Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

Chapter 3
Torsion

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Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

Outline
• 3.1 Introduction
• 3.2 Torsional Deformations of a Circular Bar
• 3.3 Circular Bars of Linearly Elastic Materials
• 3.4 Non-uniform Torsion
• 3.5 Stresses and Strains in Pure Shear
• 3.6 Relationship Between Moduli of Elasticity E and G
• 3.8 Statically Indeterminate Torsional Members

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Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

Learning Objectives
• Study twisting of circular bars and hollow shafts acted on by
torsional moments.
• Develop the torsion formula, relating shear stress with radial
distance.
• Define the torque-displacement relationship.
• Find both normal and shear stresses on inclined sections of circular
shafts.
• Define the relationship between the elastic modulus and the
shearing modulus.
• Study power transmission by circular shafts, relating power, torque,
and speed.
• Find support reaction moments in statically indeterminate shafts.

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 Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

3.1 Introduction
• Torsion (扭力P)– twisting of a straight bar when
it is loaded by moments, thereby producing
rotations about the longitudinal axis of the bar.

• Torques (扭矩T)– moments that produce the

twisting of a bar or shaft.

𝑇 = 𝑃𝑑
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3.2 Torsional Deformations

of a Circular Bar
• Angle of Twist– Torque on a shaft causes one end to rotate
through a small angle ϕ with respect to the opposite end. Also
called “angle of rotation”.
r
• Shear Strain at the Outer Surface:  max = ϕ = angle of twist
L r = radius of shaft
• Applicable for pure torsion only.

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(𝜃 = tan 𝜃 = sin 𝜃)

 is the rate of twist

ρ = internal radius
r = outside radius

 is the total angle of twist

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Circular Tubes
• Shear Strains in Circular Tubes:

r2 r1
 max =  min = r1 = inner radius
r2 = outer radius
L L

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3.3 Circular Bars

of Linearly Elastic Materials
• Hooke’s Law in Shear:

 = G (3-8)

• Substituting shear strain equations yields:

r 
 max =G =  max
L r

• τmax = shear stress at the outer surface

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The Torsion Formula

• The moment of this shear force if

 =  max
r
F = τdA
The resultant moment is

• where Ip is the polar moment of inertia = torsional constant

(極慣性矩)

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Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

The Torsion Formula

• Relates shear stress with torque through the
integration of elemental moments across the cross
section of a circular shaft.

Tr
 max = (3-13)
Ip
where Ip is the polar moment of inertia for a circle

 r4 d4
Ip = =
2 32

• Units: SI → N∙m

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Angle of Twist
Tr
 max =
Ip
• From the torsion formula one obtains:
TL 𝐺𝐼𝑝
𝜑=θL = (3-17) 𝑇= 𝜑
GI p 𝐿

GI p
• Torsional Stiffness: kT = (3-18a,b)
L

L
• Torsional Flexibility: fT =
GI p

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𝐸
𝐺=
2(1 + 𝑣)

 𝜎 = E𝜀   𝜏 = 𝐺𝛾 
𝑇𝑟 𝑟
𝜎 = 𝑃/𝐴 𝜀 = 𝛿/𝐿 𝜏= 𝛾=
𝐼𝑝 𝐿

EA 𝐺𝐼𝑝
P P=
L
𝛿 δ T 𝑇=
𝐿
 
PL 𝑇𝐿
(δ = ) ( = )
EA 𝐺𝐼𝑝
𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋𝑑 4
𝐼𝑝 = 𝑜𝑟 12
2 32
Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

EXAMPLE 3-1
A solid steel bar of circular cross section (Fig. 3-11) has a diameter
D = 40mm, length L = 1.3m, and shear modulus of elasticity
G = 80GPa. The bar is subjected to torques T acting at the ends.

(a) If the torques have a magnitude T = 340N‧m, what is the

maximum shear stress in the bar? What is the angle of twist
between the ends?
(b) If the allowable shear stress is 42MPa and the allowable angle of
twist is 2.5° ,what is the maximum permissible torque?

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EXAMPLE 3-1
Solution:
Part (a): Maximum shear stress and angle of twist.
1, 2. Conceptualize [hypothesize, sketch], Categorize [simplify,
classify]: Because the bar has a solid circular cross section,
compute the maximum shear stress from Eq. (3-14) as
𝑇𝑟
𝜏=
𝐼𝑝

In a similar manner, the angle of twist is obtained from Eq. (3-17)

with the polar moment of inertia given by Eq. (3-12).

