ME16A: CHAPTER FIVE

TORSION OF CIRCU-
LAR CROSS-SEC-
TIONS
6.1. SIMPLE TORSION THEORY

When a uniform circular shaft is subjected to

a torque, it can be shown that every section
of the shaft is subjected to a state of pure
shear (Fig. 6.1), the moment of resistance
developed by the shear stresses being ev-
erywhere equal to the magnitude, and oppo-
site in sense, to the applied torque.
For the purposes of deriving a simple theory
to describe the behaviour of shafts subjected
to torque it is necessary to make the follow-
ing basic assumptions:
Shear System Set Up on an Element in
the Surface of a Shaft Subjected to Tor-
sion

R
esistin
gto
rqu
e,T

A
pplie
dto
rqu
eT
 Assumptions

 (1) The material is homogeneous, i.e. of uni-

form elastic properties throughout.
 (2) The material is elastic, following Hooke's
law with shear stress proportional to shear
strain.
 (3) The stress does not exceed the elastic
limit or limit of proportionality.
 (4) Circular sections remain circular.
Assumptions Contd.
 (5) Cross-sections remain plane. (This is cer-
tainly not the case with the torsion of non-
circular sections.)
 (6) Cross-sections rotate as if rigid, i.e. every
diameter rotates through the same angle.

 Practical tests carried out on circular shafts

have shown that the theory developed below
on the basis of these assumptions shows
excellent correlation with experimental re-
sults.
(a) Angle of Twist

Consider nowthe solid circular shaft of radius R subjected to a torque T at one end, t
other end being fixed (Fig. 6.2). Under the action of this torque a radial line at the
free end
the shaft twists through an angle  , point Amoves to B, and AB subtends an angle 
at'
fixed end. This is then the angle of distortion of the shaft, i.e. the shear strain.

Since: angle in radians = arc /radius

arc AB= R  = L 
 = R /L (1)
Fromthe definition of rigidity modulus:
shear stress 
G
shear strain
 Simple Torsion Theory Contd.

 = /G (2)

where  is the shear stress set upat radius R.

Therefore equatingeqns. (1) and(2),

R 

L G

F
GI
HJ
 G '
R

K……………….
L r
(3)

where  ’ is the shear stress at anyother radius r.

(b) Stresses
Let the cross-section of the shaft be considered as divided into elements
of radius r and thickness dr as shown in Fig. 6.3 each subjected to a
shear stress  ’

Fig. 6.3. Shaft cross-section.

The force set up on each element

= stress x area =  ’ x 2  r dr (approximately)
This force will produce a moment about the center axis of the shaft, providing a
contribution to the torque:

( ’ x 2  r dr) x r =2  ’ r2 dr

z
R

T 2 ' r2
0

Shear stress  ’ will vary with the radius r and will therefore be replaced in terms of

Fromequation (3)

G
'  r
L
 z
R
G 3
T 2 r dr
0
L

G
L zR

0
2 r 3 dr

The integral z
0
R
2 r 3 dr is called the polar moment of area J, and may be evaluated as
a standard form for solid and hollow shafts as shown in the section 6.2 elow.

G
T J
L

T G
 …………… (4)
J L

Combining equations (3) and (4) produces the so called simple theory of torsion
equation:

T  G
  ………………. (5)
J R L
 6.2 POLAR SECOND MOMENT OF
AREA
As stated above, the polar second moment of area, J is defined as

J = z
R

0
2 r3 dr

For a solid shaft J=

L
r O 2 R  D
2 M P
4 R
 
4 4
(6)
NQ
4 40
32

For a hollowshaft of internal radius r:

L
r O
J= z0
R
2 r3 dr = 2 M
4 R

P (R
NQ 2
4 r
4
r4 ) 

32
cD d h
4 4
(7)

Where Dis the external and d is the internal diameter.

 6.3 Shear Stress and Shear Strain
in Shafts
The shear stresses developed in a shaft under pure torsion as shown in Fig. 6.1., their
values as given by the simple torsion theory as:

G
  R
L

Fromthe definition of shear or rigidity modulus, G

 G

The two equations can be combined to relate shear stress and strain in the shaft to the
angle of twist per unit length thus:

G
  R  G (8)
L
or, in terms of some internal radius, r,

G
'  r  G (9)
L

These equations indicate that the shear stress and shear strain vary linearly with
radius and have their maximum value at the outside radius (Fig. 6.4). The applied shear
stresses in the plane of the cross-section are accompanied by complementary stresses of
equal value on longitudinal planes as indicated in Figs. 6.1 and 6.4.

