ABSTRACT

This project making of the shaft driven chainless bicycle instead

of simple chain drive bicycle.7 This idea is consistence
performance. Stress analysis on gear and simulation. A shaftdriven bicycle is a chainless bicycle that uses a drive shaft
instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to the
wheel. Shaft drives were introduced over a century ago, but
were mostly supplanted by chain-driven bicycles due to the
gear ranges possible with sprockets and derailleur. Recently,
due to advancements in internal gear technology, a small
number of modern shaft-driven bicycles have been introduced.

INTRODUCTION

A shaft-driven
bicycle is
a bicycle that
uses
a drive
shaft instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to
the wheel. Shaft drives were introduced over a century ago, but
were mostly supplanted by chain-driven bicycles due to the
gear ranges possible with sprockets and derailleur. Recently,
due to advancements in internal gear technology, a small
number of modern shaft-driven bicycles have been introduced.
Shaft-driven bikes have a large bevel gear where a
conventional bike would have its chain ring. This meshes with
another bevel gear mounted on the drive shaft. The use of
bevel gears allows the axis of the drive torque from the pedals
to be turned through 90 degrees. The drive shaft then has
another bevel gear near the rear wheel hub which meshes with
a bevel gear on the hub where the rear sprocket would be on a
conventional bike, and cancelling out the first drive torque
change of axis.
An automotive drive shaft transmits power from the engine to
the differential gear of a rear wheel drive vehicle. The drive
shaft is usually manufactured in two pieces to increase the
fundamental bending natural frequency because the bending
natural frequency of a shaft is inversely proportional to the
square of beam length and proportional to the square root of
specific modulus which increases the total weight of an
automotive vehicle and decreases fuel efficiency. So, a single
piece drive shaft is preferred here and the material of it is
considered to be Titanium alloy because of its high strength
and low density. Drive shafts are carriers of torque and are
subject to torsion and shear stress, equivalent to the difference
between the input torque and the load. They must therefore be
strong enough to bear the stress, whilst avoiding too much
additional weight as that would in turn increase their inertia.
Parker Hannifin is a motion and control technologies
corporation; in 2005 they started the Chainless Challenge, it is

a competition that was inspired by the cycling community.

Since a large portion of Parkers business focuses on hydraulics
they decided to merge the two ideas into a competition. This
competition rules are fairly simple develop a 100% human
powered bicycle without using any chains to transfer power.
This competition was primarily aimed towards students of
universities as a senior design project. Each university chosen
to compete selects a group of 5-8 seniors to participate. These
students start from scratch and design either a hydraulically or
pneumatically powered bike to compete in several different
races. There was an endurance race, an efficiency race, and a
sprint race. The endurance race was an 8 mile course. The
efficiency race deals with utilizing an accumulator to store
energy for a later use. The sprint race was 100 meter dash to
the finish. Each team needs to work together to create a bike
that works the best in each race in order to win the Chainless
Challenge.
This years team had four members on it, so the bike
development was split into three sections; Chris Clark and
Maxton Lown were working the hydraulic power train, Brandon
Randal was assigned on the braking system, and Nick Macaluso
was assigned to the bike frame.

Components
1. Bicycle Chassis
2. Drive shaft
3. Bevel gear
4.

History
The first shaft drives for cycles appear to have been invented
independently in 1890 in the United States and England. A.
Fear head, of 354 Caledonian Road, North London developed
one in 1890 and received a patent in October 1891.His
prototype shaft was enclosed within a tube running along the
top of the chain stay; later models were enclosed within the
actual chain stay. In the United States, Walter Stillman filed
for a patent on a shaft-driven bicycle on Dec. 10, 1890 which
was granted on July 21, 1891.

The shaft drive was not well accepted in England, so in 1894

Fearn head took it to the USA where Colonel Pope of the
Columbia firm bought the exclusive American rights. Belatedly,
the English makers took it up, with Humber in particular
plunging heavily on the deal. Curiously enough, the greatest of
all the Victorian cycle engineers, Professor Archibald Sharp, was
against shaft drive; in his classic 1896 book "Bicycles and
Tricycles", he writes "The Fearn head Gear.... if bevel-wheels
could be accurately and cheaply cut by machinery, it is possible

that gears of this description might supplant, to a great extent,

the chain-drive gear; but the fact that the teeth of the bevelwheels cannot be accurately milled is a serious obstacle to their
practical success".

In the USA, they had been made by the League Cycle Company
as early as 1893. Soon after, the French company Metropole
marketed their Acatane. By 1897 Columbia began aggressively
to market the chainless bicycle it had acquired from the League
Cycle Company. Chainless bicycles were moderately popular in
1898 and 1899, although sales were still much smaller than
regular bicycles, primarily due to the high cost. The bikes were
also somewhat less efficient than regular bicycles: there was
roughly an 8 percent loss in the gearing, in part due to limited
manufacturing technology at the time. The rear wheel was also
more difficult to remove to change flats. Many of these
deficiencies have been overcome in the past century.

In 1902, The Hill-Climber Bicycle Mfg. Company sold a threespeed

shaft-driven

bicycle

in

which

the

shifting

was

implemented with three sets of bevel gears. [ While a small

number of chainless bicycles were available, for the most part,
shaft-driven bicycles disappeared from view for most of the
20th

century.

There

is,

however,

still

niche

market

for chainless bikes, especially for commuters, and there are a

number of manufacturers who offer them either as part of a

larger range or as a primary specialization. A notable example

is Bio mega in Denmark.
Purpose of the Drive Shaft
The torque that is produced from the engine and transmission
must be transferred to the rear wheels to push the vehicle
forward and reverse. The drive shaft must provide a smooth,
uninterrupted flow of power to the axles. The drive shaft and
differential are used to transfer this torque.

