Shaft Desi gn and Anal ysi s

A shaft is the component of a mechanical device that transmits rotational motion

and power. It is integral to any mechanical system in which power is transmitted
from a prime mover, such as an electric motor or an engine, to other rotating parts
of the system. There are many examples of mechanical systems incorporating
rotating elements that transmit power: gear-type speed reducers, belt or chain
drives, conveyors, pumps, fans, agitators, household appliances, lawn maintenance
equipment, parts of a car, power tools, machines around an office or workplace and
many types of automation equipment.
Visualize the forces, torques, and bending moments that are created in the shaft
during operation. In the process of transmitting power at a given rotational speed,
the shaft is inherently subjected to a torsional moment, or torque. Thus, torsional
shear stress is developed in the shaft. Also, a shaft usually carries power-
transmitting components, such as gears, belt sheaves, or chain sprockets, which
exert forces on the shaft in the transverse direction (perpendicular to its axis).
These transverse forces cause bending moments to be developed in the shaft,
requiring analysis of the stress due to bending. In fact, most shafts must be
analyzed for combined stress.
Because of the simultaneous occurrence of torsional shear stresses and normal
stresses due to bending, the stress analysis of a shaft virtually always involves the
use of a combined stress approach. The recommended approach for shaft design
and analysis is the distortion energy theory of failure. Vertical shear stresses and
direct normal stresses due to axial loads also occur at times, but they typically have
such a small effect that they can be neglected. On very short shafts or on portions
of shafts where no bending or torsion occurs, such stresses may be dominant.
1
Procedure for Desi gn and anal ysi s of a Shaft
1.Determine the rotati onal speed of the shaft, n (rpm).
2.Select the materi al from which the shaft will be made, and specify ultimate
tensile strength S
u
, yield strength S
y
and its surface condi ti on: ground, machined,
hot-rolled and as-forged. At the moment, due to lack of database for endurance
strength, this module should be used in the design and analysis of steel shafts only.
Use the database in selection of a material.
3.Apply a desired reliability for definition of reliability factor, C
R
.
4.Apply a design factor, N (we prefer to use
d
).
5.Propose the general form of the geometry for the shaft, considering how
each el ement on the shaft wi l l be hel d in posi ti on axi al l y and how
power transmi ssi on from each el ement to the shaft i s to take pl ace.
Design details such as fi l l et radi i , shoul der hei ghts, and key-seat
di mensi ons must also be speci fi ed. Sometimes the si ze and the tol erance
for a shaft di ameter are di ctated by the el ement to be mounted there.
For example, bal l bearing manufacturers' catal ogs gi ve recommended
l i mi ts for bearing seat di ameters on shafts.
6.Specify the l ocati on of beari ngs to support the shaft. The reacti ons on
beari ngs supporti ng radi al l oads are assumed to act at the mi dpoi nt of
the beari ngs. Another important concept is that normally two and onl y two
beari ngs are used to support a shaft. They should be placed on either side of
the power-transmitting elements if possible to provide stable support for the shaft
and to produce reasonabl y wel l -bal anced l oadi ng of the beari ngs. The
beari ngs shoul d be pl aced cl ose to the power-transmi tti ng el ements to
mi ni mi ze bending moments. Also, the overal l l ength of the shaft shoul d
be kept smal l to keep defl ecti ons at reasonabl e l evel s.
7.Determi ne the desi gn of the power-transmi tti ng components or other
devi ces that wi l l be mounted on the shaft, and specify the requi red
l ocati on of each devi ce.
8.Determine the power to be transmi tted by the shaft.
9.Determine the magni tude of torque at poi nt of the shaft where the
power-transmi tti ng el ement i s.
T = 30 H/ n [N-m]
where:
H = transmitted power, W
T = torque, N-m.
n = rotational speed, rpm.
10. Determine the forces exerted on the shaft.
Spur and hel i cal gears, tangenti al force
W
t
= 60 000 H / d n [N]
where: d = pi tch di ameter of gear in [mm];
H = Power in [W];
2
N = Rotational Speed in [rev/min]
Radial force ; W
r
= W
t
. tan
n
/ cos [N]
where:
n
= normal pressure angl e for hel i cal gears, and pressure
angl e for spur gears; and
= helix angle
11. Preparing a torque di agram.
12. Resolve the radi al forces into components in perpendicular directions,
vertically and horizontally.
13. Solve for the reacti ons on al l support bearings in each plane.
14. Produce the complete sheari ng force and bending moment
di agrams to determine the di stri buti on of bendi ng moments in the shaft.
15. Analyze each cri ti cal poi nt of the shaft to determine the minimum
acceptabl e di ameter of the shaft at that poi nt in order to ensure safety
under the loading at that point. In general, the critical points are several and include
those where a change of di ameter takes pl ace, where hi gher val ues of
torque and bending moment occur, and where stress concentrati ons
occur.
If a verti cal sheari ng force V is the only significant loading present , this
equation should be used to compute the required diameter for a shaft.
'
.
n
t
S
N V K
D

