Bolt Shear Strength Calculator

Inputs

Bolt grade

Sets the ultimate tensile strength Su; shear strength is taken as 0.6·Su.

Nominal diameter (d)

Nominal (major) thread diameter — e.g. 10 mm for an M10.

Thread pitch (P)

Thread pitch (distance per thread) — e.g. 1.5 mm for M10 coarse. Only used when the shear plane is in the threads.

Shear plane

Where the shear plane crosses the bolt: through the threads (smaller stress area) or the unthreaded shank.

Number of shear planes (n)

Single shear = 1 plane; double shear = 2 planes (the bolt is cut on two faces).

planes

Default result

Shear strength(V)

28,880N

28.88 kN · 2.94 t · 6,492 lbf

Single shear (1 plane), τ_ult = 0.6·830 = 498 MPa.

V = n · A · 0.6·Su — ultimate capacity. Apply a safety factor for the allowable load.

Also computed

Shear area(A)57.99mm²

Tensile stress area (threads in the shear plane).

Tensile stress area (threads) or shank area.

Strength per plane(V₁)28,880N

28.88 kN

Capacity of one shear plane.

Method notes 4 notes

This is the ULTIMATE shear capacity (failure load): V = n · A · τ_ult, with τ_ult = 0.6·Su = 498 MPa. Divide by a safety factor for an allowable working load.
Shear area A uses the tensile stress area (π/4·(d−0.9382·P)²) — the threads-in-plane case is the smaller (conservative) area; put the shank in the shear plane and the joint is stronger.
The 0.6 factor is the common approximation for shear ≈ 0.6 × ultimate tensile; the von Mises (distortion-energy) value is 0.577.
Double shear (2 planes) doubles the capacity — the bolt is cut on two faces, e.g. a clevis/double-lap joint.