Design of Levers

LEVER
• A lever includes a stiff structure that rotates
around a fixed point called the fulcrum.

• A lever is defined as a mechanical device in the

form of a rigid bar pivoted about the fulcrum to
multiply or transfer the force.

fulcrum
 Anatomy of the lever
• Fulcrum – point around which the lever
rotates
• Input Force – Force exerted ON the lever
• Output Force – Force exerted BY the lever
 Lever
The construction of a simple lever is shown in Fig.

F is the force produced by the lever and P is the effort

required to produce that force. The force F is often called
'load'. The perpendicular distance of the line of action of
any force from the fulcrum is called the arm of the lever.
Therefore l1 and l2 are effort arm and load arm respectively.
 Lever

Taking moment of forces about the fulcrum,

F x l2 = P x l1
or
F/P = l1/l2

The ratio of load to effort i.e. (F/P) is called the 'mechanical

advantage' of fever. The ratio of the effort arm to the load
arm i.e. (I1/l2) is called the 'leverage'. Therefore,
mechanical advantage is equal to the leverage.
 Lever

F x l2=P x l1
or
F/P= l1/l2

It is seen by Eq., that a large force can be exerted by a

small effort by increasing leverage, i.e. increasing l1
and reducing l2 .

In many applications, it is not possible to increase

effort arm l1 due to space restrictions.In such
applications, compound levers are used to obtain more
leverage.
 Three Classes of Levers
There are three types of lever, based on the relative positions
of the effort point, the load point and the fulcrum
They are as follows:

 First Class - fulcrum between Input and output-

This type of lever is used in applications like the rocker arm for the
overhead valves of internal combustion engine, bell crank levers in
railway signal mechanism and levers of hand pump

 Second Class – output between fulcrum and input-

This type of lever is used in lever loaded safety valve mounted on

the boilers.

 Third Class – input between fulcrum and output- This type

of lever is not recommended in engineering applications. A picking
fork
 Design of Levers
Lever design consists of two aspects

1) Length of lever- which is decided on the basis of

leverage required to exert a given load F by means
of an effort P

2) The cross-section of the lever is designed on the

basis of bending stresses.

3) Fulcrum pin diameter

 Design of Levers
Steps for Design of Lever

1) Force analysis:

In any application, the load or the force F, to be

exerted by the lever is input.

The effort required to produce this force is

calculated by taking moments about the
fulcrum. Therefore,

F x l2=P x l1

P=F x l2 / l1
Steps for Design of Lever
The free body diagram of forces acting on the 'first'
type of the lever is shown in Fig. R is the reaction at
the fulcrum pin. Since the sum of vertical forces acting
on the lever must be equal to zero,

R=F+P

Free Body Diagram of Forces Acting on First Type of Lever

Steps for Design of Lever
The free body diagram of forces acting on the 'second'
type of the lever is shown in Fig. In this case, the load
and the effort act in opposite direction. Considering
equilibrium of forces in vertical direction,

F=R+P
R=F-P

Free Body Diagram of Forces Acting on SecondType of Lever

Steps for Design of Lever
In above two cases, the forces are assumed to be
parallel. Sometimes, the forces F and P act along lines
that are inclined to one another as shown in Fig.

In such cases, l1 is perpendicular distance from the

fulcrum to the line of action of force P.

Similarly l2 is perpendicular distance from the fulcrum

to the line of action of force F
Steps for Design of Lever
In above two cases, the forces are assumed to be
parallel. Sometimes, the forces F and P act along lines
that are inclined to one another as shown in Fig.

In such cases, l1 is perpendicular distance from the

fulcrum to the line of action of force P.

Similarly l2 is perpendicular distance from the fulcrum

to the line of action of force F
 Steps for Design of Lever

The magnitude of reaction R is equal to the resultant of

load F and effort P. It can be determined by parallelogram
law of forces. (ii) The line of action of reaction R passes
through the intersection of F and P i.e. point o & fulcrum
 Steps for Design of Lever

Figure illustrates a bell crank lever with the arms, that are
inclined at angle θ with one another. The load F and the
effort P act at right angles to their respective arms. The
reaction R at the fulcrum is given by
 Design of Lever Arm
When the forces acting on the lever are determined,
the next step in lever design is to find out the
dimensions of the cross-section of the lever.

The cross-section of the lever is subjected to bending

moment. In case of two arm lever, as shown in Fig., the
bending moment is zero at the point of application of P
or F and maximum at the boss of the lever.
 Design of Lever Arm
The cross-section at which the bending moment is
maximum can be determined by constructing bending
moment diagram. In Fig., the bending moment is
maximum at section XX and it is given by,
 Design of Lever Arm
The cross- section of the lever can be rectangular,
elliptical or I-section. For rectangular cross-section,

For elliptical cross-section,

where a and b are major and minor axes of the section. Usually, major axis is
taken as twice of minor axis.

Using the above mentioned proportions, the

dimensions of the cross-section of the lever can be
determined by,
 Design of Fulcrum Pin
The fulcrum pin is subjected to reaction R as shown in
Fig. The forces acting on the boss of lever and the pin are
equal and opposite.

The dimensions of the pin, viz. diameter dp and length lp in

lever boss are determined by bearing consideration and
then checked for shear consideration.

There is relative motion between the pin and the lever and
bearing pressure becomes the design criterion. The
projected area of the pin is (dp x lp). Therefore,
 Design of Fulcrum Pin
For the fulcrum pin, the ratio of length to diameter (lp /dp)
is usually taken between 1 to 2. The outside diameter of
boss in the lever is taken as twice of the diameter of pin
i.e. (2 x dp). A phosphor bronze bush, usually 3mm thick is
fitted inside the boss to reduce the friction.

The permissible bearing pressure for phosphor bronze

bush is 5 to 10 N/mm . Lubricant is provided between the
pin and the bush to reduce the friction.