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EXAMPLE 3-1
Part (b): Maximum permissible torque.
3. Analyze: Beginning with the shear stress, rearrange Eq. (3-14)
and calculate as

Any torque larger than this value will result in a shear stress that
exceeds the allowable stress of 42MPa.
Using a rearranged Eq. (3-17), now calculate the torque based upon
the angle of twist:
𝐺𝐼𝑝
𝑇= 
𝐿

The maximum permissible torque is the smaller of

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EXAMPLE 3-2
A steel shaft is to be manufactured either as a solid circular bar or
as a circular tube (Fig. 3-12). The shaft is required to transmit a
torque of 1200N‧m without exceeding an allowable shear stress of
40MPa nor an allowable rate of twist of 0.75°/m. (The shear
modulus of elasticity of the steel is 78GPa.)

(a) Determine the required diameter d0 of the solid shaft.

(b) Determine the required outer diameter d2

of the hollow shaft if the thickness t of the
shaft is specified as one-tenth of the outer
diameter.

(c) Determine the ratio of diameters (that is,

the ratio d2/d0) and the ratio of weights of the
hollow and solid shafts.
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EXAMPLE 3-2
Solution:
Part (a): Solid shaft.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: The required diameter d0 is
determined either from the allowable shear stress or from the
allowable rate of twist.
3. Analyze: In the case of the allowable shear stress, rearrange Eq.
(3-14) and obtain

so the required diameter is

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EXAMPLE 3-2
In the case of the allowable rate of twist, start by finding the required
polar moment of inertia [see Eq. (3-16)]:

Since the polar moment of inertia is equal to π d 4/32, the required

diameter is

or

The required diameter of the solid shaft is (the larger one): d 0=58.8mm

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EXAMPLE 3-2
Part (b): Hollow shaft.
3. Analyze: Begin by noting that the outer diameter of the bar is d 2
and the inner diameter is

Thus, the polar moment of inertia [Eq. (3-19)] is

In the case of the allowable shear stress, use the torsion formula
[Eq. (3-13)] as

Rearrange to get
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EXAMPLE 3-2
In the case of the allowable rate of twist, use Eq. (3-16) with θ
replaced by θallow and Ip replaced by the previously obtained
expression; thus,

from which

Solving for d2 gives

which the required diameter = 67.1mm based upon the rate of twist.

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EXAMPLE 3-2
Part (c): Ratios of diameters and weights.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: The ratio of the outer diameter of
the hollow shaft to the diameter of the solid shaft (using the
calculated values) is

3. Analyze: Since the weights of the shafts are proportional to their

cross-sectional areas, express the ratio of the weight of the hollow
shaft to the weight of the solid shaft as

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EXAMPLE 3-3 (HW)

A hollow shaft and a solid shaft constructed of the same material
have the same length and the same outer radius R (Fig. 3-13). The
inner radius of the hollow shaft is 0.6R.

(a) Assuming that both shafts are subjected to the same torque,
compare their shear stresses, angles of twist, and weights.

(b) Determine the strength-to-weight ratios for both shafts.

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3.4 Non-uniform Torsion

• Prismatic segments with constant torque in each segment.
• Determine the magnitude and direction of the internal
torque for each segment through the “cut” method.

• Sign Convention
• Vector Points Away: Positive (+)
• Vector Points Inwards: Negative (-)

• Angle of Twist for a Segmented Shaft:

n n
Ti Li
 = 1 + 2 + ... + n or  =  i =
i =1 i =1 Gi ( I p )i
(3-23) (3-24) 23
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3.4 Non-uniform Torsion

• Bar with continuously varying cross sections
and constant torque.

• Maximum shear stress occurs at the smallest

diameter.

• The differential angle of rotation for this

element is

• Angle of Twist for a Varying Cross Section:

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3.4 Non-uniform Torsion

• Bar with continuously varying cross
sections and continuously varying torque.

• Torque is now a function of the bar’s

length.

• Angle of Twist for a Varying Cross Section

and a Varying Toque:

L L
T ( x)dx
 =  d =  (3-27)
0 0
GI p ( x)

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Torsional Moment and

Displacement Diagram (TMD/TDD)

L L
T ( x)dx
 =  d = 
0 0
GI p ( x)

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EXAMPLE 3-4
A solid steel shaft ABCDE (Fig. 3-18) having a diameter d = 30mm
turns freely in bearings at points A and E. The shaft is driven by a
gear at C, which applies a torque T2 = 450N·m in the direction
shown in the figure. Gears at B and D are driven by the shaft and
have resisting torques T1 = 275N．m and T3 = 175N·m, respectively,
acting in the opposite direction to the torque T2. Segments BC and
CD have lengths LBC = 500mm and LCD = 400mm, respectively, and
the shear modulus is G = 80GPa.

Determine the maximum shear stress in each part of the shaft

and the angle of twist between gears B and D.

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EXAMPLE 3-4
Solution:
1. Conceptualize: Each segment of the bar is prismatic and subjected
to a constant torque (Case 1). Therefore, the analysis procedure is to
determine the torques acting in the segments, followed by calculation
of the shear stresses and angles of twist in each segment. Cutting the
shaft in segments BC and CD gives the free-body diagrams (FBDs)
shown in Fig. 3-19.

