CHAPTER 2

TORSION OF CIRCULAR
and non-circular
structures
 Introduction
Members in torsion are encountered in many engineering applications. The most
common application is provided by transmission shafts, which are used to transmit
power from one point to another
circular shafts are commonly used to transmit power in rotating machinery
Because a circular cross section is an efficient shape for resisting
torsional loads
A shaft is said to be in torsion, when equal and opposite torques are applied at the
two ends of the shaft. .
 Due to the application of the torques at the two ends, the shaft is subjected to a
twisting moment.
This causes the shear stresses and shear strains in the material of the shaft.
Torsion refers to the twisting of a straight bar when it is loaded by
moments (or torques) that tend to produce rotation about the longitudinal axis of
the bar.
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. below),
The moment of resistance developed by the
shear stresses being everywhere equal to the
magnitude, and opposite in sense, to the
applied torque.
Torsion of Circular Shafts
a. Simplifying assumptions

During the deformation, the cross sections are not distorted in any manner－ they
remain plane, and the radius r does not change. In addition, the length L of the
shaft remains constant
 Based on these observations, we make the following assumptions:
I. The material of the shaft is homogeneous, isotropic and perfectly elastic.
II. The material obeys Hooke’s law and the stress remains within limit
III. The twisting couples act in the transverse planes only.
IV. Circular cross sections remain plane (do not warp) and perpendicular to the
axis of the shaft.
V. Cross sections do not deform (there is no strain in the plane of the cross
section).
VI. The distances between cross sections do not change (the axial normal
strain is zero).
 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Shaft Deformations

• From observation, the angle of twist of the

shaft is proportional to the applied torque and
to the shaft length.
 T
L
• When subjected to torsion, every cross-section
of a circular shaft remains plane and
undistorted.
• Cross-sections for hollow and solid circular
shafts remain plain and undistorted because a
circular shaft is axisymmetric.
• Cross-sections of noncircular (non-
axisymmetric) shafts are distorted when
subjected to torsion.

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 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Shearing Strain

• Consider an interior section of the shaft. As a

torsional load is applied, an element on the
interior cylinder deforms into a rhombus.

• Since the ends of the element remain planar,

the shear strain is equal to angle of twist.

• It follows that

L   or  
L

• Shear strain is proportional to twist and radius

 
 max  c and    max
L c

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 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Stresses in Elastic Range

• Multiplying the previous equation by the
shear modulus,
G 
 G
max
c
From Hooke’s Law,   G , so
    max
c
J  1  c4 The shearing stress varies linearly with the radial position
2 in the section.
• Recall that the sum of the moments from the internal
stress distribution is equal to the torque on the shaft at
the section,
 
T    dA  max   2 dA  max J
c c
• The results are known as the elastic torsion

J  1 c 24  c 14
2
 formulas,
Tc T
 max  and  
J J
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 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Angle of Twist in Elastic Range

• Recall that the angle of twist and maximum
shearing strain are related,

 max  c
L
• In the elastic range, the shearing strain and shear
are related by Hooke’s Law,
 max   max  Tc
G JG
• Equating the expressions for shearing strain and solving for
the angle of twist,
  TL
JG
• If the torsional loading or shaft cross-section
changes along the length, the angle of rotation is found as the
sum of segment rotations
   Ti Li
i JiGi

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3- 9

In the case When both ends of a shaft rotate, the angle of twist
of the shaft is equal to the angle through which one end of the
shaft rotates with respect to the other.
𝜙𝐴/𝐷 = 𝜙𝐴 − 𝜙𝐷
𝜙𝐸/𝐵 = 𝜙𝐸 − 𝜙𝐵
 Above Equation can be used for the angle of twist only if the shaft is
homogeneous (constant G), has a uniform cross section, and is loaded
only at its ends.
 If the shaft is subjected to torques at locations other than its ends
or if it has several portions with various cross sections and
possibly of different materials, it must be divided into parts
𝑇𝑖 𝐿𝑖
𝜃𝑖 = ∑
𝐺𝑖 𝐽𝑖
The shear stress acting at the distance 𝜌 from the center of the
shaft:
𝑇𝜌
𝜏=
𝐽
The maximum shear stress is found by replacing 𝜌 by outer
radius r of the shaft:
𝑇𝑟
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝐽
 Maximum torque transferred by circular shaft

 The maximum torque transmitted by a circular solid shaft, is obtained from the
maximum shear stress induced at the outer surface of the solid shaft.
 Consider a shaft, subjected to a torque T as shown in Fig.
Area of ring= 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟

