KEYS

A key is a piece of mild steel inserted between the shaft and hub or boss of the pulley to
connect these together in order to prevent relative motion between them. It is always inserted
parallel to the axis of the shaft. Keys are used as temporary fastenings and are subjected to
considerable crushing and shearing stresses. A keyway is a slot or recess in a shaft and hub of
the pulley to accommodate a key.

Types of Keys

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The following types of keys are important from the subject point of view:
1. Sunk keys, 2. Saddle keys, 3. Tangent keys, 4. Round keys, and 5. Splines.

Sunk Keys
The sunk keys are provided half in the keyway of the shaft and half in the keyway of the hub
or boss of the pulley. The sunk keys are of the following types:
1. Rectangular sunk key. A rectangular sunk key is shown in Fig. below. The usual
proportions of this key are:
Width of key, w = d / 4; and thickness of key, t = 2w / 3 = d / 6
where d = Diameter of the shaft or diameter of the hole in the hub.
The key has taper 1 in 100 on the top side only.

2. Square sunk key. The only difference between a rectangular sunk key and a square sunk
key is that its width and thickness are equal, i.e. w = t = d / 4
3. Parallel sunk key. The parallel sunk keys may be of rectangular or square section uniform
in width and thickness throughout. It may be noted that a parallel key is a taperless and is
used where the pulley, gear or other mating piece is required to slide along the shaft.
4. Gib-head key. It is a rectangular sunk key with a head at one end known as gib head.
It is usually provided to facilitate the removal of key. A gib head key is shown in Fig (a)
below and its use in shown in Fig (b) below

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 ]
The usual proportions of the gib head key are:
Width, w = d / 4;
and thickness at large end, t = 2w / 3 = d / 6
5. Feather key. A key attached to one member of a pair and which permits relative axial
movement is known as feather key. It is a special type of parallel key which transmits a
turning moment and also permits axial movement. It is fastened either to the shaft or hub, the
key being a sliding fit in the key way of the moving piece.

The feather key may be screwed to the shaft as shown in Fig (a) above or it may have double
gib heads as shown in Fig (b) above. The various proportions of a feather key are same as
that of rectangular sunk key and gib head key. The following table shows the proportions of
standard parallel, tapered and gib head keys.

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6. Woodruff key. The woodruff key is an easily adjustable key. It is a piece from a cylindrical
disc having segmental cross-section in front view as shown in Fig below. A woodruff key is
capable of tilting in a recess milled out in the shaft by a cutter having the same curvature as
the disc from which the key is made. This key is largely used in machine tool and automobile
construction.

The main advantages of a woodruff key are as follows:

1. It accommodates itself to any taper in the hub or boss of the mating piece.
2. It is useful on tapering shaft ends. Its extra depth in the shaft prevents any tendency
to turn over in its keyway.
The disadvantages are:
1. The depth of the keyway weakens the shaft.
2. It can not be used as a feather.
Saddle keys
The saddle keys are of the following two types:
1. Flat saddle key, and 2. Hollow saddle key.
Aflat saddle key is a taper key which fits in a keyway in the hub and is flat on the shaft
as shown in Fig. below. It is likely to slip round the shaft under load. Therefore it is
used for comparatively light loads.

A hollow saddle key is a taper key which fits in a keyway in the hub and the bottom of the
key is shaped to fit the curved surface of the shaft. Since hollow saddle keys hold on by
friction, therefore these are suitable for light loads. It is usually used as a temporary fastening
in fixing and setting eccentrics, cams etc.
Tangent Keys
The tangent keys are fitted in pair at right angles as shown in Fig. below. Each key is to
withstand torsion in one direction only. These are used in large heavy duty shafts.

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Round Keys
The round keys, as shown in Fig (a) below, are circular in section and fit into holes drilled
partly in the shaft and partly in the hub. They have the advantage that their keyways may be
drilled and reamed after the mating parts have been assembled. Round keys are usually
considered to be most appropriate for low power drives.
Sometimes the tapered pin, as shown in Fig (b) below, is held in place by the friction between
the pin and the reamed tapered holes.

Splines
Sometimes, keys are made integral with the shaft which fits in the keyways broached in the
hub. Such shafts are known as splined shafts as shown in Fig. below. These shafts usually
have four, six, ten or sixteen splines. The splined shafts are relatively stronger than shafts
having a single keyway. The splined shafts are used when the force to be transmitted is large
in proportion to the size of the shaft as in automobile transmission and sliding gear
transmissions. By using splined shafts, we obtain axial movement as well as positive drive is
obtained.

