Finding the Shear Center of a Channel Section

Finding the shear center of a channel section starts with the member’s shear force and moments of inertia. A shear center is the point where a load must act so the section bends without twisting. For a channel with uniform thickness, height, and width, the distance to this point can be calculated from the section geometry.

Determine the shear center of the given channel section having a known uniform thickness, height, and width. 

The first step in determining the shear center is calculating the shear flow in the flange at a certain distance from an endpoint using the vertical shear and the moment of inertia.

The magnitude of the shearing force exert...