oer eerretieencmsetei nee anrnn 1. DESIGNING FOR TORSION 1.1 Introduction When a member is subject to torsion it will twist about a longitudinal axis which passes through the shear centre of the cross section. However, torsion will not occur if the section is loaded in such a manner that the resultant force passes through the shear centre. In the majority of design situations, the loads are applied so that the resultant force passes through the centroid. If the section is doubly symmetric, this automatically climinates torsion because the centroid and the shear centre coincide, In most cases, the load transfer through the connections of the members apply’ the loads may be regarded as ensuring that these loads are effectively applied through the shear centre. This is also generally true of loads from floor slabs supported on the top flange of beams, even for channel sections. Designing to transfer loads by means of torsion should be avoided wherever possible, as it is not usually an efficient method of resisting loads. When this is not possible, care should be taken to arrange framing so as to minimise any torsion. Attention to detail, particularly when considering how loads are actually transferred to members, can minimise or even eliminate many potential difficulties associated with torsional effects. Where significant torsional eccentricity is unavoidable, consideration should be given to the use of box girders, comprising either a lattice girder fully triangulated on all faces or hollow rolled or plated sections. ‘The assumptions made when using a computer program to analyse a grillage or three-dimensional framework should also be considered. If the members and joints are assumed to have torsional resistance, then torsional moments will be included in the output. In order to maintain equilibrium with the applied loads, these must, then be taken into account in designing the joints and the members. If, on the other hand, the members and joints are assumed not to have torsional resistance, no torsional moments will arise and the remaining moments and forces will be in equilibrium with the applied loads. In most cases this approach will be the more practical. However, this assumption should not be used for fatigue analy ‘The above is an example of a broader principle, which is valid duc to the ductility of steelwork. Unless it is necessary to utilise the torsional resistance of a member, itis not necessary to take account of it. As always, the details of the joints must be made consistent with the assumptions made in the analysis. 1.2 Scope of the publication This publication is concerned with the minority of cases where the load is eccentric to the shear centre. Whilst it is important to recognise and deal with such cases when they occur, it is also important not to apply its methods where they are not necessary ‘When loading is eccentric with respect to the shear centre, the response of the member may conveniently be examined by separating the loading into bending and torsional components. Bending stresses and deflections can be obtained in the usual manner by assuming that the loads act through the shear centre and resolving the forces into components parallel to the principal axes. Torsional stresses and deformations can be calculated for standard cases using the Tables (Section 5) and Graphs (Section 6) in this publication. For non-standard cases and for determination of the torsional effects at other than the critical positions, equations have been provided in Appendix B. ‘The user may then choose between hand or computerised methods of calculation.‘The combined bending and torsional effects (Section 2.3) are then checked by means consistent with the methods used in BS 5950: Part 1.) ‘This publication is principally concerned with providing guidance for the design of hot rolled open sections. However, guidance is also given on the design of hot rolled tubular sections but reference should be made to more detailed literature for the design of Box Girders.” Members which are curved on plan or which contain particularly slender plate elements, e.g. cold formed sections, are not considered in this publication. Detailed guidance on these topics is given in References 2 to 5. Examples in Section 4 have been provided to illustrate the use of the Tables (Section 5) and Graphs (Section 6) for standard cases. 1.3 Choice of member ‘The initial choice of member in design situations not affected by torsion tends to be governed by the proportions of axial load to bending moment and the unrestrained length of the section. For members predominantly subject to bending, an I section such as a universal beam will produce an efficient design. Similarly for members subject to axial loading, a universal column H section is a reasonable choice. When the unrestrained length of the member is high, hollow sections can be advantageous. ‘Torsional loading also has a significant influence on the initial choice of section for maximum efficiency. For reasons which are explained later in this publication, I shaped sections are particularly poor at resisting torsion while tubular sections can be very effective. Although H sections are better at resisting torsion than I sections, they are still a poor choice compared with a tubular member. ‘Torsional effects should, therefore, be taken into account early in the design process when the type of member to be used is under consideration and not left to the final stages when perhaps an inappropriate type of member has already been selected, Not only may lighter sections result, but the design time will aiso be reduced. A distinction is made in this publication between open sections such as I and channel section shapes which are poor at resisting torsion and closed sections such as tubular members which are more effective (Figure 1.1). 5 L UO Open sections Closed sections Fura 4.4. Gholce of soction2. BASIC THEORY When a member is loaded so that the resultant of the applied forces does not pass through the shear centre of the section, the member will be subject to additional stresses due to torsion as well as those due to bending, : In the method presented in publication the effects of torsion and bending are first considered separately and then combined, as explained in Section 2.3. 2.1 Torsion 2.41.4 Shear centre ‘The shear centre of a cross section lies on the longitudinal axis about which the section would twist if torsion acts on the section. If the resultant force acts through the shear centre, no twist will occur and the torsional stresses will be zero. The shear centre and the centroid are not necessarily coincident, However, ina rolled I or H section, which is symmetrical about both principal axes, the shear centre, s, coincides with the centroid, c (Figure 2.1). This is also true for sections which are point symmictric such as zed sections (Figure 2.1b). For a channel section there is a symmetry about the x-x axis only and, therefore, the shear centre lies on the x-x axis but not the y-y axis (Figure 2. 1c). Conversely, for sections which have symmetry about the yy axis only, the shear centre lies on the y-y axis but is eccentric to the x-x axis (Figure 2.1d). When the channel section is asymmetric the shear centre is eccentric to both axes (Figure 2. 1c) Methods of calculating the position of the shear centre of a cross scetion are given in Appendix A. Special cases such as angles and tees where the centre lines of the elements intersect at a single point have the shear centre located at that point (Figure 2.16), 2.1.2 Torsional resistance ‘The total resistance of a member to torsional loading is composed of the sum of two components known as ‘uniform torsion’ and ‘warping torsion’ In some cases only uniform torsion occurs, When warping is included in the torsional resistance, the member is in a state of ‘non-uniform torsion’. Uniform torsion is also referred to as ‘pure’ or ‘St Venant’ torsion. When uniform torsion occurs, the rate of change’of the angle of twist is constant along the member (Figure 2.2a)