Materials and Structures Laboratory

EXPERRIMENT NO: 3 DATE:

DIRECT SHEAR TEST ON MILD STEEL BAR

AIM: To determine permissible shear strength of mild steel.

APPARATUS: Mild steel specimen, Universal Testing Machine (UTM), shear box
assembly, Vernier Calipers, etc.

THEORY:

Shear Force:
The force which tend to shear off the section and is obtained as the algebraic sum of all
forces including the reactions acting normal to the axis of the beam either to the left or to the
right at the Section.
OR
Set of two forces having equal magnitude which are acting in opposite direction, such that
distance between them are very small (Δx à0).

Application of Shear Force:

• Application of shear Force to trim or cutting material,
• Punching shapes from sheet metal / fiber,
• Cutting a piece of paper with scissors,
• Cookie cutter to shape cookie,
• Using teeth chopping the food and many more…

Examples of Shear force:

• A cantilever Beam From wall..
• Pendaling while Cyclling..
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• Hanging Bolt of fan..

• Punching machine of A4 paper etc..

Stress:
The Resistance set up by material per unit area is known as stress.
Resistence
=

Classification of Stresses

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Normal Stress:
If the resistance of material considered is normal to the section stress the stresses induced
are normal stresses.

Tensile Stress:
When the section is subjected to axial pull P acting normally across the section, the stress
induced is called tensile stress. The tensile stress results in the elongation of bar.

Compressive Stress:
When the section is subjected to axial push P acting normally across the section, the stress
induced is called compressive stress. The compressive stress results in the contraction of
bar.

Shear Stress:
When the section is subjected to two equal and opposite forces P acting tangentially across
the resisting section, the stress produced in the section is called shear stress.
It is denoted by τ (Greek: tau)
• The general formula to calculate average shear stress is force per unit area.

Where,
τ = Shear stress in N/mm2,
F = Force applied in kN or N,
A = Cross-sectional area in mm2 or Cm2.
Shearing stress is one that acts parallel to a plane, as distinguished from tensile and
compressive stresses that act normal to a plane.

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Classification of Shear/ Torsional Stress

Shear/ Torsional Stress

Indirect
Direct shear
Shear

Single Double Punching Torsional

Shear Shear Shear

Direct Shear Stress:

Direct shear stresses are felt by a body when a force acts in the tangential direction of the
surface. (I.e. direct shear test)

Indirect Shear Stress:

Indirect shear stresses are ones that are caused when tensile or compressive forces act and it
leads to other stresses because of deformation of body. (I.e. torsion test)

Complimentry shear stress: Whenever a Shear Stress τ is applied on parallel surface of

body then to keep the body in equilibrium a Shear Force 'τ' is induced on remaining surface
of body. These stresses form a couple. The couple form due to shear stress τ produces
clockwise moment.The induces resisting stress is known as complimentry shear stress.

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Fig. Inplane/Outplane Shear

In above Fig. If we consider any face there will be a shear stress. Shear stress
considering the specific plane is called in-plane shear stress and other two stresses are out-
plane shear stress.

Loadings that produce shear conditions in material testing are as follows:

1. Resultant of parallel but opposed forces acting that are spaced “infinitesimal” distances
apart – state of pure shear
2. Parallel forces acting normal to longitudinal axis of a body but spaced at finite distances
apart – shearing stress along with bending stresses.
3. Parallel and opposite forces acting in the plane of cross section and not along the
longitudinal axis – shearing stress due to torsion.

Single Shear:
If a specimen (A Riveted Cross Section, Fig. A) is subjected to two equal and opposite pulls
acting tangentially to the cross section, the shear stress produced is called single shear.

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Fig. A
Double Shear:
If a specimen (A Butt Joint-Fig. B or A Shear Box having specimen-Fig. C) is subjected to
Shear Stress at two cross sections, the Force applied on each cross section is .this is called

double shear as two sections are loaded with shear load.

Fig. B

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Fig. C
Punching Shear:
A plate required to be punched as shown in Fig. D. The stress induced is called punching
shear.

