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Shaft Design and Analysis

A shaft is the component of a mechanical device that transmits

rotational motion and power. It is integral to any mechanical system in
which power is transmitted from a prime mover, such as an electric
motor or an engine, to other rotating parts of the system. There are
many examples of mechanical systems incorporating rotating elements
that transmit power: gear-type speed reducers, belt or chain drives,
conveyors, pumps, fans, agitators, household appliances, lawn
maintenance equipment, parts of a car, power tools, machines around
an office or workplace and many types of automation equipment.

Visualize the forces, torques, and bending moments that are created in
the shaft during operation. In the process of transmitting power at a
given rotational speed, the shaft is inherently subjected to a torsional
moment, or torque. Thus, torsional shear stress is developed in the
shaft. Also, a shaft usually carries power-transmitting components, such
as gears, belt sheaves, or chain sprockets, which exert forces on the
shaft in the transverse direction (perpendicular to its axis). These
transverse forces cause bending moments to be developed in the shaft,
requiring analysis of the stress due to bending. In fact, most shafts must
be analyzed for combined stress.

Because of the simultaneous occurrence of torsional shear stresses and

normal stresses due to bending, the stress analysis of a shaft virtually
always involves the use of a combined stress approach. The
recommended approach for shaft design and analysis is the distortion
energy theory of failure. Vertical shear stresses and direct normal
stresses due to axial loads also occur at times, but they typically have
such a small effect that they can be neglected. On very short shafts or
on portions of shafts where no bending or torsion occurs, such stresses
may be dominant.
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Procedure for Design and analysis of a Shaft

1. Determine the rotational speed of the shaft, n (rpm).

2. Select the material from which the shaft will be made, and
specify ultimate tensile strength Su, yield strength Sy and its surface
condition: ground, machined, hot-rolled and as-forged. At the moment,
due to lack of database for endurance strength, this module should be
used in the design and analysis of steel shafts only. Use the database in
selection of a material.
3. Apply a desired reliability for definition of reliability factor, CR.
4. Apply a design factor, N (we prefer to use ηd).
5. Propose the general form of the geometry for the shaft,
considering how each element on the shaft will be held in
position axially and how power transmission from each element
to the shaft is to take place. Design details such as fillet radii,
shoulder heights, and key-seat dimensions must also be specified.
Sometimes the size and the tolerance for a shaft diameter are
dictated by the element to be mounted there. For example, ball
bearing manufacturers' catalogs give recommended limits for
bearing seat diameters on shafts.
6. Specify the location of bearings to support the shaft. The
reactions on bearings supporting radial loads are assumed to
act at the midpoint of the bearings. Another important concept is
that normally two and only two bearings are used to support a
shaft. They should be placed on either side of the power-transmitting
elements if possible to provide stable support for the shaft and to
produce reasonably well-balanced loading of the bearings. The
bearings should be placed close to the power-transmitting
elements to minimize bending moments. Also, the overall length
of the shaft should be kept small to keep deflections at
reasonable levels.
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7. Determine the design of the power-transmitting
components or other devices that will be mounted on the shaft,
and specify the required location of each device.
8. Determine the power to be transmitted by the shaft.
9. Determine the magnitude of torque at point of the shaft
where the power-transmitting element is.

T = 30 H/π n [N-m]
where:
H = transmitted power, W
T = torque, N-m.
n = rotational speed, rpm.

10. Determine the forces exerted on the shaft.

Spur and helical gears, tangential force

Wt = 60 000 H / π d n [N]

where: d = pitch diameter of gear in [mm];

H = Power in [W];
N = Rotational Speed in [rev/min]

Radial force ; Wr = Wt. tan φn / cos ψ [N]

where: φn = normal pressure angle for helical gears, and

pressure angle for spur gears; and
ψ = helix angle

11. Preparing a torque diagram.

12. Resolve the radial forces into components in perpendicular
directions, vertically and horizontally.
13. Solve for the reactions on all support bearings in each
plane.
14. Produce the complete shearing force and bending moment
diagrams to determine the distribution of bending moments in
the shaft.
15. Analyze each critical point of the shaft to determine the
minimum acceptable diameter of the shaft at that point in order to
ensure safety under the loading at that point. In general, the critical
points are several and include those where a change of diameter
takes place, where higher values of torque and bending moment
occur, and where stress concentrations occur.

