MANUKAU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TRADES

NEW ZEALAND DIPLOMA IN ENGINEERING
Student Name: Neel Kothari

Experiment Title: Torsion

Section
Failure to attend will result in a Zero mark.
Any evidence of copying will result in a Zero
mark (for all involved students).

Weighting

Objective and Relevant theory

Assumptions
Method of data collection
Raw data
Health & safety
Calculations/ observations
Use of graphs
Discussion
Conclusion
Marks will be deducted for;
Poor use of grammar, spelling, punctuation.
Incorrect or missing units of measure.
Unsupported arguments or conclusions.
Unstated assumptions in either data or
calculations.
Failure to present the original data collected.

3
1
2
2
2
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2
4
1

Scored 1- 5

Mark

Up to 10%
off

Final mark, % (total weighted mark)

Total marks

Objective:

/100

The objective of this lab experiment is to find the shear modulus for the
specimen material and compare it with given values.
To be familiarize with the equipment and its sensitivity in the
specimens elastic region.
Theory
Different materials behave differently when stressed. This information is
necessary for engineers, it allows them to choose the right materials and
material sizes for support structures in the design.
Shear modulus can also be referred to as the modulus of rigidity and is used
to measure the rigidity of a material when it is twisting. It is represented as the
letter G and is a ratio of shear stress and shear strain of the material. Also
known as .
To find the shear stress or the shear strain a few other equations and some
other information is needed. For example the polar moment of inertia (J) and
torque (T)

Assumption
Assume the torsiometer is accurate in its reading.
Assume the twist of the specimen does not twist the torsiometer as well.
Assume that the angle of twist didnt exceed 0.03 radians, which cause it to
move out of the elastic region.
Procedure
1. Accurately measure and record the dimensions of your specimen
2. Fit the socket to the torque head and the gearbox output
3. Attach the torsiometer to the specimen
4. Insert the specimen with the fitted torsiometer into the socket heads
5. Make the connection between the machine and the torsiometer, then
connect it to the computer so the software can display the information.
6. Switch on both digital meters, and calibrate it to zero.
7. Remove any mechanical error like backlash by slowly turning the
gearbox hand wheel until the load display starts to show a small value
of torque, then set to zero again.
8. Carefully set the torsiometer to zero as well. Set up is complete and the
experiment can start

9. For the experiment rotate the gearbox hand wheel manually and the
computer will automatically record the data.
10. Increase the angle of twist to a maximum of 0.03 Radians in equal
succession of 0.005 Radians. After each step press the record button
so save the data.
Raw Data
Specimen Material: TR1010 MR15
Specimen Dimensions:
Length 50mm
Polar moment of inertia: 127.23
Angular
Torque (Nm)
Stress
Displacement
GPa
(0.001) Radians
0
0
0
0.00506
0.35
8.3
0.00995
0.8
18.9
0.01501
1.22
28.8
0.02007
1.64
38.7
0.02496
2.04
48.1
0.03019
2.46
58.0

Diameter 6 mm
Strain
0
60
180
300
390
540
690

The data above was taken from the computer software, the software also
plotted these points to give the modulus of rigidity and a line of best fit.

The modulus of Rigidity

70
60

f(x) = 0.08x + 2.92

50
40
Stress (MN.m-2)

30
20
10
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Strain

Health and Safety

The machine was large and it is important to have the machine is placed on a
bench top that isnt cramped, reducing the chances of falling. During the
experiment closed shoes need to be worn in the case something does drop.
There are a lot of wires involved in the experiment and good housekeeping is
important to avoid tripping and falling equipment.

Calculation
There were no calculations needed for the experimental data. The software
provided all needed data.
For comparison the experimental data is compared with the theoretical data
To get to the shear stress some calculations need to be conducted
The following calculation if for the:
The equation for Polar moment of inertia
4
4
D 3.141596
J=
=
=127.23 mm4
32
32
Torque used in the next calculation is the torque given by the computer
software
T =0.00506
To calculate the theoretical shear stress for a solid circular bar is:
d
T
Tr
2 16 T
160.35
= =
=
=
=8.25 GPa
4
3
J
3.41592666
d
d
32
To calculate the theoretical shear strain for solid circular bar is:
r 30.00506
= =
=303.6
l
50
This equation only works when the material is stressed inside the elastic
region
Specimen Material: TR1010 MR15
Specimen Dimensions:
Length 50mm
Polar moment of inertia: 127.23
Angular
Torque (Nm)
Stress
Displacement
GPa
(0.001) Radians
0
0.00506
0.00995
0.01501
0.02007
0.02496
0.03019

0
0.35
0.8
1.22
1.64
2.04
2.46

0
8.3
18.9
28.8
38.7
48.1
58.0

Diameter 6 mm
Strain

0
303
597
900
1204
1498
1811

Theoretical modulus of rigidity

70
60
f(x) = 0.03x - 0.56

50
40
Stress (MN.m-2)

30
20
10
0

200

400

600

800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Strain

Comparison of graphs

Experimental and theoratical values compared

70
60
50
40

Shear Stress (MN.m-2)

30
20
10
0

200 400 600 800 100012001400160018002000

Strain

Observations:
During the experiment the torisometer can be seen moving and the gauge
value not changing.
Another issue observed is that the gearbox hand wheel was really hard to
control the exact angle of twist.
Discussion
From the comparison graph it is clearly able to see that the experimental
results we incorrect. This difference can be calculated and be labelled as the
percentage of error. Percentage of error is calculated using the ratio between
the difference in value and the experimental multiplied by 100.

experimental resultstheoratical results

theoratical results
0.08350.0324
of error =
=158
0.0324
This percentage of error is very high and the experiment results are
considered inaccurate.
of error =

To improve the results in the future possible use a stronger specimen with a
bigger elastic region, allowing for a larger angle of twist and also more data
possibly reducing the percentage of error.
Furthermore the strain gauge wasnt consistent during the first try of the
experiment, maybe having the strain gauge fixed to the machine so it doesnt
move instead of it fixed to the specimen, may possible improve the results.
Also marking the specimen with a vivid before the test and then measuring
the angle of twist during the final data taken could help detect any major
issues in the results given by the computer.
The specimen was used by other students before used by our group, it is
possible that they applied too much torque and move the specimen past its
elastic region, left us with a specimen that gives inconsistent data due to it
being deformed.
Conclusion
In conclusion the experiment gave incite on how materials are tested so there
meet the requirements specified, this means that when something is
constructed we can be at peace knowing the materials used are safe and will
hold the structure up.
The comparison with the theoretical values allows us to understand that there
are factor that affect our experiment and to minimize the percentage of error
these factors need to be controlled.