Stress concentration factors for the torsion of curved beams of arbitrary cross-section

There are numerous situations in machine component design in which curved beams with cross-sections of arbitrary geometry are loaded in the plane of curvature, i.e. in flexure. However, there is little guidance in the technical literature concerning how the shear stresses resulting from out-of-plane loading of these same components are effected by the component's curvature. The current literature on out-of-plane loading of curved members relates almost exclusively to the circular and rectangular cross-sections used in springs. This article extends the range of applicability of stress concentration factors for curved beams with circular and rectangular cross-sections and greatly expands the types of cross-sections for which stress concentration factors are available. Wahl's stress concentration factor for circular cross-sections, usually assumed only valid for spring indices above 3.0, is shown to be applicable for spring indices as low as 1.2. The theory applicable to the torsion of curved beams and its finite-element implementation are outlined. Results developed using the finite-element implementation agree with previously available data for circular and rectangular cross-sections while providing stress concentration factors for a wider variety of cross-section geometries and spring indices.