Enter the applied force, pin diameter, and plate thickness into the calculator to determine the pin shear stress (single shear) and bearing stress.
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Pin Shear Formula
The following formula is used to calculate average pin shear stress in single shear.
SS = 4*AF / (\pi*D^2)
BS = AF / (t*D)
- Where SS is the pin shear stress (N/mm², lbf/in² (psi))
- BS is the bearing area stress (N/mm², lbf/in² (psi))
- AF is the applied force (N, kN, lbf)
- D is the diameter of the pin (mm, cm, in)
- t is the thickness of the plate (mm, cm, in)
Pin Shear Definition
What is pin shear?
Pin shear stress is the average shear stress a pin will see (for a single shear plane) given an applied force and diameter. Pin shear is used to design safe bearing and other mechanical assemblies.
Typically the pin shear is used with the ultimate strength and factor of safety to determine the proper design setup.
However, since pins can often hold a large amount of shear stress relative to other components, they are not always the limiting factor.
Example Problem
How to calculate average pin shear?
First, determine the applied force acting on the pin assembly. In this example, the applied force is measured to be 5000 N.
Next, determine the diameter of the pin. In this example, the pin is a diameter of 35mm.
Finally, calculate the pin shear using the formula above:
SS = 4*AF / (Ï€*D^2)
SS = 4*5000 / (3.14159*35^2)
SS = 5.196 N/mm^2
If you want to further calculate the total bearing area stress, determine the thickness of the plate, (in this case, 40mm), and use the formula above:
BS = AF / (t*D)
BS = 5000 / (35*40)
BS = 3.571 N/mm^2