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EXAMPLE 3-4
3. Analyze:
Shear stresses: The maximum shear stresses in segments BC
and CD are found from the modified form of the torsion formula
[Eq. (3-14)]; thus,

Since the direction of shear stresses are not of the interest of this
example, only absolute values of the torques are used in the
preceding calculations.

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EXAMPLE 3-4
Angles of twist: The angle of twist ∅ BD between gears B and D is
the algebraic sum of the angles of twist for the intervening segments
of the bar, as given by Eq. (3-23); thus,

When calculating the individual angles of twist, use the polar

moment of inertia of the cross section, which is computed as

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EXAMPLE 3-4
Now find the angles of twist, as

And

Add algebraically to obtain the total angle of twist:

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EXAMPLE 3-4
With all internal torques known, plot the TMD and TDD as shown in
Fig. 3-20.

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EXAMPLE 3-5 (HW)

Two sections (AB, BC) of steel drill pipe, joined by bolted flange
plates at B, are being tested to assess the adequacy of both the
pipe and the bolted connection (see Fig. 3-21).
In the test, the pipe structure is fixed at A, a concentrated torque
2T0 is applied at x = 2L/5, and a uniformly distributed torque with
intensity t0 = 3T0 /L is applied on pipe BC.

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EXAMPLE 3-5 (HW)

(a) Find the maximum shear stress τmax in the pipes and its location.
Assume that load variable T0 = 226kN·m. Let G = 81GPa, and assume
that both pipes have the same inner diameter d = 250mm. Pipe AB
has a thickness of tAB = 19mm, while pipe BC has a thickness of tBC =
16mm.

(b) Find the expressions for twist rotation ∅(x) over the length of the
pipe structure. If the maximum allowable twist of the pipe structure is
∅ allow = 0.5°, find the maximum permissible value of load variable T0
(kN·m). Let L = 3m. Also, plot the torsional moment diagram (TMD)
and the torsional displacement diagram (TDD).

(c) Use maximum T0 from part (b) to find the number of db = 22mm
diameter bolts at radius r = 380 mm required in the flange plate
connection at B. Assume that the allowable shear stress for the bolts
is τ a = 190MPa.
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3.5 Stresses and Strains

in Pure Shear
• Pure Shear– the only stresses acting on an
element are shear stresses.

• Sign Convention
• Positive Face:
• Positive if shear stress acts in the positive direction
of a coordinate axis.
• Negative if shear stress acts in the negative direction
of a coordinate axis.
• Negative Face:
• Positive if shear stress acts in a negative direction of
a coordinate axis.
• Negative if shear stress acts in a positive direction of
a coordinate axis

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3.5 Stresses and Strains

in Pure Shear

• Apply equilibrium equations and trigonometric identities to an element.

• Inclined Normal Stress:   =  sin 2

θ = angle of face to the horizontal

• Inclined Shear Stress:   =  cos 2 τ = ordinary shear stresses
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3.5 Stresses and Strains

in Pure Shear  =  sin 2    =  cos 2

• Inclined Normal Stress:

• Maximum value at θ=45°
(Tension)
• Minimum value at θ=-45°
(Compression)
• Zero at θ=0° and 90°

• Inclined Shear Stress:

• Maximum value at θ=0° and 90°
• Zero at θ=±45°

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3.5 Stresses and Strains

in Pure Shear

Since the maximum tensile stress acts on the inclined plane of 45 o,

this explain why brittle material will crack along a 45 o helical surface
when it is subjected to torque.

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3.5 Stresses and Strains

in Pure Shear
• Shear Distortion– the change in shape 0o 45o
of the element under pure shear.

• Following Hooke’s law

• The shear strain at θ = 0o is:
 = G
• Normal Strain in the 45° direction:

(Will be derived in Ch 3.6) 50

Mechanics of Materials, 9e, SI Edition Goodno/Gere

EXAMPLE 3-6
A circular tube with an outside diameter of 80mm and an inside
diameter of 60mm is subjected to a torque T = 4.0kN·m (Fig. 3-30).
The tube is made of aluminum alloy 7075-T6 (G = 27GPa in Appendix I).
(a) Determine the maximum shear, tensile, and
compressive stresses in the tube and show
these stresses on sketches of properly oriented
stress elements.
(b) Determine the corresponding maximum strains
in the tube and show these strains on sketches
of the deformed elements.
(c) What is the maximum permissible torque Tmax
if the allowable normal strain is ε a = 0.9·10-3?
(d) If T = 4.0kN·m and ε a = 0.9·10-3, what new
outer diameter is required so that the tube can
carry the required torque T (assume that the
inner diameter of the tube remains at 60 mm)?
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EXAMPLE 3-6
Solution:
Part (a): Maximum stresses.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: The maximum values of all three
stresses are equal numerically, Their magnitudes are found from
the torsion formula:

The maximum tensile and compressive stresses are

These stresses act on planes at 45o to the axis (Fig. 3-31b).