If a vertical shearing force V is the only significant loading present,

this equation should be used to compute the required diameter for a
shaft.
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2.94 ⋅ K t ⋅V ⋅ N
D=
S n'
where:
Kt = stress concentration factor at the shoulder; 1.5 to 2.5;
V = Vertical Shear Force [N];
N = Factor of Safety / Design Factor (you may use ηd);
D or d = Diameter of the Shaft at the section considered [mm];
S’n = modified endurance strength [MPa], (Which depends on
ultimate tensile strength Su).
Sn' = Sn ⋅ CS ⋅ CR
where:
Cs = size factor;
CR = reliability factor;
Sn = endurance strength [MPa]

In most shafts, the resulting diameter will be much smaller than that
required at other parts of the shaft where significant values of torque
and bending moment occur. Also, practical considerations may
require that the shaft be somewhat larger than the computed minimum
to accommodate a reasonable bearing at the place where the shearing
force V is equal to the radial load on the bearing.

Most shafts are subjected to bending and torsion. The power being
transmitted causes the torsion, and the transverse and radial
forces on the elements cause bending. In the general case, the
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transverse forces do not all act in the same plane. In such cases,
the bending moment diagrams for two perpendicular planes are
prepared first. Then the resultant bending moment at each point
of interest is determined.

A design equation is now developed based on the assumption that

the bending stress in the shaft is repeated and reversed as the
shaft rotates, but that the torsional shear stress is nearly
uniform.
1
 2 2 3
 32 ⋅ N  K M  3 T  
D =  t  +   
 π  Sn'  4  S y  
 
where:
M = Bending moment (a resultant obtained from bending moment
diagrams; (this creates reversed bending stresses on the shaft) [N-
mm];
T = Torsion or twisting moment (usually steady) [N-mm];
N = Factor of safety; (We shall usually use η.)
D = Diameter of the shaft at the section under investigation; in
[mm].
Also, Sy and Sn are to be taken as [MPa]

Fillet radius

When a change in diameter occurs in a shaft to create a shoulder

against which to locate a machine element, a stress concentration
dependent on the ratio of the two diameters and on the radius in the
fillet is produced. It is recommended that the fillet radius r be as large as
possible to minimize the stress concentration, but at times the design of
the gear, bearing, or other element affects the radius that can be used.
For the purpose of design, we will classify fillets into two categories:
sharp and well-rounded.
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The term sharp here does not mean truly sharp, without any fillet radius
at all. Such a shoulder configuration would have a very high stress
concentration factor and should be avoided. Instead, sharp describes a
shoulder with a relatively small fillet radius. One situation in which this is
likely to occur is where a ball or roller bearing is to be located. The inner
race of the bearing has a factory-produced radius, but it is small. The
fillet radius on the shaft must be smaller yet in order for the bearing to
be seated properly against the shoulder. When an element with a large
chamfer on its bore is located against the shoulder, or when nothing at
all seats against the shoulder, the fillet radius can be much larger (well-
rounded), and the corresponding stress concentration factor is smaller.
We will use the following values for design for bending:
Kt = 2.5 (sharp fillet)
Kt = 1.5 (well-rounded fillet)

In this program the factor is determined under the formula (Elastic

stress, bending)

2 3
2 ⋅h  2 ⋅h  2 ⋅h 
K t = K1 + K 2   + K 3   + K 4  
 D   D   D 
where
h = D −d

D = larger diameter of the shaft;

d = adjacent smaller diameter of the shaft;

h h
0.25 ≤ ≤ 2.0 0.25 ≤ ≤ 2.0 source
r r
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h h
K1 0.927 + 1.149 − 0.086
r r
h h
1.225 + 0.831 − 0.010
r r
h h
K2 0.015 − 3.281 + 0.837
r r
h h
− 3.790 + 0.958 − 0.257
r r
h h
K3 0.847 + 1.716 − 0.506
r r
h h
7.374 − 4.834 + 0.862
r r
h h
K4 − 0.790 + 0.417 − 0.246
r r
h h
− 3.809 + 3.046 − 0.595
r r

Design factor

Under typical industrial conditions, the design factor of N = 3 is

recommended. If the application is very smooth, a value as low as N =
2 may be justified. Under conditions of shock or impact, N = 4 or
higher should be used, and careful testing is advised.

Desired reliability

This factor is used to apply a reliability factor CR.

