Pure flexural mode excitation of helical waves in hollow cylinders by applying helical surface tractions, equivalent to exciting obliquely propagating plate waves in the unwrapped plate, is reported. However, this approach cannot be generalized with theoretical underpinnings. The response of hollow cylinders under helical surface tractions is investigated using normal mode expansion method. Purity of the target flexural mode depends on the mode wave structures at excitation frequencies and the

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... elix angle of the helical excitation. With helical surface tractions, only flexural modes with large circumferential and longitudinal displacements, usually torsional flexural modes, can be effectively generated. The target flexural mode and excitation frequency should be selected carefully for better purity. The helix angle for the target mode should diverge considerably from other modes, especially those with large circumferential and longitudinal displacements. The apparently oblique propagation of the flexural mode can also be explained theoretically. The helically excited flexural mode comprises two orthogonal wave structures with identical flexural modes that are out of phase in the propagation direction, causing periodically changing circumferential orientation of the combined wave structure and oblique wave front. Finite element simulations and experiments agree well with theoretical predictions.