AE3011

Semester 1; 2012/13
By
Jan Niklewicz CEng. MIMechE
jan.niklewcz@kingston.ac.uk

Aerospace Structures and Mechanics
Jan Niklewicz
Managing Director JNDC Ltd
Specialist Engineering and Product design Company
Mainly in the Aerospace field
Managing Director Kwikbolt Ltd
Design and development and supply of specialist slave fasteners for the
aerospace industry
Clients: Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Leyland Trucks, MEP, Rediweld Ltd as
well us individuals and SMEs
Previous Director of Mechanical Engineering at KU
Lead Engineer Composites centre NP
MSc Imperial College
BEng(Hons) Kingston University
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
volume
G
U
S
=
2
2
t
When a material is subjected to a shear
stress, , the strain energy stored is given
by :




Hence, the energy stored in an axial
element of length L, width ds and thickness
t (see Figure 1) is :




ds t L
G
U
S
2
2
t
=
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)



The total strain energy, U, in the tube will be
given by:




i.e.

where q= t is the shear flow which will be
constant around the section .

t
ds

G
t L
= ds t L
G
= U
} }
2 2
2 2 2
t t

t
ds

G 2
L q
= U
2
}
t
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)

The force on the element ds is
tds = qds .

Taking moments about O gives:

qpds = 2qdA since

Integrating gives :
T = 2Aq
Therefore





ds p
2
1
= dA
}
dA q 2 = T
2A
T
= q
t A
T
=
2
t
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
If the tube twists through an angle, , the
work done will be given by :


Equating the work done to the total
internal strain energy gives:



ie:



u T
2
1
= WD

t
ds

G 2
L q
= T
2
1
2
}
u
} }
t
ds

G A
TL
=
t
ds

GT
L q
=
2
2
4
u
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)


This equation can be written in the form:





where J is the torsional constant of the
tube given by

J G
L T
= u
}
=
t
ds
A
J
2
4
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)


Hence the rate of twist per unit length
will be given by :






t
ds

2AG
q
=
dz
d
=
L
}
u u
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
Example 1
A 5 m long tailplane has the uniform cross-section shown in Figure Q1. It is
subjected to a torque of 50 kNm. Find the shear stress distribution around
the section and the angle of twist throughout the length assuming that the
centre of twist lies at the centroid of the section. Take G = 30 GPa.
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
Torsion of Closed, Thin-walled Tubes
(Bredt-Batho Theory)
Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes

}
=
t
ds
AG
q
dz
d
2
u
For single cell tubes : T = 2Aq

And

These equations may be adapted for multi-cell tubes
as follows :

Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes


The applied torque T will be the sum of the torques induced in the individual cells i.e.

R
N
R
R
q A T

=
=
1
2
Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes


and the angle of twist can be determined from

G Constant


G Variable

A
R
= enclosed area of cell R
q
R
= shear flow in the Rth cell


R-1 , R
= for the walls common to the (R 1)th and Rth cells .


( )
R R R R R R R R
R
q q q
G A dz
d
, 1 1 , 1 1
2
1
+ +
+ = o o o
u
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
+
+
+

R R
R R
R
R
R
R
R R
R R
R
R
G
q
G
q
G
q
A dz
d
, 1
, 1
1
, 1
, 1
1
2
1
o
o
o
u
}
t
ds
Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes


Note that at any junction, for equilibrium q
1
= q
2
+ q
3
.





Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes


Example 2

The tailplane in Example 1 is modified to form a 2-cell section as shown in Figure Q2.
Find the shear stress distribution and the angle of twist over a 5 m length of the
section. Take G = 30 GPa.





Torsion of Multi-cell Tubes
Let shear flows in cells and be q
1
and q
2
respectively.

A
1
= (150 + 300) 200 = 45000 mm
2


A
2
= (300 + 150) 300 = 67500 mm
2


Cell :




( )
R R R R R R R R
R
q q q
G A dz
d
, 1 1 , 1 1
2
1
+ +
+ = o o o
u
Cell:




( )
R R R R R R R R
R
q q q
G A dz
d
, 1 1 , 1 1
2
1
+ +
+ = o o o
u
( )
1 2
2
1
389.2 50
2 67500
d
q q
dz G
u
| |
=
|

\ .
Compatibility:
1 2
d d
dz dz
u u
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
Example 3
Calculate the shear stress distribution
in the walls of the three-cell tube
shown in the diagram when it is
subjected to an anticlockwise
torque of 12 kNm. Assume Bredt-
Batho theory holds and that the
tube has the properties shown in
the table below.


1, 1,
1 1
1, 1,
1
2
R R R R
R
R R R
R R R R R R
d
q q q
dz A G G G
o o
o u
+
+
+
| |
= +
|
|
\ .
1, 1,
1 1
1, 1,
1
2
R R R R
R
R R R
R R R R R R
d
q q q
dz A G G G
o o
o u
+
+
+
| |
= +
|
|
\ .
1, 1,
1 1
1, 1,
1
2
R R R R
R
R R R
R R R R R R
d
q q q
dz A G G G
o o
o u
+
+
+
| |
= +
|
|
\ .
Tutorial Examples
Tutorial Examples