KEY DESIGNING

Question # 1
Determine the size and length of the key for a 75 mm diameter shaft to resist a torque of
41500 kg-cm. Assume a design stress for bearing of 1600 kg/sq cm and for shear of 560 kg/sq
cm.
Question # 2
A 90 cm diameter pulley is keyed to the 6 cm diameter shaft it drives by a 14 mm * 14 mm by
15 cm key. The key material may be assumed to have an ultimate strength of 3500 kg/cm2 in
compression and 2940 kg/cm2 in shear. If there is 250 kg difference b/w the total pull on the
tight and slack sides of the belt over the pulley.
i) What shearing stress is induced in the key, and
ii) What is the factor of safety of the key?

Question # 3
A gear is to be keyed to a shaft rotating at 100 r.p.m. and transmitting 40 H.P. If the yield
strength of the material of the shaft is 5250 kg/cm2 and has a diameter of 3.75 cm.
Determine the size of the key, assuming a factor of safety 3.

Question # 4
A cast iron pulley is to be keyed to a shaft of 60 mm diameter and it is to transmit 100
H.P at 200 r.p.m. A flat key of material whose yield strength is 4620 kg/cm2 is to be
designed. Design the suitable length of the key. Assume a factor of safety of 1.75.

Question # 5
A gear is keyed to the shaft transmitting a total torque of 12,000 kg-cm. The shaft diameter
is 5 cm. Find the size of the key, assuming permissible shear & crushing stresses to be 560
kg/cm2 and 1680 kg/cm2 respectively.

Question # 6
A 15 kW, 960 r.p.m. motor has a mild steel shaft of 40 mm diameter and the
extension being 75 mm. The permissible shear and crushing stresses for the mild steel key are
56 Mpa and 112 Mpa. Design the keyway in the motor shaft extension. Check the shear
strength of the key against the normal strength of the shaft.

Question # 7
A steel shaft has a diameter of 25 mm. The shat rotates at a speed of 600 r.p.m. and
transmits 30 kW through a gear. The tensile and yield strength of the material of shaft are 650
Mpa and 353 Mpa respectively. Taking a factor of safety 3, select a suitable key for the gear.
Assume that the key and the shaft are made of the same material.

Question # 8
A shaft 80 mm diameter transmits power at maximum shear stress of 63 Mpa. Find the
length of a 20 mm wide key required to mount a pulley on a shaft so that the stress in the key
does not exceed 42 Mpa.

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Question # 9
A 45 mm diameter shaft is made of steel with yield strength of 400 Mpa. A parallel key of size
14 mm wide and 9 mm thick made of steel with yield strength of 340 Mpa is to be used. Find
the required length of the 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.

Question # 10
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.

Question # 11
A shaft is required to transmit 50kW at a speed of 10 rad/sec. Calculate the diameter
of the shaft and section of the keyway in the shaft if the length of the key is to be 100 mm.
The allowable shearing stress in the shaft and key is 60 N/mm 2 and allowable bearing stress
in the key is 130 N/mm2.