OS-V: 0270 Torsional Creep of Circular Shaft
This benchmark illustrates the structural response of a power law creeping material in a geometrical configuration subjected to pure torsion. OptiStruct examines strain at the edge of the shaft.
- Relaxation at constant twist
- Forward creep at steady twist rate
Relaxation at Constant Twist

Figure 1. Model and Loading Description
Benchmark Model
- X, Y displacements given at all nodes of front face using cylindrical system: 0.002 mm
- Rotation is given at mid-side nodes: 0.001 radians
Uniform twist of 0.01 radians/unit length is held constant in time from 0 to 100s.
- Material Properties
- Value
- Young's modulus
- 10 GPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.3
- Creep law equation
- Equivalent creep strain rate
- Equivalent stress (Mises)
Nonlinear Static Analysis Results
OptiStruct | NAFEMS | Normalized Target Value | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Strain (*10-3) | 5.46 | 5.77 | 0.95 |
Creep Strain (*10-3) | 4.85 | 4.77 | 1.01 |

Figure 2. Comparison of Total Strain and Creep Strain at the Edge of the Shaft
Model Files
Refer to Access the Model Files to download the required model file(s).
The model file used in this example includes:
Torsional_Creep_Relaxation_at_constant_twist.fem
Forward Creep at Steady Twist Rate
A steadily increasing twist is applied at constant rate to the shaft.
The stresses increase from zero to steady value. The loads, which cause this steady-state behavior are referred as “primary” loads.

Figure 3. Model and Loading Description
Benchmark Model
- X, Y displacements given at all nodes of front face using cylindrical system: 0.004 mm/unit time
- Rotation is given at mid-side nodes: 0.002 radians/unit time
- Material Properties
- Value
- Young's modulus
- 10 GPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.3
- Creep law equation
- Equivalent creep strain rate
- Equivalent stress (Mises)
Nonlinear Static Analysis Results
OptiStruct | NAFEMS | Normalized Target Value | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Strain (*10-2) | 1.62 | 1.7321 | 0.94 |
Creep Strain (*10-2) | 1.27 | 1.1693 | 1.094 |

Figure 4. Comparison of Total Strain and Creep Strain at the Edge of the Shaft
Model Files
Refer to Access the Model Files to download the required model file(s).
The model file used in this example includes:
Torsional_forward_creep_at_steady_twist_rate.fem
Reference
NAFEMS R0026 - Selected Benchmarks for Material Non-Linearity- Volume 1