Mechanical Engineering

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Lab Report

Title: Torsion of Circular Sections

Objective: Investigating the relationship between force, torque and angular deflection of
different circular metal rods.

Module Number: B58ED

Module Title: Mechanical Engineering Science 4
Lecturer: Dr. Ahmed Rehan

Name: Hannah Romero

Registration Number: H00305083
Lab done during Week 7
Abstract
Through this experiment, one may examine the relationship of applied torque with the
angular deflection of different types of shafts. To find the angular deflection, a torque will be
applied onto a steel rod, brass rod, brass tube and plastic tube which is connected to a
structure frame between two chucks. For the first experiment, assemble the shaft so that it is
400mm then apply small forces varying from 1-5N whilst taking note of the changes in
angular deflection. Repeat this for a 500mm shaft. Correspondingly, calculate the percentage
error by comparing the theoretical values measured beforehand and the experimental values
obtained. With this, a percentage error of greater than 5% was attained in this experiment.
This may not be an acceptable value hence a greater consideration of the random and
systematic errors should be taken into account. Moreover, through this experiment, it is seen
that there is a directly proportional relationship between toque applied and torsion of different
types of shafts.

Introduction
There are various structural components and elements included in designing and
building mechanical machines. More often than not, shafts form one of the most important
elements as they support and transmit rotating parts inside a machine. Being a support, shafts
are subject to torque and bending moment as they twist and turn in reaction to the parts they
are connected to; shafts experience torsion. The degree at which shafts withstand these forces
(torque and bending moment) depend on their cross sectional area, material and design.
Shafts are built with a circular cross section having either a solid or hollow form, and
characterized as straight, skew, flexible or rigid (Hõlgâl, 2017).
For this experiment, the relationship between force, torque and angular deflection will
be investigated for circular shafts. The relationship between these will be observed by
experimenting circular shafts made of steel, brass and plastic. By varying the length (400mm
and 500m), design (rod or tube) and force applied (1-5N), angular deflection will be
measures using a torsion of circular section apparatus. After acquiring the results, the
percentage error and accuracy will be looked upon by comparing the theoretical calculation
of angular deflection.

Objective: To investigate the relationships between force, torque and angular deflection in
circular metal rods.
Apparatus
• 5 meter measuring Tape
• 1 Vernier Caliper
• 1 solid steel rod, 1 solid brass rod, 1 hollow brass tube and 1hollow plastic tube.
• Structure frame of Torsion of Circular Section (which includes 2 chucks, sliding
chuck assembly, backboard and thumbwheel, and is connected to a digital force
display).

Experimental Set Up
figure 1.0 – Torsion of circular section experiment in the structures frame.

©(Torsion in Circular Bars, 2019)

Theory
Experiencing a torsion, a relationship between shafts and torque, shafts and stress
induced and shafts and angular deflection are created, given by equation 1.0 below
(Engineeringtoolbox.com, 2005):
𝑇 𝜏 𝐺𝜃
𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1.0: = =
𝐽 𝑅 𝐿
where, T is torque (Nm), J is second polar moment of area (𝑚4 ), 𝜏 is shear stress (Pa), R is
distance from center of an object to stressed surface in the given position (m), G is the shear
modulus of rigidity (Pa), 𝜃 is the angular deflection and L is the length of the shaft (m).
 In order to acquire the angular of deflection, equation 1.0 is rearranged into equation
1.1 whilst using equation 2.0 and values of modulus of rigidity for steel (79.6 𝐺𝑁𝑚2 ), brass
(38.0𝐺𝑁𝑚2 ) and plastic (0.12𝐺𝑁𝑚2 ), force applied (1-5 N), varying length of the shafts
(400mm and 500mm) and torque arm length (0.05). These values are shown in table 3.0.
𝑇𝐿 𝜋𝐷4 𝜋(𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟 4 − 𝐷𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 4 )
𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1.1: 𝜃 = 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2.0: 𝐽 = =
𝐽𝐺 32 32
where, D is the diameter of the shaft (m). Therefore, with these given values and relationship
in the experiment, a graph of TL vs. JG may be obtained where the slope of the graph will
equal the angular deflection of the shaft (Engineeringtoolbox.com, 2005).
Sample calculation for 400mm steel rod:
𝜋(0.00329)4
1. 𝐽 = = 1.15 × 10−11 𝑚4
32
1×0.05×0.4
2. 𝜃 = = 3.0°
(79.6×109 )(1.15 ×10−11 )

