CHAPTER 2 : SHAFT

Todays Objectives:
Students will be able
to:
1. Describe types of
shafts,
2. Take decisions to
select the materials
for shaft,
3. Estimate
shaft
diameters
in
different segments
along length, and
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

Norhaslina binti Abdul Aziz

INTRODUCTION
A shaft is a rotating part used to transmit power,
motion, or analogic information.
It often carries rotating machine elements (gears,
pulleys, cams, etc.) which assist in the
transmission.
Shaft must sustain a combination of bending and
torsional loads.
Shaft must have adequate torsional strength to
transmit torque and not be over stressed.
Shafts are always made to have circular crosssection and could be either solid or hollow. The
shafts are classified as straight, cranked, flexible
or articulated.
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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INTRODUCTION
The parts carried by axle or shaft are fastened to
them by means of keys or splines and for this
purpose the shaft and axle are provided with key
ways or splines.
The bearings that support the shafts or axle may
be of sliding contact or rolling contact type. In
the former case the journal of the shaft rotates
freely on thin lubricant layer between itself and
bearing, while in the latter case the inner race of
the bearing is force fitted on the journal of the
shaft and rotates with the shaft while outer race
is supported in the housing and remains

TYPES OF SHAFT
Figure (a) shows a stepped shaft with three seats
for supported parts which can be pulleys, gears or
coupling. Two seats for bearings are also
indicated. These bearings will be rolling contact
type.

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TYPES OF SHAFT
Figure (b) shows a single crank shaft. The crank
may be connected to another element like
connecting rod which may have a combined
rotary and reciprocating motion. The connection
is through a bearing often called crank pin. The
straight part of the shaft may support a pulley or
a gear. The connection will be through a key.

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TYPES OF SHAFT
Multiple crank shaft is shown in Figure below.
Each crank pin would carry a connecting rod and
each crank pin will be between the supporting
bearings. The other shaft types are explanatory.

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MATERIALS FOR SHAFT

Commercial shaftings (available in stock) are
generally made in low carbon steel by hot rolling.
Such shaftings could be finished to size by cold
drawing are machining (turning and grinding).
Cold drawing produces stronger shaft but
generally introduces residual stresses which may
result in distortion of the shaft when subjected to
unsymmetrical machining like cutting a keyway.
Table
below
describes
shafting
available
commercially.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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MATERIALS FOR SHAFT

Carbon steel is frequently used as a shafting material
and this material can be subjected to heat treatment
which can result into ultimate strength of about 800
MPa with yield strength exceeding 550 MPa.
Heavily loaded shafts are often made in alloy steels
which because of their high strength would result in
smaller diameters. These steels are amenable to heat
treatment and especially high wear resistance in
journal is obtainable by case hardening treatment.
Special purpose and large diameter shafts are often
forged. Diameters larger than 125 mm are regarded
as large in this respect. The forged shafts are
subsequently machined to size.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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TORSION OF CIRCULAR SHAFT

Shaft is assumed to be much longer with respect to the
diameter.
The only deformation in bar is rotation of the cross sections
through the angle . Radius is unchanged in length.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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SHAFT STRENGTH UNDER TORSIONAL LOAD

Following notations will be used for

shaft.
d = diameter of shaft
T = torque transmitted by the shaft
P = power transmitted by the shaft
(W)
N = rpm of the shaft
s = permissible shearing stress
b = permisssible bending stress

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Considering only transmission of torque by a solid shaft.

The power, P transmitted by shaft and the torque in the shaft are
related as:

P T

If P is in Watts and T in Nm. Angular velocity, in rad/s and equals

T 2N
2N/60.

60

30 P
T
Nm
N

2.1

16Ttorque
10 are related
The shearing stress and the
as:
2

N / mm

3
3
T

10

d
If T is in Nm and d in mm;
16
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

2.2
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From Eqs. (2.1) and (2.2):

30 P 3 3
10 d
N 16
Or

16 30 P
d 2
103
N
3

P
d 36.5

0.33

mm

2.3
In Eq. (2.3), P is in W, in N/mm2, N in rpm and d
in mm.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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SHAFT STRENGTH UNDER TORSIONAL LOAD

For calculating shaft diameter, d, we substitute the
permissible value of shearing stress in place of . Table 2.1
describes permissible values for steel shaft under carious
service conditions, when the bending are much smaller than
torsional loads.
Table 2.1: Allowable shear stress for shafts

