DESIGN OF MACHINE ELEMENTS

2.2 KEYS
2.2.1 Introduction
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.

2.2.2 Types of Keys

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.

2.2.3 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. 2.10. 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.

Fig. 2.10. Rectangular sunk key.

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. 2.11 (a) and its use in
shown in Fig. 2.11 (b).

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Fig. 2.11. Gib-head key.

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.

Fig. 2.12. Feather key.

The feather key may be screwed to the shaft as shown in Fig. 2.12 (a) or it may have double gib heads as
shown in Fig. 2.12 (b). 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, according to IS
: 2292 and 2293-1974 (Reaffirmed 1992).

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Table 2.2. Proportions of standard parallel, tapered and gib head keys.

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. 2.13. 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.

Fig. 2.13. Woodruff key

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.

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The disadvantages are :

1. The depth of the keyway weakens the shaft.

2. It cannot be used as a feather.

2.2.4 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.
2.14. It is likely to slip round the shaft under load. Therefore it is used for comparatively light loads.

Fig. 2.14. Saddle key Fig. 2.15. Tangent key.

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.

2.2.5 Tangent Keys

The tangent keys are fitted in pair at right angles as shown in Fig. 2.15. Each key is to withstand torsion
in one direction only. These are used in large heavy duty shafts.

2.2.6 Round Keys

The round keys, as shown in Fig. 2.16 (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 drives.

Fig. 2.16. Round keys.

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Sometimes the tapered pin, as shown in Fig. 2.16 (b), is held in place by the friction between the pin and
the reamed tapered holes.

2.2.7 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. 2.17. 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.

Fig. 2.17. Splines.

2.2.8 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
.
The forces acting on a key for a clockwise torque being transmitted from a shaft to a hub are
shown in Fig. 2.18.

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.

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Fig. 2.18. Forces acting on a sunk key.

2.2.9 Strength of a Sunk Key

A key connecting the shaft and hub is shown in Fig. 2.18.
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
𝜏and 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,

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

Torque transmitted by the shaft,

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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,

Example 2.12. 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.

Given :
d = 50 mm
𝜏= 42 MPa = 42 N/mm2
𝜎𝑐 = 70 MPa = 70 N/mm2

To Find:
Design the rectangular key

Solution:
The rectangular key is designed as discussed below:

From Table 2.2, 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,

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