Strength of Materials

Problem Set 2: Shear Stresses

1. Consider the bolted joint shown in the figure. The force

P is 30 kN and the diameter of the bolt is 10 mm.
Determine the average value of the shearing stress existing
across either planes aa or bb .

2. Low-carbon structural steel has a shearing ultimate strength of approximately 300 MPa. Determine the force
P necessary to punch a 2.5-cm-diameter hole through a plate of this steel 1 cm thick. If the modulus of
elasticity in shear for this material is 82 GPa, find the shear strain at the edge of this hole when the shear
stress is 143 MPa.

3. In the wood industries, inclined blocks of wood are

sometimes used to determine the compression shear strength
of glued joints. Consider the pair of glued blocks A and
B of the figure which are 38 mm deep in a direction
perpendicular to the plane of the paper. Determine the
shearing ultimate strength of the glue if a vertical force of 40
kN is required to cause rupture of the joint. It is to be noted
that a good glue causes a large proportion of the failure to
occur in the wood.

4. The shearing stress in a piece of structural steel is 100 MPa. If the modulus of rigidity G is 85 GPa, find
the shearing strain .

5. A single rivet is used to join two plates as shown in the

figure. If the diameter of the rivet is 20 mm and the load
P is 30 kN, what is the average shearing stress
developed in the rivet?

6. One common type of weld for joining two plates is the fillet weld. This weld undergoes shear as well as
tension or compression and frequently bending in addition. For the two plates shown, determine the
allowable tensile force P that may be applied using an allowable working stress of 77 MPa for shear
loading. Consider only shearing stresses in the weld. The load is applied midway between the two welds.

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7. Shafts and pulleys are usually fastened together by means of
a key, as shown the figure. Consider a pulley subject to a
turning moment T of 1000 Nm keyed by a
1 1 8 cm key to the shaft. The shaft is 5 cm in
diameter. Determine the shear stress on a horizontal plane
through the key.

8. A lifeboat on a seagoing cruise ship is supported at each end

by a stranded steel cable passing over a pulley on a davit
anchored to the top deck. The cable at each end carries a
tension of 4000 N and the cable as well as the pulley are
located in a vertical plane as shown. The pulley may rotate
freely about the horizontal circular axle indicated. Determine
the diameter d of this axle if the allowable transverse
shearing stress is 50 MPa.

9. A building that is 60 m tall has essentially the rectangular

configuration shown in the figure. Horizontal wind loads will
act on the building exerting pressures on the vertical face that
may be approximated as uniform within each of the three
layers as shown. From empirical expressions for wind
pressures at the midpoint of each of the three layers, we have
a pressure of 781 N/m 2 on the lower layer, 1264 N/m 2 on the
middle layer, and 1530 N/m2 on the top layer. Determine the
resisting shear that the foundation must develop to withstand
this wind load.

10. Two 1.5-mm-thick strips of titanium alloy 45 mm wide are joined by a 45 laser weld as shown. A 100 kW
carbon dioxide laser system is employed to form the joint. If the allowable shearing stress in the alloy is 440
MPa and the joint is assumed to be 100 percent efficient, determine the maximum allowable force P that
may be applied.

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