Elastic Deformation of Materials under Distributed Shear Loading

In this work, the deformation of material under localised tangential loading has been investigated. An analytical expression to predict deformation and strain patterns under tangential loading over a rectangular patch on a surface is validated against experiential tests using surface displacement measurement and finite element modelling. The predicted force- displacement data and displacement/strain patterns show close agreement with experimental results a rubber test material and FE results. The ranges of specimen geometries that minimise the boundary effects have been determined.