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The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of
shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and copper

Article · August 2014

DOI: 10.6088/ijaser.030400008

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, Issue 4, 2014 www.ijaser.com
© 2014 by the authors – Licensee IJASER- Under Creative Commons License 3.0 editorial@ijaser.com
Research article ISSN 2277 – 9442

The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the

determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper
Ibrahim M. E., Joshua R. M., Raji A., Hassan M. A., Dingari S. and Adegoke A.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, P.M.B 2076, Yola,
Adamawa State, Nigeria
DOI: 10.6088/ijaser.030400008

Abstract: In this work a manually operated torsion testing machine with a provision for alternate electric
powering was designed and constructed for laboratory use in accordance with ASTM standard. During the
performance evaluation of the machine, test piece of pure copper, pure aluminium and aluminium - 12%
silicon alloy of varying diameters and gauge lengths were prepared and tested on the machine to obtain the
value of shear modulus of rigidity (G) for each test piece. The average values obtained are 24.06, 24.92 and
33.42 GPa for aluminium, aluminium alloy and copper, respectively. In all cases, the test result for shear
modulus of rigidity obtained using the fabricated torsion testing machine compared favourably well with
those obtained when using standard imported torsion testers.

Key words: Modulus, Rigidity, Shear Force, Strain, Stress, Torque, Torsion.

1. Introduction

A machine part is said to be under torsion when it is subjected to twisting couples or torques. A couple is
formed by two forces of equal magnitude but oppositely directed while torque is a measure of the twisting
effect of the couple on an object under the action of the couple (Ferdinand et al., 2001). Mechanical
components like crankshafts, propeller shafts, gear box, main shaft, clutch systems, flywheel, welded joints,
bolted joints, aircraft blades springs and rotating discs such as the ones used in turbo machineries are,
normally, loaded by torque and such would be tested using torsion testing machine (Richard, 1989).

Mechanical properties of products which experience some form of mechanical actions during their life
cycle are of concern to research institutions, producers as well as consumers. The reliability of such
products depends on the knowledge of the mechanical properties of the materials of which the product is
made. A reasonable product reliability could be achieved only if both the manner in which mechanical tests
are conducted and the results therefrom interpreted follow some laid down standardized procedures. This is
accomplished by using standardised testing techniques and or theoretical and mathematical stress analysis
to meet service requirements (William, 1996). The importance of torsion test among other mechanical
tests in the training of engineers and researchers cannot be over emphasized. But unfortunately, most of our
institutions of learning either lack the required vital machines or have obsolete ones. Where such machines
exist in operational conditions, the epileptic electric power supply have, time without numbers, rendered
them useless at their time of need. The combined effect of lack of required equipment and electricity
results in a chaotic learning process especially in the training of prospective scientists and engineers where
mandatory use of such equipments in the training process is compulsory.

—————————————
*Corresponding author (benulamaau@yahoo.com) 825
Received on May 25, 2014; Accepted on Jun. 28, 2014; Published on August 30, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

It is in view of the foregoing that this work was carried out, with an objective of developing a laboratory
torsion testing machine and evaluating its performance to help establish the level of reliability and
correctness of the developed machine. In designing the torsion testing machine, conditions in third world
countries, especially the likes of epileptic and inadequate power supply and poverty were taken into
consideration while maintaining ASTM Standard. These conditions informed the low cost specification and
provision for dual operation mode (manual and electric power mode) of the machine. In addition, the
torsion testing machine is meant primarily for use in material laboratories of institutions of higher learning
and as such only typical materials used in learning instructions, were considered in determining the design
parameters of the machine.

2. Design theory and calculation

The following design approach was adopted to ensure efficient and reliable design of the machine,
maximum spring dial hoist scale (SDHS) of 100 kg or 0.981 kN was used as maximum load (Pmax) (Schaffer,
1999) experienced by each structure in the design to ensure efficient and reliable design of the machine.

