Shear strength tests help characterize material or components for their resistance to yield or structural failure in shear. A shear load is a force that tends to produce a sliding failure on a material along a plane that is parallel to the direction of the force. When a paper is cut with scissors, the paper fails in shear. In structural and mechanical engineering shear strength of components is important for designing the dimensions and materials for the manufacture or construction of the component (beams, plates and bolts).