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Desired reliability Reliability factor
0.50 1.00
0.90 0.90
0.99 0.81
0.999 0.75
Endurance strength data typically reported are average values over
many tests, thus implying a reliability of 0.50 (50%). Assuming that the
actual failure data follow a normal distribution, the factors from this
table can be used to adjust for higher levels of reliability.

Stress concentration factors

The order of input of the stress concentration factors is “Kt1/Kt2”. First

input the value of Kt1. Then enter a slash. Second input the value of Kt2.
For instance: “1.0/3.0”.

Kt1 is the value of the stress concentration factor to the right of a

bearing.

Retaining rings are used for many types of locating tasks in shaft
applications. The rings are installed in grooves in the shaft after the
element to be retained is in place. The ring manufacturer dictates the
geometry of the groove. Its usual configuration is a shallow groove
with straight side walls and bottom and a small fillet at the base of the
groove. The behavior of the shaft in the vicinity of the groove can be
approximated by considering two sharp shoulders positioned closed
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together. Thus, the stress concentration factor for a groove is fairly
high.

When bending exists, we will use Kt1 = 3.0 for preliminary design as an
estimate to account for the fillets and the reduction in diameter at the
groove to determine the nominal shaft diameter before the groove is
cut. When torsion exists along with bending, or when only torsion
exists at a section of interest, the stress concentration factor is not
applied to the torsional shear stress component because it is steady.
To account for the decrease in diameter at the groove, however,
increase the resulting computed diameter by approximately 6%, a
typical value for commercial retaining ring grooves. But after the final
shaft diameter and groove geometry are specified, the stress in the
groove should be computed with the appropriate stress concentration
factor for the groove geometry. The use of a spacing hub (sleeve) for
the bearing rests on a shoulder results in a Kt1 =1.0.

Everything, that is said for factor Kt1 concerns and for a factor Kt2.
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Align

This variable can receive one of following values: R – right side align or
L – left side align. This factor is used to indicate element position on
the shaft.

For example: the value of Align “R” means that parameter “Distance”
for the current element is equal to the value of space from beginning
of the shaft up to right side of element. The value of Align “L” means
that parameter “Distance” for the current element is equal the value of
space from beginning of the shaft up to left side of element.

Transmitted power

To understand the method of computing stress in the gear teeth,

consider the way power is transmitted by gear system. For discussion,
we’ll use the example of a single-reduction gear pair. Power is received
from the motor by the input shaft rotating at motor speed. Thus, there
is a torque in the shaft can be computed from the following equation:

Torque = power/ rotational speed = H / ω

The input shaft transmits the power from the coupling to the point
where the pinion is mounted. The power is transmitted from the shaft
to pinion through the key. The teeth of the pinion drive the teeth of the
gear thus transmit the power to the gear. But again, power
transmission actually involves the application of a torque during
rotational at given speed. The torque is the product of the force acting
tangent to pitch circle of the pinion times the pitch radius of the pinion.
We will use the symbol Wt to indicate the tangential force. As
described, Wt is the force exerted by the pinion teeth on the gear
teeth. But if the gears are rotating at constant speed and are
transmitted a uniform level of power, the system is in equilibrium.
Therefore, there must be an equal and opposite tangential force
exerted by the gear teeth back on the pinion teeth. This is an
application of the principle of action and reaction.

To complete the description of the power flow, the tangential force on

the gear teeth produces a torque on the gear equal to the product of
Wt times the pitch radius of the gear. Because Wt is the same on the
pinion and the gear, but the pitch radius of gear is lager than that of
the pinion, the torque on the gear (the output torque) is greater than
the input torque. However, note that the power transmitted is the
same or slightly less because of mechanical inefficiencies. The power
then flows from the through the key to the output shaft and finally to
the driven machine.

From this description of power flow, we can see that gears transmit
power by exerting a force by the driving teeth on the driving teeth
while the reaction force acts back on the teeth of the driving gear. Wt
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is not the total force on the tooth. Because of the involute form of the
tooth, the total force transferred from one tooth to the mating tooth
acts normal to the involute profile. For this action we will use symbol
Wn. So the tangential force is actually the horizontal component of the
total force. Note that there is a vertical component of total force acting
radially on the gear tooth Wr .

Note: consumed (received) power should have positive value (>0), and
delivered power should have negative value (<0).