INSTRUCTION MANUAL

HSM.2 Torsion of Bars Apparatus

 Torsion of Rods

INTRODUCTION

The elasticdeflectionand eventualfailure of beamsin bendingis relatedto the behaviourof the

beammaterial in direct tension and compression. However, there is another way of distorting
materialthat occurswhenit is twisted. In the simplestcasea length of round rod can be twisted
aboutits longitudinalaxisin sucha way that no bendingor direct stressis involved. This is called
puretorsion.

Torsion of shafts is very common in mechanicalengineeringwhere power transmissiontakes

place. In most casesthe shaftshave a circular cross sectionwhich is sometimeshollow with a
uniform wall thickness. It is evidentfrom the theory of torsion that the materialat the centreof a
rod does not contribute much to the strength or resistanceto elastic twisting, so there is
considerableeconomyto be achievedin hollow members.

In structuralengineeringtorsion is lessof a problemunlessthere is a specialcondition of loading.

The traditional steelmembeisusedfor buildingshavean inherentsafetyagainstfailure by twisting
partly becauseof the high value of the modulusof torsional rigidity of steeland partly due to the
way buildings al-econstructed. The replacementof steel by aluminiumalloy brought \'vith it a
possibilityof secondarycompressionfailure due to a columntwisting on its axis. As more plastics
are usedstructurallytheir very low moduli of rigidity (comparedwith metals)makedistonion by
twisting much more of a problem. This has led to the increasinguse of hollow box section')to
providethe maximumtorsionalstiffness.

/ISM. 2. Page 1.
Issue1. March. 1993.
LIST OF PARTS
0
-
1 Torsionapparatus
-
1 Rotationscaleandclip-onpointer
I - HWH.4 Loadhanger(I N)
1 - 460x 5 dia. Steelrod
1- 460x 4.76dia. Aluminiumalloyrod
I - 460x 6.35dia. Nylonrod
1- 10mm Spanner

Optionalextrasare asfollows:-
HSM.2a 450 x 4.76 mm dia. Brassrod
HSM 2d Rotation scaleandclip-on pointer

The weight set (HSM.2w) required for this experiment is 8 x 5 N and 5 x N.

APPARATUS

A baseframehasa clampat one endand a ball bearingin a housing(plummerblock) at the other.

A short shaft in the bearinghas a three jaw chuck facing the clamp and a torsion head at the
outward side. A hangercord is wound round the torsion head with an effective diameterof
75 mm. Specimensin the form of lengthsof rod are brrippedby the fixed clamp and the rotating
chuck450 mrn away. An arc shapedscaleof degreesis mountedon a basewhich can be moved
along the length of the specimen.A pointer on a spring steel strip registersthe rotation of the
specimenwhen a load is appliedto the hangercord.

EXPERIMENT

OBJECT
The relationship between torque and twist of a circular cross section specimenis to be
investigatedin tenns of the fonnula
1L
69 GJ

where T = torque
L = lengthof rod
G = modulusof rigidity of material
J= ~= polar moment of area
d = diameterof rod

PROCEDURE
Clampthe aluminiumalloy rod in positionand put the load hangeron the cord. Set the rotation
scaleand pointer 400 mm from the fixed clampand zero the pointer. Add a load of 40 N by 5 N
increments,recordingthe twist of the specimenfor eachincrementin table I. Removethe load,
movethe rotation scaleand pointerto 200 mm from the clamp,and repeatthe aboveprocedure.
Measureand recordthe diameterof the rod.

"SkI. 2. Page 2.
1. March. 1993.
 Table 1
Torque/nvist of a rod
Material: Diameter:

Now changethe specimenfor the steelrod and repeatthe procedurefor the 400 mrn lengthonly.

Finallyclampthe Nylon rod in positionand measurethe twist over 400 and 200 mm when a load
up to 5 N by incrementsof 1 N is appliedto the torsion head. Removethe load and note whether
full elasticrecoveryhasoccurred.

RESUL 1'8

In eachcaseplot a graph of twist againsttorque and draw the best fit straight lines through the
points. Since twist is proportional to length the gradients of the two lines for Nylon and
aluminiumalloy shouldbe in the ratio of 1/2.

Use the gradientsto calculatea modulusof rigidity for eachmaterialtested Note that e in the
formulais in radians.

OBSERVAnONS
To what extentdoesthe experimentverify the torque/twistformula?

Wereall the graphslinear,thus exhibitingpurely elasticbehaviour?

Handbookvaluesfor G are 26200N/mm2for aluminiumalloy and about 79000 N/mm2for steel

Commenton the experimentalcomparisons.

HSM.2. Page 3.
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