Introduction:

 A knuckle Joint is a mechanical component

that is used to join the two components
under tensile loads. It is also known as the
Forked pin joint. For example Tractor and
trolley. The trolley is being attached to the
tractor with the help of a knuckle joint.
 In other words, we can say this joint is used
When there is a requirement small amount of
flexibility or angular movement.

Knuckle Joint Parts or Assembly,

It consist of following Parts:
 Single eye
 Double-eye or fork
 Knuckle pin
 Taper pin
 Collar
  Design Procedure of Knuckle Joint:
 The following design procedure of Knuckle Joint are:
 Material Selection
 Properties of Material
 The factor of safety consideration
 Permissible Stress
 Rod Design
 Single Eye, Double Eye, Knuckle Pin,
Cotter, and other Parts Dimension and
Design
Material Selection:
Material selection plays a vital role in designing knuckle
joints. As per the need, we choose different types of
material which are having low carbon steel. The Aluminum
material prefers for 50KN because it has good FOS. But in
advance, the ceramic material is being used who can
withstand the stress developed in that zone.


Properties of Material:
The properties of material we select is between C-15 to C-
45.

The factor of safety consideration:

While designing any object we must consider factor of
safety. Factor of safety is the ratio of maximum stress to
the working stress. The more factor of safety the less
chances of breaking. Example if load is 50KN then we
have to design who can resist the load up to 60 to 70 KN
or more.
Permissible Stress:
Permissible stress is Maximum principal stress or shear
stress.
Rod, Single Eye, Double Eye, Knuckle Pin, Cotter, and other
Parts Dimension and Design:
Note down the proper dimension and calculates stress
and It is subjected to a direct tensile stress ς = P / π d2

Mathematical Calculation for Knuckle Joint:

The following dimension of Knuckle Joint are:
 The thickness of single eye = t
 The thickness of fork = t1 (1 is in subscript)
 Axial tensile force on rod = P
 Diameter of rod = d
 Diameter of knuckle pin = dp (p is in subscript)
 Outside diameter of single eye = doe (oe is in subscript)
 Outside diameter of double eye = dod (od is in subscript)
1. Calculating Diameter of the rod:
Consider the rod is subjected to a direct tensile stress ς =
P / π d2 From this equation we can find the value of d.

2. Design of Pin (dp)

(a) Consider the failure of the pin under double shear due
to tensile force. Therefore, direct shear stress induced in
knuckle pin is given by Equation
ς = P / 2A = (P/2) / (π/4) dp2 = 2P / π dp2
Here, we check the pin in bending and find the value of dp
Now
The material used for Knuckle Joint:
The following materials used for manufacturing of
Knuckle Joint :

 Stainless steel,
 Structural steel,
 Aluminum,
 Magnesium, and
 Gray cast iron

The material we use for this joint is Aluminum because it has the
highest factor of safety for 50KN. But The recent study shows that
composite material would be a very good option to make for
better efficiency. Using composite material (mixture of two or
more metals) there are chances of increasing the shear stress.
Knuckle Joint Application:
The following application of Knuckle Joints are:
 The very first use of the Knuckle joint is to connect the tractor
and trolley.
 It is also used in robotic arms, cranks, and tanks.
 This joint can be used in the windshield wipers of the vehicles.
 Used to join the coaches of the train easily.
 It has application in the valve mechanism of a reciprocating
engine.
 It also connects the connecting rod between wheels of
locomotives.
 Used to the joint between the tie rod joint of a roof truss and
bridge structure.
 Another application is Tie rod joint of the jib crane.
 Knuckle joint also used in Link of roller chain, bicycle chain, and
chain straps of watches and so on.
 This joint is mainly used in the mechanical and automobile
sectors whose axis lies on the same line (Joint supports
skeleton for wheel assembly).
Knuckle Joint Advantages:
The following advantages of Knuckle Joint are:

 Once the knuckle joint is made it has long tool life.

 The joint has good mechanical rigidity (has very little possibility
to bend).
 It can withstand a huge tensile load.
 It reduces impact shock and has high system rigidity.
 The manufacturing process of the knuckle joint is simple and
the setup process is also simple.
 The assembling of the joint is easy (we can easily assemble
and dismantle).
 The joint can be attached to another vehicle which is also a
major advantage.
 Some parts of this Joint are more reliable and less costly.
 It permits the angular movement between rods.

Knuckle Joint Disadvantages:

It has some disadvantages too and those are:

 The angular movement can be done in only one plane or axis.

 It can not withstands large compressive loads which is major
drawback.
 Compare to universal joint it has less flexibility.
Knuckle Joint Failure:
When knuckle joint failures occur it can cause big accidents. To
overcome this accident it is necessary to design and withstand
tension without failure.

Some of the failures are:

 Knuckle Pin bends and Shear Failures of Knuckle Joint.

 The pin crushing against the rod.
 The tensile failure of solid rod and flat end bar.
 Tensile and Shear failure between all (Pin, Single eye, and so
on) the parts.
 The bending of a pin in the knuckle pinhole of a single-eye end.

It is used to join the two components under

tensile loads


