Torsion of Thin-Walled Sections

AE2135-I Structural Analysis & Design

Joris Melkert & Calvin Rans

Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology

Torsion of Thin-Walled Sections

AE2135-I Structural Analysis & Design
Content
• Review of torsion in circular and thin-walled shafts
• Torsion of a thin rectangular plate
• Application of torsion of thin rectangular plate to solve torsion of thin-walled open
sections

What you must know (as a minimum) at the end of the lecture
• General understanding of how the governing equation of torsion is obtained
• Ability to calculate torsional rigidity (and torsional constant J), angle of twist, and shear
stress for thin walled open and closed sections under torsion
• General understanding of the difference in torsional response of thin-walled open and
closed beam section

Relevant textbook material

• Chapter 3.4 and all of Chapter 18

1
 A Note About the Textbook

Recall Theory of Elasticity

Strain-Displacement Relationship Constitutive Equations (Hooke’s Law)
u v w y
 xy
x   yz   x  z
z y  x       T xy
G
x E E E
v u w     xz
  y  x  z    T  xz 
(1.10 - 1.15)
y   xz   (1.1-1.6)
y z x y
E E E G
w u v z x y  yz
z   xy   z       T  yz 
z y x E E E G
Equilibrium Equations
 x  xy  xz
  X 0
x y z
 yx  y  yz
  Y  0 (1.7 - 1.9)
x y z
 zx  zy  z
  Z 0
x y z 4 2
Solving using Stress Functions
For any given problem, all of the stresses are functions of x, y, and z; which satisfy the
boundary conditions of the problem and the Theory of Elasticity.

Rather than solving for these stresses directly, we can postulate a single function of x, y,
and z that we can relate to the stress in such a way that satisfy equilibrium - a so-called
Stress Function (ϕ(x,y,z)).

Once a stress function that satisfies the conditions is known, you can reverse engineer
that solution to find what problem it actually solves – the so-called inverse method

This approach is used in the textbook for many problems and is discussed in Chapter 2.

I will try and take a different approach in trying to help you visualize/understand what is
happening rather than overwhelming you with mathematics.
5

Torsion of Solid Circular Shafts - Review

3
 Torsion of a Solid Circular Shaft
Review
x

z
y

dz
Note: in mechanics you used a
different symbol for the angle
7

Torsion Creates a State of Pure Shear

x We derived for this stress/strain state equations for

γmax resultant torque and angle of twist:

r
dA ρ J T
y α T   (3.1)
τmax  J

d T
  (3.2)
  max dz GJ
r
J    2 dA
 
 G max   max A
r r Polar Moment of Inertia
4
If Further Review is Necessary
• https://youtu.be/bEy0Pq2HRW8
• https://youtu.be/Ybx9yr-uXh4
• https://youtu.be/6jpptizVo1g

Torsion of Thin-Walled Closed-Section

Shafts - Review

5
 Torsion of Thin-Walled Tubes
Review
Assume variation of τ through
Constraints on section thickness is negligible
• Thin-walled (t << cross section dimensions)
• Closed section (tube)
• Thickness can vary along section, but constant τ
along length Convert into shear flow
q = τt
x
q
z
y a b
dz

d c

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To be derived in class

6
Angle of Twist of a Thin-Walled Closed Section

In Mechanics of Materials, you also worked with an equation for the angle of twist of a
thin-walled closed section. The derivation for this was not given at the time, but is
available in your textbook (solved using stress functions).

d T 1
dz 4 Am2 G Lm t
 ds (3.4)

You might be more familiar with the equation

below, which is simply the result of integrating
eqn. 3.4 for a shaft of constant cross-section
of length L
TL 1
 2 

4 AmG Lm t
ds
15

If Further Review is Necessary

• https://youtu.be/cOvZ2nVq1k0
• https://youtu.be/CWET8gJWl4A

16 7
 Torsion of Thin Rectangular Plate

First consider what happens to a rectangular

x
section under torsion
z
Free surfaces
y



0
τxz 0
τxy x

y Fluid flow analogy

18 8
 Torsion of a Thin Rectangular Plate
z
x
y L

s T
x t

y
Constraints on section t
• Thin-walled (t << s)
s
• Not a closed section (eqn. 3.3 does not apply!) Visualization of shear stress
• Cannot neglect variation of shear through the in the plate section
thickness

19

To be derived in class

9
 What did we do wrong? We neglected the through-thickness
component of the shear stress to derive this

 max st 2
x t T
6
y
s Actual Solution (see textbook for derivation):
Let’s look closely at what this means:
• Vertical component concentrated in the ends of
the section  max st 2
• Resultant force due to this stress is very small T (3.5a)
• But moment arm is very large! 3
Thus, contribution to torque is not negligible!
Note: part we originally neglected accounts
for ½ the resistance to Torque!
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Overall Solution So Far

See derivation in
your textbook
3T d 3T
Thin plate:  max  (3.5)  (3.6)
st 2 dz Gst 3


q

T d T 1
dz 4 Am2 G Lm t
Thin-walled
Closed section:
(3.3)  ds (3.4)
t 2tAm

T d T
Circular section:
 (3.1)  (3.2)
J dz GJ
23 10
Generalized Empirical Solution for a Rectangular
Section
Tt d T
 max  (3.5b)  (3.6b)
J dz GJ 

Where: J   st 3 and J    st 3

s/t 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.1 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 10.0 ∞
α 0.208 0.219 0.231 0.246 0.258 0.267 0.282 0.291 0.299 0.312 1/3
β 0.141 0.166 0.196 0.229 0.249 0.263 0.281 0.291 0.299 0.312 1/3

Only about a 6% error when using our

thin-walled rule of thumb 24

Torsion of Thin-Walled Open Sections

11
What if we wanted to analyze these sections?
t t1
w2

r
r t

h t1
h

t2

w1
w
“unwrap” and treat like thin rectangular plate(s)
26

Examples

12
Influence of a Slit on Torsion of a Circular Shaft
Example Problem

Quantify the effect of a thin slit in the cross-section of a thin-walled circular shaft,
as illustrated below, on the maximum shear stress and angle of twist per unit
length of the shaft.
t t

r r

slit

28

To be solved in class

13
Torsion of J-Stiffener
Example Problem
1mm Calculate the maximum stress and angle of twist per
unit length of the J-stringer profile shown to the left
for an internal torque T = 5Nm. You can give your
answer as a magnitude as the direction of the torque
15mm is not given.
1mm
35mm

Material has a shear modulus, G = 28GPa

2mm

20mm
32

To be solved in class

14
Suggested Practice Problems
• Torque of thin-walled closed sections
• P.18.1, P.18.3, P.18.5, P.18.7
• Torque of thin-walled open sections
• P.18.8, P.18.9, P.18.13
• Note:
• Reference in the textbook to the Bredt-Batho theory means that eqns. 3.3
and 3.4 apply.
• Some of the other problems in the textbook refer to warping. Warping is
caused if the shear stress distribution is not constant within a section.
Conceptually, you should understand this, but we have not looked at
calculations of warping displacements.

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