SHEAR STRENGTH

Beam shear strength is covered in Section 507 of the NSCP 2015, “Design of Members for Shear.” Both hot-rolled shapes
and welded built-up shapes are covered. We discuss hot-rolled shapes in the present chapter of this book and built-up
shapes.Before covering the NSCP provisions for shear strength, we will first review some basic concepts from mechanics
of materials. Consider the simple beam of Figure 1. At a distance x from the left end and at the neutral axis of the cross
section, the state of stress is as shown in Figure 1d. Because this element is located at the neutral axis, it is not subjected
to flexural stress. From elementary mechanics of materials, the shearing stress is

where
fv = vertical and horizontal shearing stress at the point of interest
V = vertical shear force at the section under consideration
Q = first moment, about the neutral axis, of the area of the cross section between the point of interest and the top or
bottom of the cross section
I = moment of inertia about the neutral axis
b = width of the cross section at the point of interest

Figure 2 shows the shearing stress distribution for a W shape. Superimposed on the actual distribution is the average
stress in the web, VAw, which does not differ much from the maximum web stress. Clearly, the web will completely yield
long before the flanges begin to yield. Because of this, yielding of the web represents one of the shear limit states.
Taking the shear yield stress as 60% of the tensile yield stress, we can write the equation for the stress in the web at
failure as

where Aw = area of the web. The nominal strength corresponding to this limit state is therefore

and will be the nominal strength in shear provided that there is no shear buckling of the web. Whether that occurs will
depend on htw, the width-to-thickness ratio of the web. If this ratio is too large—that is, if the web is too slender—the
web can buckle in shear, either inelastically or elastically.
AISC Specification Requirements for Shear
For LRFD, the relationship between required and available strength is

where
Vu = maximum shear based on the controlling combination of factored loads
= resistance factor for shear
For ASD, the relationship is

where
Va = maximum shear based on the controlling combination of service loads
Ωv = safety factor for shear
As we will see, the values of the resistance factor and safety factor will depend on the web width-to-thickness ratio.
Section 507.2-1 of the NSCP Specification covers both beams with stiffened webs and beams with unstiffened webs. In
most cases, hot-rolled beams will not have stiffeners, and we will defer treatment of stiffened webs The basic strength
equation is

where
Aw = area of the web dtw
d = overall depth of the beam
Cv = ratio of critical web stress to shear yield stress

The value of Cv depends on whether the limit state is web yielding, web inelastic buckling, or web elastic buckling.

Case 1: For hot-rolled I shapes with

The limit state is shear yielding, and

Most W shapes with Fy ≤ 50 ksi fall into this category

Case 2: For all other doubly and singly symmetric shapes,

√
 √
√ √

√
( )
The web plate buckling coefficient kV is determined as follows:
a. For stiffened webs with except for the stem of tee shapes where
b. For stiffened webs,

[ ]

Where :
a = clear distance between transverse stiffeners
h = for rolled shapes, the clear distance between flanges less the fillet or corner radii
= for built-up welded sections, the clear distance between flanges
= for built –up bolted sections, the distance between fasteners lines
= for tees, the overall depth

Allowable Stress Formulation

The allowable strength relation

can also be written in terms of stress as

Where
For the most common case of hot-rolled I shapes with √

Shear is rarely a problem in rolled steel beams; the usual practice is to design a beam for flexure and then to check it for
shear.

Problem
1. A simply supported beam with a span length of 45 feet is laterally supported at its ends and is subjected to the
following service loads: Dead load = 400 lbft (including the weight of the beam) Live load = 1000 lbft If Fy = 50
ksi, is a W14 × 90 satisfactory for shear.

2. The beam shown in Figure must support two concentrated live loads of 20 kips each at the quarter points. The
maximum live load deflection must not exceed L 240. Lateral support is provided at the ends of the beam. Use
A992 steel and select a W shape.