Fig. D
The resisting area in this case is called .
Where,
d= Diameter of plane

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t= Thickness of Plane
In these all cases, the shear stress is produced due to shear force applied directly on the
section. Therefore, it is known as “DIRECT SHEAR STRESS”.

Torsion:
When a prismatic bar or a cylindrical shaft is subjected to two equal and opposite couples at the
end acting on the two parallel planes at the right angles to the longitudinal axis of the bar
(Fig. E), the cross section twist relative to each other and the bar is said to be subjected to a
torsion, Torsional moment or Torque.

Fig. E

Comparision of Shear stress:

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Failure patterns:

Ductile Material:

Fig.-F

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Ductile fracture is characterized by tearing of metal and significant plastic deformation. The
ductile fracture may have a gray, fibrous appearance. Ductil fractures are associated with
overload of the structure or large discontinuities. This type of fracture occurs due to error in
design, incorrect selection of materials, improper manufacturing technique and/or handling.
Fig.-F shows the features of ductile fracture. Ductile metals experience observable plastic
deformation prior to fracture. Ductile fracture has dimpled, cup and cone fracture appearance.
The dimples can become elongated by a lateral shearing force, or if the crack is in the opening
(tearing) mode. The fracture modes (dimples, cleavage, or intergranular fracture) may be seen
on the fracture surface and it is possible all three modes will be present of a given fracture face.

Brittle Material:

Fig.-G
Brittle fracture is characterized by rapid crack propagation with low energy release and
without significant plastic deformation. Brittle metals experience little or no plastic
deformation prior to fracture. The fracture may have a bright granular appearance. The
fractures are generally of the flat type and chevron patterns may be present. Materials
imperfection, sharp corner or notches in the component, fatigue crack etc. Brittle fracture
displays either cleavage (transgranular) or intergranular fracture. This depends upon whether
the grain boundaries are stronger or weaker than the grains. This type of fracture is
associated with nonmetals such as glass, concrete and thermosetting plastics. In metals,
brittle fracture occurs mainly when BCC and HCP crystals are present. Fig.-G shows

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Shear Test:

Types of shear tests in common use are the direct shear test and the torsion test. In direct
shear test on metals, a bar is sheared in a shear box assembly through double shear, Fig. 1.
Shear box assembly is used to get pure shear failure and no effect of bending. This test is
applicable to ductile materials only because in case of brittle materials such as Cast Iron,
diagonal tension failure will occur before ultimate shearing stress value is reached. As per
I.S. 432, allowable shearing stress for mild steel is 0.4 fy = 100 N/mm2 considering a factor
of safety of 3.

Limitations:

1. Due to bending and/or friction between parts, this test gives an approximation to the
correct value of shearing strength.
2. Results depend to considerable degree on the hardness and sharpness of the edges of the
plunger that shears the specimen.
3. Modulus of rigidity (G) cannot be determined, as it is not possible to measure shear
strains.

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Fig. 1
ü Shear box assembly converts direct load which is coming from UTM in to
two shear loads.

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PROCEDURE:

Ø Measure diameter of mild steel specimen.

Ø Fix the specimen in shear box assembly. Insert the assembly in universal testing machine
for testing.
Ø Apply compressive load on the shear box plunger gradually till the specimen fails.

Ø Calculate ultimate and permissible shear strength of mild steel.

OBSERVATIONS:

For mild steel specimen,

Yield stress (fy) = __________N/mm2

Initial Diameter = mm

CALCULATIONS:

Failure load (P) =

Ultimate shear strength = P/ 2A (Double shear)

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Permissible shear strength = Ultimate shear strength

Factor of Safety

Allowable shear strength (Is 432) = o.4 x fy

=__________N/mm2

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RESULT:

1. The Ulimate shear strength value (τult) =

2. The Permissible shear strength value (τper) =

3. The Allowable Shear Strength value, (As per IS 432) (τalow) =

CONCLUSION:
o Compare the permissible shear stress values of the specimens.
o Observe the failure pattern and identify the nature of failure of the specimens.

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