English translation: limit vs. proportion - see detailed answer
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Explanation: I have already seen sources where the two concepts were treated as synonyms and where they were not. In my experience, it is commoner to consider them as synonyms, meaning the limiting value of shear stress that an object can withstand.
A 4-language physics dictionary published by Verlag (predecessor of Springer-Verlag) in 1973 lists them as synonyms.
Tear strength and tear resistance are used as synonyms here: http://www.rlhudson.com/O-Ring Book/selecting-physical6.html
And a lot of other sources can be found.
However, a case can be made for the other interpretation, too. The argument goes like this:
When a body is subject to a shear force, a shear strain (deformation) occurs. For small enough forces there is a linear relationship between the two: if the applied force is twice as large, the resulting strain will be twice as large as well. The "shear resistance" is the physical parameter that describes this proportional relationship. (How much the material resists against shearing.)
When the same body is subjected to very large shear forces, a significant plastic deformation, yielding, or some other qualitative change occurs. The "shear strength" parameter is this limit value.
All that to say: there is not a hard and fast answer to your question. Take a look at the context, and if it is clear that "résistance au cisaillement" refers to a limiting value, then you can safely go with "shear strength". Otherwise you can opt for "shear resistance", which is also an established term. However, you may wish to check with the client whether a limiting value is meant - otherwise by using "shear resistance" you will just pass the dilemma to the reader.
Spelling makes all the difference. "Sheer" may well be a 17th Century variant spelling of "shear", but it has developed quite different meanings and it is "wind sheAr". The sheer strength of a piece of rope is its absolute strength, not its strength against "cisaillement", the latter being something that rope doesn't do.
It doesn't help to confuse shear with sheer. sheAr relates specifically to a transverse force, relative to the main axis of the material, whereas 'sheEr' in most of Gary's examples refers to some kind of subjective 'maximum' regardless of direction. (An exception is the sheAr point of oil, which refers to the mechanical breakdown of an oil film when subjected to a transverse force.)
The 'sheEr strength' of a piece of rope may well be concerned with the tension applied before it breaks, but that has nothing to do with 'sheAr resistance' or 'sheAr strength'.
shear strength vs. shear resistance.
One way to make it simple to understand is, for Sheer strength you need a solid fiber or product, where as sheer resistance it can be air, liquid or a solid.
Examples: The wind sheer resistance of a fabric: Its ability to keep out the wind.
The sheer point of oil: The point at which the oil breaks (molecules separate) to allow metal to metal contact.
The sheer strength of a piece of rope: The point at which it breaks when stretched.
No difference that I know of but I would always say shear strength.
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shear strength vs. shear resistance
Explanation: Simplifying somewhat, we can say that 'shear resistance' is a property of the material used to make something (a wooden beam or a concrete slab, for example), whereas the shear strength is a characteristic of the completed beam or slab (or whatever) under conditions of normal use.
Consequently if you made two beams of different cross-sectional areas using the same mix of concrete (i.e. having the same shear resistance) you would get two different values of shear strength.
In practice a trade-off can often be made between the two parameters; for example, making a thinner beam with concrete of high shear resistance (which will likely be more expensive / m2 of cross-section) or a thicker beam of possibly cheaper concrete.
Assuming 'résistance au cisaillement' is being used correctly in the French text, then the translation will be 'shear resistance'.
xxxmediamatrix Local time: 15:54 Does not meet criteria Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks mm. See my note to Attila. I don't know how to choose between your equally convincing answers!
Explanation: I have already seen sources where the two concepts were treated as synonyms and where they were not. In my experience, it is commoner to consider them as synonyms, meaning the limiting value of shear stress that an object can withstand.
A 4-language physics dictionary published by Verlag (predecessor of Springer-Verlag) in 1973 lists them as synonyms.
Tear strength and tear resistance are used as synonyms here: http://www.rlhudson.com/O-Ring Book/selecting-physical6.html
And a lot of other sources can be found.
