DESIGN

OF
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 aroused as temporary fastenings
and are subjected to consider-able
crushing and shearing stresses
 Types of Keys
1.Sunk keys,
2.Saddle keys,
3.Tangent keys,
4.Round keys, and
5.Spines.
 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 type
1Rectangular sunk key
2. Square sunk key
3.Parallel sunk key
4.Gib-head key
5.Feather key
6. Woodruff key
1.Rectangular sunk key
 A rectangular sunk key is shown in above
Fig. The usual proportionsof this key are :

width of key, w = d / 4 ;
thickness of key, t = 2 w / 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 sunkkeys may be of

rectangular or square section uniform in
width and thickness throughout. It may
be noted that a parallel key is a taper less
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 sunkkey with a head at
one end known as gib head.
It is usually provided to facilitate the
removal of key.

The usual proportions of the gib head key

are :
Width, w = d/ 4 ;
thickness at large end, t = 2 w / 3 =
d/6
5.Feather key
 A key attached to one member of a pair
and which permits relative axial
movement is known asfeather 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
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.
A woodruff key is capable oftilting 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
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 turnover 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 keyis a taper key which fits in a
keyway in the hub and is flat on the shaft as
shown in Fig.
It is likely to slip round the shaft under load.
Therefore it is used for comparatively light loads
Ahollow saddle keyis 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. Each key is to with standtorsion in one direction only.
These are used in large heavy duty shafts.
Round Keys
 The round keys, as shown in Fig (a), 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 drive
Sometimes the tapered pin, as shown in Fig.
(b), is held in place by the friction between
the pin and the reamed tapered hole
Splines
 Sometimes, keys are made integral with the
shaft which fits in the keyways broached in the
hub. Such shafts are known assplined shafts
as shown in Fig.
These shafts usually have four, six, ten or
sixteensplines. 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 :

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.
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

The forces acting on a key for a clockwise torque

being transmitted from a shaft to a hub are
shown in Fig
 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
=Shear stresses for the material of key
c=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,
F =Area resisting shearing Shear stress
F= L w
Torque transmitted by the shaft
T= F d/2 = l w d/2(i)
 Considering crushing of the key, the
tangential crushing force acting at the
circumference of the shaft,
F=Area resisting crushing Crushing
stress
F=l t/2 c
Torque transmitted by the shaft,
T=F d/2 = l t/2 c
d/2(ii)
 The key is equally strong in shearing and
crushing
EQUATION (i) = (ii)
L w d/2= l t/2 c d/2
W/t= c/2(iii)
The permissible crushing stress for the usual
key material is at least twice the permissible
shearing stress.
Therefore from above equation 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 ofthe key is equal to the
torsional shear strength of the shaft.
We know that the shearing strength of key,
T=l w d/2(iv)
torsional shear strength of the shaft
T=(/16) d 1..(v)
Taking 1= Shear stress for the shaft
material
 From equations ( iv ) and (v), we have

w l d/2= (/16) d
1

for sunk key width= (w)= d/4

When the key material is same as that of the
shaft, then = 1

l=1.571d
THANK
U.