Torque of Prismatic Beams of Piecewise Rectangular Cross Section
I present in this note a finite difference method and Scilab computer programs to
numerically solve the Saint-Venant theory for torsion of prismatic beams (shafts, bars) of
piecewise rectangular cross section. The purpose of this note is mostly educational, for I
believe that it is quite instructive to not only solve these problems analytically whenever
possible but also explore solutions numerically of common configurations for which one
cannot readily obtain analytical solutions. The same kind of problems occur in heat transfer,