Functions of the Drive Shaft

a) First, it must transmit torque from the transmission to the
differential gear box.
b) During the operation, it is necessary to transmit maximum
low-gear torque developed by the engine.
c) The drive shafts must also be capable of rotating at the
very fast speeds required by the vehicle.
d) The drive shaft must also operate through constantly
changing angles between the transmission, the differential
and the axles. As the rear wheels roll over bumps in the
road, the differential and axles move up and down. This
movement changes the angle between the transmission
and the differential.

e) The length of the drive shaft must also be capable of

changing while transmitting torque. Length changes are
caused by axle movement due to torque reaction, road
deflections, braking loads and so on. A slip joint is used to
compensate for this motion. The slip joint is usually made
of an internal and external spline. It is located on the front
end

of

the

drive

shaft

and

is

connected

to

the

transmission.
Now days all automobiles (which are having front engine rear
wheel drive) have the transmission shaft as shown in figure. A
pair of short drive shafts is commonly used to send power from
a central differential, transmission, or transaxle to the wheels.
Two piece drive shaft increases the weight of drive shaft which
is not desirable in todays market. Many methods are available
at present for the design optimization of structural systems and
these

methods

based

on

mathematical

programming

techniques involving gradient search and direct search.

The reduction in weight of the drive system is advantageous in
overall weight reduction of automobiles which is a highly
desirable goal of design engineer.

Fig.1.2(a) 3D model of a drive shaft

Fig.1.2(b) Position of

Drive Shaft

LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Drive shafts are carriers of torque; they are subject to torsion
and shear stress, which represents the difference between the
input force and the load. They thus need to be strong enough to
bear the stress, without imposing too great an additional inertia
by virtue of the weight of the shaft. Most automobiles today use
rigid driveshaft to deliver power from a transmission to the
wheels. A pair of short driveshaft is commonly used to send
power from a central differential, transmission, or transaxie to
the wheels. There are different types of drive shafts in
Automotive Industry:
a) 1 piece driveshaft
b) 2 piece driveshaft
c) Slip in Tube driveshaft

The Slip in Tube Driveshaft is the new type which also helps in
Crash Energy Management. It can be compressed in case of
crash. It is also known as a collapsible drive shaft. Front-wheel
drive is the most common form of engine/transmission layout
used in modern passenger cars, where the engine drives the
front wheels. Most front wheel drive vehicles today feature

transverse engine mounting, where as in past decades engines

were mostly positioned longitudinally instead. Rear-wheel drive
was the traditional standard and is still widely used in luxury
cars and most sport cars.
Different Types of Shafts

1. Transmission

shaft:

These

shafts

transmit

power

between the source and the machines absorbing power.

The counter shafts, line shafts, overhead shafts and all
factory shafts are transmission shafts. Since these shafts
carry machine parts such as pulleys, gears etc., therefore
they are subjected to bending moments in addition to
twisting.
2. Machine Shaft: These shafts form an integral part of the
machine itself. For example, the crankshaft is an integral
part of I.C.engines slider-crank mechanism.
3. Axle: A shaft is called an axle, if it is a stationary
machine element and is used for the transmission of
bending moment only. It simply acts as a support for
rotating bodies.
Application: To support hoisting drum, a car wheel or
a rope sheave.

4. Spindle: A shaft is called a spindle, if it is a short shaft

that imparts

motion either to a cutting tool or to a work-

piece.
Applications:
1. Drill press spindles-impart motion to cutting tool (i.e.) drill.
2. Lathe spindles-impart motion to work-piece.
Apart from, an axle and a spindle, shafts are used at so many
places and almost everywhere wherever power transmission is
required. Few of them are:
1. Automobile Drive Shaft: Transmits power from main
gearbox to differential gear box.
2. Ship Propeller Shaft: Transmits power from gearbox
to propeller

attached

on it.
3. Helicopter Tail Rotor Shaft: Transmits power to rail
rotor fan.

Part of Drive Shaft

Fig 1.3

Demerits of a Conventional Drive Shaft

1. They have less specific modulus and strength.
2. Increased weight.
3. Conventional steel drive shafts are usually manufactured in
two pieces to increase the fundamental bending natural
frequency because the bending natural frequency of a shaft is
inversely proportional to the square of beam length and
proportional to the square root of specific modulus. Therefore
the steel drive shaft is made in two sections connected by a
support structure, bearings and U-joints and hence over all
weight of assembly will be more.
4. Its corrosion resistance is less as compared with composite
materials.

5. Steel drive shafts have less damping capacity.

Merits of Composite Drive Shaft
1. They have high specific modulus and strength.
2. Reduced weight.
3. The fundamental natural frequency of the carbon fiber
composite drive shaft can be twice as high as that of steel
or aluminum because the carbon fiber composite material
has more than 4 times the specific stiffness of steel or
aluminum, which makes it possible to manufacture the
drive shaft of passenger cars in one piece. A one-piece
composite shaft can be manufactured so as to satisfy the
vibration requirements. This eliminates all the assembly,
connecting the two piece steel shafts and thus minimizes
the overall weight, vibrations and the total cost
4. Due to the weight reduction, fuel consumption will be
reduced.
5. They have high damping capacity hence they produce less
vibration and noise.
6. They have good corrosion resistance.
7. Greater torque capacity than steel or aluminum shaft.
8. Longer fatigue life than steel or aluminum shaft.
9. Lower rotating weight transmits more of available power.

Drive Shaft Vibration

Vibration is the most common drive shaft problem. Small cars
and short vans and trucks (LMV) are able to use a single drive
shaft with a slip joint at the front end without experiencing any
undue vibration. However, with vehicles of longer wheel base,
the longer drive shaft required would tend to sag and under
certain operating conditions would tend to whirl and then setup
resonant vibrations in the body of the vehicle, which will cause
the body to vibrate as the shaft whirls.
Vibration can be either transverse or torsional. Transverse
vibration is the result of unbalanced condition acting on the
shaft. This condition is usually by dirt or foreign material on the
shaft, and it can cause a rather noticeable vibration in the
vehicle. Torsional vibration occurs from the power impulses of
the engine or from improper universal join angles. It causes a
noticeable sound disturbance and can cause a mechanical
shaking. In excess, both types of vibration can cause damage
to the universal joints and bearings. Whirling of a rotating shaft
happens when the centre of gravity of the shaft mass is
eccentric and so is acted upon by a centrifugal force which
tends to bend or bow the shaft so that it orbits about the shaft
longitudinal axis like a rotating skipping rope. As the speed
rises, the eccentric deflection of the shaft increases, with the
result that the centrifugal force also will increase. The effect is
therefore cumulative and will continue until the whirling
become critical, at which point the shaft will vibrate violently.

