On the Quest for the Best Timoshenko Shear Coefficient

Classical Timoshenko beam theory includes a shear correction factor κ which is often used to match natural vibrational frequencies of the beam. In this note, a number of static and dynamic examples are considered which provide a theoretical basis for specifying κ=1. Within the context of Cosserat theory, natural frequencies of the beam can be matched by appropriate specification of the director inertia coefficients with κ=1.