3.

Torsion

3.1 Introduction

Torsion refers to the twisting of a structural member when it is loaded by couples that produce rotation
about its longitudinal axis. Torsional loading is pictured in Fig. 3.1, which shows a straight bar supported at
one end and loaded two pairs of forces. Each pair of forces form a couple that tends to twist the bar about
its longitudinal axis.
The moment of a couple is equal to the product of one of the forces and the perpendicular distance between
the lines of action of the forces; thus the first couple has a moment T 1 = P1d1 and the second has a moment
T2 = P2d2.
P1 P2
T1 = P1d1
T2 = P2d2

P1 P2 d2
d1

Fig. 3.1 Bar subjected to torsion by twisting couples T 1 and T2.

Couples can also be represented by curved arrows or double-headed vector following the right-hand screw
sign convention.
Couples that produce twisting of a bar, such as couples T 1 and T2 in Fig. 3.1, are called torques, twisting
couples, or twisting moments.
Torque 1 in Fig 3.1 above can be represented as Similarly for Torque 2

T1 T2
T1 T2
= =

Discuss on section method of determining internal torques with an example.

3.2 Torsion of circular shafts

Basic assumptions for circular members

To establish a relation between the internal torque and the stresses it sets up in members with circular solid
and tabular cross-sections, it is necessary assumptions.
1. Plane circular cross sections, perpendicular to the axis of the bar, remain plane after the
application of a torque; points in a given plane remain in that plane after twisting. Further more,
expansion or contraction of a cross section does not occur nor does a shortening or lengthening of
the bar. Thus all normal strains are zero. (applies only for circular cross-sections)
2. In a circular member subjected to torque, shear strains  varies linearly from the central axis
reaching max at the periphery.
3. If attention is confined to the linearly elastic material, Hooke’s law applies, and it follows that
shear stress is proportional to shear strain.
Consider a bar or shaft of circular cross-section twisted by couples T acting at the ends (Fig. 3.2a). A bar
loaded in this manner is said to be in pure Torsion. The cross-sections of the circular bar rotate as rigid
bodies about the longitudinal axis, with radii remaining straight and the cross-sections remaining plane and
circular. Also, if the total angle of twist of the bar is small, neither the length of the bar nor its will change.

1
 a b
m τ n
T  b' c dØ
τ τ n’ Ø d
T
τ c’

dx
x dx
L
(a) (b)

τ
a b r dA
 b'
dρ
τ τ •· ρ
Τmax
d c
c'
τ
(c) (d)

Fig. 3.2 Circular bar in pure torsion.

During twisting the right hand end of the bar will rotate through a small angle ø with respect to the left
hand end (Fig. 3.2a). The angle ø is known as the angle of twist. Because of this rotation, a longitudinal line
mn on the surface of the bar will rotate through a small angle to position mn’.
Consider an element of the bar between two cross-sections that are distance dx apart (Fig. 3.2a). This
volume element is isolated in Fig. 3.2b. On the outer surface identify a small element abcd, with sides ab
and cd that are parallel to the longitudinal axis. During twisting of the bar, points b and c move to b’ and c’,
respectively. The lengths of the sides of the element do not change during this rotation, but the angles at the
corners are no longer equal to 900. The element is in a state of pure shear, and the magnitude of the shear
strain  is equal to the decrease in the angle at a. This decrease in angle is
bb'
 
ab

But bb’ = rdø and ab = dx

r – radius of the cross section
dø - angle of twist between the two ends of the small element.
The expression for shear strain becomes,
rd
 
dx
The quantity dØ/dx represents the rate of change of the angle of twist Ø.
d
Let  angle of twist per unit length.
dx
rd
Then,    r (3.1)
dx

2
In general, both ø and θ are functions of x. However, in the special case of pure torsion the angle of twist
per unit length is constant along the length L of the bar, because every cross-section is subjected to the

same torque. Therefore, 
L


Shear strain,   r  r , for pure torsion. (3.2)
L
Finally, it can be observed that the preceding equations are based only upon geometric concepts, and
therefore they are valid for any circular bar, regardless of whether the material behaves elastically or
inelastically, linearly or nonlinearly.
The shear stresses τ in the circular bar act on an element in the directions shown in Fig.3.2. for a linearly
elastic material, the shear stresses, are related to the shear strains by Hooke’s law in shear; therefore,
Shear stress,   G  Gr (3.3)
Where, G is the shear modulus of elasticity. Equations (3.1) and (3.3) relate the strains and stresses for an
element at the surface of the bar to the angle of twist pet unit length.
Following the same procedure as for an element at the surface of an interior cylinder of radius ρ (Fig. 3.2d)

     G (3.4 a,b)

These equations show that the shear strains and stresses in a circular bar vary linearly with the radial
distance ρ from the center, with the maximum values occurring at the outer surface (Fig. 3.2d).
The shear stresses acting on a cross-sectional plane are accompanied by shear stresses of the same
magnitude acting on longitudinal planes (Fig. 3.3’). This conclusion follows from the fact that equal sheat
stresses always exist on mutually perpendicular planes.

Fig. 3.3 Longitudinal shear stresses in a circular bar.