2.1 Components of the machine

The torsion testing machine is made up of a metal base which serves as the overall foundation and the
frame of the machine upon which all other elements, such as the free wheel, the transmission shaft, the
torque handle, the bucket balance, angle indicator, chuck, bearing and a slide way are mounted as shown in
Figure1.

Figure 1: The torsion Testing Machine

Metal Base(1), Chuck(2), Test Sample(3), Springs Dial Hoist Scale(4) ,Weight Balance or Bucket
Balance(5), Chain(6), Bearing(7), Transmission Shaft(8), Slide-Way(9).

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 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

2.1.1 The metal base

This is a uniform base plate on which all other components are mounted. It carries the sliding hub placed at
both ends. The metal base used has a dimension of 85cm x 28cm x 6cm and components placed directly on
the base metal are welded to it. Some welded joints are subjected to either direct stress, shear stress or a
combination of both. Most joints of the machine are welded by lapping the joints using fillet welds with
approximately triangular cross-sections. Due to the load types, the fillet weld could be mainly subjected to
tensile stress or to torsion. The weld thickness t and the allowable tensile stress, for the members subjected
to tensile stress, are obtained using equations 1 and 2 (Khurmi and Gupta, 2005).

(1)

(2)

Where - allowable tensile strength; P - force applied; l - weld length; S - width of weld

With length of weld as 55mm and allowable tensile strength of 35 MPa, the value of s was thus obtained as
7.2mm.

2.1.2 Frame

The frame is made up of beams welded to the column, which carries the bucket balance placed directly on the
transmission shaft and two fixed hubs. The two fixed hubs house the bearing on which the transmission shaft
is mounted. Direct tensile stress induced in the column is given by equation 3 (Surendra, 2004).

(3)

Where ; A - Cross sectional area of frame column

(4)

P = 0.49 kN

A frame with cross-sectional area of 440 mm2 was chosen, thus was obtained as 1.11 N/mm2.

The direct stress for the fixed hub frame is given by equation 5 (Khurmi and Gupta, 2005).

(5)

= 0.24 kN, thus

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 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

2.1.3 Slope and flexural deflection of bucket

The slope and flexural deflection of a beam by double integration method is given by equation 6 (Allen et al.,
1982).

(6)

Where E – Young’s modulus of elasticity and I - Moment of inertia of the beam

For mild steel material, E = 200 GPa (Khurmi, 2005).

(7)

Where t - Thickness of frame and b - Width of frame

For the frame, l = 200, b = 55 mm and t = 8 mm. Thus the moment of inertia was obtained as I = 2346.67 mm4
and the slope θ was obtained as 0.10 .
The axial deflection is given by equation 8 (Rajput, 2006).

(8)

Thus the axial deflection ∆ was obtained as 0.35mm.

2.1.4 Shaft

The transmission shaft conveys the applied torque from the handle (radius arm) to the test piece gripped
between the chucks. The shaft is inserted through the two aligned bearings and passes through the bucket
balance frame. The bucket balance is placed above the shaft and is connected using a flexible high strength
chain. The shaft is subjected to combined bending and shearing stress when torque is applied. According to
Allen et al. (1982), under such condition, the diameter of a solid shaft is given by equation 9.

(9)

Where - bending moment; ;

With a maximum bending moment of 196.2 Nm; allowable stress of 55 x 106 N/m2 and maximum torsion
moment of 196.2 Nm, the safe diameter of shaft was obtained as 30 mm. Since the shaft will be subjected to
combined loading of torsion and bending, the shaft was also designed for lateral and torsional rigidities using
equation 10 (Allen et al., 1982).

(10)

Where G -torsional modulus of elasticity; l - length of shaft and - 1. Thus, d was obtained as 23.5 mm with

l taken as 220 mm. However, the diameter of the shaft was adopted as 30 mm.

