shear force
Americannoun
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A force acting in a direction parallel to a surface or to a planar cross section of a body, as for example the pressure of air along the front of an airplane wing. Shear forces often result in shear strain. Resistance to such forces in a fluid is linked to its viscosity.
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Also called shearing force
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, when the capsules are collapsed, the suspension transforms into a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning that its viscosity will change in response to shear force -- the greater the shear force, the more fluid it becomes.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2024
Scientifically, a Newtonian fluid is one in which the shear force varies in direct proportion with the stress it puts on the material, known as the shearing strain.
From Scientific American • May 9, 2023
However, if the slope angle becomes steeper or if the earth material is weakened, shear force exceeds normal force, compromising shear strength, and downslope movement occurs.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017
The gravitational force doesn’t change, but the shear force increases while the normal force decreases.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017
This creates a shear force, like the blades of scissors sliding past each other, that Harvey suspects distorts the magnetic field, giving rise to the solar cycle.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.