From the theory of whirling, it has been found that the critical
whirling speed of the shaft is inversely proportional to the
square of the shaft length. If, therefore, a shaft having, for
example, a critical whirling speed of 6000 rev/min is doubled in
length, the critical whirling of the new shaft will be reduced to a
quarter of this, i.e. the shaft will now begin to rotate at 1500
rev/min. The vibration problem could solve by increasing the
diameter of the shaft, but this would increase its strength
beyond its torque carrying requirements and at the same time
increase

its

inertia,

which

would

oppose

the

vehicles

acceleration and deceleration. Another alternative solution

frequently adopted by car, van, and commercial vehicle
manufacturers is the use of two-piece drive shafts supported by
intermediate or centre bearings. But this will increase the cost
considerably.
DRIVE MECHANISM
Introduction
For

the

gear-like

device

used

to

drive

roller

chain,

see Sprocket. This article is about mechanical gears. For other

uses,

see Gear

(disambiguation)Two

meshing

gears

transmitting rotational motion. Note that the smaller gear is

rotating faster. Although the larger gear is rotating less quickly,
its torque is proportionally greater. One subtlety of this
particular arrangement is that the linear speed at the pitch
diameter is the same on both gears.

A gear or cogwheel is

a rotating machine part

having

cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in

order to transmit torque, in most cases with teeth on the one
gear being of identical shape, and often also with that shape on
the other gear. Two or more gears working in tandem are called
a transmission and

can

produce

a mechanical

advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered

a simple machine. Geared devices can change the speed,
torque, and direction of a power source. The most common
situation is for a gear to mesh with another gear; however, a
gear can also mesh with a non-rotating toothed part, called a
rack, thereby producing translation instead of rotation.
The gears in a transmission are analogous to the wheels in a
crossed belt pulley system. An advantage of gears is that the
teeth of a gear prevent slippage. When two gears mesh, and
one gear is bigger than the other (even though the size of the
teeth must match), a mechanical advantage is produced, with
the rotational speeds and the torques of the two gears differing
in an inverse relationship.
In transmissions which offer multiple gear ratios, such as
bicycles, motorcycles, and cars, the term gear, as in first gear,
refers to a gear ratio rather than an actual physical gear. The
term is used to describe similar devices even when the gear
ratio is continuous rather than discrete, or when the device
does not actually contain any gears, as in a continuously
variable transmission. The earliest known reference to gears
was circa A.D. 50 by Hero of Alexandria, but they can be traced

back to the Greek mechanics of the Alexandrian school in the

3rd

century

B.C.

and

were

greatly

Greek polymath Archimedes (287212

developed

by

the

B.C.). The Antikythera

mechanism is an example of a very early and intricate geared

device, designed to calculate astronomical positions. Its time of
construction is now estimated between 150 and 100 BC.
The definite velocity ratio which results from having teeth gives
gears an advantage over other drives (such as traction drives
and V-belts) in precision machines such as watches that depend
upon an exact velocity ratio. In cases where driver and follower
are proximal, gears also have an advantage over other drives in
the reduced number of parts required; the downside is that
gears are more expensive to manufacture and their lubrication
requirements may impose a higher operating cost.
Types

1. External gear: An external gear is one with the teeth

formed on the outer surface of a cylinder or cone.
Conversely,
2. Internal gear: an internal gear is one with the teeth
formed on the inner surface of a cylinder or cone.
For bevel

gears,

an

internal

gear

is

one

with

the pitch angle exceeding 90 degrees. Internal gears do

not cause output shaft direction reversal.
List of gears
Spur gear
Spur gears or straight-cut gears are the simplest type of gear.
They consist of a cylinder or disk with the teeth projecting

radials, and although they are not straight-sided in form (they

are usually of special form to achieve constant drive ratio,
mainly involute), the edge of each tooth is straight and aligned
parallel to the axis of rotation. These gears can be meshed
together correctly only if they are fitted to parallel shafts.
Helical gears
Helical or "dry fixed" gears offer a refinement over spur gears.
The leading edges of the teeth are not parallel to the axis of
rotation, but are set at an angle. Since the gear is curved, this
angling causes the tooth shape to be a segment of a helix.
Helical gears can be meshed unparallel or crossed orientations.
The former refers to when the shafts are parallel to each other;
this is the most common orientation. In the latter, the shafts
are non-parallel, and in this configuration the gears are
sometimes known as "skew gears".
The angled teeth engage more gradually than do spur gear
teeth, causing them to run more smoothly and quietly. With
parallel helical gears, each pair of teeth first make contact at a
single point at one side of the gear wheel; a moving curve of
contact then grows gradually across the tooth face to a
maximum then recedes until the teeth break contact at a single
point on the opposite side. In skew gears, teeth suddenly meet
at a line contact across their entire width causing stress and
noise. Skew gears make a characteristic whine at high speeds.
Whereas spur gears are used for low speed applications and
those situations where noise control is not a problem, the use of
helical gears is indicated when the application involves high
speeds, large power transmission, or where noise abatement is
important. The speed is considered to be high when the pitch
line velocity exceeds 25 m/s.
A disadvantage of helical gears is a resultant thrust along the
axis of the gear, which needs to be accommodated by
appropriate thrust bearings, and a greater degree of sliding
friction between the meshing teeth, often addressed with
additives in the lubricant.

Skew gears
For a 'crossed' or 'skew' configuration, the gears must have the
same pressure angle and normal pitch; however, the helix
angle and handedness can be different. The relationship
between the two shafts is actually defined by the helix angle(s)
of the two shafts and the handedness, as defined:
Where is the helix angle for the gear? The crossed configuration
is less mechanically sound because there is only a point contact
between the gears, whereas in the parallel configuration there
is a line contact.
Quite commonly, helical gears are used with the helix angle of
one having the negative of the helix angle of the other; such a
pair might also be referred to as having a right-handed helix
and a left-handed helix of equal angles. The two equal but
opposite angles add to zero: the angle between shafts is zero
that is, the shafts are parallel. Where the sum or the difference
(as described in the equations above) is not zero the shafts
are crossed. For shafts crossed at right angles, the helix angles
are of the same hand because they must add to 90 degrees.
Double helical gears
Double helical gears, or herringbone gears, overcome the
problem of axial thrust presented by "single" helical gears, by
having two sets of teeth that are set in a V shape. A double
helical gear can be thought of as two mirrored helical gears
joined together. This arrangement cancels out the net axial
thrust, since each half of the gear thrusts in the opposite
direction resulting in a net axial force of zero. This arrangement
can remove the need for thrust bearings. However, double
helical gears are more difficult to manufacture due to their
more complicated shape.
For both possible rotational directions, there exist two possible
arrangements for the oppositely-oriented helical gears or gear
faces. One arrangement is stable, and the other is unstable. In
a stable orientation, the helical gear faces are oriented so that

