1.

Shafts and Shaft Components

A shaft is a rotating member, usually of circular cross section, used

to transmit power or motion. It provides the axis of rotation, or
oscillation, of elements such as gears, pulleys, flywheels, cranks,
sprockets, and the like and controls the geometry of their motion. An
axle is a nonrotating member that carries no torque and is used to
support rotating wheels, pulleys, and the like. A non-rotating axle
can readily be designed and analyzed as a static beam, and will not
subject to fatigue loading.

4.1 Shaft Materials

Necessary strength to resist loading stresses affects the choice of

materials and their treatments. Many shafts are made from low
carbon, cold-drawn or hot-rolled steel, such as ANSI 1020-1050
steels. Cold drawn steel is usually used for diameters under about
3 inches. The nominal diameter of the bar can be left unmachined in
areas that do not require fitting of components. Hot rolled steel
should be machined all over. For large shafts requiring much
material removal, the residual stresses may tend to cause warping. If
concentricity is important, it may be necessary to rough machine,
then heat treat to remove residual stresses and increase the strength,
then finish machine to the final dimensions.

4.2 Shaft Layout

The general layout of a shaft to accommodate shaft elements, e.g.

gears, bearings, and pulleys, must be specified early in the design
process in order to perform a free body force analysis and to obtain
shear-moment diagrams. The geometry of a shaft is generally that of
a stepped cylinder. The use of shaft shoulders is an excellent means
of axially locating the shaft elements and to carry any thrust loads.
Figure (4–1) shows an example of a stepped shaft supporting the
gear of a worm-gear speed reducer. Each shoulder in the shaft serves
a specific purpose, which you should attempt to determine by
observation.
The geometric configuration of a shaft to be designed is often
simply a revision of existing models in which a limited number of
changes must be made. If there is no existing design to use as a
starter, then the determination of the shaft layout may have many
solutions. This problem is
illustrated by the two examples
of Fig. (4–2). In Fig. (4–2a) a
geared countershaft is to be
supported by two bearings. In
Fig. (4–2c) a fanshaft is to be
configured. The solutions
shown in Fig. (4–2b) and (7–2d)
are not necessarily the best
ones, but they do illustrate how
the shaft-mounted devices are
fixed and located in the axial
direction, and how provision is
made for torque transfer from
one element to another.
Figure (4–1)
A vertical worm-gear speed reducer.

Figure (4–2)
(a) Choose a shaft configuration to support and locate the two gears and two
bearings. (b) Solution uses an integral pinion, three shaft shoulders, key and
keyway, and sleeve. The housing locates the bearings on their outer rings and
receives the thrust loads. (c) Choose fanshaft configuration. (d) Solution uses

sleeve bearings, a straight-through shaft, locating collars, and setscrews for

collars, fan pulley, and fan itself. The fan housing supports the sleeve bearings.
There are no absolute rules for specifying the general layout, but the
following guidelines may be helpful.

 Axial Layout of Components

The axial positioning of components is often dictated by the layout

of the housing and other meshing components. In general, it is best
to support load-carrying components between bearings, such as in
Fig. (4–2a), rather than cantilevered outboard of the bearings, such
as in Fig. (4–2c). Pulleys and sprockets often need to be mounted
outboard for ease of installation of the belt or chain. The length of
the cantilever should be kept short to minimize the deflection.
Only two bearings should be used in most cases. For
extremely long shafts carrying several load-bearing components, it
may be necessary to provide more than two bearing supports. In this
case, particular care must be given to the alignment of the bearings.
In cases where axial loads are very small, it may be feasible to
do without the shoulders entirely, and rely on press fits, pins, or
collars with setscrews to maintain an axial location. See Fig. (4–2b)
and (4–2d) for examples of some of these means of axial location.

 Supporting Axial Loads

In cases where axial loads are not trivial, it is necessary to provide a

means to transfer the axial loads into the shaft, then through a
bearing to the ground. This will be particularly necessary with
helical or bevel gears, or tapered roller bearings, as each of these
produces axial force components. Often, the same means of
providing axial location, e.g., shoulders, retaining rings, and pins,
will be used to also transmit the axial load into the shaft.
It is generally best to have only one bearing carry the axial
load, to allow greater tolerances on shaft length dimensions, and to
prevent binding if the shaft expands due to temperature changes.
This is particularly important for long shafts. Figures (4–3 & 4–4)
show examples of shafts with only one bearing carrying the axial
load against a shoulder, while the other bearing is simply press-fit
onto the shaft with no shoulder.
 Figure (4–3)
Figure (4–4)
Tapered roller bearings used in a
A bevel-gear drive
mowing machine spindle. This design
in which
represents good practice for the
situation in which one or more torque- both pinion and
transfer elements must be mounted gear are
outboard.
straddle-
mounted.

 Providing for Torque Transmission

Most shafts serve to transmit torque from an input gear or pulley,

through the shaft, to an output gear or pulley. Of course, the shaft
itself must be sized to support the torsional stress and torsional
deflection. It is also necessary to provide a means of transmitting the
torque between the shaft and the gears. Common torque-transfer
elements are:

• Keys
• Splines
• Setscrews
• Pins
• Press or shrink fits
• Tapered fits
In addition to transmitting the torque, many of these devices are
designed to fail if the torque exceeds acceptable operating limits,
protecting more expensive components.
 One of the most effective and economical means of
transmitting moderate to high levels of torque is through a key that
fits in a groove in the shaft and gear.
Splines are essentially stubby gear teeth formed on the outside
of the shaft and on the inside of the hub of the load-transmitting
component. Splines are generally much more expensive to
manufacture than keys, and are usually not necessary for simple
torque transmission. They are typically used to transfer high torques.
For cases of low torque transmission, various means of
transmitting torque are available. These include pins, setscrews in
hubs, tapered fits, and press fits.
Press and shrink fits for securing hubs to shafts are used both
for torque transfer and for preserving axial location. The resulting
stress-concentration factor is usually quite small.
Tapered fits between the shaft and the shaft-mounted device,
such as a wheel, are often used on the overhanging end of a shaft.
Screw threads at the shaft end then permit the use of a nut to lock the
wheel tightly to the shaft. This approach is useful because it can be
disassembled, but it does not provide good axial location of the
wheel on the shaft.
At the early stages of the shaft layout, the important thing is to
select an appropriate means of transmitting torque, and to determine
how it affects the overall shaft layout. It is necessary to know where
the shaft discontinuities, such as keyways, holes, and splines, will be
in order to determine critical locations for analysis.

