FCE 231 – STRENGTH OF MATERIALS 1A

LESSON 10
LECTURE NOTES
 Section Properties
Content of Lesson 9

1. Torsion of Circular members

T  G
2. Fundamental Equation of Torsion  
J r L
for:
o Solid Shaft,
o Thin Walled Tube
o Hollow Tube
3. Examples on Torsion
Assumptions in Theory of Torsion
1. Elastic limit is not exceeded during straining.

2. Twisting is uniform along the shaft, that is, all normal

cross sections which are the same distance apart

suffer equal relative rotation.

3. Cross sections remain plane during twisting

4. Radii remain straight during twisting

 Torsion of a Shaft

s (shearing angle)
A

B

E (angle of twist)
C
F r
D

 Variation of Shear Stresses Over
the Cross Section of a Solid Shaft


 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
• Consider a small length of the circumference
• An element of the wall ABCD is in a state of pure
shearing stresses.
• If the remote end of the tube is assumed not to
twist, then the longitudinal element ABCD is
distorted into the parallelogram ABEF, the angle
of shearing being: 
 or   G
G

• {Comparable to   }
E
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
• But if  is the relative angle of twist of the far
end of the tube, we have from geometry:
L  r

• Hence L L
 
r Gr

• Rearranging the above equation gives:

  T
  a
L Gr
 dr
 2
2 r
0
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
a
a 4

• Now, 2 r 3 dr 
0
2
is the polar second

moment of area (J) of the circular section OR

“TORSIONAL CONSTANT”.

• Therefore
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
• Consider the tube of radius r and length L.
• Torque of magnitude T is applied to the shaft,
shearing stresses  are generated around the
circumference of the shaft.
• These shearing stresses will also cause
complimentary shearing stresses which are set
up in the wall parallel to the longitudinal axis
of the tube.
• The effects of the complementary stresses
are measured by shearing angle .
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
• Distortion of the circular ends of the shaft is
measured by angle of twist .
• We need to derive the relationship between
the applied torque, the resulting shear, and
the geometry of the shaft .
• Torsion of a solid circular bar is based on the
concepts of shearing stress () and shearing
strain ().
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
• For small forces within the elastic range, the
shearing stress around the circumference due
to an applied torque T is related to the
shearing strain () and shearing modulus (G)
as follows:

 =G or 
G


{Compare this with   for direct stresses}
E
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
But if  is the relative angle of twist of the far
end of the tube, we have from geometry:
L  r Gr
and 
L

From the above values of  and , we have a

combined equation as follows:
L L
 
r Gr
Stress Analysis over the Cross
Section of a Solid Circular Shaft

Small area 
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
For a solid shaft of radius a, considering a small
circular element of thickness r at a distance r
from the centre, the applied torque is
obtained from the product of force and radius
i.e: Torque = Force x radius (cc. moment)
a a
T =  2r rdr   2r 2dr
Rearranging, 0 0

T
 a

 dr
 2
2 r
0
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
By combining the relationships from stresses
and geometry i.e:

L L T
  
and a
r Gr
 dr
 2
2 r
0

But wea
also know from section properties that
J   2r 3 dr where J= Polar second moment of
0
area of a solid circular section.
 T
Hence, r  J
 Torsion of a Shaft (contd.)
By combining information so far, we have the
fundamental equation of torsion as follows:
T  G
 
J r L

This relationship is comparable to the

fundamental equation of bending given by:
M  E
 
I y max R
Torsion of a Thin Walled Tube
 Torsion of a Thin Walled Tube
(contd.)
• The difference between analysis of stresses in
a thin walled tube and a solid shaft is in
derivation of torque T and polar second
moment of area, J.
• Also note that for a thin walled tube, it is
assumed that stresses are constant across the
wall of the tube of thickness t:
T  2rt r  2r t
2

J= 2r3t
Torsion of a Hollow Circular Tube

a2

a1
Torsion of a Hollow Circular Tube
(contd.)
• Because the wall of the tube is no longer thin,
the shearing stresses are not uniform over the
wall. Therefore, torsion of a hollow tube is
obtained by integrating between radii a1 and
a2. a2
T   2r dr
2

a1

• The polar second moment of area of a hollow

circular shaft of internal diameter a1 and
a2
external diameter a2 is given by:
J   2r 3 dr
a1
 Examples on Torsion
Example 1
Given that the permissible stress in shear of a
material is 255 N/mm2 and G is 80,000
N/mm2, and a torque T of 20 kNm is applied
to a solid circular shaft that is machined from
the material,
Determine what diameter of the shaft that will
be required to withstand the applied torque?
 Examples on Torsion (contd.)
Solution to Example 1