the powder can be controlled and held within the limits of the process specification.

References

1. Shear Force, wikipedia.org
2. Shearing Force, sciencedirect.com
3. www.shear-test.com