94 2
where:
K
t
= stress concentration factor at the shoulder; 1.5 to 2.5;
V = Vertical Shear Force [N];
N = Factor of Safety / Design Factor (you may use
d
);
D or d = Diameter of the Shaft at the section considered [mm];
S
n
= modified endurance strength [MPa], (Which depends on ultimate
tensile strength S
u
).
R S n n
C C S S
'
where:
C
s
= size factor;
C
R
= reliability factor;
S
n
= endurance strength [MPa]
In most shafts, the resulting diameter will be much smaller than that required at
other parts of the shaft where significant values of torque and bending moment
occur. Also, practi cal consi derati ons may require that the shaft be somewhat
larger than the computed minimum to accommodate a reasonable bearing at the
3
place where the shearing force V i s equal to the radi al l oad on the
beari ng.
Most shafts are subjected to bendi ng and torsi on. The power being
transmi tted causes the torsi on, and the transverse and radi al forces on the
elements cause bending. In the general case, the transverse forces do not
al l act i n the same pl ane. In such cases, the bending moment di agrams
for two perpendi cul ar pl anes are prepared first. Then the resul tant
bendi ng moment at each poi nt of i nterest i s determi ned.
A desi gn equati on is now developed based on the assumpti on that the
bendi ng stress i n the shaft i s repeated and reversed as the shaft
rotates, but that the torsi onal shear stress i s nearl y uniform.
3
1
2 2
4
3 32
1
1
1
1
]
1

1
1
]
1

+
1
1
]
1

y
n
t
S
T
S
M K N
D
'
where:
M = Bending moment (a resultant obtained from bending moment diagrams;
(this creates reversed bending stresses on the shaft) [N-mm];
T = Torsion or twisting moment (usually steady) [N-mm];
N = Factor of safety; (We shall usually use .)
D = Diameter of the shaft at the section under investigation; in [mm].
Also, S
y
and S
n
are to be taken as [MPa]
4
Fi l l et radi us
When a change in diameter occurs in a shaft to create a shoulder against which to
locate a machine element, a stress concentration dependent on the ratio of the two
diameters and on the radius in the fillet is produced. It is recommended that the
fillet radius r be as large as possible to minimize the stress concentration, but at
times the design of the gear, bearing, or other element affects the radius that can
be used. For the purpose of design, we will classify fillets into two categories: sharp
and well-rounded.
The term sharp here does not mean truly sharp, without any fillet radius at all. Such
a shoulder configuration would have a very high stress concentration factor and
should be avoided. Instead, sharp describes a shoulder with a relatively small fillet
radius. One situation in which this is likely to occur is where a ball or roller bearing is
to be located. The inner race of the bearing has a factory-produced radius, but it is
small. The fillet radius on the shaft must be smaller yet in order for the bearing to
be seated properly against the shoulder. When an element with a large chamfer on
its bore is located against the shoulder, or when nothing at all seats against the
shoulder, the fillet radius can be much larger (well-rounded), and the corresponding
stress concentration factor is smaller. We will use the following values for design for
bending:
t
K
= 2.5 (sharp fi l l et)
t
K
= 1.5 (wel l -rounded fi l l et)
5
In this program the factor is determined under the formula (Elastic stress, bending)
3
4
2
3 2 1
2 2 2