However, a case can be made for the other interpretation, too. The argument goes like this:
When a body is subject to a shear force, a shear strain (deformation) occurs. For small enough forces there is a linear relationship between the two: if the applied force is twice as large, the resulting strain will be twice as large as well. The "shear resistance" is the physical parameter that describes this proportional relationship. (How much the material resists against shearing.)
When the same body is subjected to very large shear forces, a significant plastic deformation, yielding, or some other qualitative change occurs. The "shear strength" parameter is this limit value.
All that to say: there is not a hard and fast answer to your question. Take a look at the context, and if it is clear that "résistance au cisaillement" refers to a limiting value, then you can safely go with "shear strength". Otherwise you can opt for "shear resistance", which is also an established term. However, you may wish to check with the client whether a limiting value is meant - otherwise by using "shear resistance" you will just pass the dilemma to the reader.
Attila Piróth Local time: 21:54 Does not meet criteria Works in field Native speaker of: Hungarian PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Now you've got me really confused! I thought that a material either had sheared or it hadn't. I can see a relationship between your answer and mediamatrix's, but they are quite different and I simply don't know which of your explanations is correct.
Explanation: Hi BD: I know of no simple way to substitute these terms, but I will say that they are distinct and not synonymous. Shear strength refers to the total load capacity of the member (or material) and takes into account many factors which ultimately imply an imposed displacement of ductility; shear resistance may refer (for example) to the loss of anchorage in reinforcement.
"The previous result indicates that the proposed shear strength
model can be improved by introducing a ductility-related factor k
similar to that used by Aschheim and Moehle (1992); Priestley et
al. (1994); and FEMA 273 (1997). It should be noted, however,
that those shear strength models apply the factor k only to the
concrete contribution based on the understanding that a crack
opening in the concrete leads to degradation of its load-carrying
capacity while the reinforcement does not degrade. As shown in
Fig. 5, concrete damage in the study columns is likely to lead to
loss of anchorage of the transverse reinforcement and therefore to
some degradation in its contribution to shear resistance. Similarly,
viewed in terms of a truss model, degradation of the concrete also
leads to reduction in bond capacity for the longitudinal reinforcement
and transverse reinforcement, so that the truss mechanism
strength is reduced." http://www.ceegs.ohio-state.edu/~sezen/Publication_docs/ASCE...
Shear strength
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Shear strength in engineering is a term used to describe the strength of a material or component against the type of yield or structural failure where the material or component fails in shear.
In structural and mechanical engineering the shear strength of a component is important for designing the dimensions and materials to be used for the manufacture/construction of the component (e.g. beams, plates, or bolts) In a reinforced concrete beam, the main purpose of stirrups is to increase the shear strength.
For shear stress τ applies
where
σ1 is major principal stress
σ2 is minor principal stress
In general: ductile materials fail in shear (ex. aluminum), whereas brittle materials (ex. cast iron) fail in tension. See tensile strength.
To calculate: Given failing force and area, example-bolt shear strength:
The contribution of concrete to shear resistance is an important factor considering both the economic and safe design of structural concrete members. While this contribution is often taken for granted in design, there continues to be considerable debate on the internal mechanisms that resist shear and for that matter the shear strength provided by the concrete. For this reason, multiple design expressions can be found in various codes of practice and even within the same design code. Over the past several years, a reevaluation of the shear strength provided by the concrete and in particular the uncracked compression zone has been conducted. This has led to a simple methodology, now adopted in ACI440 design guidelines, for calculating shear capacity that has proven remarkably accurate for a wide range of beams including those constructed with FRP reinforcement. This presentation will highlight the benefits provided by this approach and delve into several of the primary factors influencing shear strength including flexural reinforcement ratio, concrete strength, and size effect.
eski Mexico Local time: 14:54 Meets criteria Specializes in field Native speaker of: English, Spanish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks eski. I think that the loss of anchorage affects the contribution of the reinforcement bars to shear resistance (or strength?) of the concrete, but the example deals with shearing of the concrete not of the reinforcement bars. Indeed, they are used as reinforcement because steel has higher resistance to shearing than concrete. Fig 5 does show some buckling to a reinforcement bar.
The translation workplace 