each axial force is directed toward the center of the gear. In an

unstable orientation, both axial forces are directed away from
the center of the gear. In both arrangements, the total (or net)
axial force on each gear is zero when the gears are aligned
correctly. If the gears become misaligned in the axial direction,
the unstable arrangement will generate a net force that may
lead to disassembly of the gear train, while the stable
arrangement generates a net corrective force. If the direction of
rotation is reversed, the direction of the axial thrusts is also
reversed, so a stable configuration becomes unstable, and vice
versa.
Stable double helical gears can be directly interchanged with
spur gears without any need for different bearings.
Bevel gear
A bevel gear is shaped like a right circular cone with most of its
tip cut off. When two bevel gears mesh, their imaginary
vertices must occupy the same point. Their shaft axes also
intersect at this point, forming an arbitrary non-straight angle
between the shafts. The angle between the shafts can be
anything except zero or 180 degrees. Bevel gears with equal
numbers of teeth and shaft axes at 90 degrees are called miter
gears.
Spiral bevels
Spiral bevel gears can be manufactured as Gleason types
(circular arc with non-constant tooth depth), Oerlikon and
Curvex types (circular arc with constant tooth depth),
KlingelnbergCyclo-Palloid (Epicycloids with constant tooth
depth) or KlingelnbergPalloid. Spiral bevel gears have the same
advantages and disadvantages relative to their straight-cut
cousins as helical gears do to spur gears. Straight bevel gears
are generally used only at speeds below 5 m/s (1000 ft/min), or,
for small gears, 1000 rpm.
Note: The cylindrical gear tooth profile corresponds to an
involute, but the bevel gear tooth profile to an octoid. All
traditional bevel gear generators (like Gleason, Klingelnberg,

Heidenreich&Harbeck, and WMWModule) manufacture bevel

gears with an octoidal tooth profile. IMPORTANT: For 5-axis
milled bevel gear sets it is important to choose the same
calculation / layout like the conventional manufacturing
method. Simplified calculated bevel gears on the basis of an
equivalent cylindrical gear in normal section with an involute
tooth form show a deviant tooth form with reduced tooth
strength by 10-28% without offset and 45% with offset [Diss.
Hnecke, TU Dresden]. Furthermore those "involute bevel gear
sets" causes more noise.
Hypoid gear
Hypoid gears resemble spiral bevel gears except the shaft axes
do not intersect. The pitch surfaces appear conical but, to
compensate for the offset shaft, are in fact hyperboloids of
revolution. Hypoid gears are almost always designed to operate
with shafts at 90 degrees. Depending on which side the shaft is
offset to, relative to the angling of the teeth, contact between
hypoid gear teeth may be even smoother and more gradual
than with spiral bevel gear teeth, but also have a sliding action
along the meshing teeth as it rotates and therefore usually
require some of the most viscous types of gear oil to avoid it
being extruded from the mating tooth faces, the oil is normally
designated HP (for hypoid) followed by a number denoting the
viscosity.
Also, the pinion can be designed with fewer teeth than a spiral
bevel pinion, with the result that gear ratios of 60:1 and higher
are feasible using a single set of hypoid gears. This style of
gear is most commonly found driving mechanical differentials;
which are normally straight cut bevel gears; in motor vehicle
axles.
Backlash
Backlash is the error in motion that occurs when gears change
direction. It exists because there is always some gap between
the trailing face of the driving tooth and the leading face of the
tooth behind it on the driven gear, and that gap must be closed
before force can be transferred in the new direction. The term
"backlash" can also be used to refer to the size of the gap, not

just the phenomenon it causes; thus, one could speak of a pair

of gears as having, for example, "0.1 mm of backlash." A pair of
gears could be designed to have zero backlash, but this would
presuppose perfection in manufacturing, uniform thermal
expansion characteristics throughout the system, and no
lubricant. Therefore, gear pairs are designed to have some
backlash. It is usually provided by reducing the tooth thickness
of each gear by half the desired gap distance. In the case of a
large gear and a small pinion, however, the backlash is usually
taken entirely off the gear and the pinion is given full sized
teeth. Backlash can also be provided by moving the gears
further apart. The backlash of a gear train equals the sum of
the backlash of each pair of gears, so in long trains backlash
can become a problem.
For situations in which precision is important, such as
instrumentation and control, backlash can be minimized
through one of several techniques. For instance, the gear can
be split along a plane perpendicular to the axis, one half fixed
to the shaft in the usual manner, the other half placed
alongside it, free to rotate about the shaft, but with springs
between the two halves providing relative torque between
them, so that one achieves, in effect, a single gear with
expanding teeth. Another method involves tapering the teeth in
the axial direction and providing for the gear to be slid in the
axial direction to take up slack.

Shifting of gears
In some machines (automobiles) it is necessary to alter the
gear ratio to suit the task, a process known as gear shifting or
changing gear. There are several outcomes of gear shifting in
motor vehicles. In the case of vehicle noise emissions, there are

higher sound levels emitted when the vehicle is engaged in

lower gears. The design life of the lower ratio gears is shorter,
so cheaper gears may be used (i.e. spur for 1st and reverse)
which tends to generate more noise due to smaller overlap
ratio and a lower mesh stiffness etc. than the helical gears used
for the high ratios. This fact has been utilized in analyzing
vehicle generated sound since the late 1960s, and has been
incorporated into the simulation of urban roadway noise and
corresponding design of urban noise barriers along roadways.
Tooth profile
A profile is one side of a tooth in a cross section between the
outside circle and the root circle. Usually a profile is the curve
of intersection of a tooth surface and a plane or surface normal
to the pitch surface, such as the transverse, normal, or axial
plane. The fillet curve (root fillet) is the concave portion of the
tooth profile where it joins the bottom of the tooth space. The
velocity ratio is dependent on the profile of the teeth. Friction
and wear between two gears is also dependent on the tooth
profile. There are a great many tooth profiles that will give a
constant velocity ratio, and in many cases, given an arbitrary
tooth shape, it is possible to develop a tooth profile for the
mating gear that will give a constant velocity ratio. However,
two constant velocity tooth profiles have been by far the most
commonly used in modern times. They are the cycloid and the
involute. The cycloid was more common until the late 1800s;
since then the involute has largely superseded it, particularly in
drive train applications. The cycloid is in some ways the more

