A novel semi-inverse solution method for elastoplastic torsion of heat treated rods

Torsion rods are a primary component of many power transmission and other mechanical systems. The behavior of these rods under elastoplastic torsion is of major concern for designers. Different methods have so far been proposed which deal with the elastoplastic torsion of rods, most of which assume constant yield stress. This assumption produces rough and inaccurate results when the rods are heat treated, since in the process of heat treatment the form of yield stress distribution across the rod cross section changes. We propose a new method for calculating elastoplastic torsion of rods of simply connected cross section which is based on heat treatment observations. In our method the full plastic stress function is obtained by using the semi-inverse method. Elastoplastic stress function is obtained by generalizing the idea of the membrane analogy and using a piecewise continuous stress function. Since the proposed form of yield stress distribution can not be handled by the current Finite Element packages, we produce a computer package with a 3D graphical interface capable of calculating and displaying the 3D elastoplastic stress function, shear stress contours, and torque-angle of rotation per unit length. We show that our method produces excellent agreement for several known cross sections in comparison to methods which assume constant yield stress.