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TorsionalAnalysisofaCircularShaft

TorsionTheactionoftwistingorthestateofbeingtwisted,especiallyoneendofanobjectrelativetotheother
duetotheappliedtorque.

In this case study I have illustrated the importance of shear stress when designing cylindrical parts subject to
torsion.
 (Commonlyseenobjectssubjecttotorsionalfailures)

Thetorsionequationisbasedonthefollowingassumptions.[1]

Thematerialoftheshaftisuniformthroughout.

Theshaftcircularinsectionsremainscircularafterloading.

Aplanesectionofshaftnormaltoitsaxisbeforeloadingremainsplaneafterthetorqueshavebeenapplied

Thetwistalongthelengthoftheshaftisuniformthroughout.

Thedistancebetweenanytwonormalcrosssectionsremainsthesameaftertheapplicationoftorque.

Maximumshearstressinducedintheshaftduetoapplicationoftorquedoesnotexceeditselasticlimitvalue.

WhenaCircularshaftsubjecttotorsion,shearstressoccursinthedirectionperpendiculartotheradiallineofthe
shaftcrosssectionandthestressdistributionisuniformalongthelengthoftheshaft.[2]

(Stressdistributionalongthelengthnovariation,stressisconstant)

TorsionEquation
M=InitialPoint

M=DistortedPoint

=Angleoftwist

=ShearStrain

CaseStudy
The case study is to perform torsional analysis for standard circular shaft both theoretically and using FEA, the
resultsarethencorrelated.

ProblemDefinition
Considerarodoflength1manddiameter0.1msubjectedtoatorqueof10000Nm
FEASimulation
ThesameproblemsolvedissimulateusingAbaqussolverasshownbelow.

ModelSetupandBoundaryCondition

The shaft is modeled using Hex (C3D8) element with 7 layer in the outer region of the shaft to capture the shear
stresseffectively.OnoneendthefaceoftheshaftisarrestedtoallDoFandtheotherendMomentof1.0E7Nm
isappliedusingCoupleKinematic(1DRigidElement).

Solid Element: C3D8 is a continuum 3 Dimensional 8 Node element with has 3 Degrees of freedom namely
TranslationalongX,Y&Zdirection.SincethesolidelementdoesnotsupporttherotationalDoF,Couplekinematic
(1D) otherwise known as rigid element which has 6 DoF, 3 Translation and 3 Rotation is created by selecting the
1st layer of the shaft. Moment is applied to the master node of the Couple kinematic Element. In this way the
Torqueisappliedtotheshaft.
Results&Discussion
1.Displacement
 TheaboveplotshowstheFEAAngleoftwistvaluematcheswiththeTheoreticalValue

Note: In the above plot, the angular displacement is calculated only for the couple Kinematic elements which is
attached to the 1st layer of elements, the solid element does not output Angular displacement as it has only 3
TranslationDoF.

Aworkaroundmethodcanbe,toplotthelineardisplacementandcalculatetheangulardisplacementmanuallyby
usingtheformulagivenbelow.

Angulardisplacement=LinearDisplacement/RadiusoftheShaft

Point1AngularDisplacement=0.63/50=0.0126rad=0.744deg
Point2AngularDisplacement=0.474/50=0.00948rad=0.543deg
Point3AngularDisplacement=0.316/50=0.00632rad=0.362deg
Point4AngularDisplacement=0.158/50=0.00316rad=0.181deg
Another work around method can be done by creating shell elements over the solid Elements with negligible
thicknessinordertoobtaintheangulardisplacementoutputdirectly.

2.ShearStressalongXYxy

3.ShearStressalongXYxz

FromtheabovetwoplottheFEAshearstressvaluematchedwiththetheoreticalvalue.

4.vonMisesStress
 TheFEAvonMisesvalvematchingwiththetheoreticalvalue

Max.vonMisesStress=((1122)^2+(2233)^2+(3311)^2+6(^212+^223+^231))/2

ShearStressalongXY,12=50.929MPa
ShearStressalongXZ,13=50.929MPa,
Restofthestressesisassumedas0sinceitisnegligiblefortorsionalproblem.
Max.vonMisesStress=88.211MPa

VonMisesStress>>>ShearStress
88.211MPa>>50.929MPa

Hence,whenweconsidervonMisesstressasthefailurecriteria,wemayendupoverdesigningtheproduct,since
thetorsionfailureismainlycausedduetotheshearstressontheshaft.Sowhiledesigning,thedesignershould
alwaysconsidershearstresswithshearyieldofthematerialforfailureincaseoftorsionalproblems.
AngleofTwist
 Fromtheaboveplottheangleoftwistmatcheswiththetheoreticallyvalue

Thispictureshownaboveistheviewofelementdistortionafterloadingwithreferencetotheinitialconditionofthe
shaft. The angle of the twist is then plotted between the Initial and the final distorted element. This is done by
exporting the output file as solver deck file (.inp) and the same is imported into the Hyper Mesh to observe the
difference.

Conclusion
From this exercise it is understood that the shear stress is the key factor to prevent the part from failure when
subject to torsion, the shear stress should be within the Shear yield of the material. Also the designer while
designing should always consider shear stress with shear yield of the material for failure. In case of considering
vonMisesstressasthefailurecriteria,theresultsmayendupinoverdesigningtheproduct.

About LatestPost

NaveenSukumar
Naveen Engineer Virtual Validation Pricol Technologies, has over 7 Months of
experience in simulating and validating various products like Automotive doors & trims,
pumpsandconsumerproducts.HehasworkingKnowledgeinLinear&NonlinearStructural
Analysis using Hypermesh & Abaqus. Naveen has over 1.6 years of experience in Process & Quality
assurance. He is part of process improvement initiatives in line with CMMi Level 3 and is also an Internal
Auditor. Naveen holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering and Bachelor's degree in Mechanical
Engineering.

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