Complementary longitudinal shears

Fig. 6.4. Complementary longitudinal shear stress in a shaft subjected

to torsion
8.4 Section Modulus

It is sometimes convenient to re-write part of the torsion theory formula to obtain the
maximum shear stress in shafts as follows:

T 

J R

TR

J

With R the outside radius of the shaft the above equation yields the greatest value
possible for  (Fig. 6.4),

TR T
 max   (10)
J Z
where Z = J/R is termed the polar section modulus. From the preceding section:

 D3  ( D4  d 4 )
for solid shafts: Z and for hollow shafts, Z (11)
16 16 D
 6.5 Torsional Rigidity

Theangleoftwist perunit lengthofshaftsisgivenbythetorsiontheoryas:

 T

L GJ

ThequantityGJiscalledthetorsionalrigidityoftheshaft andisthusgivenas:

T
GJ (12)
/ L

i.e. thetorsionalrigidityisthetorquedividedbytheangleoftwist (inradians)perunit

length.
 Power Transmitted by Shafts

Ifashaft carriesatorqueTNewton-Metreandrotatesatwrad/s,itwilldoworka
therateofTw Nm/s (orjoule/s)
Nowtherateat whichasy
stemworksisdefinedasitspower, thebasicunit ofpower
b
eingtheW
att (1W
att =1Nm
/s). Thus,thepowertransm
ittedbytheshaft:
2NT
= Tw W
atts = N=revolutionsperm
inute
60
Sin
ceth
eWatt isav
erysm
all unit ofpower inengineeringterm
suseisnorm
allym
ade
ofS.I. m
ultiples,i.e.kilowatts(kW)orm
egawatts(M
W ).
Combined Stress Systems-Combined
Bending and Torsion

 In most practical transmission situations

shafts which carry torque are also subjected
to bending, if only by virtue of the self-weight
of the gears they carry. Many other practical
applications occur where bending and tor-
sion arise simultaneously so that this type of
loading represents one of the major sources
of complex stress situations.
Combined Stress Systems Contd.

 In the case of shafts, bending gives rise to

tensile stress on one surface and compres-
sive stress on the opposite surface whilst
torsion gives rise to pure shear throughout
the shaft.
 An element on the tensile surface will thus
be subjected to the stress system indicated
in Fig. 6.5 and equation or the Mohr circle
procedure derived in Chapter 4 can be
used to obtain the principal stresses present.
Combined Bending and Torsion-Equiva-
lent Bending Moment

 For shafts subjected to the simultane-

ous application of a bending
moment M and torque T the principal
stresses set up in the shaft can be
shown to be equal to those produced by
an equivalent bending moment,
of a certain value Me acting alone.
 Combined Bending and Torsion-Equiva-
lent Bending Moment Contd.

F
romth
esim
pleb
endin
gth
eoryth
emax
imu
m d
irectstresses
setu
patth
eoutsid
esurfaceofth
esh
aftow
in
gtoth
eben
din
gmom
ent
Mareg
ivenb
y
Mymax MD
 
I 2I

S
imilarly
, fromth
etorsionth
eory
, th
emax
imumsh
earstressinth
esu
rfaceofth
esh
aft is
g
ivenb
y
TR TD
 
J 2J
Combined Bending and Torsion-Equiva-
lent Bending Moment Contd.
But for a circular shaft: J = 2 I,

TD
 
4I

The principal stress for this system can now be obtained by applying the formula
derived in the last Chapter.

1 1
 1 or  2  ( x   y )  ( x   y )2  4 2
2 2

and with  y = 0, the maximum principal stress  1 is given by:

F
G I FM DI FT DI
2 2

H JK G
H2 I JK G H4 I JK
1 MD 1
1    4
2 2I 2

F
G I
H JKM 
1 D
= ( M2  T2 )
2 2I
 Combined Bending and Torsion-Equivalent
Bending Moment Concluded
Now, if Me is the bending moment which acting alone will produce the same maximum
stress, then:
Me ymax Me D
1  
I 2I
Me D 1 D F
G I
J
2I

2 2I HK M (M2 T2)

i.e. the equivalent bending moment is given by:

1
Me  M (M2 T2) (13)
2

and it will produce the same maximumdirect stress as the combined bending and torsion
effects.