Torsion

• Introduction: torsion of circular shaft

• Boundary value problems associated with torsion
1. Warping function approach
2. Prandtl’s stress function approach
• Torsion of thin-walled open sections
• Torsion of thin-walled closed section
• Torsion of thin-walled cellular sections

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 1

 TORSION

When a straight deformable prismatic structural member is subjected solely to moments

about its longitudinal axis, it undergoes rotation about that axis, shearing stresses are
developed, and a single stress resultant, the twisting moment T is developed on each
transverse cross section.

In order to explain this deformation we first consider a shaft with thin-walled closed
cross-section. The wall thickness is assumed to be infinitesimally thin.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 2

 Assumptions:
• Sections perpendicular to the axis of the shaft remain plane after
the torque T is applied
• Material is linear and elastic (Hooke’s law is applicable)
• Shear stress is assumed to be constant across the thickness as the
thickness of the shaft is very small

∗
⇒ Θ
Again
Θ

Θ
2

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 3

 Assumptions:
• Sections perpendicular to the axis of the shaft remain plane after
the torque T is applied
• Material is linear and elastic (Hooke’s law is applicable)
• Shear stress is assumed to be constant across the thickness as the
thickness of the shaft is very small
∗
⇒ Θ
As per our assumption, Θ
Again,

Θ Θ
2
Θ

where
Θ

Angle of twist per unit length

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 4

 Here we consider a prismatic shaft of arbitrary
Section of a shaft solid cross-section subjected to torque.

We assume
• No traction is applied on the lateral exposed
bounding surface
• No axial force is applied
• The material is isotropic, homogeneous and
linear-elastic
Thus, we assume the following conditions
supporting our assumptions

Now, the applied torque must satisfy the

equilibrium, i.e., applied torque=developed torque,
and can be written as

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 5

Recall:
3D Equilibrium equations
0 in x axis direction

0 in y axis direction

0 in z axis direction

Let us ignore the presence of body force, i.e., 0.

Upon using the previous assumptions for the state of stresses, we obtain
0

0⇒ ,

0⇒ ,
• The distribution of the shear stresses is same on each cross-section ( shear stresses do not
vary with x).

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 6

Now, let us recover the strains.
Inverse stress-strain relations (isotropic, linear-elastic)
1 1 2 1 1
1 ;
1
These imply
0; , are functions of y, z
Or
0

0
Thus, we identify the following restrictions on the displacement components
• , from 1st equation
• , from 2nd equation
• , from 3rd equation
, ,
• ⇒ , and ,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 7

 ,
is playing the role of twist
,
The equilibrium equation in the y-direction can be written in terms of the displacement
components as
0⇒ 0⇒ 0⇒ 0

This implies to be constant with respect to x. is known as the angle of twist per unit
length and would be denoted here by . Thus, we get

The displacement components in the y,z directions are

,
,

, : yet to be identified

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 8

Now, we consider the equilibrium equation in the x-direction in terms of the displacement
components

0⇒ 0

This is the governing partial differential equation for the warping displacement u. This relationship
is called Laplace’s* equation for the warping function, and any solution to Laplace’s equation is
called a harmonic function. Thus, u is a harmonic function.
*named after French mathematician Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827)

However, in order to identify unique displacement function u(y,z), we must supply appropriate
boundary conditions.

It may be convenient at this point to redefine the This gives

warping displacement , as
, 0
where , is the warping function.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 9

 Consider a small differential element at the lateral
boundary where the unit normal vector is n.

With the angle , measured from y-axis, we write the

components n as cos , sin and 0

Now, the shear stress can be written as

cos sin

The lateral exposed boundary is traction free

This implies
cos sin 0
or

cos sin 0

or
cos sin 0

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 10

 cos sin
or
cos sin 0

· · 0

Therefore, every torsion problem is equivalent of solving

the following
Step-1
Find a function that satisfies
1. 0 in the domain and
2. · 0 along the boundary
Step-2
Identify the displacement components
,
,
,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 11

Once, the displacement components are identified the shear stresses can be computed as

Note: For any pair , which satisfies (1) 0 in a domain and (2) =0
on the boundary of , the following conditions hold

0; 0

Proof:

Thus,

Similarly,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 12

The torque is now calculated as

where is known as torsional constant

and is the polar moment of inertia.

Torsional constant = Polar moment of inertia +

Torsion problem

0 in the domain

· along the boundary

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 13

Few examples
1. .
Let us consider a harmonic function . This satisfies 0.
The boundary condition becomes

· ⇒0 ⇒ 0⇒
2
along the boundary. This implies that the boundary is a circle.

⇒ 0
The torsional constant takes the value of polar moment of inertia, i.e., .

