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Shear Modulus of Structural Steel

Gsteel=7.72×1010 PaG_{\mathrm{steel}} = 7.72 \times 10^{10}\ \text{Pa}
Value77.2 GPa (7.72 × 10¹⁰ Pa)
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StatusTypical value: varies by about ± 1 GPa in practice
SourceFHWA Steel Bridge Design Handbook, Vol. 1 (FHWA-HIF-16-002, 2015), section 4.3: G = E / [2(1 + ν)] = 11 200 ksi (77.2 GPa)
CategoriesMaterial PropertiesEngineering & Trade
Shear Modulus of Structural Steel in every pressure unit
UnitValue
gigapascal77.2 GPa
megapascal77,200 MPa
kip per square inch11,196.913 ksi
million pounds per square inch11.196913 Mpsi
21 more pressure units
microbar772,000,000,000 μbar
barye772,000,000,000 Ba
millitorr579,047,620,000 mTorr
pascal77,200,000,000 Pa
millimeter of water column7,872,209,200 mmH₂O
pound per square foot1,612,355,500 lb/ft²
centimeter of water column787,220,920 cmH₂O
hectopascal772,000,000 hPa
millibar772,000,000 mbar
torr579,047,620 Torr
millimeter of mercury579,047,540 mmHg
inch of water column309,929,500 in w.g.
kilopascal77,200,000 kPa
foot of water column25,827,458 ft H₂O
inch of mercury22,797,147 inHg
pound per square inch11,196,913 psi
meter of water column7,872,209.2 m H₂O
decibar7,720,000 dbar
kilogram-force per square centimeter787,220.92 kgf/cm²
bar772,000 bar
atmosphere761,904.76 atm

Learning zone

Shear modulus is not an independent measurement for an isotropic material: G = E / [2(1 + ν)]. With E = 200 GPa and ν = 0.30 that gives 76.9 GPa, and FHWA's steel bridge handbook rounds the design value to 11 200 ksi (77.2 GPa). It is the stiffness that governs angle of twist in a shaft, torsional buckling of an open section, and the shear component of deep-beam deflection.

Two traps. First, the same grade-independence as E applies: a Grade 8 shaft twists exactly as much as a mild-steel one of the same geometry under the same torque, it just survives more of it. Second, torsional stiffness is dominated by the section, not the material: a closed tube is orders of magnitude stiffer in torsion than an open channel or wide-flange of the same weight, because the torsional constant J for an open section is a thin-strip approximation that collapses with wall thickness cubed. If a member has to resist torsion, change the shape before you change the steel.

Used by 4 solvers

Angle of Twist (φ = TL/JG)

φ=TLJG\varphi = \frac{T L}{J G}

Relation Between E, G and ν

E=2G(1+ν)E = 2G(1 + \nu)

Shear Modulus (G = τ/γ)

G=τγG = \frac{\tau}{\gamma}

Torsional Shear Stress (τ = Tr/J)

τ=TrJ\tau = \frac{T r}{J}
Revised 8 November 2026
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formula.expert. (2026, November 8). Shear Modulus of Structural Steel. https://formula.expert/constants/shear-modulus-structural-steel