τ

τ
The relationship between the applied torque T and the angle of twist Ø (Fig. 3.2a) may now be determined
from the condition that the resultant couple of the shear stresses acting over the cross section (Fig. 3.2d)
must be statically equivalent to the applied torque T.
To determine the resultant couple, consider a ring shaped element of area having radius ρ and thickness dρ
(Fig. 3.2d). With in this element take another element (labeled dA in the figure) that extends over a small
length of arc.
The elemental shear force acting on an element of area dA is equal to τdA, where τ is the shear stress at
radius ρ. The moment of this force about the axis of the bar is τρdA.
But,   G
 dT  G . .dA  G 2 .dA
Therefore, the total torque,
T   dT   G 2 dA
A

 G   2dA
 G I p (3.5)

Where I p    2dA - is the polar moment of inertia of the circular cross-section.

3
 dA  2 .d and ρ runs from 0 to r(d/2)
r
r
4 
r
r 4
 I p   2 .d  2   .d  2    3

0 0  4 0 2
d 4
or I p 
32
T
 (3.6)
GI p
Equation (3.6) shows θ, the angle of twist per unit length, is directly proportional to the torque T and
inversely proportional to the product GIp, known as the torsional rigidity of the shaft.
The total angle of twist, ø, equal to θL, is
TL
 (3.7)
GI p
Where ø is in radian
In SI units; T is in N-m, L in m, G in Pascals & Ip = m4
The quantity GIp/L, called the torsional stiffness, is the torque required to produce a unit angle of rotation
of one end of the bar with respect to the other.
The torsinal flexibility is defined as the reciprocal of the stiffness,or L/GI p, which is the angle of rotation
produced by a unit torque.
These expressions are analogous to those for axial stiffness EA/L and axial flexibility L/EA.
Tr
For circular bars  max  (3.8)
Ip
Equation (3.8) is known as the torsion formula.
Shear stress at distance ρ from the center is
T
 (3.9)
Ip
the above equations are applicable to circular tubes. It is necessary, however, to modify I p. for a tube as
may be seen in Fig. 3.3, the limits of integration for polar moment of inertia extend from r1 to r2.

 Ip 

2
r 2
4
 r1 
4
 
32
d 2
4
 d1
4


r2 τmax
τmin
t r1

Fig. 3.3 Hollow circular tube.

For very thin tubes, if r1 is nearly equal to r2 and r2 - r1 = t the thickness of the tube, Ip reduces to a simple
approximate expression:
I p  2r 3t Where r is the average radius.
Hollow bars or tubes are much more efficient in resisting torsional loads than are solid bars. As explained
in the preceding paragraphs, the shear stresses in a solid circular bar are maximum at the outer boundary
of cross section and zero at the center. Therefore, most of the material in a solid shaft is stressed
significantly below the maximum shear stress.

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3.3 Non-uniform torsion

Pure torsion refers to torsion of prismatic bar subjected to torques acting only at the ends. Nonuniform
torsion differs from pure torsion in that the bar need not be prismatic and the applied torques may vary
along the length.
The figure below shows a bar made of two segments of different diameters and torques applied at several
cross-sections. Each region of the bar between applied loads or between changes in cross-section is in pure
torsion, and therefore the formulas derived in the preceding section may be applied to each part separately.
For this purpose, it is necessary to determine the magnitude and direction of the internal torque in each
region. Then knowing the internal torque, we can calculate the angle of twist and maximum shear stress for
each part from Eqns. (3.7) and (3.8).

T1 T2 T3 T4

Fig. 3.4 Bar in nonuniform torsion.

The total angle of twist of one end of the bar with respect to the other is obtained by summation, using the
general formula:
n
Ti Li
  (3.10)
i 1 Gi I pi

Where
i- is the numbering index for various parts of the bar
n- is the total number of parts
Ti –the internal torque in the ith part
Li- the length of the ith part
Gi- the shear modulus of the ith part
Ipi- the polar moment of inertia of the ith part
The expression TiLi/GiIpi gives the angle of twist øi for part i.
Another case of nonuniform torsion occurs when either the torque or the cross section changes
continuously along the axis of the bar as shown in the fig. below.

q q

T T
T(x)

x dx
x
L

(a) (b)
Fig. 3.5 Bar with varying cross section and varying torque.
The figure shows a tapered bar subjected to a torque of intensity q per unit distance along the axis of the
bar.
The differential angle of rotation dø for an element of length dx (Fig. 3.5a) is

5
 T ( x) d ( x)
d 
GI p ( x)
Where T(x)- the torque at cross-section x distance from one end.
Ip(x)- the polar moment of inertia of the cross-section at x-distance from one end.
The total angle of twist between the ends of the bar is
L
T ( x)dx
   d   (3.11)
0
GI p ( x)
The above equations can be used for either solid or hollow bars having circular cross sections.

6
3.4 Transmission of power by circular shafts

The most important use of circular shafts is to transmit mechanical power from one device or machine to
another.
Consider a motor-driven shaft (Fig. 3.6) rotating at an angular speed w, measured in radian per second
(rad/sec). The shaft is transmitting the torque T to a machine that is performing useful work.

In general, the work W done by any torque of constant magnitude T is equal to the product of the torque
and the angle through which it rotates. i.e.

W  T

Where  is the angular rotation in radian. Power is the time rate at which work is done, or

dw Td
P 
dt dt
Where P is power
t is time
The rate of change d/dt of the angular displacement  is the angular speed w, and
Therefore the preceding equation becomes,
P= T* w
This formula gives the power transmitted by a rotating shaft.
If angular speed is expressed as the frequency of rotation,
w=2f
Then T=2fT (f=Hz=S-1)