Introduction

If a straight cylindrical bar is subjected to a torque T, it can be argued on

the basis of symmetry that cross-sections remain plane and rotate relative
to each other. Furthermore, that for a particular torque T, the shear stress
at any point will be proportional to its distance from the axis of the
specimen provided that behaviour is elastic.

This result is normally summarized as

Where

T I G
= =
J r L

T = Applied Torque
J = Polar second moment of area of cross section
R = Shear stress at radius r from the axis
L = Length of bar considered
= Twist in radians of the bar of length L
G = Modulus of Rigidity

Apparatus
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

A
A
A
A
A
A

torsion of circular sections machine

brass rod
steel rod
brass tube
marker
ruler

Preparation Procedure
1. An assembled Test Frame is placed on a workbench. Check the
window of the test frame is good condition or not.
2. Check two securing nut at each side member of the frame. Move
one to the outer track and slide them to preferable position.
3. Background is move to preferable height and lock with securing
nuts of thumbscrews. Loosening the thumbscrews on one side to
adjust the level of background and tightening when ready.
4. Turn on power of Digital Force Display. Socket marked Force
Output on the right underside of the background is connect with
the mini DIN lead from Force Input on the Digital Force Display.
5. Reading shown on force meter is zero carefully using dial. Apply
small torque at left hand chuck to make sure that reading is zero.

Experiment 1
Firstly, objective of this experiment is to examine the relationship between
torque and angular deflection of a solid circular section. We can perform
this properties of material affect this relationship in further work.

1) Mark the steel and brass rods with these distances from left
hand end. Be aware that rubber tip of rod must put on right
hand end.
15mm, 315mm, 365mm, 415mm,
465mm, 515mm
2) Rotate the thumbwheel until it tightens. Steel rod is position
with rubber tipped end sticking out. Make sure that first mark
on the rod line up with left hand chuck. Then tighten it with
three holes on chuck key.
3) Adjust the thumbnuts which enable chuck from stop sliding.
Chuck is stop on the last mark that 515mm and lines up with
the right hand end.
4) So, we set the rod end with 500mm. Tighten the chuck key
holes again.
5) Twist the thumbwheel until the reading shown on the Digital
Force Display is 0.3N to 0.5N. Zero the force reading and the

angle scale using the moveable pointer arm.The force meter

reading is adjusting again until 5N and zero it. Convert the
load cell reading to torque multiply by the torque arm length
(0.05m).
Force (N)
0
1
2
3
4
5

Torque (Nm)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
Result for a steel rod

Angular Deflection ()
0.0
1.9
3.5
5.3
7.0
8.5

Force (N)
0
1
2
3
4
5

Torque (Nm)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
Result for a brass rod

Angular Deflection ()
0.0
4.5
9.5
14.0
19.0
24.0

Further work
Diameters of steel and brass rods are measured by vernier calliper.
Polar moment of inertiais calculated by usingthe backboard of the
experiment.
The reading is recorded in the table to establish the values of TL
and J. Convert angle measurement from degree to radians.
Length, L
Diameter of steel selection, d
Polar Moment of inertia, J

0.5m
2mm
1.57 x

1012 m4

Angular
Torque (Nm)

Deflection,

TL

0
0.05
0.10

(rad)
0.0
0.2
0.4

0
0.025
0.050

J x

1013

0
3.140
6.280

0.15
0.20
0.25

0.6
0.8
1.0
Calculated values for

Length,L
Diameter of brass section
Polar Moment of inertia

0.075
0.100
0.125
a steel rod

9.420
12.560
15.700

0.5m
2mm
1.57x

1012 m4

Angular
Torque (Nm)
0
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25

deflection,
(rad)
0
0.419
0.838
1.257
1.676
2.095
Calculated values for

TL
0
0.025
0.050
0.075
0.100
0.125
a brass rod

J x

13

10

0
6.5783
13.1566
19.7349
26.3132
32.8915

Experiment 2
1. Mark the steel and brass rods with these distances from left
hand end. Be aware that rubber tip of rod must put on right
hand end.
15mm, 315mm, 365mm, 415mm,
465mm, 515mm
2. Rotate the thumbwheel until it tighten. Steel rod is position
with rubber tipped end sticking out. Make sure that first mark
on the rod line up with left hand chuck. Then tighten it with
three holes on chuck key.
3. Adjust the thumbnuts which enable chuck from stop sliding.
Chuck is stop on the last mark that 515mm and lines up with
the right hand end.
4. So, we set the rod end with 500mm. Tighten the chuck key
holes again.

