Scribd
Upload
422 views4 pages

Shear Strain

The document defines and describes two types of shear strain: simple shear and pure shear. Simple shear involves movement of rocks on opposite sides of a fault, with one side remaining stationary as a frame of reference. Pure shear involves a change in the angle between diagonals of a deformed block without a change in area. Both types of shear strain can be quantified by measuring the resulting angles of deformed lines compared to their original orientations. The document also notes that real shear in rocks is more complex than these idealized models.

Uploaded by

Cucu Cucumucu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
422 views4 pages

Shear Strain

The document defines and describes two types of shear strain: simple shear and pure shear. Simple shear involves movement of rocks on opposite sides of a fault, with one side remaining stationary as a frame of reference. Pure shear involves a change in the angle between diagonals of a deformed block without a change in area. Both types of shear strain can be quantified by measuring the resulting angles of deformed lines compared to their original orientations. The document also notes that real shear in rocks is more complex than these idealized models.

Uploaded by

Cucu Cucumucu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Shear Strain http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/structge/shear.

htm

Shear Strain
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
First-time Visitors: Please visit Site Map and Disclaimer. Use "Back" to return here.

Simple Shear
Perhaps the most familiar illustration of shear is the movement of rocks on opposite
sides of a fault as shown here. Because this type of shear is the easiest to visualize, it
is called simple shear.

Imagine when the fault starts moving we draw a line at right angles to the fault. As the fault slips, the line
rotates (and also lengthens), and angle A increases. However, angle A will never reach 90 degrees unless the
slip on the fault is infinite.

We can define shear strain exactly the way we do


longitudinal strain: the ratio of deformation to original
dimensions. In the case of shear strain, though, it's the
amount of deformation perpendicular to a given line
rather than parallel to it. The ratio turns out to be tan A,
where A is the angle the sheared line makes with its
original orientation. Note that if A equals 90 degrees, the
shear strain is infinte.

Note that we are not concerned about the line changing length. That's longitudinal strain. With shear strain
we are only concerned about the change in angles.

Pure Shear

1 of 4 1/17/2011 9:07 AM
Shear Strain http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/structge/shear.htm

Any time an object is deformed, shear occurs. For example,


in the top row a block is deformed without changing area. It
looks like the only deformation involved is compression and
extension.

However, if we examine the diagonals of the block (bottom


row) we see that there is indeed shear because the angle
between the diagonals changes. This sort of shear is called
pure shear.

Pure shear is harder to see than simple shear because there is no stationary frame of reference. Imagine that
you have planted your feet firmly along one of the diagonals of the block. As the block deforms, you see the
other diagonal rotate just as you did with simple shear. To an outside observer, you also rotate, but from your
perspective the two situations look identical.

Even the principal strain directions look the same. In the simple shear case above, the major and minor axes
of the deforming ellipse rotate clockwise as strain progresses. The same thing happens under pure shear as
well.

Directions of Greatest Shear

2 of 4 1/17/2011 9:07 AM
Shear Strain http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/structge/shear.htm

If we inscribe a square at different orientations in a block and deform it, we can see that the square oriented
at 45 degrees to the principal strains is sheared the most.

Simple and Pure Shear Compared

The blocks above have undergone shear strains of 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The top row has undergone simple
shear, the bottom row pure shear. Angles 90-A and 90+A (shown for the shear=0.5 case) are the same in
each corresponding pair of diagrams. Note that the ellipses are the same shape.

Simple Shear:
One direction remains constant and everything else rotates relative to it. Approximates the situation in a
shear zone.
Pure Shear
Directions of greatest compression and extension are constant. The major and minor axes of the deforming
ellipse remain constant. All other lines rotate.

An Unkind Parting Thought


Neither of the situations described in simple and pure shear is likely to occur exactly in nature. Most of the
time stress directions and magnitudes change over time and everything in a deforming body of rock rotates.
Shear may be clockwise at one time and counterclockwise at others. The real complexity of deformation in
rocks has led some geologists to claim: "Pure shear is pure nonsense and simple shear is simple
nonsense". However, like bodies falling without air resistance or sliding without friction, they are useful
ideal concepts and first approximations to complex reality.

Return to Course Syllabus

3 of 4 1/17/2011 9:07 AM
Shear Strain http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/structge/shear.htm

Return to Techniques Manual Index


Return to Professor Dutch's Home Page
Created 26 February 1999, Last Update 1 March 1999
Not an official UW Green Bay site

4 of 4 1/17/2011 9:07 AM

You might also like