CHAPTER 3

TORSION
MEC411
MECHANICS OF
MATERIALS

NOOR LEHA ABDUL

RAHMAN
T1-A18-4A
013-2977355
Torsional of circular shaft

 Derivation of torsion formula

 Statically determinate shaft
 Power Transmitted by shaft
 Statically indeterminate shaft
 Introduction
• Not all deformation is elongational or compressive. The concept
of strain can be extended to inclined shearing or distortional effects.

• The deformation of a circular cylinder rod by surface tractions

applied at the end forces can be studied using basic concepts of
continuum mechanics.
• The formulas for deformation and stresses in circular cylinder
of linear elastic material subjected to torsion are developed .The
state of stress in pure shear and state of strain are analyzed.

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 Introduction
 In machinery, the general term “shaft” refers to a member, usually of circular cross
section,which supports gears, sprockets, wheels, rotors, etc., and which is subjected to
torsion and to transverse or axial loads(bending) acting singly or in combination.
 • An “axle” is a rotating/non-rotating member that supports wheels, pulleys,…. which
are subjected to bending moment or bending stress due to the member supported by it
and carries no torque. In other word axle is not twisted it only bends
 • A “spindle” is a short shaft. The spindle can be rotate either cutting tool or to work
piece for example in lathe machine, milling machine, shaper machine, drilling machine
.Terms such as lineshaft, headshaft, stub shaft, transmissionshaft, countershaft, and
flexible shaft are names associated with special usage.
Torsional Load on Circular Shaft

• Interested in stresses and strains of

circular shafts subjected to twisting
couples or torques

• Turbine exerts torque T on the shaft

• Shaft transmits the torque to the

generator

• Generator creates an equal and

opposite torque T’

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 Torsional Load
Turbine
Motor/Generator
Shaft

A B

Transmission shaft member

TA TB
Longitudinal axis
A B

Torsional effect

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 Sign Convention

TA TB
A B
Representation of torsion in
2D

 We always consider CCW

rotation as positive value and vice
versa.
 T  0  veCCW
TB  TA  0
TB  TA  T
 We also know that torque

T  F  dist.

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 Torsion : twisting of a structural member,when it is
loaded by couples that produce rotation about its
longitudinal axis
 By observation, if angle of rotation is small, length of
shaft and its radius remain unchanged.
 Shaft Deformations
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

Figure 3.1
Deformation of a circular shaft
caused by the torque T. The
initially straightline AB deforms
into a helix.
following assumptions:
٠ Circular cross sections remain plane (do
not warp) and
perpendicular to the axis of the shaft.
٠ Cross sections do not deform (there is no
strain in the plane of
the cross section).
٠ The distances between cross sections do
not change (the axial normal strain is zero).
Each cross section rotates as a rigid entity
about the axis of the shaft. Although this
conclusion is based on the observed
deformation of a cylindrical shaft carrying a
constant internal torque, we assume that
the result remains valid even if the diameter
of the shaft or the internal torque varies
along the length of the shaft
As the cross sections undergo the relative rotation
dθ, CD deforms into the helix CD’. By observing the
distortion of the shaded element, we recognize that
the helix angle γ is the shear strain of the element.
Figure 3.2 (a) Shear
strain of a material
element caused by
twisting of the shaft;
(b) the corresponding
shear stress
the shear stress varies linearly with the radial distance ρ from
the axial of the shaft.

• The variation of the shear stress acting on the cross section is

illustrated in Fig. 3.3.

The maximum shear stress, denoted by max , occurs at the

surface of the shaft.

Note that the above derivations assume neither a constant

internal torque nor a constant cross section along the length of
the shaft

Figure 3.3 Distribution of

shear stress along the
radius of a circular shaft
 Example
• The shaft is supported by two bearings and is
subjected to three torques. Determine the shear
stress developed at points A and B, located at section
a–a of the shaft.
Solution
From the free-body diagram of the left
segment,

The polar moment of inertia for the shaft is

Since point A is at ρ = c = 75 mm,

Likewise for point B, at ρ =15 mm, we have

*5–12. The 150-mm-diameter shaft is supported by a
smooth journal bearing at E and a smooth thrust bearing at F.
Determine the maximum shear stress developed in each
segment of the shaft.

The solid compound shaft, made of three di¤erent materials, carries the two torques
shown. (a) Calculate the maximum shear stress in each material. (b) Find the angle
of rotation of the free end of the shaft. The shear moduli are 28 GPa for aluminum,
83 GPa for steel, and 35 GPa for bronze.
Power Transmission
 Power is defined as work performed per unit of time
 Instantaneous power is
P = T (d/dt)
 Since shaft’s angular velocity  = d/dt, we can
P =as
also express power T

 Frequency f of a shaft’s rotation is often reported. It

measures the number of cycles per second and
since 1 cycle = 2 radians, and  = 2f T, then
power

P = 2f T
Power Transmission
Shaft Design
 If power transmitted by shaft and its frequency of
rotation is known,
torque is determined from Eqn 5-11
 Knowing T and allowable shear stress for material,
allow and applying torsion formula,
 For solid shaft, substitute J = (/2)c4 to determine c
 For tubular shaft, substitute J = (/2)(co2  ci2) to
determine co and ci
Example

Solid steel shaft shown used to

transmit 3750 W from attached motor
M. Shaft rotates at  = 175 rpm and
the steel allow = 100 MPa.
Determine required diameter of shaft
to nearest mm.
Solution
Torque on shaft determined from P = T,
Thus, P = 3750 N·m/s

Thus, P = T,T = 204.6 N·m

Since 2c = 21.84 mm, select shaft with diameter of d =

22 mm
Torsional Rigidity

The angle of twist per unit length of shafts is given by the torsion theory as:

 T

L GJ

The quantity G J is called the torsional rigidity of the shaft and is thus given as:

T
GJ (12)
/L

i.e. the torsional rigidity is the torque divided by the angle of twist (in radians) per unit
length.