 If q is shear stress induced at distance r from the center of the shaft

𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐺𝜃 𝜏 𝜏 𝑟
= = 𝜏 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑅 𝐿 𝑟 𝑅
Turning force on the elementary circular ring
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟 2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟 2
𝜏𝑑𝐴 = × 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 𝑑𝑟
𝑅 𝑅
Turning moment due to turning force on2 elemental ring 𝑑𝑇 = 𝜏𝑑𝐴 × 𝑟
2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟
𝑑𝑇 = × 𝑟𝑑𝑟
R

2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅 3 𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅3 𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑑3

𝑇= න 𝑟 𝑑𝑟 = =
𝑅 0 2 2 8
𝜋
𝑇 = 𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑑3 ______(𝐴)
16

For hollow shaft; Area of ring= 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟

If 𝜏 is shear stress induced at distance
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝜏
r from𝜏the 𝑟center of the shaft
= 𝜏 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑅𝑜 𝑟 𝑅𝑜
Turning force on the elementary circular ring
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟 2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟 2
𝜏𝑑𝐴 = × 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 𝑑𝑟
𝑅0 𝑅0
Turning moment due to turning force on elemental ring
2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑟 2
𝑑𝑇 = 𝜏𝑑𝐴 × 𝑟 = × 𝑟𝑑𝑟
R

4
2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅0 3 2𝜋𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 4 𝜋𝜏 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑜
4
𝑅𝑖
𝑇= න 𝑟 𝑑𝑟 = 𝑅𝑜 − 𝑅𝑖4 = −
𝑅0 𝑅𝑖 4𝑅𝑜 2 𝑅0 𝑅𝑜
4
𝐷4
0 −𝐷𝑖
𝜋 16 16 𝜋 𝐷04 −𝐷𝑖4
𝑇= 𝜏 𝑇= 𝜏 _______________(B)
2 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐷0 16 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐷0
2

The above equation A and B are called torsion formula

 Torsional
TorsionalRigidity
Rigidity
Torsional stiffness can be defined as the torque required to produce unit rotation per
unit length of the shaft.
Torsional stiffness is inversely proportional to the length of the shaft. When the length
is more, stiffness decreases.
The quantity GJ is called torsional rigidity (or stiffness). This is similar to EI, which is
called flexural rigidity.
𝑇 𝐺𝜃
From the torsion equation, =
𝐽 𝐿
𝑇𝜃
We get 𝐺𝐽 = 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝜃 = 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 1 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿 = 1𝑚
𝐿
We have 𝐺𝐽 = 𝑇
 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Design of Transmission Shafts

• Principal transmission shaft • Determine torque applied to shaft at
performance specifications are: specified power and speed,
P  T  2fT
- power
P P
- speed T 
 2f
• Designer must select shaft • Find shaft crosssection which will not
material and crosssection to exceed the maximum allowable
meet performance shearing stress,
Tc
specifications without  max 
J
exceeding allowable shearing J   c3  T
solid shafts 
stress. c 2  max


J   c4  c 4

T hollow shafts 
c2 2c2 2 1  max

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 Power transmission
Shafts and tubes having circular cross sections are often used to transmit
power developed by a machine.
When used for this purpose, they are subjected to a torque that depends on both the
power generated by the machine and the angular speed of the shaft
Work done = 𝑇𝑑𝜃
𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝜃
Power transferred= =𝑇 = 𝑇𝜔 𝑜𝑟 𝑃 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑇
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑡

𝜔 = shaft’s angular velocity

Exercise
KnowingExample
that each portion of the shafts AB, BC, and CD consist of
a solid circular rod, determine
A. The shaft in which the maximum shearing stress occurs,
B. The magnitude of that stress
C. Repeat the above problem if 8-mm-diameter hole has been
drilled through each of the shafts AB, BC, and CD,
Exercise
The electric motor exerts a 500 Nm-torque on the aluminum
shaft ABCD when it is rotating at a constant speed. Knowing that G =
27 GPa and that the torques exerted on pulleys B and C are as shown,
determine the angle of twist between (a) B and C,(b) B and D.
Exercise
Three shafts
Exampleand four gears are used to form a gear train that will
transmit 7.5 kW from the motor at A to a machine tool at F. (Bearings
for the shafts are omitted in the sketch.) Knowing that the frequency of
the motor is 30 Hz and that the allowable stress for each shaft is 60
MPa, determine the required diameter of each shaft.
 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Torsion of Noncircular Members

• Previous torsion formulas are valid for
axisymmetric or circular shafts

• Planar cross-sections of noncircular

shafts do not remain planar and stress
and strain distribution do not vary
linearly

• For uniform rectangular cross-sections,

T  TL
 max 
c1ab2 c2ab3G

• At large values of a/b, the maximum

shear stress and angle of twist for other
open sections are the same as a
rectangular bar.

