Comput Mech (2006) 37: 121130
DOI 10.1007/s00466-005-0664-7
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Pauli Pedersen
On Shrink Fit Analysis and Design
Received: 19 October 2004 / Accepted: 28 January 2005 / Published online: 6 September 2005
Springer-Verlag 2005
Abstract Shrink t or interference t is an important
connection in a number of mechanical parts. In contrast
to the importance, the number of three dimensional
nite element analyses of this contact problem is not
large, because contact between two or more bodies in
general is a particularly dicult non-linear behaviour to
analyze.
In the present paper we show how relatively simple
axisymmetric analysis is possible, and we describe two
dierent points-of-view. Classical plane analysis is eval-
uated and the design of shrink t surfaces is included.
The rst method determines the shape of a shrink t
surface that will result in a prescribed distribution of
contact pressure due to the shrink t.
The second method uses a super element technique,
and determine without iteration and incrementation
the distribution of contact pressure that will result
from a prescribed shrink t interference. Simplicity is
our goal, so specic linear elastic shrink ts without
friction are treated, but a number of extensions are
possible.
Keywords Shrink t Interference t Shape
optimization Optimal design Contact
stresses Parameterization
1 Introduction
Shrink t or interference t is an important connection
in a number of mechanical parts, say to obtain a pre-
stress (residual stress) state or simply to connect dierent
P. Pedersen
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Solid Mechanics
Technical University of Denmark Nils Koppels Allae,
Building 404, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
E-mail: pauli@mek.dtu.dk
parts in a reliable and non expensive manner. A thick
cylinder that must sustain high internal pressure is an
important example, and so are shaft disk connections
that must transmit high torsional and/or axial loads.
Stress concentration is important for the fatigue of the
shafts as described in Norton (2000) with reference given
to the early research of Peterson and Wahl (1935). It is
recognized that the design of the shrink t components is
an important issue, and still no nal answer is given to
the problem.
For the two dimensional classical models, we have
analytical results that follow from a formulation which
gives the Euler dierential equation. We rst show
such a two dimensional specic solution and then
evaluate these results relative to an axisymmetric nite
element solution. As is well known, the two dimen-
sional model lacks information about the changes in
the axial direction, and this might return some
important modications to the contact stresses, to the
circumferential stresses, and to the von Mises stresses.
Furthermore it puts our attention toward the fact that
shrink t interference is not just a value, but should
be treated as a function of the axial direction z.
Immediately, the question of design of this interference
function (shape of the axisymmetric contact surface) is
important.
In contrast to the importance of shrink t, the
number of papers on three dimensional nite element
analysis of this contact problem is not large, because
contact between two or more bodies is a particularly
dicult non-linear behaviour to analyze. The literature
on the solution of contact problems in general is large,
with a number of dierent suggested solution proce-
dures. Most of these methods are based on incremental
simulation and iteration with application of tools from
optimization, see the extended reviews in Zhong and
Mackerle (1992) and Mijar and Arora (2000), and in the
book by Wriggers (2002).
Contact problems are dicult to solve, being highly
non-linear and often extremely sensitive. A number of
classications are possible:
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(a) only one exible body (in contact with rigid bodies)
or multiple exible bodies in contact
(b) non-friction contact for the analysis or a friction
model with, say stick and slip
(c) elastic material or including non-elastic behavior
(d) linear elastic or non-linear elastic
(e) linear geometry (linear strain measure) or non-linear
geometry
(f) known contact surface or unknown contact surface
The shrink t problem treated in the present paper
is based on a number of assumptions and may hardly
be named a contact problem. We show that it is
possible to obtain a direct solution without iteration.
The obtained simplicity may be applied to more ad-
vanced models, including incrementation and/or iter-
ation. So to classify our problem relative to (a)(f) we
treat two exible bodies in contact without friction.
Linear elastic material behavior is assumed with iso-
tropic material (direct extension to anisotropic mate-
rials is possible). Engineering strains with equilibrium
in undeformed system, and to a large extend the
contact connections are known.
We show that it is possible to use relatively simple
axisymmetric analysis, and we describe two dierent
points-of-view. The rst method determines the shape of
a shrink t surface which will result in a prescribed
distribution of contact pressure due to the shrink t. For
practical reasons a few parameter description of contact
pressure is applied, and the corresponding equivalent
nodal forces in the axisymmetric model are derived.
Thus the user only has to change one to three parame-
ters in order to obtain the nodal force model for another
contact pressure distribution. The two bodies in contact
are analyzed individually.
From the resulting displacements for the nodes in
contact follows an interference function (vector) that
gives the shape of the shrink t surface(s), necessary to
obtain the prescribed contact pressure. Contact is not
Fig. 1 Shrink t model from
Benham et al. (1996) with
internal pressure p and shrink t
interference e
involved in these linear elastic nite element analyses,
that therefore are robust and inexpensive even with a
large number of degrees of freedom (dof.).
The second method uses a super element technique,
and determines without iteration and incrementation
the distribution of contact pressure that will result
from a prescribed shape of the shrink t surface equal
to a prescribed interference function (vector). A
practical application of the super element nite ele-
ment method is described. The nal expression for the
nodal contact forces involves the inverse of the sum of
two inverse matrices, but the order of these matrices is
only equal to the number of contact dof., and there-
fore inexpensive.
Simplicity is our goal, so only linear elastic shrink ts
without friction are treated, but a number of extensions
are possible.
2 A simple plane test case
As a case for later reference we analyze a plane problem
of shrink t, taken from Benham et al.(1996). The two
rings (cylinders) to be tted are shown in Fig. 1 with
denition of the length parameters: a for the inner radius
of the inner ring, b for the nominal outer radius of the
inner ring equal to the nominal inner radius of the outer
ring, and c for the outer radius of the outer ring. The
shrink t interference e bi
bo  0 is the actual design
parameter. The two rings are here of the same material
with modulus of elasticity E, and the internal pressure in
the inner ring is p.
Assuming a state of plane stress we get, as is well
known, the Euler dierential equation for the radial
displacement. We can solve this problem analytically
and get the two principal stresses as a function of radial
position r, inner pressure load p, scalar value of shrink