Forces acting on a Sunk Key

When a key is used in transmitting torque from a shaft to a rotor or hub, the following two
types of forces act on the key:

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1. Forces (F1) due to fit of the key in its keyway, as in a tight fitting straight key or in a
tapered key driven in place. These forces produce compressive stresses in the key which are
difficult to determine in magnitude.
2. Forces (F) due to the torque transmitted by the shaft. These forces produce shearing and
compressive (or crushing) stresses in the key.
The distribution of the forces along the length of the key is not uniform because the forces are
concentrated near the torque-input end. The non-uniformity of distribution is caused by the
twisting of the shaft within the hub.
The forces acting on a key for a clockwise torque being transmitted from a shaft to a hub are
shown in Fig. below.
In designing a key, forces due to fit of the key are neglected and it is assumed that the
distribution of forces along the length of key is uniform.

Strength of a Sunk Key

A key connecting the shaft and hub is shown in Fig. above.
Let T = Torque transmitted by the shaft,
F = Tangential force acting at the circumference of the shaft,
d = Diameter of shaft,
l = Length of key,
w = Width of key.
t = Thickness of key, and
τ and σc = Shear and crushing stresses for the material of key.
A little consideration will show that due to the power transmitted by the shaft, the key may
fail due to shearing or crushing.
Considering shearing of the key, the tangential shearing force acting at the circumference of
the shaft,

∴ Torque transmitted by the shaft,

F = Area resisting shearing × Shear stress = l × w × τ

Considering crushing of the key, the tangential crushing force acting at the circumference of
theshaft,

∴ Torque transmitted by the shaft,

F = Area resisting crushing × Crushing stress = l×t/2×σc

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The permissible crushing stress for the usual key material is atleast twice the permissible
shearing stress. Therefore from equation (iii), we have w = t. In other words, a square key is
equally strong in shearing and crushing.
In order to find the length of the key to transmit full power of the shaft, the shearing strength
of the key is equal to the torsional shear strength of the shaft.
We know that the shearing strength of key,

and torsional shear strength of the shaft,

From equations (iv) and (v), we have

∴
When the key material is same as that of the shaft, then τ = τ1.
l = 1.571 d ... [From equation (vi)]

Example 1: Design the rectangular key for a shaft of 50 mm diameter. The shearing and
crushing stresses for the key material are 42 MPa and 70 MPa.
Solution. Given: d = 50 mm; τ = 42 MPa = 42 N/mm2; σc = 70 MPa = 70 N/mm2
The rectangular key is designed as discussed below:
From Table above, we find that for a shaft of 50 mm diameter,
Width of key, w = 16 mm Ans.
and thickness of key, t = 10 mm Ans.
The length of key is obtained by considering the key in shearing and crushing.
Let l = Length of key.
Considering shearing of the key. We know that shearing strength (or torque transmitted) of
the key,

and torsional shearing strength (or torque transmitted) of the shaft,

From equations (i) and (ii), we have

l = 1.03 × 106 / 16 800 = 61.31 mm
Now considering crushing of the key. We know that shearing strength (or torque transmitted)
of the key,

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From equations (ii) and (iii) , we have
l = 1.03 × 106 / 8750 = 117.7 mm
Taking larger of the two values, we have length of key,
l = 117.7 say 120 mm Ans.

Example 2: A 45 mm diameter shaft is made of steel with a yield strength of 400

MPa.parallel key of size 14 mm wide and 9 mm thick made of steel with a yield strength of
340 Mpa is to be used. Find the required length of key, if the shaft is loaded to transmit the
maximum permissible torque. Use maximum shear stress theory and assume a factor of safety
of 2.
Solution: Given: d = 45 mm; σyt for shaft = 400 MPa = 400 N/mm2; w = 14 mm;
t = 9 mm; σyt for key = 340 MPa = 340 N/mm2; F.S. = 2
Let l = Length of key.
According to maximum shear stress theory, the maximum shear stress for the shaft,

and maximum shear stress for the key,

We know that the maximum torque transmitted by the shaft and key,

First of all, let us consider the failure of key due to shearing. We know that the maximum
torque transmitted (T),

Now considering the failure of key due to crushing. We know that the maximum torque
transmitted by the shaft and key (T),

Taking the larger of the two values, we have

l = 104.6 say 105 mm Ans.

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