Definition
The ability of a sheet metal material to resist being deformed, crushed, or torn around a fastener hole when load is transferred through a bolt, rivet, or other fastener. It measures how much pressure the edge of the hole can take before the metal yields or tears out toward the edge of the sheet.
Plain English
How well the metal around a rivet or bolt hole can take the squeeze and pull of that fastener without crushing, stretching, or tearing.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft sheet-metal repair and structural fastener layout, especially when checking whether a repaired part can safely carry its load.
Derivation
From 'bearing,' meaning to carry or support a load. In engineering, a 'bearing surface' is the area where one part presses against another. Here, it's the inside surface of the hole that bears the load from the fastener.
Why Pilots Care
If the bearing strength of the sheet is too low for the load, fasteners will elongate the holes, work loose, or tear out of the sheet. This is why edge distance, hole size, and material thickness all have minimums in approved repairs.
Intuition Check
Bearing does not mean compass direction here. It means one part pressing against and being supported by another part.
Example Sentence 1
The technician selected a thicker sheet for the repair because the original material lacked sufficient bearing strength for the new fastener pattern.
Example Sentence 2
Insufficient bearing strength around the bolt hole caused the sheet to deform under flight loads.