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

2.1.5 Chucks

The torsion testing machine consists of two chucks, the first chuck is placed at one end of the transmission
shaft which is responsible for twisting the test piece and the second chuck is rigidly fixed to the sliding hub
and helps grip the test piece in position. The proper drill chuck was selected to have ease of insertion, good
grip, easy twisting and removal of the test piece. The chuck can only accommodate a minimum of 1.5 mm
and a maximum of 13 mm test piece diameter. The welded joint of the chuck to the transmission shaft and
that of the wheel are subjected to shear stress, the maximum shear stress of members subjected to torsional
stress is given by equation 11 (Khurmi and Gupta, 2005) as

(11)

Where and

With the portion of the shaft welded to chuck being 13 mm in diameter and width of weld being 40 mm,

was obtained as 80 MPa.

2.1.6 Bearing

The bearings are subjected to upward radial load when the shaft is twisted. The elements connected to the
(SDHS) are subjected to variable load as torque is applied at the machine’s twisting arm. Considering the
Stribecks equation for static load capacity as presented by equation 12 (Allen et al., 1982), appropriate
bearing was selected.

(12)

Where
C0 - Static load capacity; F1, F2, F3 are individual forces acting on the ball elements of the bearing

(13)

Where K - constant depending on the ball diameter; Z - number of balls and D - diameter of ball
A bearing with bearing number 301 was selected and tested for suitability. The bearing has the following
properties:
Number of balls = 9; Ball diameter = 5.6 mm; Bore diameter = 25 mm; K = 60.8 x 106; C0 was obtained as 3.4
kN
Maximum load on a ball is given by equation 14 (Allen et al., 1982) and was obtained as 1.9 kN.

(14)

The equivalent load on the bearing is given by equation 15 (Joseph and Charles, 2003).

(15)

Where X0 - radial load factor; Y0 - Thrust load factor; Fr - Radial load; and Fa -axial load
The values of X0 and Y0 are obtained from table as X0 = 0.6 and Y0 = 0.5 and the radial load is 0.981 kN thus

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

the equivalent load is obtained as 0.588N. Since this value is less than the static load capacity of the bearing
then it is suitable.

2.2 Construction

The transmission shaft was manufactured into a four-step shaft using a lathe machine

( . A

squareness of 25mm length and that of 50mm were obtained respectively on the

parts of the stepped shaft using a vertical milling machine. The transmission

shaft is designed to hold the non adjustable chuck, serves as bearing sitting and provides sitting for the
handle to be used in torque transmission. The fixed hub used for holding the transmission shaft in position
was constructed in form of beams and columns which were cut to required sizes using a power hack saw; the
beams and columns were then joined using arc welding. The adjustable hub and the beams and columns for
the spring dial hoist scale were also manufactured using a similar approach. The base metal which serves as
the machine stand was constructed from a scrap C-channel beam. The required sizes were obtained by
cutting using power hack saw and welded together by electric arc welding. Hand-held grinding machine was
used to finish the work. The machine body was constructed from sheet metal using the folding machine
Guillotine; bending machine; snipers and hand-drilling machine. All other parts used for constructing the

machine were standard parts. The standard parts used include: drill chuck, bearings, protractor

scale, spring dial hoist scale, bolts and nuts, protractor pointer, clip and metal chain.

3. Materials and methods for performance evaluation

3.1 Materials

Three common engineering materials namely 1100 Aluminium, 2120 Aluminium Silicon and c1100.0
copper were used as samples to evaluate the performance of the designed machine.

3.2 Methods

3.2.1 Test piece preparation

The test sample blanks used were sand cast to a diameter of 11 mm. The blanks were used to produce various
samples with varying length and diameter with the aid of a lathe machine. Each sample was produced to a
given gauge length and with shoulders for gripping.

3.2.2 Experimental Procedure

The experimental procedure for carrying out the torsion testing begins with adjusting the transmission shaft
to set the angle of twist pointer to the zero degree mark. The transmission shaft is then connected to the
spring dial hoist scale (SDHS) using a string and the SDHS pointer is set to zero. The test piece is carefully

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

mounted between the two chucks and the sliding hub is adjusted to the test piece length and then rotated to
provide a good grip to avoid slipping during twisting. Force is gradually applied by turning the torque handle
and watching the SDHS reading to ensure equal interval of applied load before releasing the handle. For each
load application the twist angle in degree and the corresponding load in kilogram (kg) are recorded.
Deformation is continued until the test piece finally fractures and the point at which the test piece fails is
recorded.

