DESIGN OF SHAFTS

INTRODUCTION

Shaft is a rotating machine element, which is used to transmit

power from one place to another usually having a circular
cross-section much smaller in diameter than the shaft length.

Power transmitting elements such as gears, pulleys, belts, fly

wheels, etc are mounted on the shafts.

Loading on the shaft can be various combinations of bending,

torsion, shock, axial, normal or transverse shear.

Shafts have a variety of uses. Some of them are listed below:

• AXLE is a shaft that supports rotating elements like wheel

hoisting drum & is fitted to the housing by means of
bearings. An axle may rotate with a wheel or simply
supports a rotating wheel.

EG: Automobile & Railway axle

• A SPINDLE is a short rotating shaft but the word often is

used to refer to the entire rotary unit.

EG: On a lathe, the spindle is the main component of head

stock

• A LINE SHAFT consists of number of shafts that are

connected in axial direction by means of couplings.
Numbers of pulleys are mounted on line shaft & power is
transmitted to individual machines by different belts.

• COUNTER SHAFT is a secondary shaft that is driven by

the main shaft from which power is supplied to machine
component. Often it is obtained with the help of spur or
helical gears.

TYPES OF SHAFTS
 • TRANSMISSION SHAFTS which transmit power between
source and machine absorbing power like the counter
shafts, line shafts, etc….

• MACHINE SHAFTS which are integral part of the machine

itself like the crank shaft….

• FLEXIBLE SHAFTS which transmit rotary motion to any

desired place like used in the speedometer of an
automobile.

MANUFACTURING OF SHAFTS

Shafts are generally manufactured by following methods:

• COLD ROLLING in which steel bars are passed through

proper rollers until reduced to required size.

• COLD DRAWING in which shafts are made by drawing

through dies of required size.

• Turning & Grinding of rough bars to accurate size.

Properties of shaft materials:-

 Sufficient high strength

 Low sensitivity to stress concentration.

 Good machinability.

 Ability to withstand heat.

Materials used in manufacture of shafts:-

Steel

 Low-priced standard

 High load capacity

 Application in dry area

  Hard chrome-plated also available

 Lower coefficient of friction against plastic bearing

Ordinary transmission shafts are made of medium carbon

steels with carbon content from 0.15% to 0.40% EG 30C8,
40C8.

For higher strength high carbon steels are used. Ex 45C8,

50C8.

Steel alloys:

Alloys such as nickel, nickel-chromium & molybdenum steels

are using. Ex- 16Mn5Cr4, 40Cr4Mo2, 16Ni3Cr2, 40Ni6Cr4Mo2

 Alloy steels are costly compared with plain carbon steels.

 Alloy steels have higher strength, hardness & toughness.

 Alloy steels possess higher resistance to corrosion

compared with plain

Carbon steels

DESIGN METHODOLOGY
 Execute a preliminary design.

 Based on the preliminary design of the minimum diameter

and technological and functional requirements, make a
design of the shaft shape.

 Define all notches, necking-down and holes which may

cause stress concentration.

 Define all external loading forces.

  Consider the parameters of rotating masses (wheels,
pulleys, clutches) connected to the shaft (for calculation of
critical speed).

 Choose the material of the shaft depending upon the type

of loading (static, repeated, reverse).

 Start the "Shaft calculation".

 Check results of the calculation (deflection, position of the

shaft in bearings, stress, safety coefficients...).

 If the shaft is under dimensioned (or over dimensioned),

modify the dimensions (material) and repeat the
calculation.

SHAFT DESIGN ON STRENGTH

BASIS
Transmission shafts are subjected to axial tensile force,
bending moment or torsion or any possible combination of the
three.

The Design of shaft consists of determining the correct shaft

diameter from its strength and rigidity considerations, after
selecting suitable material.

When tensile force acts, the axial Tensile Stress is given by:

When shaft such as axel is subjected to pure bending moment,

bending stress is given by:
When the shaft is subjected to pure torsional moment,
Torsional Shear is given by:

When the shaft is subjected to any combination of loads, the

Principal stress and Principal shear stress are obtained by the
following methods:

1) Max. Principal stress theory

2) Max. Shear stress theory

MOHR’S CIRCLE METHOD

Max. Principal Stress,

Max. Shear Stress,

However for designing the shaft, simple equations can be

developed by using the above equations and apply them for
shaft subjected to combined loading.

MAX. PRINCIPAL STRESS THEORY

The Max. Principal stress is for a shaft subjected to bending
and torsional moments without any axial force,

OR
 The permissible value is given by:

The above two equations help in determining the shaft

diameter. Experimentally this gives good predictions for
BRITTLE materials, but shafts are generally made of ductile
materials.

MAX. SHEAR STRESS THEORY

According to this theory,

The permissible value is given by:

The above two equations help in determining the shaft

diameter. Experimentally this gives good predictions for
DUCTILE materials and hence is logical to apply for Shaft
Design.
DEDUCTIONS FROM THE ABOVE THEORIES:
1) From Max. Principal Stress Theory:

Is called EQUIVALENT BENDING MOMENT

It is defined as:

Bending moment which when acting alone will produce same

bending stresses in a shaft as under the combined action of
Bending Moment(M) and Torsional Moment(T).

2) From Max. Shear Stress Theory:

Is called EQUIVALENT TORSIONAL MOMENT

It is defined as:

Torsional moment which when acting alone will produce same

torsional stresses in a shaft as under the combined action of
Bending Moment(M) and Torsional Moment(T).

This concept of EQUIVALENT TORSIONAL MOMENT is generally

used in Design of Shafts.

SHAFT DESIGN ON BASIS OF

TORSIONAL RIGIDITY
In certain applications like Machine Tool spindles, it is
necessary to design shafts on basis of

TORSIONAL RIGIDITY (G): Angle of twist per meter length of

shaft.
We have,

Therefore,

Θ= rad

OR

Θ= deg

ASME Code for Shaft Design

For shafts without keyways:

OR Whichever is minimum.

For shafts with keyways:

The above values are reduced by 25%.

If there are shocks and fatigue in operating condition of the

shaft,

Accordingly the bending and torsional moments are to be

multiplied by:

=Combined Shock and fatigue factor for Bending Moment.

 =Combined Shock and fatigue factor for Torsional Moment.

Therefore we get:

The values of Shock & fatigue factors are taken as follows:

Application
Gradual loading 1.5 1.0
Sudden loading(MINOR 1.5-2.0 1.0-1.5
SHOCK)
Sudden loading(MAJOR 2.0-3.0 1.5-3.0
SHOCK)

Accordingly:

Is EQUIVALENT BENDING MOMENT

Is EQUIVALENT TORSIONAL MOMENT