MECHANICS AND MATERIALS LABORATORY (MEMB221)

SEMESTER 2, 2015/2016

EXPERIMENT 2 : TORSION TEST

DATE PERFORMED

3rd DECEMBER 2015

DUE DATE

11th DECEMBER 2015

SECTION

05

GROUP

04

GROUP MEMBERS
Mithradassa Nair A/L G Dhamodharan
Sorna Kailash A/L Kannan Kurukkal
Raveen A/L Thiyagugopal
Pragatesh Kumar A/L Ashok Kumar
Sarvaisan A/L Muniandy

LAB INSTRUCTOR:

Cik Nuraslinda Binti Anuar

TABLE OF CONTENT

I / D NUMBER
ME095512
ME095589
ME095572
ME095567
ME095580

SUMMARY / ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE

THEORY

2-3

EXPERIMENT EQUIPMENT

3-6

PROCEDURE

7-8

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

10-9

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

11-12

DISCUSSIONS

13-14

CONCLUSIONS

14-15

REFERENCES

15

ABSTRACT

This experiment is performed to study the principle of torsion test and

also to determine the modulus of shear, G through measurement of the
applied torque and angle of twist. The variation of pure shear when a
structural member is twisted is called torsion. The torsional forces produce
a rotating motion about one end to another end of the member.

Two different specimens has been used in this experiment, specimen A

and specimen B. Specimen A is bright gold in colour whereas Specimen B
is silver and much more lighter than specimen A. The dimension for the
both specimen is measured and recorded before the experiment begin.
The torque measuring unit is calibrated first by inspecting the read out
torque from amplifier to be similar with the applied torque. The test is
then performed. To avoid some measurement errors several measure were
taken which can affect the results.
The test specimen is place between the loading device and the torque
measuring unit. The reading from the amplifier is taken out each time
when the load is applied. The results were taken and some calculations is
performed using the formula given in the lab manual which is the applied
torque, angle of twist, number of revolutions and the percentage error and
from the results obtain a graph is plotted. The modulus can be determined
when the specimen is still working under the elastic limit.
Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that specimen B is more
ductile than specimen A. The G value for specimen B theoretically is larger
than specimen A, hence it is harder to twist than specimen B. The torque
needed to twist specimen A to the same amount degree of rotation as
specimen B is greater.

Objectives

To understand the principle of torsion test.

To determine the modulus of shear, G through measurement of the
applied torque and angle of twist.

Theory

Torsion is a force produced when a structural member is twisted , torsional forces

produces

a rotating motion around the object. In each test, the torque and

twisting angle are measured to determine the shear modulus, G.

The shear modulus G is calculated based on this formula:-

T G

J
L

J
where

r 2 d 4

2
32

The angle of twist, in radians, for a solid round bar is:

=

Tl
GJ

Unknow
n
T
J
G

L
R
D

Variable
Torque
Polar moment of inertia
Shear modulus
Angle after application of torque
Length
Radius
Diameter

The value of the torque in this experiment will be showed in the digital meter or
the read out amplifier.

2
EQUIPMENT/DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS

Figure 1: layout of the torsion apparatus

Technical description of the apparatus

The apparatus consists mainly of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Loading device with scale and revolution counter for twisting angle measurement
Torque measurement unit
Calibration device
Specimen
Track base
Digital torque meter

Technical Data
General data:Main dimension: 1400 350 300 mm
Weight: 25 kg

Loading device:Worm gear reduction ratio: 62

Revolution counter: 5 digit, with reset
Output scale: 360
Input scale: 360
Indicator: Adjustable

Torque measurement unit:Range: 0 30 Nm

Display: 6 digit, LED 14 mm
Temperature operating range: 0 - 50 C
Power supply: 230 V, 50/60 Hz

Calibration device:Maximum load: 30 Nm

Load increment: 2.5 Nm

4
Loading Device
The torsional loading is transmitted to the specimen by a
worm gear and a hand wheel. There are two revolution scales,
one is the input scale on is output. At the input side there is a
rotating gear which is used to turn the specimen with an
angle.

