Torsion of Composite Elastic Bars of Arbitrary Cross Section

Abstract

A method of analysis is presented for determining closed-form solutions for torsion of inhomogeneous prismatic bars of arbitrary cross section, the inhomogeneity stemming from the layering of materials of different elastic properties. It is demonstrated that the solution method is very easy to apply and provides results of high accuracy. As an application, solutions are obtained for the torsion of a bar of circular cross section consisting of two materials separated by a plane interface. The results are compared with those of various limiting cases and excellent agreement is found to exist. Among the limiting cases, an exact solution was derived by Green’s functions for the problem in which the interface between the materials coincides with a diameter of the circular cross section.