CHAPTER 3

TORSION ANALYSIS

2.1 Introduction
In workshops and factories, a turning force is always applied to transmit energy by
rotation. This turning (twisting) force is applied either to the rim or pulley, keyed to the
shaft, or any other suitable point at some distance from the axis of the shaft. The product
of this turning force, and the distance between the point of application of the force and
the axis of the shaft is known as torque, turning moment or twisting moment. The shaft
is then said to be subjected to torsion. Example is given in Fig. 3.1.

Fig. 3. 1: Structural member subjected to couples T1 and T2

The couples T1 and T2 are called torques, twisting couples or twisting moments. Unit of
T is N-m.

In this Chapter we shall consider torsion of solid circular shafts, hollow circular shafts
and thin-walled tubes.

2.2 Solid circular shafts

Consider a bar or shaft of circular cross section twisted by a couple T as shown in Fig.
3.2. Assume the left-hand end is fixed, the right-hand end will rotate a small angle  ,
called angle of twist.

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  x 
Ф(x)

Fig. 3. 2: Solid circular shaft in pure torsion

If every cross section has the same radius and subjected to the same torque, the angle
 x  will vary linearly between ends under twisting deformation. It is assumed that:
 The material of the shaft is uniform throughout
 Plane section remains plane
 Radii remaining straight
 The cross sections remaining plane and circular (rotate as rigid bodies about the
longitudinal axis)
 Hooke's law in shearing applies to each circumferential layer of material.

Thus, if  is small, neither the length L nor its radius will change.
Consider an element of the bar dx in Fig. 3.3. On its outer surface we choose a small
element abcd,

Fig. 3. 3: Circular bar in pure torsion

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During twisting the element rotate a small angle d . The lengths of the sides of the
element do not change during rotation, but the angles at the corners are no longer equal
to 900. Thus the element is in a state of pure shear, and is deformed into ab'c'd. Its shear
strain  max is the decrease in the right angle at a and is given by:

b ' b rd
 max   …………………….. (3.1)
ab dx

d dx represents the rate of change of the angle of twist  . If we denote   d dx as

the angle of twist per unit length or the rate of twist, then,

 max  r ……………………… (3.2)

In general,  and  are functions of x . In the special case of pure torsion,  is constant
along the length (every cross section is subjected to the same torque).
 r
 and  max  …………… (3.3)
L L

And the shear strain inside the bar can be obtained as:


     max …………………………… (3.4)
r

The above relationships are based only upon geometric concepts and they are valid for a
circular bar of any material, elastic or inelastic, linear or nonlinear

2.3 Torsion formula

For circular bar of linear material, the shear stress τ, in the bar is given by Hooke’s Law
in shear as:

𝜏 = 𝐺𝛾 .................................................... (3.5)

where G = shear modulus of rigidity

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With the geometric relation (Eqn (3.4)) of the shear strain, maximum shear stress is
obtained as
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐺𝑟𝜃 ………………….……………………………… (3.6)

And generally,

𝜌
𝜏 = 𝐺𝜌𝜃 = 𝑟 𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 ...................................................................... (3.7)

τ and γ in circular bar vary linear with the radial distance ρ from the center (Fig. 3.4). The
maximum values  max and  max occur at the outer surface. The shear stress acting on the
plane of the cross section are accompanied by shear stresses of the same magnitude acting
on longitudinal plane of the bar.

Fig. 3. 4: Sections of bar in pure shear

If the material is weaker in shear on longitudinal plane than on cross-sectional planes, as

in the case of a circular bar made of wood, the first crack due to twisting will appear on
the surface in longitudinal direction.

A rectangular element with sides at 45o to the axis of the shaft will be subjected to tensile
and compressive stresses at 450. If a twisted bar is made of a material that is weaker in
tension than in shear, failure will occur in tension along a helix inclined at 450 to the axis.
Example of this is failure of a twisted piece of chalk.

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To derive the Torsion Formula, consider a bar subjected to pure torsion. The shear force
acting on an element dA is dA (Fig. 3.5). The moment of this force about the axis of bar is
dA .

Thus, dM  dA

Fig. 3. 5: Shear stress due to pure torsion

Using Eqn. (3.7),

dM  GdA …………….…………… (3.8)
The total torque T is the summation over the entire cross-sectional area of such elemental
moments; thus,

𝑇 = ∫ 𝐺𝜃𝜌2 𝑑𝐴 = 𝐺𝜃 ∫ 𝜌2 𝑑𝐴 = 𝐺𝜃𝐼𝑝 …………………………………… (3.9)

in which I P is the polar moment of inertia of the circular cross section.

From Eqn 3.9, the following is obtained:

𝑇
𝜃= … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … (3.10)
𝐺𝐼𝑝

which shows that θ, the angle of twist per unit length is directly proportional to
the torque T and inversely proportional to the product GIp, also known as the
torsional rigidity of the shaft.

The total angle of twist 𝜙, equal to θL, is

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 𝑇𝐿
𝜙= ………………..………………………………… (3.11)
𝐺𝐼𝑝

The quantity GI P L is the torsional stiffness of a circular bar, and it represents

the torque required to produce a unit angle of rotation of one end with respect
to the other. The reciprocal of the stiffness, L GI P , is called the torsional
flexibility and it is equal to the rotation produced by a unit torque.