 Assembly and Disassembly

Consideration should be given to the method of assembling the

components onto the shaft, and the shaft assembly into the frame.
This generally requires the largest diameter in the center of the shaft,
with progressively smaller diameters towards the ends to allow
components to be slid on from the ends. If a shoulder is needed on
both sides of a component, one of them must be created by such
means as a retaining ring or by a sleeve between two components.
The gearbox itself will need means to physically position the shaft
into its bearings, and the bearings into the frame. This is typically
accomplished by providing access through the housing to the
bearing at one end of the shaft. See Fig. (4–5) for examples.
 a b

c d

Figure (4–5)
(a) Arrangement showing bearing inner rings press-fitted to shaft while outer
rings float in the housing. The axial clearance should be sufficient only to allow
for machinery vibrations. Note the labyrinth seal on the right. (b) Similar to the
arrangement of (a) except that the outer bearing rings are preloaded. (c) In this
arrangement the inner ring of the left-hand bearing is locked to the shaft
between a nut and a shaft shoulder. The locknut and washer are AFBMA
standard. The snap ring in the outer race is used to positively locate the shaft
assembly in the axial direction. Note the floating right-hand bearing and the
grinding runout grooves in the shaft. (d) This arrangement is similar to (c) in
that the left-hand bearing positions the entire shaft assembly. In this case the
inner ring is secured to the shaft using a snap ring. Note the use of a shield to
prevent dirt generated from within the machine from entering the bearing.

When components are to be press-fit to the shaft, the shaft should be

designed so that it is not necessary to press the component down a
long length of shaft. This may require an extra change in diameter,
but it will reduce manufacturing and assembly cost by only requiring
the close tolerance for a short length. Consideration should also be
given to the necessity of disassembling the components from the
shaft. This requires consideration of issues such as accessibility of
retaining rings, space for pullers to access bearings, openings in the
housing to allow pressing the shaft or bearings out, etc.
4.3 Shaft Design for Stress

Bending, torsion, and axial stresses may be present in both

midrange and alternating components. For analysis, it is simple
enough to combine the different types of stresses into alternating and
midrange von Mises stresses, as shown in the fatigue part. It is
sometimes convenient to customize the equations specifically for
shaft applications. Axial loads are usually comparatively very small
at critical locations where bending and torsion dominate, so they will
be left out of the following equations.
Neglecting axial loads, the resulting equations for several of
the commonly used failure curves are summarized below. The
names given to each set of equations identifies the significant failure
theory, followed by a fatigue failure locus name. For example, DE-
Gerber indicates the stresses are combined using the distortion
energy (DE) theory, and the Gerber criteria is used for the fatigue
failure.

DE-Goodman

DE-Gerber

where
DE-ASME Elliptic

DE-Soderberg

To check for yielding,

For a quick, conservative check, an estimate for σ′max can be

obtained by simply adding σ′a and σ′m. (σ′a + σ′m) will always be
greater than or equal to σ′max, and will therefore be conservative.

EXAMPLE 4–1

At a machined shaft shoulder the small diameter d is 1.100 in, the

large diameter D is 1.65 in, and the fillet radius is 0.11 in. The
bending moment is 1260 lbf·in and the steady torsion moment is
1100 lbf·in. The heat-treated steel shaft has an ultimate strength of
Sut = 105 kpsi and a yield strength of Sy = 82 kpsi. The reliability
goal is 0.99.
 (a) Determine the fatigue factor of safety of the design using each of
the fatigue failure criteria described in this section.
(b) Determine the yielding factor of safety.

Solution

(a) D/d = 1.65/1.100 = 1.50, r/d = 0.11/1.100 = 0.10, then,

Kt = 1.68, Kts = 1.42, q = 0.85 & qshear = 0.92 (HW).

Kf = 1 + 0.85(1.68 − 1) = 1.58 Kf s = 1 + 0.92(1.42 − 1) = 1.39

ka = 0.787, kb = 0.870, kc = kd = kf = 1, ke = 0.814 (HW)

then,
Se = 0.787(0.870)0.814(0.5)(105) = 29.3 kpsi

Ma = 1260 lbf·in, Tm = 1100 lbf·in, Mm = Ta = 0

Then

n = 1.62 DE-Goodman
n = 1.87 DE-Gerber
n = 1.88 DE-ASME Elliptic
n = 1.56 DE-Soderberg

(b) For the yielding factor of safety, determine an equivalent von

Mises maximum stress

σ′max = 18.300 kpsi, then, ny = 4.48

For comparison, a quick and very conservative check on
yielding can be obtained by replacing σ′max with σ′a + σ′m. This
just saves the extra time of calculating σ′max if σ′a and σ′m have
already been determined. For this example,

ny = Sy/(σ′a + σ′m) = 82.000/(15.235 + 10.134) = 3.23 (HW)

which is quite conservative compared with ny = 4.48.