V. Demenko.

Mechanics of Materials 1

LECTURE 12. Strength of a Bar in Torsion

A bar subjected to torsion is called a shaft. In torsion of a shaft there
appears a single internal force factor, a twisting moment (torque), which acts in
the plane of the shaft cross section.
1. Correlation Between Shearing Stresses and Twisting Moment
This can be done by considering the following experiment. Let a square
network be applied onto the outside surface of a round shaft (see Fig.1):

Fig.1
Suppose that the shaft is rigidly fixed at one end and is twisted by the
moment M at the other. The following picture will then be observed on the
application of the moment:
(1) All sections of the shaft remain plane after torsion deformation and
only turn relative to one another. The radius of the shaft cross section has not
changed on torsion.
(2) The distance dx and the total length of the shaft have not changed, since
there are no longitudinal forces and stresses which could deform the shaft in the
axial direction.
(3) The square network on the shaft surface changes to a rhombic, i.e. each
square deforms similarly to the shear deformation of the bar. Thus, there are
only tangential (shearing) stresses which appear in the cross section of a shaft.

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 2

So, we have got pure shear deformation (see Fig.2):

t = G g. (1)

Fig.2

In Fig.2 it is seen that

0£r£ , ,

whence

g=r (2)

where  is a shear angle; d is an elementary twisting angle.

To go over to stresses, let us use Hooke's law in shear and substitute into
it the expression for :

t=G =r G. (3)

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 3

Fig.3
If an elementary area dA at a distance  from the centroid of the section is acted
upon by the stress , the elementary torsional moment will be equal to the
elementary force dA multiplied by the polar radius  (fig.3):

dMx = dA.
The total moment can be obtain by summing the elementary moments
over the area of the section:

. (4)

It may be recalled that the integral obtained

is called the polar moment of inertia. The expression for Mx can then be
rewritten as follows:
,

whence we obtain

. (5)

According to expression (3)

. (6)

Consequently

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 4

=  . (7)

As may be seen from this formula, shearing stresses are directly

proportional to the radius of a section. They are distributed over the cross
section according to a linier law and have a maximum value at points most
remote from the axis of the rod. Then

tmax = . (8)

The quantity

=Wr, [m3] (9)

is called the polar section(al) modulus.

For circular sections of diameter d:

, (10)

and for a ring section (hollow shaft):

; . (11)

Let us construct the diagram of shearing stresses in the section of a shaft:

Fig.4
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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 5

The maximum tangential stresses act all over the external surface of the
shaft.
2. Condition of Strength for a Shaft in Torsion
The strength condition for a shaft in torsion states that the maximum
design stress in torsion of a shaft be not higher than an allowable stress:

. (12)

In rough calculations the allowable tangential stress can be determined by

the formula for shear stress:
, (13)
where [] is the allowable stress in tension (to be taken from Tables or as a
result of testing).
The strength condition makes it possible to solve three types of problems:
1) estimate the strength of a shaft for the known load and dimensions using the
condition:
; (14)
2) determine the required moment of resistance in torsion by the known

allowable stress [] and load Mx:

; (15)

3) determine the allowable load on a shaft by the known allowable stress and
geometrical dimensions of the shaft section:
. (16)
3. Determination of Angle of Twist
According to expression (5)

, (17)

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 6

whence

, (18)

where l is the distance between the sections for which the twisting angle  is
determined.
If the twisting moment does not vary along the length of the rod l and if

the rigidity GJ remains constant, then

. (19)

For the stepped shaft

. (20)

4. Condition of Rigidity
The relative twisting angle  can be introduced for torsion as follows:

. (21)

This angle is independent of the shaft length.

Shaft must satisfy the rigidity condition, i. e. the maximum relative
twisting angle  must not exceed the allowable relative twisting angle []:

where [] is the allowable relative angle in radians per meter of the shaft length.
The allowable relative twisting angle is usually specified in degrees per
meter of length. The formula of shaft rigidity will then have a somewhat
different form:

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 7

Like the condition of strength, the condition of rigidity makes it possible

to solve three types of problems on determining , J or [Mx] by known

initial data.

5. Lines of Principal Stresses

The lines of principal stresses are helical lines. They pass at an angle 45º
of to generators:

Fig.5

6. Torsional Deformation of Rectangular Bars

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 8

Torsional deformation of bars of non-circular, in particular of rectangular,

cross section is characterized in that the cross sections of the bar do not remain
plane, but are curved beyond the cross-sectional plane.

Fig.6
As a result, the problem of stress calculation becomes more complicated
than for round shafts, for which the hypothesis of plane sections is valid. The
problem can be solved by the methods of the theory of elasticity.
The diagram of stresses is represented by the Fig.6:
The maximum stresses occur at the middle of the long sides at the points

A and A1:
,
where is the moment of resistance to torsion; the factor is a
function . Its numerical values are presented in the tables.
, .
The angular displacement is

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 V. Demenko. Mechanics of Materials 9

where , .
The factors ,  and  depend on the ratio of the sides h/b.

1 1,5 2,0 3,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 10

 0,208 0,231 0,246 0,267 0,282 0,299 0,307 0,313 0,333

 0,141 0,196 0,229 0,263 0,281 0,299 0,307 0,313 0,333

 1 0,859 0,795 0,753 0,745 0,743 0,743 0,743 0,743

VOCABULARY 12
helical ___________________ спиральный, винтовой
network ___________________ сеть, схема
rhomb ___________________ ромб
twisting angle ___________________ угол закручивания

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