The maximum shear stress  max (Eqn (3.12)) in a circular bar subjected to torsion may be
found by substituting the expression for  (Eqn (3.10)) into the expression for  (Eqn
(3.6)); thus,
Tr
 max  …………………………… (3.12)
IP
This is the torsion formula.

The Torsion Formula shows that the maximum shear stress is proportional to the applied
torque and shear radius and inversely proportional to the polar moment of inertia of the
cross section.

For a circular cross section with radius r, and diameter d, the polar moment of inertia is
given by; (Exercise: Read on the derivation of polar moment of inertia).

𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋𝑑 4
𝐼𝑃 = = …………………………………………… (3.13)
2 32

Thus,
16𝑇
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 = ……………………………………………… (3.14)
𝜋𝑑 3

3.4 Torsion of circular hollow shafts

Hollow bars are much more efficient in resisting torsional loads than are solid bars. This
is because the shear stresses are maximum at the outer boundary of the cross section and
zero at the centre: most of the material in a solid shaft is stressed significantly below the allowable
shear stress.

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 Fig. 3. 6: Hollow circular tube

The shear strain inside the bar can be obtained as:

𝑟1
𝛾𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝛾 …………………………………………… (3.15)
𝑟2 𝑚𝑎𝑥

For circular hollow shaft, the polar moment of inertia is given by:

𝜋 4 𝜋 4
𝐼𝑝 = (𝑟2 − 𝑟14 ) = (𝑑 − 𝑑14 ) ……………………………… (3.16)
2 32 2

3.5 Torsion of thin-walled tubes

For very thin hollow tubes (tubes with thickness t, smaller compared to the radius), the
following approximate formulas may be used:

𝜋𝑑 3 𝑡
𝐼𝑝 ≈ 2𝜋𝑟 3 𝑡 = …………………………………………… (3.17)
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in which r and d are the average radius and diameter, respectively.

Note: The wall thickness of a hollow shaft must be large enough to avoid the possibility
of wrinkling or buckling of the wall.

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 Fig. 3. 7: Thin tube transmitting torque

When a thin tube (Fig. 3.7) is transmitting torque, it is assumed that the shear stress τ
developed on the section to be uniform. The total area which resists the torque is the cross
sectional area, that is, mean circumference x thickness resisting shear due to torque.

𝐴 = 2𝜋𝑟𝑡 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … (3.18)

Total shearing force = 𝜏𝑠 . 2𝜋𝑟𝑡

This force act at a radius r and total toque transmitted, T (Eqn. (3.19)) is given by:

𝑇 = 𝜏𝑠 . 2𝜋𝑟𝑡. 𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑟 2 𝑡. 𝜏𝑠 ……………………………………… (3.19)

Examples
Example 1:
A hollow shaft of 3m long is subjected to torque such that the shaft experiences a
maximum shear of 75MN/m2. Find the angle of twist if G=75 GN/m2 and the external and
internal diameters of shaft are 150mm and 100mm respectively. Also find the shear stress
at the inner surface of the shaft and show the distribution of shear stress on the section.

Solution:

𝜏𝑠 𝐿 75𝑥106 𝑥3𝑥103
𝜃= = = 0.04𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 2.290 (τs is maximum at the outer surface)
𝑅𝐺 75𝑥75𝑥109

At the inner surface, τ where r = 50 mm = 50x10-3m

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 𝜏𝑠 𝜏 𝜏𝑠 75𝑥50
= 𝑜𝑟 𝜏 = 𝑥𝑟 = = 50𝑀𝑁/𝑚2
𝑅 𝑟 𝑅 75

Shear stress distribution is as shown

τs τs = 75MN/m2

75mm
50mm
τ
τ = 50 MN/m2

Example 2:
What is the angle of twist, in degrees, in a 3 m length of a hollow shaft, 150mm external
and 90mm internal diameter, when it is subjected to a twisting moment that produces a
maximum shear stress of 70MN/m2? Take G = 77GN/ m2. Find also the shear stress at the
inside edge of the shaft.
Solution

𝜏𝐿 70 𝑀𝑁/𝑚2
𝜃= = = 0.036 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 ≈ 2.080
𝑟𝐺 75 𝑚𝑚 𝑥 77 𝐺𝑁/𝑚2

Since the shear stress is proportional to the radius, then stress at inside edge;
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𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 = 𝑥 70 = 42𝑀𝑁/𝑚2
75

Example 3:
A circular shaft of 50mm diameter is required to transmit torque from one shaft to
another. Find the safe torque that the shaft can transmit if the shear stress is not to exceed
40MN/m2.

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Solution
From the torsion equation,
𝜏 𝑇 𝐺𝜃 𝜋𝑑 4
= = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑃 =
𝑟 𝐼𝑝 𝐿 32

𝐼𝑝 𝜏
𝑇= = 981.25 𝑁𝑚
𝑟

Exercises
1. A solid steel shaft is to transmit a torque of 10kNm. If the shearing stress is not to
exceed 45MN/m2 find the minimum diameter of the shaft. (Ans. 104 mm)
2. A hollow steel shaft 6m long must transmit a torque of 50KNm. The total angle of
twist in this length is not to exceed 0.0873radians and the allowable shearing stress is
180MN/m2. Determine the inside and outside diameter of the shaft if G = 85GN/m 2.
(Ans. D = 291 mm, d = 287 mm)
3. Calculate the maximum torque a shaft of 125mm diameter can transmit, if the
maximum angle of twist is 1˚ in a length of 1.5m. Take G = 70 MN/m2). (Ans. 19.5KNm)

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