Torque Measurement Unit

The specimen is mounted at one side to the loading device and the other side to the torque
measurement device. The torque applied to the specimen will produce shear stresses which
are detected by the strain gauges. The signal of the gauges is conditioned by a measuring
amplifier with a digital read out. Strain gauges can only measure strain. In the case of pure
torsion the maximum of principal stress will occur at a 45 to the axial axis of the torsion rod
which then causes Slight deformation of the torsion rod .Thus this will cause an error in the
twist angle calculation. The error can be reduced by, moving the specimen holder of the
torque measurement unit. Compensation can be controlled by a dial gauge which is located
at the side of the specimen holder.
The output signal of the strain gauge can be obtained from the amplifier.

Specimen

Specimen A ( brass )

Specimen B (aluminium)

Procedure:

I.

Calibration
Calibration process was carried out before carrying out the experiment. For calibration
purpose of the torque measurement unit a defined load torque was used as reference
where it was generated by a calibration unit. The calibration component is made up of a
lever and a load weight. Weight of the lever was balanced by a certain weight which
enables the load torque to solely depend on the load weight. Range of torque set was

between 0 and 30 Nm. Resolution used was 2.5 Nm. The calibration unit was fixed by the
specimen holder of the torque measurement unit. Both the units were connected by a
15mm hexagon socket.
Calibration of torque measurement unit;
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Read out of the amplifier was set to zero.

Torque measurement unit was connected to the measurement amplifier.
Measurement amplifier at the back plane was switched on.
V button was held and P was pressed to set the read outs to zero.
The load torque was increased by stages using torque of 5Nm and read out was
tabulated.
6. The load weight was increased by stages using weight of 5N to 60N.
7. Offset was checked after reload and it has to be set zero when necessary.
The read out values should relate to the applied torque. Notified data of read out and load
torque can be graphed. If nonlinearities exist, the curve will show; if not, it can be used as
a calibration curve.

II.
Carrying out the experiment:
Specimen attachment:
1. Two specimens namely specimen A and B are used.
2. The materials were mounted in between the loading device and torque
measurement unit.
3. Hexagon socket of 19mm was used.
4. Shifting holder of the load device has to be in mid position.
5. There should not be a preload on the specimen. Hand wheel at the input can be
turned if necessary until amplifier read out shows zero.
6. Both indicators at the input and output shaft of the worm gear was set to zero.
7. Dial gauge of the compensation unit was calibrated to zero.

8. Revolution counter was reset.

Specimen loading and tabulation

1. Hand wheel at the input of the gear was turned clockwise to load the
experimental material. It shows only turned for a defined angle increment.
2. For the first rotation, an increment of quarter rotation (90) was chosen. For
the second and third rotation of a half quarter (180) was chosen and for the
fourth to tenth rotation (360) was chosen.
3. The twist angle was calculated at the specimen by dividing the rotations at the
input by the reduction ratio of 62.
4. Between 100 and 200 rotation, fracture will occur.
5. The deformation of the measuring torsion rod after each angle increment was
compensated. The hand wheel of the compensation unit shows turned to
achieve this until the dial gauge indicated zero.
6. Torque values were read from the display of the amplifier and were noted with
the indicated angle twist.
7. Results were tabulated.
8. Experiment was repeated with specimen B.

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

Length of lever = 0.5m
LOAD (N)
10
20
30
40
50
60

Outer length, Lo
Inner Length, Li
Diameter,

Applied Load Torque

Read out Torque
(Nm)
(Nm)
5
4.50
10
9.70
15
14.55
20
19.40
25
24.30
30
Table 1: Reading for calibration process
Specimen A (Brass)
0.15 m
0.0662 m
0.0061m

Specimen B (Alluminium)
0.15 m
0.0662m
0.0061m

Table 2: Dimensions of specimens

Angle of twist,

Angle at gear input

(degree)

Read out torque

(Nm)