Methodology
(Setting up the Torsion Frame)
1. Before proceeding with the experiment, make sure to inspect all parts of the structure
frame for any wear or tear.
2. Check that all electrical devices and all other components are correctly and securely
connected to the frame.
3. Position the structure frame such that it is stable and steady on a surface.
(Procedure of the experiment)
1. Slide a shaft into the two chucks on the structure frame and tighten the nuts. Make
sure to measure the length of the shaft using a measuring tape to get the desired length
of 400mm or 500mm.
2. Turn on the Digital Force Display apparatus and calibrate it to zero. When done,
gently apply torque to the shaft by twisting the thumbwheel to a desired measurement
of 1-5N.
3. Check the protractor connected to the structure frame and take note of the angular
deflection as specific values of the torque applied.
Results
table 1.0 – experimental and theoretical values obtained for brass rod.
Brass Rod
400 mm 500 mm
Angular Angular
Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°) Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°)
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0.05 5.0° 1 0.05 9.0°
2 0.10 8.5° 2 0.10 14.8°
3 0.15 12.0° 3 0.15 18.2°
4 0.20 16.0° 4 0.20 23.0°
5 0.25 20.0° 5 0.25 27.0°
Theoretical Values
1 0.05 2.6° 1 0.05 3.2°
2 0.10 5.1° 2 0.10 6.4°
3 0.15 7.7° 3 0.15 9.6°
4 0.20 10.2° 4 0.20 12.8°
5 0.25 12.8° 5 0.25 16.0°
table 1.1 – experimental and theoretical values obtained for brass tube.
Brass Tube
400 mm 500 mm
Angular Angular
Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°) Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°)
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0.05 8.5° 1 0.05 5.0°
2 0.10 12.0° 2 0.10 9.5°
3 0.15 15.2° 3 0.15 14.0°
4 0.20 19.0° 4 0.20 18.0°
5 0.25 22.5° 5 0.25 23.0°
Theoretical Values
1 0.05 2.5° 1 0.05 3.1°
2 0.10 5.0° 2 0.10 6.3°
3 0.15 7.6° 3 0.15 9.7°
4 0.20 10.1° 4 0.20 12.7°
5 0.25 12.7° 5 0.25 15.9°
 table 2.0 – experimental and theoretical values obtained for steel rod.
Steel Rod
400 mm 500 mm
Angular Angular
Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°) Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°)
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0.05 3.0° 1 0.05 3.8°
2 0.10 4.5° 2 0.10 5.5°
3 0.15 6.0° 3 0.15 7.5°
4 0.20 8.0° 4 0.20 9.5°
5 0.25 9.5° 5 0.25 11.5°
Theoretical Values
1 0.05 1.3° 1 0.05 1.6°
2 0.10 2.5° 2 0.10 3.1°
3 0.15 3.8° 3 0.15 4.7°
4 0.20 5.0° 4 0.20 6.3°
5 0.25 6.3° 5 0.25 7.8°
table 3.0 – experimental and theoretical values obtained for plastic tube, and other
information.
Plastic Tube Other Information
500 mm • Diameter of solid brass rod = 3.31mm
Angular • Diameter of hollow brass tube (inner) =
Force (N) Torque (Nm) Deflection (°) 0.3mm
0 0 0 • Diameter of hollow brass tube (outer) =
1 0.05 2.0° 3.31mm
• Diameter of solid steel rod = 3.29 mm
2 0.10 3.0°
• Diameter of hollow plastic tube (inner)
3 0.15 3.5° = 6.83 mm
4 0.20 4.2° • Diameter of hollow plastic tube (outer)
= 9.19 mm
5 0.25 5.0°
Theoretical Values • G of brass = 38.0 GPa
1 0.05 24.5° • G of steel = 79.6 GPa
• G of plastic (Polyethylene) = 0.12 GPa
2 0.10 49.0°
3 0.15 73.5°
4 0.20 98.0°
©(Torsion in Circular Bars, 2019)
5 0.25 122.6°
 graph 1.0 – brass rod at 400mm graph 1.1 – brass rod at 500mm
Brass Rod- 400mm Brass Rod - 500mm
30 30

