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SUBJECT 3.1
TORSION S~gn
HESjID lNO

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GENERAL DISCUSSION OF TORSION

"Ordinary torsion" (Saint Venant) is known t o most designers and

does not normally cause any problems in design.

What a r e almost completely unknown t o most designers a r e t h e

secondary stresses t h a t a r i s e in connection with torsion, especially
in open sections, at holes in closed s e c t i o n s etc.
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These secondary stresses a r e o f t e n very high and frequently c r u cia1
in determining t h e s t r e n g t h of eg. a welded joint in t h e corner of a
frame.
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If a beam is ioaded with a twisting moment (torque), a rotation
(x) of t h e cross section of t h e beam occurs. In addition t o this
torsion, a displacement also t a k e s place perpendicular t o t h e cross
I section of t h e beam (except in t h e case of radially symmetric
i cross-sections). This phenomenon is called warping and is
; designated by u = u(v, y, 2) see figure

a. Radially symmetric closed cross-section - no warping

(Saint- ena ant).
b. Open thin-walled cross-section - considerabie warping (Vlasov).
SUBJECT Date Page
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3.2
TORSlON Slg?I No
HES/ID

T h e warping u is heavily dependent upon t h e cross-sectional shape of

t h e beam - cf. figure 4.5.1. In this connection, i t is common t o
speak of:

- warpfree cross-sections t h a t consist of radially symmetric

shapes.
- quasi-warpfree cross-sections, including solid box, T and
L-beams
- warping cross-sections, including I, channel, C, Z and h a t
sections

If f r e e warping of t h e end cross-sections of t h e beam in figure b] P.3'1I

is prevented by meat-& of some device such as an end plate, this
will give rise t o normal s t r e s s e s v d o n g t h e beam. In t h e case of
thin-walled sections, t h e warping normal stress UJS calculated a s
follows.
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The e x t e nal torque MT is generally t a k e n up a s Saint-Venant shear I
s t r e s s e s $ + n d a s Vlasov shear stressed ,$ .
The corresponding
portions of t h e torque M T a r e designated MSv and M,, respectively.
If both kinds a r e present at t h e s a m e time, this is called mixed
torsion.

The shear stresses % %

and behave i n fundamentally different II
ways, TSv forming closed shear s t r e s s trajectories and ywopen I
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ones - cf. figure i

Shear stresses in connection w i t h

a. Saint Venanr torsion

b. Vlasov torsion

In figure 3e.c*?he ratio M,/m, .

L = C is given a s functions of
L, which car; also be characterized by d ~ f f e r e n cross
t section types.
-
M*
;
Warp~ngw:ti,
warptng res::alnt
W a ' 2 ' 7 ~*!!?out
*a:p:ng restraint
- - (Vlasov! (Sa,n:-Venant)
 SUBJECT Date Page
3.3
TORSION S~gn ho.
HES/ID

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WARPING
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STRESSES - Tw
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Careful thought and planning is important when connecting or

anchoring beams subjected t o torsion.
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Lsrnpare t?is f!g,ire *irk h a r c h cavers and stern ~ 5 ~ 2 s .
 Static strength - Torsion
Table 4.5.1

K,, Wv and Zv for beam cross sections Excerpt from reference 67.

K, = section factor of Saint-Venant torsional sliHness GK, (length')

W,
2,
r,
-
= ebstic section modulus in lorn (length')
plastic sxtim modulus in lorton @en@)'
= maximum shear stress according lo elastic theory (force/knglh2)
r, = shear SRSSat yield
M = Sunt-Vwnt tisting section moment (force knglh) .
Mt = twisting section moment at inc~pienlyield
M, - -
= yie!d moment for ebstic ideaHy pi8stic mattrial

Cnas-se~t~ ~ n the position of

with wv zv
r, marked and description d
poail'i oft,

Abng the entire circumference

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2 SoW rectangle c l h? c2h? (ht' 12)fl- V3h)
In the middle d Ihe long sides

NI 1 1.5 2 4 8 20 OD

C, 0.141 0.1% 0.229 0.281 0.307 0.323 0.333

cz 0.208 0.231 0.246 0.282 0.307 0.323 0.333
LI- 6
c3 1.000 0.858 0.7% 0.745 0.743 0.743 0.743

L
3 Open cross s e c t i composed of
arbttrary number of thin-walled
_ c i I h , t,' 13
pam, each of constant wall thick-
nesst
ThE factor C , corrects for the con-
ditions at the connection between
parts of the cross-section. If the
wrts of the cross-seclii are rec-
tangular and m e than two in num-
kr,the following is obtained for steel-
Kv/t- C2 f h, tiz 12
-
Stress concentration in comave
corners at the connections Setween
parts of the cross-sector. hzs been
ignored. Along the bwndary on the
thickest part.

- - -
beams of normal wan thickness:
-
c, = 1.05 1.15. For 1-sections.
c1 1.m9for U-sections C ]
and for H-sections c 1 1.SO
1.12

4 Th~n-wallsc~rcularring of con-
stant wail thickness t &?I
x d ~ 4 = n d ~ 2 k=? t
Along the enllre wall

1 u,
5 Trun-wall= rectangle of constant
wa'i th~ckness 2a2b2t/(a + b) 2abl
Stress concentratio-. al the inslde
corners has been ~gnorec.Aiong the
W,

entire wall.
u

i 6 Th~n-nalielnng of arbitrary
vape, o! vayng wall thickness I Bredt's second formula: Bre6:'s first formula.

7 T-n-waltez rer:a-gle 9i varylng

na1 th~c~ness 4a2'b Zab!,,, w,
/(b'!l + a:t2 + Wt3 + a/l,)
Stress cmcentrat13na: the lnslae
corners has beer Igvrec Along the
eP:,ft trmes: wall

yd?b C' Slnme:Tj 1

S,m I
The crosr seg~or.&qaves ~ r:c~rs,:-
. as I' :he r.#C+aI.SIO 32: exts:. Use the fcr3,;as !or rrcS5 =:::arc, L E ant. 7 i
 SUBJECT Date Page 1
3.4 I
TORSION S~gn No
HES/ID
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The warping resistance of an open web section, can in some c a s e s be I

used for transmitting torsion.

A typical example of this is attachment of wheels, c l e a t s etc. on

sideplates.
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 SUBJECT 1 0ale I Page

EXAMPLE 1
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A cross joint cleat is proposed to be positioned as shown, design load

3,O T.
Is it necessary to fit brackets behind..2

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SOLUTION: check panel B
 SUBJECT Date Page
3.6
TORSION S~gn No
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EXAMPLE 2

A stiffener HP 160 x 8 is welded t o a RHS 200 x lo.

Determine maximum bending moment in the stiffener and the shear
stress in the RHS.

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SOLUTION:
[ SUIJECT 1 Date
TORSION
11 Page
- 3.7 1
S~gn No.
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EXAMPLE 2 (continued)
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' A very low value on t h e shear s t r e s s b u t t h e bending m o m e n t on t h e

OB? h a s decreased with a p p r o x i m a t e l y 20% d u e t o t h e torsion
I1
rigidity of t h e RHS.
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 SUBJECT Date Pape 1
3.8 !
TORSION S~qn NO.

HES/ID I

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EXAMPLE 3

I Same as example 2, but the RHS is replaced by an I beam 200 x 100

xb

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SOLUTION:

,*' Alrnosr no resistance af all