ME2 Design & Manufacture

Shaft Design

Shafts

PLAIN TRANSMISSION
STEPPED SHAFT
MACHINE TOOL SPINDLE
RAILWAY ROTATING AXLE
NON-ROTATING TRUCK AXLE

CRANKSHAFT

PULLEY

GEAR

PROFILED
KEY
WOODRUFF
KEY
CIRCLIPS

SHAFT
HUB

FRAME

HUB

P. Childs, 2014, Mechanical Design Engineering Handbook

Chapter 7

TWIST
DUE TO
TORSIONAL
LOAD

TRANSVERSE
LOAD
TRANSVERSE
LOAD

AXIAL
LOAD

TORSIONAL
LOAD

TORSIONAL
LOAD
DEFLECTION DUE TO
BENDING MOMENT

AXIAL
LOAD

TRANSVERSE
LOAD

Shaft Design
Procedure Flow Chart for Shaft Strength & Rigidity (Beswarick 1994)
DETERMINE
EXTERNAL LOADS

CHOOSE PRELIMINARY
SHAFT DIMENSIONS
IDENTIFY CRITICAL
SHAFT SECTIONS
DETERMINE
SHEAR FORCES AND
TWISTING MOMENTS

DETERMINE
SHEAR STRESS

DETERMINE
INTERNAL FORCES
AND MOMENTS

COMBINED
STRESSES

DETERMINE
TRANSVERSE FORCES,
AXIAL FORCES AND
BENDING MOMENTS
DETERMINE
DIRECT STRESS

CHOOSE MATERIAL
SET FACTOR
OF SAFETY
DETERMINE
STRENGTH

DETERMINE
MODULUS

COMPARE FACTORED
STRESSES WITH
MATERIAL STRENGTH
DETERMINE
DEFLECTION
NO 2nd OPTION

IS SHAFT SECTION
SATISFACTORY
YES
SPECIFY SHAFT

NO 1st OPTION

Determine External Loads

Shaft rotational speed?

Power or torque to be transmitted by the shaft?
Belt / Chain tension?
Gear & Pinion loading?

Choose (Preliminary) Shaft Dimensions

Determine dimensions of components mounted on shaft

Specify locations for each device
Specify the locations of the bearings / support
Propose a general form or scheme for geometry

Size restrictions
(Easily) available materials and/or components

Identify Critical Shaft Sections

Free Body Diagram:

Determine magnitude of torques throughout shaft
Determine forces exerted on shaft

Identify Critical Shaft Sections

Where are the loads applied?
Where are the dimensions smallest?
Where are the stresses / deflections large?
Stress-raisers?
Slots, holes & keyholes
Sharp corners
Rough surfaces

Determine Internal Loads

Produce shearing force and bending

moment diagrams so that the
distribution of bending moments in
the shaft can be determined.

Shear and Moment Diagrams

2
2

slope

deflection
q

with:
= and V =

V+dV M+dM

Combining Normal Stresses

Fr

Ft

GEAR

T2

mp g
GEAR

BELT
DRIVE

R 2H

mgg

BEARING

R 2V

0
10

R 1V

BEARING

0
12

Vertically

Horizontally

Fr +m g g

mpg

C
L1

R1V

T1

R 1H

80

L2

C
L1

L3
R2V

Ft

R1H

L2

L3
R2H

Combining Normal Stresses

Vertically
Horizontally
Fr +m g g

mpg

C
L1

R1V

Ft
A

L2

L3
R2V

C
L1

R1H

Vertical Bending Moments

L2

L3
R2H

Horizontal Bending Moments

5
A

C
B

3
10

30

Combining Normal Stresses

Vertical Bending Moments

Horizontal Bending Moments

C
B

3
10

5 2 10 11.2

MB
MC

30 30.1
2

30

30.1

Combined:

M c

11.2

dx

Normal stress

dx

&

Shear stress

Normal Stress or Shear Stress?

Normal Stress or Shear Stress?