90

1.40

(degree)
1.45

180

2.45

2.90

270

3.95

4.35

360

4.75

5.81

540

7.25

8.71

720

8.20

11.61

900

8.70

14.52

1080

9.00

17.42

4th

1440

9.40

23.23

5th

1800

9.60

29.03

6th

2160

9.80

34.84

7th

2520

9.90

40.65

8th

2880

10.15

46.45

9th

3240

10.35

52.26

No. of Rotation
st

2nd
3rd

10

th

10.50
3600
58.06
Table 2: Shows the values obtained and calculated for Specimen A.
9

Specimen B (Silver Colour Material)

Outer Length, Lo = 115mm = 0.15m
Inner Length, Li = 66.2mm = 0.0662m
Diameter, = 6.1mm = 0.0061m

Angle at gear input

(degree)

Read out torque

(Nm)

90

(degree)
1.45

180

0.15

2.90

270

0.25

4.35

360

0.65

5.81

540

1.95

8.71

720

3.15

11.61

900

5.85

14.52

1080

8.35

17.42

4th

1440

11.90

23.23

5th

1800

12.25

29.03

6th

2160

12.40

34.84

7th

2520

12.55

40.65

8th

2880

12.60

46.45

th

3240

12.75

52.26

No. of Rotation
st

2nd
rd

10th

Angle of twist,

12.80
3600
58.06
Table 3: Shows the values obtained and calculated for Specimen B.

Observations: In the beginning, when the experiment was first conducted to test the
calibration, it was observed that the read out torque value increases linearly as the weight of
the load increases. Besides, the value of offset in the digital torque meter varies after each
time the load was removed. It was also observed that it was quite harder to twist Specimen A
compared to Specimen B while conducting this experiment.

10

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

I.

FROM CALIBRATION CURVE

The gradient value obtained from the calibration curve is 0.9651. But the theoretical gradient
value should be 1.00.
Percentage Error =

II.

Value Experimental Value

|TheoreticalTheoretical
|100
Value
0.9651
|1.001.00
| 100 =3.49

FOR SPECIMEN A

T 10.15 4.75

0.133
46.45 5.81
Gradient from the graph,

d 4 0.00614

1.359 10 10 m 4
32
32

Polar moment of inertia, J =

TL 0.133 0.0662

64.79MPa
J 1.359 10 10 m 4
Shear Modulus, G =
Theoretical Value, G for Brass = 39GPa
39.00 0.06479
100 99.83%
39.00
Percentage error, % =
FOR SPECIMEN B

T 12.40 5.85

0.322
34.84 14.52
Gradient from the graph,

d 4 0.00614

1.359 10 10 m 4
32
32

Polar moment of inertia, J =

TL 0.322 0.0662

156.85MPa
J 1.359 10 10 m 4
Shear Modulus, G =
Theoretical Value, G for Brass = 27GPa

Percentage

error, % =

27.00 0.1569
100 99.42%
27.00

11

Graph of Read Out Torque vs Angle of Twist

12
10
8
Read Out Torque (Nm) 6
4
2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Angle of Twist (deg)

1. For Specimen A

Graph of Read Out Torque vs Angle of Twist

14
12
10

Read Out Torque (Nm)

8
6
4
2
0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Angle of Twist (deg)

2. For Specimen B

12

Discussion

1. From the graph of read out amplifier vs applied load torque it can be
clearly seen that the graph is linearly proportional, which means as the
applied load increase there will be an increase in read out amplifier. The
equation of the graph is Y= 0.9651X +1.1062.
2. From the graph of read out torque vs angle of twist it can be seen that
at a angle of 40 specimen A has a higher torque because it is a more
brittle material while specimen B has a lower torque value because it is a
more ductile material.
3. From the results obtained at table 1, the shear modulus, G for specimen A is
64.79MPa
156.85MPa
.Whereas the shear modulus for material B is
. The
theoretical value of shear modulus of specimen A is 27MPa and for specimen B is
39MPa. From this we can see that the experimented value of both specimen is
higher than its theoretical value. This is due to random errors.
4. Based on the results of this experiment, material A and B has an increase of
torque when the number of rotation of the hand gear increases. The percentage