interesting and flexible shape; however the involute has two

advantages: it is easier to manufacture, and it permits the
center to center spacing of the gears to vary over some range
without ruining the constancy of the velocity ratio. Cycloidal
gears only work properly if the center spacing is exactly right.
Gear materials
Numerous nonferrous alloys, cast irons, powder-metallurgy and
plastics are used in the manufacture of gears. However, steels
are most commonly used because of their high strength-toweight ratio and low cost. Plastic is commonly used where cost
or weight is a concern. A properly designed plastic gear can
replace steel in many cases because it has many desirable
properties, including dirt tolerance, low speed meshing, the
ability to "skip" quite well

and the ability to be made with

materials not needing additional lubrication. Manufacturers

have employed plastic gears to reduce costs in consumer items
including copy machines, optical storage devices, cheap
dynamos, consumer audio equipment, servo motors, and
printers.
The module system
As a result, the term module is usually understood to mean the
pitch diameter in millimeters divided by the number of teeth.
When the module is based upon inch measurements, it is
known as the English module to avoid confusion with the metric
module. Module is a direct dimension, whereas diametral pitch
is an inverse dimension (like "threads per inch").

DESIGN OF CAST IRON DRIVE SHAFT

Introduction
A shaft-driven

bicycle is

a bicycle that

uses

a drive

shaft instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to

the wheel through contact of gears and a shaft rod to smoothly
and efficient. Shaft drives were introduced over a century ago,
but were mostly supplanted by chain-driven bicycles due to the
gear ranges possible with sprockets and derailleurs. Recently,
due to advancements in internal gear technology, a small
number of modern shaft-driven bicycles have been introduced.
Purpose of the Drive Shaft
The torque that is produced from the engine and transmission
must be transferred to the rear wheels to push the vehicle
forward moment. The drive shaft must provide a smooth,
uninterrupted flow of power to the axles. The drive shaft and
differential are used to transfer this torque.
Functions of the Drive Shaft
1. It must transmit torque from the transmission to the pedal
2. During the operation, it is necessary to transmit maximum
low-gear torque
3. The drive shafts must also be capable of rotating at the
very fast speeds required by the vehicle.

4. The drive shaft must also operate through constantly

changing gear velocity ratio .
5. The length of the drive shaft must also be capable of
changing while transmitting torque. Length changes are
caused by axle movement due to torque reaction, road
deflections, braking loads and so on. A slip joint is used to
compensate for this motion.
6. The slip joint is usually made of an internal and external
spline. It is located on the front end of the drive shaft and
is connected to the transmission.
2 Construction and working principle
The term Drive shaft is used to refer to a shaft, which is used
for the transfer of motion from one point to another. Whereas
the shafts, which propel (push the object ahead) are referred to
as the propeller shafts. However the drive shaft of the
automobile is also referred to as the propeller shaft because
apart from transmitting the rotary motion from the front end to
the rear end of the vehicle, these shafts also propel the vehicle
forward. The shaft is the primary connection between the front
and the rear end (engine and differential), which performs both
the jobs of transmitting the motion and propelling the front end.
Thus the terms Drive Shaft and Propeller Shafts are used
interchangeably. In other words, a drive shaft is a longitudinal
power transmitting, used in vehicle where the pedal is situated
at the human feet. A drive shaft is an assembly of one or more
tubular shafts connected by universal, constant velocity or

flexible joints. The number of tubular pieces and joints depends

on the distance between the two wheels.

The job involved is the design for suitable propeller shaft and
replacement of chain drive smoothly to transmit power from
the engine to the wheel without slip. It needs only a less
maintenance. It is cost effective. Propeller shaft strength is
more and also propeller shaft diameter is less. it absorbs the
shock. Because the propeller shaft center is fitted with the
universal joint is a flexible joint. It turns into any angular
position. The both end of the shaft are fitted with the bevel
pinion, the bevel pinion engaged with the crown and power is
transmitted to the rear wheel through the propeller shaft and
gear box. . With our shaft drive bikes, there is no more grease
on your hands or your clothes; and no more chain and
derailleur maintenance.
Shaft-driven

bikes

have

large bevel

gear where

conventional bike would have its chain ring. This meshes with
another bevel gear mounted on the drive shaft. The use of
bevel gears allows the axis of the drive torque from the pedals
to be turned through 90 degrees. The drive shaft then has
another bevel gear near the rear wheel hub which meshes with
a bevel gear on the hub where the rear sprocket would be on a
conventional bike, and canceling out the first drive torque
change of axis.

The 90-degree change of the drive plane that occurs at

the bottom bracket and again at the rear hub uses bevel gears
for the most efficient performance, though other mechanisms
could be used, e.g. Hobsons joints, worm gears or crossed
helical

gears. The drive shaft is often mated to a hub

gear which is an internal gear system housed inside the rear

hub.

Fig 4.1.Bevel Gear Mechanism

Specification of drive shaft

The

specifications

of

the

composite

drive

shaft

of

an

automotive transmission are same as that of the steel drive

shaft for optimal design. The fundamental natural bending
frequency for passenger cars, small trucks, and vans of the
propeller shaft should be higher than 6,500 rpm to avoid
whirling vibration and the torque transmission capability of the
drive shaft should be larger than 3,500 Nm. The drive shaft
outer diameter should not exceed 100 mm due to space
limitations. Here outer diameter of the shaft is taken as 90 mm.
The drive shaft of transmission system is to be designed

optimally for following specified design requirements as shown

in Table.
Table: Design requirements and specifications

S.

Name

Notation

Unit

Value

No
1.

Ultimate
Torque

Tmax

2. Max. Speed
of shaft

Nmax

3. Length of
Shaft

Nm
rpm
mm

Steel (SM45C) used for automotive drive shaft applications. The

material properties of the steel (SM45C) are given in Table. The
steel drive shaft should satisfy three design specifications such
as torque transmission capability, buckling torque capability
and bending natural frequency.

Table: Mechanical properties of Cast iron (SM45C)

S.N
o

Mech.Propertie Symbol
s

Units

1.

Youngs Modulus

GPa

2.

Shear Modulus

GPa

Cast Iron

3.

Poisson Ratio

------

4.

