1. n. [Drilling Fluids]
The force per unit area required to sustain a constant rate of fluid movement. Mathematically, shear stress can be defined as:
τ = F/A,
where
τ = shear stess
F = shear force
A = Area acted on by the shear force.
If a fluid is placed between two parallel plates spaced 1.0 cm apart, and a force of 1.0 dyne is applied to each square centimeter of the surface of the upper plate to keep it in motion, the shear stress in the fluid is 1 dyne/cm2 at any point between the two plates.
See related terms: Bingham plastic model, Brookfield viscometer, centipoise, gel strength, Herschel–Bulkley fluid, high-pressure, high-temperature viscometer, Newtonian fluid, non-Newtonian fluid, plastic fluid, plastic viscosity, power-law fluid, pseudoplastic, rheological property, rheology, shear rate, viscosity, yield point
