On the shear centre in Saint-Venant beam theory

• A new formula for the shear centre is provided.
• The shear centre depends only on the twist warping function.
• The standard and the new formula are applied to a channel cross-section.

The notion of shear centre in Saint-Venant beam theory was introduced by Robert Maillart who envisaged it to explain the results of experimental tests on beams with C-shaped sections. In literature, the location of the shear centre is provided in terms of flexure functions. The new result is a formula for the shear centre, based on the knowledge of the sole twist warping function of the cross-section.