Angular Defelction (°)

Angular Defelction (°)

20 20
10 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Force N Force N

Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

graph 2.0 – brass tube at 400mm graph 2.1 – brass tube at 500mm
Brass Tube - 400mm Brass Tube - 500mm
30 30

Angular Defelction (°)

Angular Defelction (°)

20 20
10 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Force N Force N

Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

graph 3.0 – steel rod at 400mm graph 3.1 – steel rod at 500mm
Steel Rod- 400mm Steel Rod- 500mm
10 15
Angular Defelction (°)
Angular Defelction (°)

10
5
5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Force N Force N

Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

graph 4.0 – plastic tube at 400mm

As seen in graphs 1.0-4.0, there is
Plastic tube - 400mm an increase in angular deflection of any
150 type of shaft as the force and torque
Angular Defelction (°)

100 applied increases. Hence there is a direct

50
proportionality in the relationship between
the two factors. Accordingly, there is a
0
1 2 3 4 5 relatively great difference between the
Force N experimental and theoretical values
showing a greater than 5% of percentage
Experimental Theoretical error, more particularly the plastic tube.
Discussions
Using the values above in tables 1.0-3.0, the experimental and theoretical values of
angular deflection may be compared through percentage error (Helmenstine 2014):
Example for steel rod at 400mm:
|𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒|
% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
|1.3° − 3.0°|
% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 56.7%
3.0°
As shown above, the percentage error is grater that 5% indicating that the percentage error
between the theoretical and experimental value are not at an acceptable value. With this, it
may be assumed that certain random and systematic errors may have occurred. The random
errors may include internal and external factors that may have affected the experiment such
as atmospheric conditions. This random error may resolved through more trials or through
monitoring that the room is at a constant room temperature. Moreover, the systematic errors
may include parallax error when measuring the angular deflection on the protractor and the
calculation of the inner diameter of the hollow materials. These systematic errors may also be
resolved through more trials and utilizing the average of multiple readings.

Conclusion
It can be concluded that there is a direct proportionality in the relationship between a
torque applied and the angular deflection of any circular shaft. As the torque and force
applied increases, the degree of torsion increases depending on the material and structure of
the shaft. Hollow, frailer and shorter shafts are more subjected to torsion hence having a
greater angular of deflection. Though this torsion lab experiment yielded favorable results,
the high percentage errors between the theoretical and experimental values should be taken
into consideration for more improvement and accurate results.
References
Engineeringtoolbox.com. (2005). Torsion of Shafts. [online] Available at:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/torsion-shafts-d_947.html [Accessed 26 Feb.
2019].
Todd Helmenstine, T.H. 2014. Science Notes and Projects. [Online]. [ Accessed 3 Nov.
2018]. Available from: https://sciencenotes.org/calculate-percent-error/.
Hõlgâl, B. (2017). What is a shaft?. [online] Quora. Available at:
https://www.quora.com/What-is-shaft [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].
Torsion in Circular Bars. (2019). [ebook] pp.1-3. Available at:
http://staffweb.itsligo.ie/staff/sdalton/ME3-labs/Torsion-lab-2013.pdf [Accessed 26
Feb. 2019].