LAB MANUAL

ME2112-L2
TORSION OF CIRCULAR SHAFTS

VENUE: EA-02-21

Semester 1, AY2017/2018

Department of Mechanical Engineering

National University of Singapore

NOTE: Wear proper attire in the laboratory. No sandals, slippers or any open-toed
shoes are allowed.

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 CONTENTS

NOMENCLATURE 3

1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. THEORY 4

3. APPARATUS 5

4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES 5

REFERENCES 6

Table 1 Experimental Data for solid and hollow shafts 7

Table 2 Strength and stiffness of hollow and solid shafts with the same outer diameter 8

Table 3 Strength and stiffness of hollow and solid shafts with the same volume 9

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 NOMENCLATURE

Dh Outer diameter of hollow shaft

Ds Diameter of solid shaft

dh Inner diameter of hollow shaft

G Shear modulus of the shaft material

Jx Polar second moment of area about the shaft axis

K Torsional stiffness

L Length of the shaft

Txx Torque

Total angle of twist of the shaft over L

x Shear stress induced at any point in the shaft cross-section

r Radial distance of a point in the shaft cross-section where the shear stress is

determined

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose

This manual provides guidelines/instruction to enable students to carry out experiments using
an apparatus to study the torsion of solid and hollow circular shafts.

1.2 Scope

The manual presents a brief theory on pure torsion of circular shafts. It also contains a list of
apparatus used and the experimental procedure to evaluate the torsional stiffness and
strengths of circular shafts.

2. THEORY

Whether a shaft is solid or hollow, its response to an applied torque may be expressed by the
following torsion formula

Txx G x
(1)
Jx L r

For a hollow shaft with Dh and d h as the outer and inner diameters respectively, its polar
second moment of area is

( J x )h ( Dh4 d h4 ) (2)
32

For a solid shaft of diameter Ds , its polar second moment of area is given by

( J x )s Ds4 (3)
32

Equation (1) also shows that the shear stress varies linearly from zero at the shaft centre to
the maximum at the outer surface of the shaft. Thus, in designing shafts for torsion, the shaft
diameter must be chosen so that the shear stress at its outer surface is less than the allowable
stress.

The twist of a shaft transmitting power should also be limited to a specified value. With
respect to this, a parameter called the torsional stiffness (K), is defined as the torque
necessary to twist the shaft by a unit angle. This is used extensively in the analysis of torsion
of shafts. It is convenient to have the torsional stiffness expressed as

T
K (4)

where T is the torque over the shaft length that is rotated by , and the magnitude of K is
given by the slope of the T- graph.

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Looking at Eq. (1) again, it is seen that for a given value of torque, its effect on a shaft
depends on the polar second moment of area, the shaft material and the shaft length. The
objective of this experiment is to study how a hollow shaft compares with a solid shaft, in
terms of deformation and stiffness.

From Eq. (1), the theoretical % difference in torsional stiffness between a hollow and a solid
shaft is as follows:

(1) For shafts with the same outer diameter the percentage difference is

4
d
K h 100 (5)
Ds

(2) For shafts with the same volume, the percentage difference is

2
D
1 s
K 2 Dh 100 (6)
2
Ds

Dh

3. APPARATUS

(1) Torsion tester

(2) Five solid brass shafts, each with a 100 mm gauge length and the following diameters:
7.93 mm, 8.94 mm, 9.74 mm, 10.39 mm and 12.0 mm.

(3) Four hollow brass shafts, each with a 100 mm gauge length and the following outer/inner
diameters: 12/6 mm, 12/7 mm, 12/8 mm and 12/9 mm.

4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

4.1 Experiment

NB. All experimental data must be recorded directly in the sheets provided.

(1) Fit one specimen into the hexagonal sockets.

(2) Press and hold to ZERO the torque meter (Nm) and angular displacement (degrees).

(3) Slowly turn the hand wheel in a clockwise direction to preload the specimen to 0.5 Nm.

(4) Again, press and hold to ZERO the torque meter and angular displacement.

(5) Slowly load specimen to generate a rotation in steps of 0.2 degrees.

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(6) Record the value of the torque applied up to a maximum of 2.0 degrees angular
displacement.

(7) Unload each specimen completely.

(8) Repeat steps 1 7 for all the other specimens.

4.2 Computation

(1) Tabulate your data in Table 1. Plot the T- graphs for all the shafts, or use regression
analysis, to obtain the torsional stiffness.

(2) Calculate the strength and torsional stiffness of the solid and hollow shafts and compare
the results for shafts with the same outer diameters (Table 2) and for shafts with the same
volume (Table 3).

(3) The results in Table 2 reveal how the stiffness, maximum shear stress and volume of a
solid shaft would change if a central hole of different sizes (defined by d h / Dh ) is bored
into a solid shaft.

(4) Plot the variables in Table 2 against ( d h / Dh ) and compare your experimental results
with the theoretical curves. Would a hollow shaft be stiffer than a solid shaft if Ds Dh ?

(5) The results in Table 3 reveal how the stiffness and maximum shear stress of two shafts
(one solid and the other hollow) would change if they have the same volume. Plot the
variation of stiffness and maximum shear stress in Table 3 against ( Ds / Dh ) and compare
your experimental results with the theoretical curves. For a given amount of material,
would you fabricate a hollow or solid shaft?

REFERENCE

Timoshenko, S.P., Gere J.M., Mechanics of Materials, 1972, p.73-80

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 Table 1: Experimental data for solid and hollow shafts

Angular Displacement Torque (Nm) for Solid Shafts Torque (Nm) for Hollow Shafts

Degrees Radians 7.93 mm 8.94 mm 9.74 mm 10.39 mm 12.0 mm 12/9 mm 12/8 mm 12/7 mm 12/6 mm

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0.20 0.003491

0.40 0.006981

0.60 0.010472

0.80 0.013963

1.00 0.017453

1.20 0.020944

1.40 0.024435

1.60 0.027925

1.80 0.031416

2.00 0.034907

Jx (mm4) 388.23 627.12 883.56 1144.09 2035.75 1391.63 1633.63 1800.03 1908.52

K (Nm/rad)

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 Table 2: Strength and stiffness of hollow and solid shafts with the same outer diameter

Theoretical % change in
Solid Shaft % change in torsional stiffness % change in volume maximum shear stress

Ds = 12 mm Vh Vs h s
V 100% 100%
Vs s
Vs = Kh Ks
K 100%
Ks
Dh 1
Ks = 3
D d h Ds
4 4
h
100%
1
Ds3
Experimental Theoretical
Hollow Shafts
1. 12/6 mm
d h / Dh =
2. 12/7 mm
d h / Dh =
3. 12/8 mm
d h / Dh =
4. 12/9 mm
d h / Dh =

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 Table 3: Strength and stiffness of hollow and solid shafts with the same volume

% Change in torsional stiffness Theoretical % change in

maximum shear stress

Kh Ks h s
K 100% 100%
Ks s

Experimental Theoretical

1. Solid, 7.93 mm dia.

Hollow, 12/9 mm

2. Solid, 8.94 mm dia.

Hollow, 12/8 mm

3. Solid, 9.74 mm dia.

Hollow, 12/7 mm

4. Solid, 10.39 mm dia.

Hollow, 12/6 mm