,
_

,
_

,
_

+
D
h
K
D
h
K
D
h
K K K
t
where
d D h
D = larger diameter of the shaft;
d = adjacent smaller diameter of the shaft;
0 2 25 0 . .
r
h
0 2 25 0 . .
r
h
source
1
K
r
h
r
h
086 0 149 1 927 0 . . . +
r
h
r
h
010 0 831 0 225 1 . . . +
2
K
r
h
r
h
837 0 281 3 015 0 . . . +
r
h
r
h
257 0 958 0 790 3 . . . +
3
K
r
h
r
h
506 0 716 1 847 0 . . . +
r
h
r
h
862 0 834 4 374 7 . . . +
4
K
r
h
r
h
246 0 417 0 790 0 . . . +
r
h
r
h
595 0 046 3 809 3 . . . +
Desi gn factor
Under typical industrial conditions, the design factor of N = 3 is recommended. If
the application is very smooth, a value as low as N = 2 may be justified. Under
conditions of shock or impact, N = 4 or higher should be used, and careful testing
is advised.
6
Desi red rel i abi l i ty
This factor is used to apply a reliability factor C
R
.
Desired reliability Reliability factor
0.50 1.00
0.90 0.90
0.99 0.81
0.999 0.75
Endurance strength data typically reported are average values over many tests,
thus implying a reliability of 0.50 (50%). Assuming that the actual failure data
follow a normal distribution, the factors from this table can be used to adjust for
higher levels of reliability.
Stress concentrati on factors
The order of input of the stress concentration factors is K
t1
/K
t2
. First input the
value of K
t1
. Then enter a slash. Second input the value of K
t2
.
For instance: 1.0/3.0.
K
t1
is the value of the stress concentration factor to the right of a bearing.
Retaining rings are used for many types of locating tasks in shaft applications. The
rings are installed in grooves in the shaft after the element to be retained is in
place. The ring manufacturer dictates the geometry of the groove. Its usual
configuration is a shallow groove with straight side walls and bottom and a small
fillet at the base of the groove. The behavior of the shaft in the vicinity of the
7
groove can be approximated by considering two sharp shoulders positioned closed
together. Thus, the stress concentration factor for a groove is fairly high.
When bending exists, we will use K
t1
= 3.0 for preliminary design as an estimate to
account for the fillets and the reduction in diameter at the groove to determine the
nominal shaft diameter before the groove is cut. When torsion exists along with
bending, or when only torsion exists at a section of interest, the stress
concentration factor is not applied to the torsional shear stress component
because it is steady. To account for the decrease in diameter at the groove,
however, increase the resulting computed diameter by approximately 6%, a typical
value for commercial retaining ring grooves. But after the final shaft diameter and
groove geometry are specified, the stress in the groove should be computed with
the appropriate stress concentration factor for the groove geometry. The use of a
spacing hub (sleeve) for the bearing rests on a shoulder results in a K
t1
=1.0.
Everything, that is said for factor K
t1
concerns and for a factor K
t2
.
Al i gn
8
This variable can receive one of following values: R right side align or L left
side align. This factor is used to indicate element position on the shaft.
For example: the value of Align R means that parameter Distance for the
current element is equal to the value of space from beginning of the shaft up to
right side of element. The value of Align L means that parameter Distance for
the current element is equal the value of space from beginning of the shaft up to
left side of element.
Transmi tted power
To understand the method of computing stress in the gear teeth, consider the way
power is transmitted by gear system. For discussion, well use the example of a
single-reduction gear pair. Power is received from the motor by the input shaft
rotating at motor speed. Thus, there is a torque in the shaft can be computed
from the following equation:
Torque = power/ rotational speed = H /
The input shaft transmits the power from the coupling to the point where the
pinion is mounted. The power is transmitted from the shaft to pinion through the
key. The teeth of the pinion drive the teeth of the gear thus transmit the power to
the gear. But again, power transmission actually involves the application of a
torque during rotational at given speed. The torque is the product of the force
acting tangent to pitch circle of the pinion times the pitch radius of the pinion. We
will use the symbol W
t
to indicate the tangential force. As described, W
t
is the
force exerted by the pinion teeth on the gear teeth. But if the gears are rotating at
constant speed and are transmitted a uniform level of power, the system is in
equilibrium. Therefore, there must be an equal and opposite tangential force
exerted by the gear teeth back on the pinion teeth. This is an application of the
principle of action and reaction.
To complete the description of the power flow, the tangential force on the gear
teeth produces a torque on the gear equal to the product of W
t
times the pitch
radius of the gear. Because W
t
is the same on the pinion and the gear, but the
pitch radius of gear is lager than that of the pinion, the torque on the gear (the
output torque) is greater than the input torque. However, note that the power
transmitted is the same or slightly less because of mechanical inefficiencies. The
power then flows from the through the key to the output shaft and finally to the
driven machine.
From this description of power flow, we can see that gears transmit power by
exerting a force by the driving teeth on the driving teeth while the reaction force
acts back on the teeth of the driving gear. W
t
is not the total force on the tooth.
Because of the involute form of the tooth, the total force transferred from one
tooth to the mating tooth acts normal to the involute profile. For this action we will
use symbol W
n
. So the tangential force is actually the horizontal component of the
total force. Note that there is a vertical component of total force acting radially on
the gear tooth W
r
.
9
Note: consumed (received) power should have positive value (>0), and delivered
power should have negative value (<0).
10