Twist the thumbwheel until the reading shown on the Digital

Force Display is 0.3N to 0.5N. Zero the force reading and the
angle scale using the moveable pointer arm. The force meter
reading is adjusting again until 5N and zero it.
5. Rotate the thumbwheel until the reading on Digital Force
Display show 0.15Nm and record down in table. Length of the
rod for next mark reduces to 450mm and reset again.
Reading of angle at the same torque record again. Repeating
this procedure for lengths down to 300mm.

Length (m)
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50

Angular deflection ()
8.0
10.5
12.0
13.5
24.0
Result for a brass rod

Diameter of
brass rod

2mm

Torque, T

0.15Nm

Experiment 3
1. Mark the steel and brass rods with these distances from left
hand end. Be aware that rubber tip of rod must put on right
hand end.
15mm, 315mm, 365mm, 415mm,
465mm, 515mm
2. Rotate the thumbwheel until it tighten. Steel rod is position
with rubber tipped end sticking out. Make sure that first mark
on the rod line up with left hand chuck. Then tighten it with
three holes on chuck key.
3. Adjust the thumbnuts which enable chuck from stop sliding.
Chuck is stop on the last mark that 515mm and lines up with
the right hand end.
4. So, we set the rod end with 500mm. Tighten the chuck key
holes again.

Twist the thumbwheel until the reading shown on the Digital

Force Display is 0.3N to 0.5N. Zero the force reading and the
angle scale using the moveable pointer arm. The force meter
reading is adjusting again until 5N and zero it.
5. Record the reading for every 1N of force increase until
reading 5N. Entre the reading inside the table. Convert the
load cell reading to torque multiply by the torque arm length.
(0.05m) .
6. After finish experiment 1, complete the table below with
repeat the set up and procedure for the solid brass rod.

Force(N)
0
1
2
3
4
5

Torque (Nm)

deflection ()

0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
Results for brass

Results and Calculations

Experiment 1 (Graph 1)

Rod angular

Tube angular
deflection

0
4.5
9.5
14.0
19.0
24.0
rod and tube

()
0
4.0
8.5
12.5
17.0
21.0

Graph of Relationship between Torque and Angle of Deflection

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Steel Rod

Angle of Diflection ()

Brass Rod

Torque (Nm)

Further Work (Graph 2)

Relationship Between TL and J graph

J x 10^-13

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Brass Rod
Steel Rod

TL

Experiment 2 (Graph 3)

Relationship between Angular Deflection against Rod Length

Angular Deflection ()

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Brass Rod

Length (m)

From graph 2, the gradient of the graph represents the shear

modulus of the material.
0.025
2
=79.6 109
13
= 3.14 10
N m

G=

TL
J

G=

TL
J =

0.025
6.5783 1013

(Steel)

=38 10 N m

(Brass)

The experimental value is favorable when compare with the typical

shear modulus of steel and brass.
Experiment 3
For brass tube

J=

4
4d

( 0.002 0.001 )
32

1.4726 x 1012 m4

Where D = External diameter of the tube

D = Internal diameter of the tube
For brass rod

J=

D
32

0.002
( 4)

32

1.57 x 1012 m4

If for brass = 8450

kg /m

Cross-sectional area of the rod

A=

D
4

0.002
( 2)

3.1416 x 106 m2

Cross-sectional area of the tube

2

A=

( D d )
4
2

( 0.002 0.001 )
4

2.3562 x 106 m2

Nominal mass per unit length of the rod

= 8450

kg
x (3.1416 x 106 m2 )
3
m

0.0297 kg /m

Nominal mass per unit length of the tube

8450

kg
6 2
x (2.3562 x 10 m )
3
m

0.0199 kg /m

Discussion

From Graph 1, the angle of deflection increases when the torque

applied increased.

