ME2 Design & Manufacture

Shaft Design
Shafts

PLAIN TRANSMISSION

STEPPED SHAFT

MACHINE TOOL SPINDLE

RAILWAY ROTATING AXLE

NON-ROTATING TRUCK AXLE

CRANKSHAFT
 GEAR PULLEY

PROFILED
KEY
WOODRUFF
KEY
CIRCLIPS

SHAFT HUB
HUB

FRAME
 P. Childs, 2014, Mechanical Design Engineering Handbook
Chapter 7

TRANSVERSE
LOAD
TWIST TRANSVERSE
DUE TO LOAD AXIAL
TORSIONAL
LOAD
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 DETERMINE
DETERMINE TRANSVERSE FORCES,
SHEAR FORCES AND INTERNAL FORCES
TWISTING MOMENTS AXIAL FORCES AND
AND MOMENTS
BENDING MOMENTS

DETERMINE COMBINED DETERMINE

SHEAR STRESS STRESSES DIRECT STRESS

CHOOSE MATERIAL
SET FACTOR
OF SAFETY
DETERMINE DETERMINE
STRENGTH MODULUS
COMPARE FACTORED
STRESSES WITH
MATERIAL STRENGTH
DETERMINE
DEFLECTION
NO 2nd OPTION IS SHAFT SECTION NO 1st OPTION
SATISFACTORY

YES

SPECIFY SHAFT
 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

𝑑2 𝑦 𝑀
=
𝑑𝑥 2 𝐸𝐼

𝑑𝑦 𝑀
= 𝑑𝑥 slope
𝑑𝑥 𝐸𝐼

𝑀
𝑦= 𝑑𝑥 deflection
𝐸𝐼
q

with:
𝑀 = 𝑉𝑑𝑥 and V = − 𝑞𝑑𝑥

M 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 T1
R 1H
80

BEARING R 1V
0
12

Vertically Horizontally
Fr +m g g mpg Ft T

A C A C
L1 B L2 L3 L1 B L2 L3

R1H R2H
R1V R2V
 Combining Normal Stresses
Vertically Horizontally
Fr +m g g mpg Ft T

A C A C
L1 B L2 L3 L1 B L2 L3

R1V R2V R1H R2H

Vertical Bending Moments Horizontal Bending Moments

5
A C A B C
B
3

10

30
 Combining Normal Stresses
Vertical Bending Moments Horizontal Bending Moments
5
A C A B C
B
3

10

MB  5 2    10   11.2
2

MC   3 2
   30   30.1
2
30

30.1
Combined:
M c
 11.2
I

A B C
 Normal stress & Shear stress
dx

dx
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
𝑑𝜃
𝑃=𝑇∙ =𝑇∙𝜔 =𝑇∙2∙𝜋∙𝑓
𝑑𝑡
𝑇∙𝑟
• Shear stress: Torsion Formula 𝜏 =
𝐽
J: polar moment of inertia
r: radius
 Mohr's Circle

Combining and visualising the normal and shear stress components

• Normal stresses σx & σy and
shear stress τ known.
tx'y'
x x' • Average normal stress
𝜎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑦
𝜎𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
2
txy
• Actual combined stress
2
𝜎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑦
txy 𝑅=
2
+ 𝜏𝑥𝑦 2

y
 Mohr's Circle

Combine and visualise the normal and shear stress components

• Normal stresses σx & σy and
y x shear stress τ are known.

• Average normal stress

𝜎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑦
2 avg 1 𝜎𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
 2
R
txy • Actual combined stress
2
𝜎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑦
𝑅= + 𝜏𝑥𝑦 2
t 2

• Principal stresses σ1 and σ2

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

• Maximum principal stresses

• Introduce safety factor  yield  n   eq

• Select a material to match design stress

– 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

σe′ = k ∙ σe with k < 1, and depending on:

σe = 0.5 ∙ σuts • 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
after Hurst (1994)

Shrink fit
Press fit
Clamp

Spline
screw

Taper
Bush
Grub

Key
Pin
High torque capacity x x  x    

Large axial loads  x  x  x x 

Axially compact x x x     

Axial location provision      x x 

Easy hub replacement x   x x   

Fatigue x x    x x 
Accurate angular
 x x x x   ()
positioning
Easy position
x   x x x x 
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

Ø=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

Young’s modulus of 200 GPa.
 Example

130 N 140 N 150 N

W1 W2 W3
L1=0.15 m L2=0.14 m L3=0.08 m L4=0.07 m

Ø=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

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

• Hence R2 
L1  L 2  L 3
 x
Solution cont.

• Calculating the moment at XX: Vxx Mxx

x
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 θ = dy/dx
and twice to find the deflection y.
 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 Note that in Macaulay's Method
dx terms within square brackets to be ignored
when the sign of the bracket goes negative.
dy
dx 
EI  M dx

x 2 W1
 R1   
x  L1 
2 W2
 
x  L1  L 2  
2 R2
x  L1  L 2  L 3 2  C1
2 2 2 2
EIy   Md2 x
x 3 W1
 R1  x  L1 3  W2 x  L1  L 2 3  R2 x  L1  L 2  L 3 3  C1x  C2
6 6 6 6
 Boundary conditions

Assuming: deflection at the bearings is zero

• y(x=0) = 0 → C2 = 0
R1
L 1  L 2 L3  3  W6 L 2
1
L3  3  W6 L 3  3
2

• y(x=L1+L2+L3) = 0 → C 1  6

L1 L 2 L 3
x 2 W1
EI
dy
 R1   
x  L1 
2 W2
x  L1  L 2 2
dx 2 2 2

 2 x  L1  L 2  L 3  
R 2
R1
6 L1  L 2  L 3 3  W6 L 2  L 3 3  W6 L 3 3
1 2

2 L1  L 2  L 3

x 3 W1
EIy  R1  x  L1 3  W2 x  L1  L 2 3
6 6 6


R2 3 
x  L1  L 2  L 3   

R1
6 L1  L 2  L 3 3
 W1
6 L 2  L 3 3
 W2
6 L 3 3

x
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 
64

64
 1.2566  10 7 m 4   12.57 mm  4

Material E=200,000 MPa

Also check the slope

Substitution of these values gives: of the shaft at the
R1=79.2 N critical locations
R2=340.8 N
L =0.15 m L =0.14 m L =0.08 m L =0.07 m
Deflections: 1 2 3 4

at x=0.15 m, y=5.110-3 mm
at x=0.29 m, y=2.810-3 mm x

at x=0.44 m, y=-1.210-3 mm R 1
R 2
 Hollow v Solid
Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Wall Thickness / Shaft Radius [%]
 Hollow v Solid
Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative Mass [%]
 Hollow v Solid
Relative Polar Moment of Inertia [%]

Danger of buckling?
100

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative Mass [%]
 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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