shear force

American  

[sheer fawrs] / ˈʃɪər ˈfɔrs /

noun

1. Civil Engineering. a force that acts parallel or tangential to a structural surface, causing it to deform in opposite directions, an example of which is a knife cutting through a box, which separates and pushes the surface apart.

---

shear force Scientific  

1. 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.

2. Also called shearing force

---

Example Sentences

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

When the normal force, i.e., friction, is greater than the shear force, then the block does not move downslope.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

If the slope becomes just slightly steeper, the shear force exceeds the normal force, and the material starts to move downhill.

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