4d. Fastener Fundamentals  (SSES Ch. 14.1)
•  Bearing Stress •  Shear Stress 		Back | Index | Next
Fasteners
Fasteners - bolts, rivets, nails, screws, pins - hold parts of a structure together by transferring load from one component to another. Two important types of stress in fasteners are bearing stress and shear stress.
Bearing Stress
Bearing stress is caused by one component acting directly on another. Bearing stress is a compressive contact stress equal to the bearing force divided by the bearing area.

In bolt or rivet connections, we are typically interested in the average bearing stress sB, which is the bearing force divided by the projected area of the fasteners:


For cylindrical fasteners, the projected area is a rectangle.
Projected areas of rivet; bearing stress.
Shear Stress

The average shear stress tS in a fastener is the shear force transferred divided by the cross-sectional area, which is generally a circle:


FBD of lower section of rivet.
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Updated: 05/24/2009 DJD