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CODE FOR DESIGN

Keep shafts short, with bearings close to the applied loads.
This will reduce deflections and bending moments and
increases critical speeds.
Place necessary stress raisers away from highly stressed
shaft regions if possible. Is unavoidable, use generous radii
and good surface finishes.
Use inexpensive steels for deflection-critical shafts because
all steels have essentially the same modulus of elasticity.
Early in the design of any given shaft, an estimate is usually
made of whether strength or deflection will be the critical
factor. A preliminary design is based on that criterion, them
the remaining factor is checked.
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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CODE FOR DESIGN

Rules of deflection
Deflections should not cause mating gear teeth to separate
more than about 0.127mm. They should not cause the relative
slope of gear axes to change more than 0.03 deg.
The shaft deflection across a plain bearing must be small
compared to the oil film thickness.
The shaft angular deflection at ball or roller bearing should
generally not exceed 0.04 deg. Unless the bearing is selfaligning.
Rule of thumb: Restrict the torsional deflection to 1 for every
20 diameters of length, sometimes less.
Rule of thumb: In bending the deflection should be limited to
0.81 mm per meter of length between supports.

VON MISES HENCKY THEORY FOR SHAFTING

Figure shows the stress distribution over the cross-section
and state of stress at a point on the surface at a radius d/2.
apparently both bending stress, and shearing stress,
(respectively due to M and T) have highest magnitudes 1
and 1 at surface or point A.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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If we assume that a bending moment Me, acting alone would

induce a bending stress at point A, then

32M e 1
d 2

p1

Then the right hand sides being equal obtain:

Me

1
M M 2 T 2
2

Using equivalent bending moment for designing the shaft is same

as using maximum normal stress theory of failure. If b denote the
permissible bending stress for the steel shaft, then

32 M e
d 3

Me

d 2.17
b

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0.33

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VON MISES HENCKY THEORY FOR SHAFTING

allowable

yp

allowable

yp

2n

yp = Yield strength
n
= Design factor (safety
factor)
2

max

2
2
2

max

32 M
16T

3
3
2d
d

16
2
2
M

T
d 3

M = Bending
Moment
T
= Torque
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STRESSES IN BENDING AND

TORSION
Shafts if we assume that a torque Mte acting along will cause
same shearing stress at max, then

M te M 2 T 2
Mte is equivalent torque. Both Me and Mte can be
used to calculate shaft diameter.
While solving an actual problem the designer will
have to find bending moment and torque at
various sections of shaft. It may require complete
understanding of how the forces are transmitted
to shafts from attached parts like gears, pulleys
and chain sprockets or coupling.
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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Example:
1)The stress distribution in a solid shaft has
been shown. Determine the resultant internal
torque at the section. Diameter of shaft = 10
cm.
2)By referring to (1), if length of solid shaft is
5m and shear modulus of the shaft is 80000
Mpa. What is the angle of twist of the shaft?
3)Determined the shear stress developed at
point A and B. Given rA = 10 cm and rB = 5 cm.
4)Determine the power transmitted by a
tubular shaft having diameter of 50 mm. given
that the torque generated by shaft is 600 Nm at

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

Norhaslina binti Abdul Aziz

Example:
Suppose it is specified that the angular
deformation in a shaft should not exceed 1 in
a length of 1800 mm. The permissible shearing
stress is 83 Mpa. Find the diameter of the shaft.
The material has a shear modulus of
77000Mpa.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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Example:
A shaft is required to transmit a power of 25 kW
at 360 rpm. The force analysis due to attached
parts results in bending moment of 830 Nm at
a section between bearings. If permissible
stresses in the shaft are : 60 N/mm2 in bending
and 40 N/mm2 in shear calculate the diameter
of the shaft.

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

Norhaslina binti Abdul Aziz

ASSIGNMENT 1
(a) Describe different types of shafts. Sketch a
stepped shaft to support a gear, a pulley and
coupling at one end. The shaft will be supported
in ball bearings.
(b) Describe materials for shaft.
Due date: 13/04/2015

TORSION FOR NON-CIRCULAR SHAFT

Some design needs to develop non-circular cross
section shaft.
e.g: rectangular cheek of crankshaft, supports,
which are sometimes loaded in torsion.
The theory of torsion involved is complicated, it
can be solved experimentally by method
membrane analogy.
Shafts with square, triangle and ellipse crosssectional area having maximum shear stress at a
point on the edge of cross section that is closest
to the center axis of shaft.
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TORSION FOR NON-CIRCULAR SHAFT