From experiment 1, when the diameter of the rod changed from

3mm to 4mm, the stiffness of the rod will increase according to the
formula
=

TL
JG

When diameter of the rod increased, the J will increase hence the
angle of twist will be smaller. This indicates that the rod is stiffer.

From graph 3, the gradient of the graph increases linearly when the
length of the rod is increased until a limit of 0.45m. After this, the
gradient of the graph increases drastically to 0.5m.

In experiment 3, when the brass rod is changed to a brass tube, the

missing material in the center of tube resulted in higher angular
deflection compared to rod with the same forces.

The smaller cross-sectional area of the tube also has smaller

nominal mass per unit length compared to rod.

The effect on the steering is called the torque steering. This is

caused by:
1 Incorrect sidewall ply design allowing deformation of the tire
sidewall.
2 Asymmetric driveshaft angles due to unequal driveshaft
length and diameter and the transient movement of the
engine.
3 Different driveshaft torques left to right (due to wheel bearing
or differential problems)

Ways to eliminate this problem:

1 some manufacturers have mitigated this completely by
mounting the engine longitudinally but still driving the front
wheels
2 Unequal length drive shafts are used, their torsional stiffness
must be made equal. This can be accomplished by making the
shorter shaft hollow, and the longer shaft solid.

3 Equalise the torque better between the drive shafts by using a

low friction differential.
4 Power assisted steering (set on most modern cars) make the
torque steer effect less noticeable to the driver.

The following are possible sources of error encountered in this

experiment:
- Material Alloy Composition. The test specimens provided in the
laboratory are identified only as brass and steel. The exact type and
alloy percentage of each material is not known. Therefore,
consideration must be given to this fact when referencing the
theoretical value of the shear modulus. The exact material alloy
composition of the test specimens may be different than the
material that the theoretical value assumes. Also, even if the
material was explicitly identified the exact material composition
should still be questioned based upon the quality of the
manufacturing process of the test specimen.
- Homogeneous and Isotropic Composition. The isotropic and
homogeneous structure of the test could possibly have been altered
due to prior testing. Also, the quality of the manufacturing process
may impact the consistency of the internal granular structure of the
test specimen.
- Parallax Error. Parallax error is a line-of-sight error that occurs
when reading any type of measurement indicators such as the
torque scale, vernier scales and observing the spirit level. To reduce
parallax error the viewer should be positioned perpendicular to the
indicator. Any angular deviation from a perpendicular view of the
indicator will contribute to parallax error.
- Slip of Test Specimen. Each end of a test specimen has a rod
shape. The ends are inserted into three jaw chucks on the torsiontesting machine. The three jaw chucks are tightened around the rod
shaped ends of the test specimen. The test specimen should be
aligned so that the chucks are tightened such that the rod sides of
both the specimen and the chucks are flush with one another.
Possible slip of the test specimen may occur as the specimen is
twisted resulting in erroneous readings.

Conclusion
1 The angular deflection of a rod will increase linearly when the
torque applied on it increases for a rod of constant length.
2 The shear modulus, G, of the steel and brass obtained from
the graphs 2 are 79.6GPa for steel and 38.0GPa for brass.
These values are almost the same as the typical value of G.
3 The angular deflection of the rod will increase linearly when
the length of the rod is increased and the torque applied on it
remains constant.
4 When a hollow tube is used instead of a solid rod, the angle of
deflection will increased when same amount of torque is
applied on it. The nominal mass per unit length of the tube is
also lower than the solid rod.

References
1) http://eng.sut.ac.th/metal/images/stories/pdf/Lab_4Torsion_En
g.pdf
2) http://zh.scribd.com/doc/136565/Mechanics-of-MaterialsTorsion-Test
3) http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/modulus-rigidityd_946.html
4) http://web.aeromech.usyd.edu.au/AMME2301/Documents/mos
/Chapter04.pdf