The values of the applied load F in N, applied moment (Mt) in Nm, the shear stress τ in N/m2 and shear strain
φ in (rad) are obtained from equations 16 – 19 (Eugene and Theodore, 1996).

(16)

Where F - applied load in N; M - mass in kg and - acceleration due to gravity in m/s2

(17)

Where - effective arm length in m

(18)

Where d = diameter in m

(19)

Where r - radius of arm in m

Finally, a graph of shear stress against shear strain was plotted and the slope of the graph within elastic region
(Straight line portion of the graph) determined. The value obtained indicates the torsional shear modulus of
the test piece used in the experiment.

4. Result and discussion

The designed and constructed machine was used to carry out torsion test for pure aluminium, pure copper
and aluminium alloy (Al-Si) and the results obtained are presented in tables and figures.

4.1 Results

The result of torsion test for aluminium alloy, pure aluminium and copper are presented in tables 1 – 3 and
figures 2 – 4.

4.2 Discussion

The determination of shear modulus of aluminium samples using the locally fabricated machine showed an
average value of 24.06 GPa which is about 3.76% lower than the value of 24.97 GPa recorded using a

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

standard torsion testing machine. In the case of aluminium alloy and copper, the obtained values were 24.92
and 33.42 which are 2.27% and 2.49% lower than standard values of 25.59 and 34.25 GPa, respectively.
These differences in values could be attributed to slight slipping of the test sample.

Table 1: Values for the Aluminium-Silicon Test Pieces, Gauge length (L) = 140 mm, Diameter = 9.00 mm

Load at
Equal Zero Mark Load Twist
Applied Shear Shear
interval /deflection Difference Load F Angle in
S/No. Moment Stress τ Strain
of Load or Failure M – M1 (N) θ
Mt (Nm) (N/m2) φ (rad)
M (kg) Mark M1 (kg) (degrees)
(kg)
1 10 0.00 10.00 98.10 19.62 137.07 10.69 0.0060
2 20 0.00 20.00 196.20 39.24 274.14 20.50 0.0115
3 30 0.00 30.00 294.30 58.86 441.21 30.30 0.0170
4 40 0.00 40.00 392.40 78.48 548.28 40.11 0.0225
5 50 1.40 48.60 476.77 95.35 666.14 50.80 0.0285
6 60 3.10 56.90 558.20 111.64 779.94 60.61 0.0340
7 70 4.75 65.25 640.10 128.02 894.38 73.08 0.0410
8 80 5.52 78.48 730.65 146.13 1020.90 80.00 0.0460
9 90 6.23 83.77 821.78 164.36 1148.25 95.37 0.0535
10 100 10.10 89.90 881.90 176.38 1232.23 104.28 0.0585

Figure 2: Graph of Shear Stress (τ) against Shear Strain (φ) for Aluminium Silicon

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

Table 2: Values for pure Aluminium Test Pieces, Gauge length (L) = 179 mm, Diameter = 9.38 mm

Load at
Equal Zero Mark Load Applied Twist
Shear Shear
interval /deflection Difference Load F Moment Angle in
S/No. Stress τ Strain φ
of Load or Failure M – M1 (N) Mt θ
(N/m2) (rad)
M (kg) Mark M1 (kg) (Nm) (degrees)
(kg)
1 7 0.00 7.00 68.67 13.73 84.73 8.20 0.00375
2 14 0.00 14.00 137.34 27.46 169.46 15.31 0.0070
3 21 0.00 21.00 206.01 41.20 254.25 23.50 0.0108
4 28 0.00 28.00 274.68 54.94 339.04 26.24 0.0120
5 35 10.00 25.00 245.25 49.06 302.69 30.61 0.018
6 42 15.97 26.03 255.35 51.07 315.16 33.89 0.0155