• The twist per unit length can be calculated as

• The shear stresses are ;
The displacement components are
; ;

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 14

Few examples contd.
.
Let us consider a harmonic function . This satisfies 0.
The boundary condition becomes

· ⇒ ⇒ 1 1 0
2
⇒ 1 1
along the boundary.
This implies that the boundary is a ellipse provided we set
1
1
or

Therefore, we choose the warping function as

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 15

The torsional constant for the elliptic cross-section is

2 2

2 2

The values of and are

;
4 4
Therefore, we get

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 16

 The shear stress components are
2

The resultant shear stress is

2

2
at

The warping displacement is

,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 17

 SUMMARY
• The twist per unit length is

• The shear stresses are

2

• The displacement components are

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 18

 Warping displacement u
Contour plot for warping displacement u

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 19

Stress function approach:
This alternate approach is due to Saint-Venant and Prandtl which is also known as stress function
approach.
Here, a continuous differentiable function , is assumed. This , is referred as Saint-Venant’s
stress function and has the following property

The equilibrium equation in x-direction is,

0
The above equation can be written in terms of the function as
0
This holds whenever the function shows continuity through its second derivative.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 20

Now we consider the following non-vanishing strain compatibility equations

⇒ 0

⇒ 0
This implies
. as we already noted: , and ,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 21

 1

Again, we have , and ,

Thus, inserting the values of , and , , we obtain
2

This is the equation of compatibility for the problem of torsion of prismatic bars.
Any function , continuous through its second derivatives which satisfies the above equation
now automatically provides both equilibrium and compatibility.
Any partial differential equation of this form is also called Poisson’s equation*.

*named after Siméon-Denis Poisson(1781-1840), who also discovered Poisson’s ratio.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 22

Boundary condition:
The lateral surface is stress free, i.e., 0 0

Again, we have and 0, , with ; and

These imply and

In light of the above we write the boundary condition as

0
or
, . on the boundary

The magnitude of this constant height of the , surface along the boundary is arbitrary
because the stresses are defined in terms of the derivatives of rather than itself. Therefore,
without loss of generality, we assume that , 0 everywhere along the boundary of the cross
section.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 23

The torque is now calculated as

2
Here we use the divergence theorem (integration-by-parts in higher dimension)
Recall: we have assumed , 0 everywhere along the boundary!
Therefore, the torque developed by the shearing stresses about x-axis must be

2
The total twisting moment on any section is equal to twice the volume under the surface , .
Again, we have

Thus , the formula for follows directly from the expression for the torque as
2

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 24

 Therefore, every torsion problem is equivalent of solving the following

Warping function approach Stress function approach

Step-1 Step-1
Find a function that satisfies Find a function that satisfies
1. 0 in the domain and 1. 2 in the domain and
2. 0 along the boundary 2. 0 along the boundary
Step 2
Step-2 Calculate the torsional constant
Calculate the torsional constant
2
⁄
Step-3 Step-3
Identify the displacement components Identify the stress components
,
, and
,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 25

 Warping function approach (cont.) Stress function approach (cont.)
Step-4 Step 4
Identify the stress components With , and ,
recover the displacement components from
1

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 26

Torsion of shaft with elliptic cross-section
Let us consider the stress function as 1 .
This stress function satisfies 0 at the boundary.

The constant A can be identified from the compatibility equation as

1 1
2 ⇒
or

Thus we have
1
The developed torque can be calculated as
2 1 1 2 1 1
2

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 27

Torsion of shaft with elliptic cross-section (cont.)
2 1 1

Again, we have
; ; and A
4 4
Thus,

The angle of twist can be expressed in terms of the torque as

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 28

 Torsion of thin-walled section

• The thin-walled section can be thought as an

assemblage of several rectangular sections

• Let us consider the rectangular section FIRST.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 29

Rectangular section with y ∈ , and z ∈ ,

32 1 cosh
, 1 2 cos
cosh 2
, , ,… Very thin rectangular section
2
with y ∈ , and z ∈ ,
sinh where b ≫
16 1 2 cos
cosh 2
, , ,…
2
,
4
16 1 cosh
2 1 2 sin 0
cosh 2
, , ,…
2
2

32 1 sinh ,
, 2 sin
cosh 2
, , ,…
2

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 30

Rectangular section with y ∈ , and z ∈ , Very thin rectangular section
with y ∈ , and z ∈ ,
2 2 192 1 where b ≫
1 tanh
3 2
, , ,…
2 2
3

2 2

16 1
2 1 sech
2
, , ,…

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 31

 Torsion of square shaft Stress potential

Deformed

Both and are present in this case

Warping displacement
,

Undeformed

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 32

Torsion of rectangular shaft Stress potential

Deformed

is taking its maximum value

Note: It is tangential to the boundary!

Warping displacement
,
Undeformed

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 33

 Stress potential
Torsion of thin rectangular shaft

Z Axis
0 -4 -2 0 2 4
2 -4
X Axis 4
6
-3
8

10
-2 in nonzero only at the ends!
-4
-1

-3 Y Axis
0

-2 1

-1 2

3
Y Axis 0

4
1
0

2 2

4
3

6 X Axis
4
-4
-2
8
0
Warping displacement
is taking its maximum value
Z Axis
2

,
10

Note: It is tangential to the boundary!