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EXAMPLE 3-6
Part (b): Maximum strains.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: The maximum shear strain in the
tube is obtained from Eq. (3-30). The shear modulus of elasticity is
obtained from Table I-2, Appendix I, as G = 27GPa.
Therefore, the maximum shear strain is

The magnitude of the maximum normal strains is

Thus, the maximum tensile and compressive strains are

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EXAMPLE 3-6

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EXAMPLE 3-6
Part (c): Maximum permissible torque.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: The tube is in pure shear, so the
allowable shear strain is twice the allowable normal strain [see Eq.
(3-32)]:

From the shear formula [Eq. (3-13)],

where d2 is the outer diameter. Substituting numerical values gives

< 4.0 kN·m

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EXAMPLE 3-6
Part (d): New outer diameter of tube.
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize: Use the previous equation but
with T = 4.0kN·m to find the required outer diameter d2:

Solving for the required outer diameter d2 numerically gives

Outer diameter d2 is larger than that in part (c), as expected, since

the applied torque here is larger than Tmax in part (c).

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3.6 Relationship Between Moduli of

Elasticity E and G

In the 45° direction the length of diagonal bd is

This length can be related to the shear strain γ by considering

the geometry of the deformed element.

• Apply geometric relationships, Hooke’s law, and strain identities.

E
• Shear Modulus: G= (3-35)
2(1 + )
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Equations

Based on the triangle theorems/

cosine law: (c2=a2+b2-2abcosθ)

0
Because ε and γ are very small, we can disregard ε2max in comparison with
2εmax and we can replace sin γ by γ. The resulting expression can then be

Combining  = G and
E
we can yield G=
2(1 + ) 58
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3.8 Statically Indeterminate

Torsional Members
• Statically indeterminate torsional members (such
as the one pictured) need additional equations to
solve for the unknown torques.
• General Process

• Step 1: Apply equations of equilibrium.

• Step 2: Formulate equations of compatibility.

• Step 3: Apply torque-displacement relations.

• Step 4: Solve the resulting system of equations.

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Equations
The equation of equilibrium is

The equation of compatibility is

By the torque-displacement relations

The equation of compatibility becomes

The results are

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EXAMPLE 3-9
The bar ACB shown in Figs. 3-37a and b is fixed at both ends and
loaded by a torque T0 at point C. Segments AC and CB of the bar
have diameters dA and dB, lengths LA and LB, and polar moments of
inertia IpA and IpB, respectively. The material of the bar is the same
throughout both segments. Obtain formulas for

(a) the reactive torques TA and TB at

the ends,

(b) the maximum shear stresses τAC

and τCB in each segment of the bar,
and

(c) the angle of rotation ∅ C at the

cross section where the load T0 is
applied.
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EXAMPLE 3-9
Solution:
1, 2. Conceptualize, Categorize:
Equation of equilibrium: The load T0 produces reactions TA and
TB at the fixed ends of the bar, as shown in Figs. 3-37a and b.
Equilibrium of the bar gives

Because there are two unknowns in this equation (and no other

useful equations of equilibrium), the bar is statically indeterminate.

The equation of compatibility at end B is

Note that φ2 is negative

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EXAMPLE 3-9
Torque-displacement equations: The angles of twist ∅1 and ∅2 can
be expressed in terms of the torques T0 and TB by referring to Figs.
3-37c and d and using the equation ∅ = TL/GIp.

The minus signs appear in Eq. (d) because TB produces a rotation

that is opposite in direction to the positive direction of ∅2 (Fig. 3-37d).

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EXAMPLE 3-9

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EXAMPLE 3-9
Now substitute the angles of twist [Eqs. (c) and (d)] into the
compatibility equation [Eq. (b)] and obtain

The results are

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EXAMPLE 3-9
Maximum shear stresses: The maximum shear stresses in each
part of the bar are obtained directly from the torsion formula:

Substituting from Eqs. (3-49a and b) gives

By comparing the product LBdA with the product LAdB, you can
immediately determine which segment of the bar has the larger
stress.

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EXAMPLE 3-9
Angle of rotation: The angle of rotation ∅C at section C is equal to
the angle of twist of either segment of the bar, since both segments
rotate through the same angle at section C. Therefore, the angle of
rotation is

In the special case of a prismatic bar ( IpA = IpB = Ip ), the angle of

rotation at the section where the load is applied is

The TDD for the case of a prismatic bar is shown in Fig. 3-37f.

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