Density

Kg/m3

5.

Yield Strength

Sy

MPa

6.

Shear Strength

Ss

MPa

Bevel Gear
Bevel gears are gears where the axes of the two shafts
intersect and the tooth-bearing faces of the gears themselves
are conically shaped. Bevel gears are most often mounted on
shafts that are 90 degrees apart, but can be designed to work
at other angles as well. The pitch surface of bevel gears is a
cone.
EOMETRY AND TERMINOLOGY

When
shafts

intersecting
are

gears, the pitch

connected
cones

by

(analogous to the pitch cylinders of spur and helical gears) are

tangent along an element, with their apexes at the intersection
of the shafts as in Fig. where two bevel gears are in mesh.
The size and shape of the teeth are defined at the large end,
where they intersect the back cones. Pitch cone and back cone
elements are perpendicular to each other. The tooth profiles
resemble those of spur gears having pitch radii rbg and rbp and
are shown in Fig. 13.3. which explains the nomenclatures of a
bevel gear.

where Zv is called the virtual number of teeth, p is the circular

pitch of both the imaginary spur gears and the bevel gears. Z1
and Z2 are the number of teeth on the pinion and gear, 1 and
2 are the pitch cone angles of pinion and gears. It is a practice
to characterize the size and shape of bevel gear teeth as those
of an imaginary spur gear appearing on the developed back
cone corresponding to Tredgolds approximation.
a) Bevel gear teeth are inherently non - interchangeable.
b) The working depth of the teeth is usually
2m, the same as for standard spur and
helical

gears,

but

the

bevel

pinion

is

designed with the larger addendum ( 0.7

working depth).
c) This

avoids

interference

and

results

in

stronger pinion teeth. It also increases the

contact ratio.
d) The gear addendum varies from 1m for a gear ratio of
1, to 0.54 m for ratios of
6.8 and greater.

The gear ratio can be determined from the number of teeth, the
pitch diameters or the pitch cone angles as,

Illustration of spiral angle

The Fig.13.4 illustrates the measurement of the spiral angle
of a spiral bevel gear. Bevel gears most commonly have a
pressure angle of 20o, and spiral bevels usually have a spiral
angle of 35 o.

Fig. Zero Bevel gears

The Fig.13.5 illustrates Zero Bevel gears, which are having
curved teeth spiral bevels. But they have zero spiral angels.

Comparison of intersecting and offset shaft bevel type gearings

Force Analysis

Gear and shaft forces

Gear and shaft forces

Fig. 13.10 Bevel gear - Force analysis

In Fig. 13.10, Fn is normal to the pitch cone and the resolution

of resultant tooth force Fn into its tangential (torque producing),

radial

(separating)

and

axial

(thrust)

components

is

designated Ft, Fr and Fa respectively. An auxiliary view is

needed to show the true length of the vector representing
resultant force Fn (which is normal to the tooth profile).

Resultant force Fn is shown applied to tooth at the pitch cone

surface and midway along tooth width b. It is also assumed that
load is uniformly distributed along the tooth width despite the
fact that the tooth width is larger at the outer end Where Vav is
in meters per second, dav is in meters, n is in revolutions per
minute, Ft is in N and W is power in kW.
dav = d-bsin

Fn = Ft /cos
Fr = Fn cos = Ft tan c
Fa = Fn sin = Ft tan sin

Transmission of Torque
Action and reaction my friend. If a person does not turn the
pedal then he will stand on it and so the maximum torque will
= (body mass of the rider x g) x the length of the pedal lever.
Remember to consider the gearing of the bike though. The
average, fit, adult rider can produce only 75 watts or 1/10hp
when cycling at a continuous 12mph (19.3kph)." This usually
happens with a pedaling speed of 60-80 rpm though many rider
pedal faster. When I cycle, I usually spin at between 100-120
rpm, but I have been riding for years and have found that the
higher speed works better for me.
Spiral bevel gear

A spiral bevel gear is a bevel gear with helical teeth. The

main application of this is in a vehicle differential, where the
direction of drive from the drive shaft must be turned 90
degrees to drive the wheels. The helical design produces less
vibration and noise than conventional straight-cut or spur-cut
gear with straight teeth.

A spiral bevel gear set should always be replaced in pairs i.e.

both the left hand and right hand gears should be replaced
together since the gears are manufactured and lapped in pairs.
Handedness
A right hand spiral bevel gear is one in which the outer half of
a tooth is inclined in the clockwise direction from the axial
plane through the midpoint of the tooth as viewed by an
observer looking at the face of the gear.
A left hand spiral bevel gear is one in which the outer half of a
tooth is inclined in the counter clockwise direction from the
axial plane through the midpoint of the tooth as viewed by an
observer looking at the face of the gear.
Note that a spiral bevel gear and pinion are always of opposite
hand, including the case when the gear is internal.
Also note that the designations right hand and left hand are
applied similarly to other types of bevel gear, hypoid gears, and
oblique tooth face gears.
Hypoid gears
A hypoid is a type of spiral bevel gear whose axis does not
intersect with the axis of the meshing gear. The shape of a
hypoid gear is a revolved hyperboloid (that is, the pitch surface
of the hypoid gear is a hyperbolic surface), whereas the shape
of a spiral bevel gear is normally conical. The hypoid gear
places the pinion off-axis to the crown wheel (ring gear) which

allows the pinion to be larger in diameter and have more

contact area. In hypoid gear design, the pinion and gear are
practically always of opposite hand, and the spiral angle of the
pinion is usually larger than that of the gear. The hypoid pinion
is then larger in diameter than an equivalent bevel pinion.
A hypoid gear incorporates some sliding and can be considered
halfway between a straight-cut gear and a worm gear. Special
gear oils are required for hypoid gears because the sliding
action requires effective lubrication under extreme pressure
between the teeth. Hypoid gearings are used in power
transmission products that are more efficient than conventional
worm gearing. They are considerably stronger in that any load
is conveyed through multiple teeth simultaneously. By contrast,
bevel gears are loaded through one tooth at a time. The
multiple contacts of hypoid gearing, with proper lubrication, can
be nearly silent, as well.
Spiral angle
The spiral angle in a spiral bevel gear is the angle between the
tooth trace and an element of the pitch cone, and corresponds
to the helix angle in helical teeth. Unless otherwise specified,
the term spiral angle is understood to be the mean spiral angle.
Mean spiral angle is the specific designation for the spiral
angle at the mean cone distance in a bevel gear.
Outer spiral angle is the spiral angle of a bevel gear at the
outer cone distance.