Shear stresses
Shear stresses due to:
Shear forces ( shear force diagram)
Torque
Power = Torque x Angular velocity

=
= =2

Shear stress: Torsion Formula =

J: polar moment of inertia
r: radius

Mohr's Circle
Combining and visualising the normal and shear stress components

tx'y'

x
txy
txy

x'

Normal stresses x & y and

shear stress known.

Average normal stress

+
=
2

Actual combined stress

=

+
2

+ 2

Mohr's Circle
Combine and visualise the normal and shear stress components

avg

1
R

Normal stresses x & y and

shear stress are known.

Average normal stress

+
=
2

Actual combined stress

txy

+
2

+ 2

Principal stresses 1 and 2

http://moodlepilot.imperial.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/12151/
mod_resource/content/1/out/index.html

Choose Material

Maximum principal stresses

Introduce safety factor

Select a material to match design stress

yield n eq

steel, low- or medium-carbon

high quality alloy steel, usually heat treated (critical applications)
brass, stainless steel (corrosive environments)
aluminium (light weight)
polyamide (Nylon) or POM (Polyoxymethylene/Acetal, Delrin)
small, light-duty shafts, electronics applications, food industry

Typical Safety Factors

1.25 to 1.5 reliable materials under controlled conditions subjected to
loads and stresses known with certainty
1.5 to 2
2 to 2.5

Growing uncertainty

2.5 to 3
3 to 4

well-known materials
under uncertain conditions of load, stress and environment
untried materials
under mild conditions of load, stress and environment

Fatigue - Correction Factors

e = k e
e = 0.5 uts

with k < 1, and depending on:

Surface
Size
Temperature
Stress concentrations

Shaft Design
Procedure Flow Chart for Shaft Strength & Rigidity (Beswarick 1994)

 Analyse all the critical points on the shaft and

determine the minimum acceptable diameter
at each point to ensure safe design
Determine the deflections of the shaft at critical
locations and estimate the critical frequencies
Specify the final dimensions of the shaft

Critical Deflections for Efficiency & Performance

Gears:
deflection < 0.13 mm
slope < 0.03.
Rolling element bearings:
non self aligning - slope < 0.04
self aligning - slope < 2.5 - 3

Shaft-Hub Connection

Power transmitting components such as gears, pulleys and

sprockets need to be mounted on shafts securely and located
axially.

In addition a method of transmitting torque

between the shaft and the component is required.

The hub of the component contacts with the

shaft and can be attached to, or driven by
the shaft by
keys
press and shrink fits
pins
splines
set screws
taper bushes

Shaft-Hub Connection

Pin

Grub
screw

Clamp

Press fit

Shrink fit

Spline

Key

Taper
Bush

after Hurst (1994)

High torque capacity

Large axial loads

Axially compact

Axial location provision

Easy hub replacement

Fatigue

Accurate angular
positioning
Easy position
adjustment

()

Example: What to do
when a shaft deflects too much
Choose the appropriate answer(s) from:
Use High Grade Steel, such as 30CrNiMo8
Increase the diameter of the shaft
Add bearings for extra support

Reduce the load bearing length of the shaft

Some general design considerations

F L3

3 E I
Overhung layout

More robust layout

Example

130 N

140 N

150 N

=0.04 m

L1=0.15 m

L2=0.14 m

L3=0.08 m

L4=0.07 m

Example

As part of the preliminary design of a machine shaft,

a check is to undertaken to determine the deflections

The components on the shaft can be represented by three point

masses.

Assume the bearings are stiff and act as simple supports.

The shaft diameter is 40 mm and the material is steel with a

Youngs modulus of 200 GPa.

Example
130 N
W1
L1=0.15 m

140 N
W2

L2=0.14 m

L3=0.08 m

150 N
W3
L4=0.07 m

=0.04 m
O
x
R1

R2

Solution
Macaulay's Method

Resolving vertical forces:

R1+R2=W1+W2+W3.

Clockwise moments about O:

W1L1+W2(L1+L2)-R2(L1+L2+L3)+W3(L1+L2+L3+L4) =0

Hence

R2

W1L1 + W2 (L1 + L 2 ) + W3 (L1 + L 2 + L 3 + L 4 )

L1 L 2 L 3

Solution cont.

