3.

4 Torsion of a narrow rectangular strip

79

point, the direction n being normal to the contour line (see Eq. (3.16)). The volume between the membrane and the xy plane is Vol = w dx dy

and we see that by comparison with Eq. (3.8) T = 2 Vol The analogy therefore provides an extremely useful method of analysing torsion bars possessing irregular cross-sections for which stress function forms are not known. Hetnyi2 describes experimental techniques for this approach. In addition to the strictly experimental use of the analogy it is also helpful in the visual appreciation of a particular torsion problem. The contour lines often indicate a form for the stress function, enabling a solution to be obtained by the method of Section 3.1. Stress concentrations are made apparent by the closeness of contour lines where the slope of the membrane is large. These are in evidence at sharp internal corners, cut-outs, discontinuities, etc.

3.4 Torsion of a narrow rectangular strip

In Chapter 18 we shall investigate the torsion of thin-walled open section beams; the development of the theory being based on the analysis of a narrow rectangular strip subjected to torque. We now conveniently apply the membrane analogy to the torsion of such a strip shown in Fig. 3.9. The corresponding membrane surface has the same cross-sectional shape at all points along its length except for small regions near its ends where it attens out. If we ignore these regions and assume that the shape of the

Fig. 3.9 Torsion of a narrow rectangular strip.