99.83%

99.42%

whereas for specimen B is

. Hence
the experiments were less accurate for specimen A. The value of the percentage error turned
error obtained for specimen A is

out to be high for both specimen, and this is due to human error. More torque is needed to
twist the specimen A specimen than specimen B. It is clear that specimen A is less ductile
compared specimen B.
5. The usage of torsion in real life engineering is very important, this is because it involves
things that rotate. One common mechanical part that are subject to torsion are the shafts.
When a shaft is subjected to a torque or twisting, a shearing stress is produced in the shaft.
The shear stress varies from zero in the axis to a maximum at the outside surface of the
shaft.an example of shaft usage are in cars which is the gear shaft. Another mechanical part is
the bolt. Bolts are very important in all types of applications. We can also say ships need
bolts. Without bolts, there is no secure connection between the body parts of the ship. Torsion
is the twisting of the bolt when applying the tightening torque. When a bolt is tightened it is
subjected to tensile stress as preload is introduced but also to torsion stress as a result of
friction. The torsion that generates friction which holds up the bolt so that it does not become
lose.

16

Errors and Precautions

Graphs of specimen A and B are expected to be same. We had errors that effected our result
in a small scale. From this experiment, the error we got was calibration error in the torque
measuring unit. Also improper loading of the socket may lead to improper data, this can be
avoided by making sure the socket is properly fixed. Incorrect values from the WP500 is also
a very effective error. This can happen due to the wrong loading method of the specimen.
Wrong loading of the specimen can lead to uneven distribution of angle of twist. Make sure
the calibration device is tighten properly before starting the experiment.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this experiment is about torsion test .First the experiment was tested by using
loads to measure the read out torque, then the graph of calibration curve was drawn. Then we
were given two different types of specimen which we have to test its torsion by using a
testing device called the WP500 which gives out the value of the torsion of the object at every
angle of rotation. The specimens are first mounted between the device and torque measuring
unit. Then the hand wheel was rotated till the 10th rotation was done. Every angle of rotation
was noted. specimen A is done first followed by specimen B. From the experiment, we have
obtained the values of the torque for both specimen A and B. The calculation was mainly
based on the shear modulus G and the percentage error. The modulus of shear of specimen A
64.79MPa
156.85MPa
was
and for specimen B was
.From this we can state that specimen B
is a more ductile material compared to specimen A which has a lesser modulus of shear. The
99.83%
99.42%
percentage error for specimen A was
and for specimen B was
at the angle of
twist of 2.92, material A has a read out torque of 2.55 whereas specimen B has a read out
torque of 0.15. This showed the difference in property of the specimen .
Based on all this calculated values, we concluded that specimen A has a stronger and less
ductile property whereas specimen B has a more ductile property and less stronger property
compared to specimen A. From this experiment we understood that specimen A is to be Brass
whereas specimen B is to be Aluminium , our understanding was based on the results we
obtained which the shear modulus G angle of twist and percentage error. This specimen
selection was based on their property. Specimen A needs more rotation to overcome its
twisting force, because its a hard property. Whereas specimen B twist easily because of its
ductility property. From this experiment we understood the effect of torsion test on two
different types of specimen. The objective of this experiment which is to understand the
principles of torsion testing has been achieved. What we understood from the principle of
torsion testing from this experiment is that when a specimen is subjected to torsion it will

produce an angle of twist which is then calculated to know which specimen is more brittle.
By Torsion testing manufactures are able to simulate real life service condition, check
product quality, verify designs, and ensure proper manufacturing techniques. The other
objective which is determine the modulus of shear, G through measurement of the applied
torque and angle of twist has been also achieved.
14
This experiment plays a very important role in engineering applications, this is because the
effects of torsion applies to small parts such as shafts are used in ships. Whereas bolts and are
used in many application for example the body of the ships. This experiment is very
important in every engineering applications as it the small parts like the bolts are the one that
gives the biggest effect in the machine.

Reference

Ferdinand P.Beer, E.Russell Johnston, Jr., John T.DeWolf. 2014. Mechanics Of

Materials. 7th Edition. McGraw Hill. pp 147.

Semester 2 2015/2016. MEMB231 Materials Laboratory Manual. COE, Uniten. pp

20.

15