4

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 34

 Stress potential

If we neglect the end effects then becomes parallel to the

boundary and vary linearly across the thickness

Warping displacement ,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 35

Each part is very thin rectangular section with
b≫

Torsional constant

Maximum shear stress in ith part

Maximum shear stress

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 36

Topologically equivalent to very thin rectangular
section with
b≫

Torsional constant

t1
Maximum shear stress

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 37

Each part is very thin rectangular section with
b≫

Torsional constant

Maximum shear stress in ith part

Maximum shear stress

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 38

SUMMARY: Thin-walled open section

∑
Torsional constant
3

Maximum shear stress in ith part

Maximum shear stress

Angle of twist per unit length,

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 39

Torsion of thin-walled tubes

Consider equilibrium of the element

having length ∆
Equilibrium along x-axis:
Summing the forces in the x direction,
we get
∆ ∆ 0
This implies
.

Hence, regardless of the variation in the

thickness, the product of the shearing
stress and the thickness at every point is
a constant

This product represents a force per unit

length of arc of the curve s and is
known as shear flow.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 40

Torsion of thin-walled tubes (contd.)

The word ‘flow’ is due to the similarity of

the above equation with the continuity
equation associated with the flow of
incompressible fluid through a tube of
varying cross-section.

Thus, if q is the shear flow, the shearing

stress at point i is simply and the
force developed on an infinitesimal
element ∆ is ∆ .

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 41

Torsion of thin-walled tubes (contd.)
To evaluate the total torque developed by the shear flow, we
denote by r the perpendicular distance form O on the cross-
sectional plane to a tangent drawn to ant point P on the
boundary curve.

The differential torque developed due to this shear flow can be

written as
∆ ∆
NOTE: The quantity ∆ amounts twice the sectorial area, i.e.,
2∆Ω on the cross-sectional plane.

Thus, the total developed torque is

2 Ω⇒
2Ω
Where the sectional area is denoted by Ω ∮ . It is the area
swept by .
However, for the cross-sectional area we use A with

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 42

Torsion of thin-walled tubes (contd.)

The shear stress at any point is

2Ω

The angle of twist per unit length ?

• The thickness of the tube, i.e., , is small.

• The shear stress is uniform over .

In describing the deformation we use the following two

displacement components
1. Warping displacement along x direction, i.e., ,
2. Displacement component in the cross-sectional plane
that is tangential to the boundary curve, i.e., ,
Further, we assume that a point P on the boundary is
undergoing torsional deformation and occupying a new
position Q.
The angle of twist is small.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 43

The tangential displacement component, , , now, can be
computed as

sin cos
The shear strain, is computed as

Thus, we have

Integrating the above, we write

i.e., we traverse the boundary curve from point 1 to point 2.

Let the total peripheral length of the cross-section be S.

Now, setting 0 and , we obtain

2 Ω 0⇒
2 Ω 4 Ω

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 44

Therefore, we see that the torsional constant is
4Ω
∮
For closed tube of uniform thickness ,
4Ω

The warping displacement of point 2 at | with respect

to point 1 at | can be expressed in terms of the torque
as
1 1
2Ω

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 45

 Torsion of multi-cell tube

Consider the cross-section of a tube which has two cells

as shown in figure. Further, we use to denote the
shear flow in cell-1 and to denote the shear flow in
cell-2. the section area of cell-1 and cell-2 are
represented by Ω and Ω , respectively.

By considering equation of equilibrium, we write

2 Ω Ω

When the cells warp they warp in such a way that the
entire cross-section and each cell rotate at the same rate
of twist .

The effective shear flow in the web 2-5 is

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 46

 Torsion of multi-cell tube (cont.)

Thus, for cell-1, we write

1
2 Ω
1
2 Ω
1
2 Ω
1
2 Ω

Similarly, for cell-2, we write

1
2 Ω

Here, and are used to denote the peripheral lengths of cell-1 and cell-2, respectively.
The quantity Γ represents the edge length of cell-1 that is shared by cell-2 and measured from
point-2 to point-5.
Γ is the edge length of cell-2 which is shared by cell-1 and measured from point-5 to point-1.

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 47

 Torsion of multi-cell tube (cont.)

Therefore, we get following two linear algebraic

equations involving and

2 Ω

2 Ω

Now, the shear flows and can be calculated by

solving the above linear equations!

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 48

 Torsion of multi-cell (n-cells) tube
STEP-1
Form the cell compatibility equations

For ith cell

2 Ω

where is the total number of neighbors of ith cell.

Solve the generated linear equations and identify , ,…, .

STEP-2
Calculate the developed torque

2 Ω

The torsional constant for the entire cross-section is calculated

as

6 October 2016 Solid Mechanics | Torsion 49