Calculating the moment at XX:

MXX = -R1x + W1[x-L1] + W2[x-(L1+L2)] - R2[x-(L1+L2+L3)]

Relation between bending moment and deflection

d2 y
EI 2 M
dx

This equation can be integrated once to find

the slope = dy/dx
and twice to find the deflection y.

Vxx Mxx
x

Solution cont.

Vxx Mxx
x

MXX = -R1x + W1[x-L1] + W2[x-(L1+L2)] - R2[x-(L1+L2+L3)]

d2 y
EI 2 M
dx
EI

Note that in Macaulay's Method

terms within square brackets to be ignored
when the sign of the bracket goes negative.

dy
M dx
dx
x 2 W1
W2
R2
2
2

x L1 L 2 L 3 2 C1
R1

x L1
x L1 L 2
2
2
2
2

EIy Md2 x
x 3 W1
x L1 3 W2 x L1 L 2 3 R2 x L1 L 2 L 3 3 C1x C2
R1

6
6
6
6

Boundary conditions
Assuming: deflection at the bearings is zero
y(x=0) = 0 C2 = 0
R1

y(x=L1+L2+L3) = 0 C 1

L 1 L 2

L3

3 W6 L 2
1

L3

3 W6 L 3 3
2

L1 L 2 L 3

dy
x 2 W1
W2
2

x L1 L 2 2
EI
R1

x L1
dx
2
2
2
R
2
2 x L1 L 2 L 3
2

R1
6

L1 L 2 L 3 3 W6 L 2 L 3 3 W6 L 3 3
1

L1 L 2 L 3

x 3 W1
x L1 3 W2 x L1 L 2 3
EIy R1

6
6
6
3
3
3
R1
W1
W2

L
R2
3
1
2
3
2
3
3
6
6
6

x
x L1 L 2 L 3

6
L1 L 2 L 3

Solving for deflections

Forces: W1=130 N, W2=140 N, W3=150 N,
d 4 0.04 4
Geometry: =4 mm, I

1.2566 10 7 m 4
64

64

12.57 mm
4

Material E=200,000 MPa

Also check the slope
of the shaft at the
critical locations

Substitution of these values gives:

R1=79.2 N
R2=340.8 N
Deflections:
at x=0.15 m, y=5.110-3 mm
at x=0.29 m, y=2.810-3 mm
at x=0.44 m, y=-1.210-3 mm

L =0.15 m
1

L =0.14 m
2

L =0.08 m

L =0.07 m

x
R

Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

Hollow v Solid

100
80
60
40
20
0
0

20

40
60
80
Wall Thickness / Shaft Radius [%]

100

Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

Hollow v Solid

100
80
60
40
20
0
0

20

40

60
80
Relative Mass [%]

100

Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

Hollow v Solid
Danger of buckling?
100
80
60
40
20
0
0

20

40

60
80
Relative Mass [%]

100

Some Concluding Remarks - I

Shaft Design Considerations
size and spacing of components
material selection, material treatments
deflection and rigidity
stress and strength
frequency response
assembly, manufacturing & servicing constraints

Some Concluding Remarks II

1. Minimize deflections and stresses: short shaft, overhangs only if necessary
Deflection of cantilever beam > deflection of simply supported beam
for the same dimensions and loading)
But think about assembly and serviceability
2. Stress-raisers (i.e. keys, sharp corners) should not be placed in critical regions:
minimize effects with a radius (standard values!) or a chamfer.
3. Low carbon steel is often as good as higher strength steels since deflection is
typical the design limiting issue.
4. Limiting deflections
Gears: deflection < 0.13 mm and slope < 0.03.
Rolling element bearings
non self aligning: slope < 0.04
self aligning: slope < 2.5 (depending on model / configuration)
5. Hollow shafts have better stiffness to mass (specific stiffness) and higher natural
frequencies than solid shafts, but are more expensive and typically have a larger
diameter.
6. Natural frequency of shaft should be >> highest excitation frequency in service.

Q&A 27 Oct 2014

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