NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Course: Workshop Technology

Course Code: EIE 1103

Revision Work: 100 Points

With the aid of diagrams, explain the operating principle of an Optical Torsion
Meter, indicating where and why it is used.

Student Name and Number

Marvellous Thabo Mpofu N02123199W

Lecturer(s) Name(s)
Eng.A.N.Mnkandla
Eng.G.Munhuwamambo

Due Date:
02 December 2021
Introduction
A torsion meter is simply a tool that is used to measure the torque of a rotating shaft (Merriam
Webster Dictionary, 2021). According to N. Saranya, a Mechanical Engineering Professor at
the Bow Valley College in Canada, torque is “the power that a shaft transmits per radian per
second of rotation.” She also goes on to say that the torque, in Newton meters, is simply the
product of the contact force, in Newtons, at the point of application and the perpendicular
distance from the pivot, in meters (N. Saranya, Instrumentation and Control Systems, 2020).
This is illustrated in Fig 1 below.

Fig 1. Torque Diagram

An Optical Torsion Meter then is an optic-sensor based instrument that measures the torque of
a rotating and because it uses light as the primary source of detection of the angular
displacement on the shaft, it is able to read the power output with great precision (elite-it.com,
Optical Torque Sensor, 2021).

The professional Editorial Staff at the Instrumentationtools.com say that an Optical Torsion
Meter consists of the following main components:
(i) A shaft that has two castings, say M and N, connected onto it at a known distance
from each other.
(ii) A tension strip that links the two casting, M and N.
(iii) Two aligned mirrors that are fitted onto the castings.
(iv) A light beam that is shone onto the mirrors
(v) An optical system and a calibrated torque scale, as shown in Fig 2 below
(Instrumentationtools.com, Editorial Staff, Optical Torsion Meter Principle, 2021).

Figure 2. Optical Torsion Meter

Principle of Operation of an Optical Torsion Meter

Due to rotational torque, a twist on the shaft occurs at an angle between its ends, this can be
termed as angular displacement. An optic means is then employed to measure this angular
displacement where the angular deflection of light rays that falls on the two mirrors is
proportional to twist on the shaft, at a certain speed, and hence the torque on the shaft
(Instrumentationtools.com, Editorial Staff, Optical Torsion Meter Principle, 2021).

How the Optical Torsion Meter Works

As the shaft transmits torque, a movement occurs between the two castings attached to the shaft,
castings M and N, and because of this, there will be a partial inclination between the two
mirrors, since the mirrors are attached to M and N. Since the mirrors are constantly reflecting
a beam of light on the calibrated torque scale, because of the changed position of the mirrors,
there will be an angular change of the light rays relative to the optical system, this angular
deflection is then measured from the calibrated scale. This angular displacement of the light
rays is directly proportional to the twist on the shaft, in relation to the movement of the castings
M and N, and hence directly proportional to the torque on the shaft (Instrumentationtools.com,
Editorial Staff, Optical Torsion Meter Principle, 2021).

Where and Why the Optical Torsion Meter is Used

Table 1. Applications of the Optical Torsion Meter

Use Why

1. Internal Combustion (IC) Engines - It is very precise and quick to respond

in real time

- It is the simpler option compared to

its rivals in the same field

2. Measuring torsional vibrations in - Simplicity of instrumentation: sensor

steam turbine shaft trains fixed on non-rotating component

- Direct mounting on gears possible

- Measurement of very high pulse rate

 REFERENCES
1. Aoki Tamotsu, Optical Torsion Meter, 1924
US1613262A - Optical torsion meter - Google Patents
2. Elite-it.com, Optical Torque Sensor, 2021
www.elite-it.com/en/innovations/optical-torque-sensor
3. Harald Breitbach, Torsional Vibrations in Steam Turbine Shaft Trains Report, 2018:522
(https://energiforskmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/25107/torsional-vibrations-in-
steam-turbine-shaft-trains-energiforskrapport-2018-522.pdf)
4. Instrumentationandcontrollers.blogspot.com, Optical Torsion Meter, 2011
(https://instrumentationandcontrollers.blogspot.com/2011/05/optical-torsion-
meter.html)
5. Instrumentationtools.com Editorial Staff, Optical Torsion Meter Principle, 2021
(https://instrumentationtools.com/optical-torsion-meter-principle/)
6. Jaroslav Václavík, Jan Chvojan, Torsion Vibrations Monitoring of Turbine Shafts,
Procedia Structural Integrity, Volume 5, 2017, Pages 1349-1354
7. Merriam Webster Dictionary, Torsion Meter Definition and Meaning, 2021
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torsion%20meter)
8. N S G Saranya, BVC Mechanical Engineering Department Assistant Professor,
Instrumentation and Control Systems, 2020
(https://youtu.be/s7PI1zlXi8Y)
9. Wordpress.com Abraham M 66314, Why Torsion Meters are so important, 2015
(https://abrahamm66314.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/why-torsion-meters-are-so-
important/)