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 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS

Edition
Fourth
Beer • Johnston • DeWolf

Thin-Walled Hollow Shafts

• Summing forces in the x-direction on AB,
 Fx  0   A t Ax   B t B x 
 At A  Bt B   t  q  shear flow

shear stress varies inversely with thickness

• Compute the shaft torque from the integral

of the moments due to shear stress
dM 0  p dF  p t ds   qpds   2q dA
T   dM 0   2q dA  2qA

 T
2tA
• Angle of twist (from Chapter 11)
  TL  ds
4A2G t

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 Thin walled open section
In most cases the sections consist of a combination of rectangles, are most commons in civil engineering
application.
Thin-walled open sections may be considered as combinations of narrow rectangular sections
For d/b≥ 10, 𝑘1 = 𝑘2
 Thin walled split tube
The thin-walled split tube shown in Fig. below is considered to be a special case of the thin-
walled open type of section.
 It is therefore treated as an equivalent rectangle with a longer side d equal to the
circumference (less the gap), and a width b equal to the thickness.

where C1 and C2 for thin-walled tubes are usually

equal to = 1/3
 It should be noted here that the presence of even
a very small cut or gap in a thin-walled tube
produces a torsional stiffness (torque per unit
angle of twist) very much smaller than that for a
complete tube of the same dimensions.
 Exercise
Each of the two aluminum bars shown is subjected to a torque of
magnitude T = 1800 N m. Knowing that G = 26 GPa, determine for each bar the maximum
shearing stress and the angle of twist at B.
 Torsion of closed thin walled section
Let us consider a thin-walled tube of arbitrary cross section below.

Assumptions
 The tube is cylindrical in shape—that is, all
cross sections are identical and the
longitudinal axis is a straight line.
Lets take small element of The thickness t of the wall is not necessarily
constant but may vary around the cross
section.
However, the thickness must be small in
comparison with the total width of the tube.
The tube is subjected to pure torsion by
torques T acting at the ends.
 To determine the magnitude of the shear stresses, we will consider a
rectangular element abcd obtained by making two longitudinal cuts ab
and cd This product is known as the
shear flow and is denoted by
the letter f:

 The stresses acting on the

 This relationship shows that
longitudinal faces ab and cd
the largest shear stress
produce forces Fb and Fc
occurs where the thickness
of the tube is smallest, and
vice versa.
 From the equilibrium of the element
 In regions where the
in the longitudinal direction (the x
thickness is constant, the
direction), we see that Fb = Fc, or
shear stress is constant.
The next step in the analysis is to relate the shear flow f (and hence the shear
stress t) to the torque T acting on the tube.
For that purpose, let us examine the cross section of the tube, as pictured in
Fig. below. The median line (also called the centerline or the midline) of the
wall of the tube is shown as a dashed line in the figure.
We consider an element of area of length ds (measured along the median line)
and thickness t. The distance s defining the location of the element is measured
along the median line from some arbitrarily chosen reference point
 The total shear force acting on the element of
area =fds
 The moment of this force about any point O within the
tube is
The total torque T produced by the shear stresses is obtained by integrating along the median line of the cross
section:

 This integral can be difficult to integrate by formal mathematical

means, but fortunately it can be evaluated easily by giving it a simple
geometric interpretation.
1
 Area of shaded triangle Am = 𝑟𝑑𝑠 ↔ 𝑟𝑑𝑠 = 2𝑑𝐴𝑚
2
𝑇 = 𝑓2∫ 𝐴𝑚
But 𝑓 = 𝜏𝑡
𝑻
𝑻 = 𝟐𝝉𝒕𝑨𝒎 ↔ 𝝉 =
𝟐𝒕𝑨𝒎
 The area Am is the area enclosed by the median line—it is not the cross-
sectional area of the tube.
Consider now an axial strip of the tube, of length L, along which the thickness and hence the shear stress is constant. The shear strain energy per unit volume is given by

But strain energy stored is equal to work done by torsional load

The angle of twist 𝜃 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦

If the thickness is constant the above equation is reduced to;
Where s is perimeter of media line