 Inner spiral angle is the spiral angle of a bevel gear at the

inner cone distance.
Comparison of spiral bevel gears to hypoid gears
Hypoid gears are stronger, operate more quietly and can be
used for higher reduction ratios, however they also have some
sliding action along the teeth, which reduces mechanical
efficiency, the energy losses being in the form of heat produced
in the gear surfaces and the lubricating fluid.
In older automotive designs, hypoid gears were typically used
in rear-drive automobile drive trains, but modern designs have
tended to substitute spiral bevel gears to increase driving
efficiency.
Hypoid gears are still common in larger trucks because they
can transmit higher torque. A higher hypoid offset allows the
gear to transmit higher torque. However increasing the hypoid
offset results in reduction of mechanical efficiency and a
consequent reduction in fuel economy. For practical purposes,
it is often impossible to replace low efficiency hypoid gears with
more efficient spiral bevel gears in automotive use because the
spiral bevel gear would need a much larger diameter to
transmit the same torque. Increasing the size of the drive axle
gear would require an increase of the size of the gear housing
and a reduction in the ground clearance.
Another advantage of hypoid gear is that the ring gear of the
differential and the input pinion gear are both hypoid. In most
passenger cars this allows the pinion to be offset to the bottom
of the crown wheel. This provides for longer tooth contact and
allows the shaft that drives the pinion to be lowered, reducing
the "hump" intrusion in the passenger compartment floor.
However, the greater the displacement of the input shaft axis
from the crown wheel axis, the lower the mechanical efficiency.
Worm drive
A worm drive is a gear arrangement in which a worm (which is
a gear in the form of a screw) meshes with a worm gear (which
is similar in appearance to a spur gear). The two elements are
also called the worm screw and worm wheel. The terminology is

often confused by imprecise use of the term worm gear to refer

to the worm, the worm gear, or the worm drive as a unit.
Like other gear arrangements, a worm drive can reduce
rotational speed or transmit higher torque. The image shows a
section of a gear box with a worm gear driven by a worm. A
worm is an example of a screw, one of the six simple machines.

Explanation
A

gearbox

designed

using a worm and worm-wheel is

considerably smaller than one made from plain spur gears, and
has its drive axes at 90 to each other. With a single start
worm, for each 360 turn of the worm, the worm-gear advances
only one tooth of the gear. Therefore, regardless of the worm's
size (sensible engineering limits notwithstanding), the gear
ratio is the "size of the worm gear - to - 1". Given a single start
worm, a 20 tooth worm gear reduces the speed by the ratio of
20:1. With spur

gears, a gear of

12

smallest

teeth

(the

size

if

designed to good

engineering

practices)

match with a 240

tooth

must
to

achieve the same

ratio.

Therefore, if the

diametrical pitch

(DP) of each gear

20:1

gear

is the same, then, in terms of the physical size of the 240 tooth
gear to that of the 20 tooth gear, the worm arrangement is
considerably smaller in volume.

Direction of transmission
Unlike with ordinary gear trains, the direction of transmission
(input shaft vs output shaft) is not reversible when using large
reduction ratios, due to the greater friction involved between
the worm and worm-wheel, when usually a single start (one
spiral) worm is used. This can be an advantage when it is
desired to eliminate any possibility of the output driving the
input. If a multistart worm (multiple spirals) is used then the
ratio reduces accordingly and the braking effect of a worm and
worm-gear may need to be discounted, as the gear may be
able to drive the worm.
Worm gear configurations in which the gear cannot drive the
worm are called self-locking. Whether a worm and gear is selflocking depends on the lead angle, the pressure angle, and the
coefficient of friction; however, it is roughly correct to say that

a worm and gear are self-locking if the tangent of the lead

angle is less than the coefficient of friction.
Applications
In early 20th century automobiles prior to the introduction of
power steering, the effect of a flat or blowout on one of the
front wheels tended to pull the steering mechanism toward the
side with the flat tire. The use of a worm screw reduced this
effect. Further worm drive development led to recirculating ball
bearings to reduce frictional forces, which transmitted some
steering force to the wheel. This aides vehicle control and
reduces wear that could cause difficulties in steering precisely.
Worm drives are a compact means of substantially decreasing
speed

and

increasing

torque. Small

electric motors

are

generally high-speed and low-torque; the addition of a worm

drive increases the range of applications that it may be suitable
for,

especially

when

the

worm

drive's

compactness

is

considered.

Worm drives are used in presses, rolling mills, conveying

engineering, mining industry machines, on rudders, and worm
drive saws. In addition, milling heads and rotary tables are
positioned using high-precision

duplex worm drives

with

adjustable backlash. Worm gears are used on many lift/elevator

and escalator-drive applications due to their compact size and
the non-reversibility of the gear.

In the era of sailing ships, the introduction of a worm drive to

control the rudder was a significant advance. Prior to its
introduction, a rope drum drive controlled the rudder. Rough
seas could apply substantial force the rudder, often requiring
several men to steer the vesselsome drives had two largediameter wheels so up to four crewmen could operate the
rudder.
Worm drives have been used in a few automotive rear-axle final
drives (though not the differential itself). They took advantage
of the location of the gear being at either the very top or very
bottom of the differential crown wheel. In the 1910s they were
common on trucks; to gain the most clearance on muddy roads
the worm gear was placed on top. In the 1920s the Stutz firm
used them on its cars; to have a lower floor than its
competitors, the gear was located on the bottom. An example
from around 1960 was the Peugeot 404. The worm gear carries
the differential gearing, which protects the vehicle against
rollback. This ability has largely fallen from favour due to the
higher-than-necessary reduction ratios.
A more recent exception to this is the Torsen differential, which
uses worms and planetary worm gears in place of the bevel
gearing of conventional open differentials. Torsen differentials
are most prominently featured in the HMMWV and some
commercial Hummer vehicles, and as a center differential in
some all wheel drive systems, such as Audi's quattro. Very
heavy trucks, such as those used to carry aggregates, often use
a worm gear differential for strength. The worm drive is not as

efficient as a hypoid gear, and such trucks invariably have a

very large differential housing, with a correspondingly large
volume of gear oil, to absorb and dissipate the heat created.

