CHAPTER THREE.

3.0 Shaft Design.

3.1 Introduction.

Shafts are found virtually in all machines. The most common shape for shafts is circular and the
cross-section can either be hollow or solid.

Hollow shafts can result in weight saving but they are more common on machines that require
some other components to pass through the shaft. A shaft must have sufficient torsional strength
to transmit the torque and not be overstressed. It also must be torsionally stiff enough that one
mounted component does not deviate excessively from its original angular position relative to a
second component mounted on the same shaft.

Shafts are mounted on bearings and transmit power through devices such as gears, pulleys, cams
and clutches. The shaft must be rigid enough to prevent overloading of the supporting bearings.

In addition, a shaft must be able to sustain a combination of bending and torsional loads. Thus an
equivalent load must be considered which takes into account both torsion and bending. In
addition, the allowable stress must contain a factor of safety that includes fatigue, since torsion
and bending stress reversals occur.

For small diameter shafts, the material is cold rolled steel containing about 0.4% carbon.

Large sizes are forged and machined to size.

Plastic shafts are used in light load applications. One advantage of using plastic shafts is safety in
electrical applications. Since plastic is a poor conductor of electricity.

In selecting a shaft, the calculated size is considered the minimum value. A standard size that is
the smallest standard size exceeding the calculated value should be selected.

Components such as gears are commonly mounted on shafts by means of keys. Stress
concentration occurs in shafts as a result of the keyways.

If shafts are run at critical speeds, severe vibrations can occur that can seriously damage the
machine. The difference between the operating speeds and the critical speeds should be about
20%.

Power = 2πTN/60

Where; T = Torque
N = rotational speed.

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3.2 Torsional of circular shaft.
A shaft experiences torsion when it transmits torque. The twisting action produces torsional
stresses and torsional deflections.

TL
 …. ……. (3.1)
GJ

Where;  = angle of twist in radians

T = applied torque
L = shaft length
J = polar moment of inertia of the shaft cross-section
G = shear modulus of elasticity of the shaft material.
The maximum shear torsional stress is on the shaft’s surface.
TC
 max  ………… …. (3.2)
J
d4
*J 
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Where; T = applied torque
C = radius of shaft
J = polar moment of inertia of the shaft.
Example:
A 35mm diameter steel shaft is 500mm long and must transmit 20kW of power at 500RPM.
Find;
a) The torque required.
b) The maximum shear stress developed.
c) Angle of twist.
[Take G = 83Gpa]

Shafts transmit power through such devices as gears and pulleys. These devices introduce forces
which tend to bend the shaft as it rotates.
In cases of combined torque and bending, the equivalent torque is calculated as;
TE  M 2  T 2 ……… …… (3.3)

3.3 Standard sizes of Shafts.

 Up to 25mm in 0.5mm increments
 25 to 50mm in 1mm increments.
 50 to 100mm in 2mm increments
 100 to 200mm in 5mm increments.

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Questions.
1. Determine the maximum shear stress for a solid circular shaft where torque T = 7.5kNm
and diameter, D = 0.1m. [Ans. 38.2Mpa]
2. Calculate the shear stress at the inside surface of a hollow circular shaft of inside and
outer diameters 0.05m and 0.1m respectively. The torque, T = 12000Nm. [Ans. 32.6Mpa]
3. Calculate the angle of twist,  for a solid circular shaft made of steel with the following
data;
T = 9kNm
D = 0.08m
L = 2m and G = 80.8 x 109 N/m2 for steel.
[Ans. 0.056rad]
4. Determine the maximum torque that can be applied to an aluminum solid circular shaft if
there is a maximum allowable shear stress,  max = 410Mpa and maximum allowable angle
of twist, max = 1.5° (0.0026rad). Other information regarding the shaft; Diameter =
0.15m, Length, L= 1m and GAl = 26.7 x 109 N/m2. [Ans.34kNm]