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
The pole in Figure 5.24 is at a 90.0º bend in a power line and is therefore subjected to more shear force than poles in straight parts of the line.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
In the situation shown in Figure 15.2b, a 13% increase in the shear force could easily be enough to tip the balance between shear force and shear strength.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
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.