7 49 21.74 27.26 267.42 53.48 330.03 38.27 0.0175

8 56 27.50 28.50 279.59 55.92 345.09 42.64 0.0195

9 63 33.10 29.90 293.32 58.64 361.87 48.10 0.0220

10 70 38.82 31.17 305.78 61.16 377.42 49.20 0.0225

Table 3: Values for Copper Test Piece, Gauge length (L) = 148 mm, Diameter = 8.9 mm
Load at
Equal Zero Mark Load Applied Twist
Shear Shear
interval /deflection Difference Load F Moment Angle in
S/No. Stress τ Strain
of Load or Failure M – M1 (N) Mt θ
(N/m2) φ (rad)
M (kg) Mark M1 (kg) (Nm) (degrees)
(kg)

1 5 0 5 49.05 9.81 71.00 4.20 0.0022

2 10 0 10 98.10 19.62 141.0 7.80 0.0041

3 15 0 15 147.15 29.43 212.00 12.77 0.0057

4 20 0 20 196.20 39.24 283.00 193.06 0.0100

5 25 0 25 245.25 49.05 354.00 20.00 0.0105

6 30 0 30 294.30 58.86 425.00 21.00 0.0113

7 35 0 35 343.35 68.67 496.0 22.90 0.0115

8 40 0 40 392.40 78.48 567.00 32.40 0.0170

9 45 0 45 441.45 88.29 638.00 35.25 0.0185

10 50 0 50 490.50 98.10 709.00 38.40 0.0204

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Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2014
 The use of locally fabricated torsion testing machine for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium and
copper

Figure 3: Graph of Shear Stress (τ) against Shear Strain (φ) for Pure Aluminium

Figure 4: Graph of Shear Stress (τ) against Shear Strain (φ) for Copper

5. Conclusion

In this work, manual testing machine was designed, fabricated and tested. The locally fabricated machine
was used for the determination of shear modulus of rigidity of aluminium; aluminium-silicon alloy and
copper. The values obtained for aluminium was 24.06 GPa and that for aluminium alloy and copper were
24.92 and 33.42 GPa, respectively. The recorded values are similar to the ones obtained with standard
imported torsion testing machine. The use of this locally fabricated machine in Nigerian laboratories shall
save the country hard currency being used for their importation, in addition local capacity for their
fabrication shall be enhanced.

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to express their appreciations to Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola,
Nigeria.

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copper

6. References

1. Allen, H.; Alfred H. and Herman, L., 1982. Theory and Problems of Machine Design. Schaums
Outline Series. Singapore.
2. American Standard for Testing Materials, 1986. Standard Test Method for Shear Modulus at Room
Temperature. ASTM Designation E143-61, 1986. 1986 Annual Book ASTM Standard.
3. Eugene, A. A. and Theodore, B. (1996). Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers.
McGraw-Hill. New York.
4. Ferdinand, P. B.; Russel, Johnson R. and John, T. D., 2001. Mechanics of Materials”.
McGraw-Hill, New York.
5. Joseph, E. S. and Charles, R. M., 2003. Mechanical Engineering Design. Tata McGraw-Hill Ed.
Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd. Delhi.
6. Khurmi ,R.S., 2005. Strength of Materials (Mechanics of Solids). S. Chand & Company Ltd. New
Delhi
7. Khurmi ,R. S. and Gupta, J. K., 2005. A Text Book on Machine Design. Aurasia Publishing House
(PVT) Ltd. New Delhi.
8. Rajput, R. K., 2006. Strength of Materials. 1st Multicolor illustrative Revised Ed. S. Chand &
Company Ltd, New Delhi.
9. Richard, W. H., 1989. Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Materials. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
New York.
10. Schaffer, J. P., 1999. The Science and Design of Engineering Materials. 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill
Company Inc. New York.
11. Surendra, S., 2004. Strength of Materials. 5th Revised Ed. Konark publishers PVT LTD, Delhi.
12. William, D. C, 1996. Material Science and Engineering; An Introduction. 4th Ed. John Wiley and
Sons. New York.

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