Influence of cross section dimensions on Timoshenko's shear factor - Application to wooden beams in free-free flexural vibration

This study was designed to examine the influence of the cross section height-to-width ratio on Timoshenko's shear factor. This factor was introduced to account for the irregular shear stress and shear strain distribution over the cross section. A new theoretical formulation of the shear factor is thus proposed to assess rectangular cross sections of orthotropic material such as wood. Numerical simulations were performed to examine shear factor variations with respect to the height-to-width ratio. The influence of the cross section size on the first five flexural vibration frequencies is also discussed.