Worm drives are used as the tuning mechanism for many

musical

instruments,

including

guitars,

double-basses,

mandolins, bouzoukis, and many banjos (although most highend banjos use planetary gears or friction pegs). A worm drive
tuning device is called a machine head.
Plastic worm drives are often used on small battery-operated
electric motors, to provide an output with a lower angular
velocity (fewer revolutions per minute) than that of the motor,
which operates best at a fairly high speed. This motor-wormgear drive system is often used in toys and other small
electrical devices.

A worm drive is used on jubilee-type hose clamps or jubilee

clamps. The tightening screw's worm thread engages with the
slots on the clamp band.
Occasionally a worm gear is designed to run in reverse,
resulting in the output shaft turning much faster than the input.
Examples

of

this

may

be

seen

in

some

hand-cranked

centrifuges or the wind governor in a musical box.

/ong the axis.

Differential
A differential is a particular type of simple planetary gear train
that has the property that the angular velocity of its carrier is
the average of the angular velocities of its sun and annular
gears. This is accomplished by packaging the gear train so it
has a fixed carrier train ratio R = -1, which means the gears
corresponding to the sun and annular gears are the same size.
This can be done by engaging the planet gears of two identical

and coaxial epicyclic gear trains to form a spur gear

differential. Another approach is to use bevel gears for the sun
and annular gears and a bevel gear as the planet, which is
known as a bevel gear differential.
Epicyclic differential
An epicyclic differential can use epicyclic gearing to split and
apportion torque asymmetrically between the front and rear
axles. An epicyclic differential is at the heart of the Toyota Prius
automotive drive train, where it interconnects the engine,
motor-generators, and the drive wheels (which have a second
differential for splitting torque as usual). It has the advantage of
being relatively compact along the length of its axis (that is, the
sun gear shaft).
Epicyclic gears are also called planetary gears because the
axes of the planet gears revolve around the common axis of the
sun and ring gears that they mesh with and roll between. In the
image, the yellow shaft carries the sun gear which is almost
hidden. The blue gears are called planet gears and the pink
gear is the ring gear or annulus.

Spur-gear differential
This is another type of differential that was used in some early
automobiles, more recently the Oldsmobile Tornado, as well as
other non-automotive applications. It consists of spur gears
only.
A spur-gear differential has two equal-sized spur gears, one for
each half-shaft, with a space between them. Instead of the
Bevel gear, also known as a miter gear, assembly (the "spider")
at the centre of the differential, there is a rotating carrier on the
same axis as the two shafts. Torque from a prime mover or
transmission, such as the drive shaft of a car, rotates this
carrier.
Mounted in this carrier are one or more pairs of identical
pinions, generally longer than their diameters, and typically
smaller than the spur gears on the individual half-shafts. Each
pinion pair rotates freely on pins supported by the carrier.
Furthermore, the pinion pairs are displaced axially, such that
they mesh only for the part of their length between the two
spur gears, and rotate in opposite directions. The remaining
length of a given pinion meshes with the nearer spur gear on
its axle. Therefore, each pinion couples that spur gear to the
other pinion, and in turn, the other spur gear, so that when the
drive shaft rotates the carrier, its relationship to the gears for

the individual wheel axles is the same as that in a bevel-gear

differential.
Application to vehicles
A vehicle with two drive wheels has the problem that when it
turns a corner the drive wheels must rotate at different speeds
to maintain traction. The automotive differential is designed to
drive a pair of wheels while allowing them to rotate at different
speeds. In vehicles without a differential, such as karts, both
driving wheels are forced to rotate at the same speed, usually
on a common axle driven by a simple chain-drive mechanism.
When cornering the inner wheel travels a shorter distance than
the outer wheel, so without a differential either the inner wheel
rotates too fast or the outer wheel drags, which results in
difficult and unpredictable handling, damage to tires and roads,
and strain on (or possible failure of) the entire drive train.
In rear-wheel drive automobiles the central drive shaft (or prop
shaft) engages the differential through a hypoid gear (crownwheel and pinion) the crown-wheel is mounted on the carrier of
the planetary chain that forms the differential. This hypoid gear
is a bevel gear that changes the direction of the drive rotation.
Loss of traction
One undesirable side effect of a conventional differential is that
it can limit traction under less than ideal conditions. The
amount of traction required to propel the vehicle at any given
moment depends on the load at that instanthow heavy the

vehicle is, how much drag and friction there is, the gradient of
the road, the vehicle's momentum, and so on.
The torque applied to each driving wheel is a result of the
engine, transmission and drive axles applying a twisting force
against the resistance of the traction at that roadwheel. In
lower gears and thus at lower speeds, and unless the load is
exceptionally high, the drivetrain can supply as much torque as
necessary, so the limiting factor becomes the traction under
each wheel. It is therefore convenient to define traction as the
amount of torque that can be generated between the tire and
the road surface, before the wheel starts to slip. If the torque
applied to one of the drive wheels exceeds the threshold of
traction, then that wheel will spin, and thus only provide torque
at each other driven wheel limited by the sliding friction at the
slipping wheel. The reduced net traction may still be enough to
propel the vehicle.
A conventional "open" (non-locked or otherwise traction-aided)
differential always supplies close to equal (because of limited
internal friction) torque to each side. To illustrate how this can
limit torque applied to the driving wheels, imagine a simple
rear-wheel drive vehicle, with one rear road wheel on asphalt
with good grip, and the other on a patch of slippery ice. It takes
very little torque to spin the side on slippery ice, and because a
differential splits torque equally to each side, the torque that is
applied to the side that is on asphalt is limited to this amount.
Based on the load, gradient, et cetera, the vehicle requires a
certain amount of torque applied to the drive wheels to move

forward. Since an open differential limits total torque applied to

both drive wheels to the amount used by the lower traction
wheel multiplied by a factor of 2, when one wheel is on a
slippery surface, the total torque applied to the driving wheels
may be lower than the minimum torque required for vehicle
propulsion.
Many newer vehicles feature traction control, which partially
mitigates

the

poor

traction

characteristics

of

an

open

differential by using the anti-lock braking system to limit or

stop the slippage of the low traction wheel, increasing the
torque that can be applied to both wheels. While not as
effective in propelling a vehicle under poor traction conditions
as a traction-aided differential, it is better than a simple
mechanical
assistance.

open

differential

with

no

electronic

traction