Shape of cross
section
a
a
a

max

4.81T
a3

7.10TL
a 4G

20T
3
a

46TL
a 4G

2
b

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

2T
ab 2

b TL
a 3b 3G
2

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TORSION FOR RECTANGULAR BAR

c

A1

A2

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

1bc 2

For point A1

2bc 2

For point A2

TL

Gbc 3

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CRANK SHAFT CRITICAL SPEED

When a shaft is turning, eccentricity causes a centrifugal force
deflection. As long as deflections are small, no harm is done.
At certain speeds, the shaft is unstable with deflections
increasing without upper bound, called critical speeds.
Designers seek first critical speeds at least twice the operating
speed.
When geometry is simple, as in a shaft of uniform diameter,
2
2
simply supported,
it
can
be expressed as
m = mass per unit

EI
gEI

(rad / s 1 )

length
A = cross-sectional
area
= Specific weight

Operating speed should be 20% away from the critical speed.

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KEYS
Shafts and hubs are usually fastened together by means of
keys.
Square and flat types of key are in wide use for general
machine construction.
Kennedy keys are usually made tapered and are drawn tightly
into place upon assembly. adapted for rough, heavy service.
Woodruf key used in automotive and machine tool
industries.
Distribution of forces on surfaces of key is very complicated.
Usually apply a sufficiently large factor of safety.
Standard proportions for the key width to be approximately
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of the shaft diameter.

KEYS
The key dimensions for rectangular section defined w x h (width x
height) can be chosen from Table below.
Table: Standard key section
dimensions

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EXAMPLE
A driving shaft is joined with coaxial driven shaft
through a muff coupling. The shaft transmits 60
kW of power at 150 rpm. Design the shaft and key.
Assume a factor of safety of 5 with following
ultimate strength values.
Ultimate shear strength for shaft = 300 N/mm2
Ultimate shear strength for key = 200 N/mm2
Ultimate compressive strength for key = 500
N/mm2

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COUPLINGS
Used for connecting the ends of two shafts together.
It is inexpensive and will withstand rough usage.
Need to have good alignment to avoid inducing bending
stresses in shafts or loads in bearings.
Flexible couplings are sometime needed to provide for some
misalignment.
Its provided with springs or rubber inserts to cushion the
shock of suddenly applied load.
Universal joints permit substantial angular misalignment of
shafts having intersecting axes.
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COUPLINGS
Permanent coupling : The connectors of coaxial shafts and cannot
be disengaged when shafts are running.
Clutches: Couplings which can be readily engaged or disengaged
when driving shaft is running. The power is transmitted when a
clutch is engaged and not transmitted when clutch is disengaged.
Muff or sleeve coupling is shown in Figure below. It is the simplest
form of a permanent coupling, consisting of a steel or cast iron
sleeve fitted on the ends of shaft to be connected.

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COUPLINGS
The length of sleeve can be taken as (3.5 to 4) diameter of the
shaft while the outer diameter of the muff or sleeve, D, is given
by

D d 2

where d is the diameter of shaft in mm, , the thickness of the

muff.
Flange coupling is used to connect two strictly coaxial shafts.

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COUPLINGS
Flange couplings are often employed to transmit great torque and
are largely dependable connections for shafts ranging in diameter
between 18 mm to 200 mm.

The number of bolts which are placed symmetrically in a circle is

determined in advance by an empirical formula
where d is the shaft
d
diameter
in
mm.
The
n
3
number of bolts normally
50
varies between 4 to 8.
DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

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COUPLINGS
The diameter of bolt, d1, is

d1

d
2 n

The pitch circle diameter, Dc, is then determined from,

Dc 2d 2d1 12mm
The diameter of bolt is then accurately determined by taking it in
single shear at the interface of two flanges.

2 Dc
T n d 1 s1
4
2

DEM 303 Design of Machine Elements 1

s1 is the permissible shearing

stress in bolt and Mt is the torque
transmitted.

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EXAMPLE
A shaft transmitting 150 kW is to be connected
to a coaxial shaft through cast iron flange
coupling. The shaft runs at 120 rpm. The key
and shaft are to be made of same material for
which permissible shearing stress is 60 N/mm2
and compressive strength is 120 N/mm2. The
steel bolts may be subjected to maximum
shearing stress of 26 N/mm2. Design protected
type flange coupling.

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