UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES,

SUNYANI, GHANA
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING
ENGINEERING

COURSE: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 2

(MECH 254)
TITLE: TORSIONAL PENDULUM
GROUP 28
NAMES INDEX NUMBERS
OCRAN OWUSU ABOAGYE EMMANUEL UEB1202320
FRIMPONG PENIEL UEB1210220
OFORI ESTELLA ANING UEB1211820
ABDUL RAZAK SOALE UEB1200420

DATE: 15TH SEPTEMBER,2022

INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: BRIGHT OSAFO ADUNU
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................2
OBJECTIVE.............................................................................................2
THEORY..................................................................................................3
APPARATUS...........................................................................................5
PROCEDURES........................................................................................6
RESULTS.................................................................................................6
DISCUSSION.........................................................................................11
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................11
SAFETY PRECAUTION.......................................................................11
 INTRODUCTION
Torsion, twisting strain produced when a torque is applied to an object. For
example, consider a bar rigidly clamped to one end and twisted at the other end by
a torque applied in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the bar. Such a bar is said to
be in torsion. The effects of a torsional load applied to a bar are:
1. to impart an angular displacement of one end cross-section with respect to the
other end
2. to set up shearing stresses on any cross-section of the bar perpendicular to its
axis.
It can be measured by observing how much an object twists due to a given torque.
For example, when a cylindrical object one unit long is twisted at one end, and the
other end is held fixed, the amount the ends of the cylinder rotate relative to each
other is a measure of the torsion. Engineering materials employed in rotating
machine parts, such as engine crankshafts and ship propeller shafts, must resist the
torsional stresses induced by the twisting loads.

OBJECTIVE
To determine Modulus of Rigidity (G) of Aluminum and Brass circular rods.
Specific objectives
I. To calculate the moment of inertia of the rod.
II. To determine the rigidity modulus of the rods.
 THEORY

Since the shaft is a slender rod,

T Gθ
J = L ……………………………. (1)
Where
T = Applied Torque (moment)
J = 2nd moment of area of shaft about the axis of rotation (Polar second moment of
area)
G= Modulus of rigidity of shaft material
θ = Angular displacement (angle of twist)
L= Length of shaft

GJθ
From equation (1) T= L
Thus the shaft is elastic; any angular displacement of the disc away from the
equilibrium position will create a restoring moment of torque,
GJθ
T= L

Writing the equation of motion for the free body diagram above
∑ Moments = -Iα ………………..(2)
Where I =mass moment of inertia of disc
α= Ö=Angular acceleration
T= -I Ö
GJθ
L
= -I Ö
GJθ
IÖ+ L =0
( GJ )
Ö+ IL
𝛉 = 0………………… (3)
This equation is the equation of simple harmonic motion
Ö + 𝛚2 𝛉 = 0………………. (4)
Where, w = angular velocity
Thus, comparing equations (3) and (4). ω2 = (GJ/IL)

But ω = 2π/T
⇒ ω2 = 22π2/T2 where, T = Period of oscillation
GJ 22 π 2
Thus, IL = T
2

T2 = (22π2IL)/(GJ)

√
2 2
2 π IL
T= GJ
T = 2𝛑 √ IL
GJ

APPARATUS
1. A wall mounted collet that can grip rods firmly.
2. Aluminum rod.
3. Brass rod
4. Vernier caliper.
5. Rule.
6. Stopwatch.

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
 PROCEDURES
1. One end of the rod is clamped using a vertical chuck.
2. A metallic disc is attached to the other end of the rod.
3. The length of the suspension rod is fixed to a particular value (10 cm).
4. The disc is slightly twisted so that the disc executes torsional oscillations.
5. The time taken for twenty (20) oscillations is noted using a stopwatch.
6. The length of the rod is increased in intervals of 10 cm till 70 cm by adjusting
the rod and the time for 20 oscillations taken for each increment.
7. The rod was then removed by loosening the collet.
8. The above steps were repeated for the other rod.

RESULTS
Mass of aluminum rod = 20.29g
Mass of brass rod = 58.68g
Diameter of brass rod = 3.00mm
Diameter of aluminum rod = 2.74mm

Calculations

From T = 2𝛑
√ IL
GJ
, find the modulus of rigidity of aluminum rod and brass rod

mr 2 π d4
I= J=
2 32
 Table of Values
Brass rod
Length Time t for 20 Mass 2nd Period
T2 Modulus of
of rod oscillations Moment Moment T (s2) rigidity
(cm) of inertia of area (s) (G)
of rod (I) of shaft kg
x10-8 (J) ( m s2 )
t1(s) t2(s) tavg(s) x10-12

10 11.59 11.58 11.585 6.6015 7.952 0.579 0.335 97761.73

20 12.56 12.55 12.555 6.6015 7.952 0.628 0.394 166202.17

30 14.47 14.43 14.450 6.6015 7.952 0.723 0.523 188092.14

40 16.69 16.60 16.645 6.6015 7.952 0.832 0.692 189382.28

50 19.80 19.78 19.790 6.6015 7.952 0.990 0.980 167195.89

60 21.30 21.33 21.315 6.6015 7.952 1.066 1.136 173046.51

70 22.50 22.48 22.490 6.6015 7.952 1.125 1.266 181267.10

Figure 1

Period2 vs Length
1.4

1.2

1
Period (𝒔^𝟐)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Length (m)
 Table of Values
Aluminum rod
Length Time t for 20 Mass 2nd Period
T2 Modulus of
of rod oscillations Moment Momen T (s2) rigidity
(cm) of inertia t of area (s) (G)
of disc of shaft kg
(I) (J) ( m s2 )
x10 -8
x10-12
t1(s) t2(s) tavg(s)

10 12.40 12.38 12.390 1.904 5.534 0.620 0.384 35334.92

20 16.42 16.40 16.410 1.904 5.534 0.821 0.674 40302.43

30 20.57 20.64 20.605 1.904 5.534 1.030 1.0609 38409.12

40 23.79 23.78 23.785 1.904 5.534 1.189 1.414 38431.19

50 26.26 26.21 26.235 1.904 5.534 1.312 1.721 39453.89

60 29.47 29.25 29.360 1.904 5.534 1.468 2.155 37816.96

70 31.27 30.93 31.100 1.904 5.534 1.555 2.418 39321.02

Figure 2

Period2 vs Length
3

2.5

2
Period ( 𝒔 ^𝟐)

1.5

0.5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Length (m)
 DISCUSSION
In the experiment carried out, length ‘L’ of the pendulum was the independent
variable whereas time period ‘T’ of the pendulum was the dependable variable.
A graph of period against length was plotted for both brass and aluminum in figure
1 and 2 respectively. From both graphs, it is clearly seen that time period increased
linearly in most cases with increase in rod length for both metals. This indicate the
relationship between length and time period is directly proportional. Also, the
rigidity of Brass averaged 166135.4Pa and Aluminum averaged 38438.5Pa.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the rigidity modulus and moment
of inertia of brass and aluminum rods.
The experiment performed fulfilled this purpose by finding the modulus of rigidity
as well as the mass moment of inertia of both rods.

SAFETY PRECAUTION
1. The amplitude should be small.
2. Make sure the top support is fixed.
3. Readings should be taken carefully.