Introduction:-: SR - No. Advantages Disadvantages
Introduction:-: SR - No. Advantages Disadvantages
Introduction:-: SR - No. Advantages Disadvantages
Introduction :-
Belt and rope drives are prone to slipping. In order to avoid slipping, steel chains are used. The chains
are made up of number of rigid links which are hinged together by pin joints in order to provide the necessary
flexibility for wrapping round the driving and driven wheels. These wheels have projecting teeth of special profile
and fit into the corresponding recesses in the links of the chain as shown in Figure 1. The toothed wheels are known
as sprocket wheels or simply sprockets. The sprockets and the chain are thus constrained to move together without
slipping and ensures perfect velocity ratio.
The chains are mostly used to transmit motion and power from one shaft to another, when the centre distance
between their shafts is short such as in bicycles, motor cycles, agricultural machinery, conveyors, rolling mills,
road rollers etc. The chains may also be used for long centre distance of up to 8 metres. The chains are used for
velocities up to 25 m/s and for power up to 110 kW. In some cases, higher power transmission is also possible.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Chain Drives over Belt and Rope Drives :-
1) As no slip takes place during chain drive, hence The production cost of chains is relatively high.
perfect velocity ratio is obtained.
2) Since the chains are made of metal, therefore they The chain drive needs accurate mounting and
occupy less space in width than a belt or rope drive. careful maintenance, particularly lubrication
and slack adjustment.
a) Figure 4 illustrates some of the more commonly used power transmission chain configurations.
b) All precision power transmission chains are manufactured by pin-connecting a continuous series of links
which sequentially mesh with sprocket teeth as the chain loops around two or more sprockets.
c) Each pin-and-bushing joint articulates as the chain passes around the sprockets; hence each joint act as a
journal and sleeve bearing.
d) Just as for any other journal-and-sleeve bearing application, proper lubrication of the sliding pin-and bushing
interface is crucial to achieving the potential wear life of the chain.
e) Ironically, periodic maintenance schedules, which are intended to clean and re-lubricate chains to enhance
wear life, may sometimes actually reduce wear life because of local lubricant starvation unless a conscientious
effort is made to properly reintroduce lubricant to the relatively inaccessible pin-and-bushing interfaces.
f) Three different options for lubrication are : Type I — manual or drip lubrication
Type II — oil bath or slinger-disk lubrication
Type III — directed oil stream or pressure spray lubrication.
g) Chain manufacturers often recommend Type I for applications in which linear chain velocity is between about
170 and 650 ft/min, Type II for applications in which linear chain velocity is between about 650 and 1500
ft/min, and Type III if linear chain velocity exceeds about 1500 ft/min.
h) Oil flow rates required for effective lubrication range from about gal/min for a chain drive transmitting 50
horsepower to about 10 gal/min for drives transmitting 2000 horsepower.
a) Based on previous failure mode discussion, candidate materials for power transmission chains should have good
strength (especially good fatigue strength), high stiffness, good wear resistance, good resistance to surface
fatigue, good resilience, and in some applications good corrosion resistance, as well as reasonable cost.
b) Materials meeting these criteria64 include steels and steel alloys, cast iron, malleable iron, stainless steel alloys,
and, for special applications, alloys of brass, bronze and certain polymeric materials.
c) Chain components may be pressed, cast, forged, machined, or welded to obtain the desired geometry. Chain parts
may be heat treated or not heat treated, as required for strength.
d) Carburizing and case hardening, through hardening, induction hardening, or plating may be used to enhance wear
resistance or provide corrosion protection. In a standard commercially available roller chain the link plates are
typically carbon steel, heat treated if the application is demanding, and edges may be induction hardened to
improve sliding wear resistance.
e) Bushings usually are carbon steel or alloy steel, case hardened or through hardened. In certain applications,
however, bushings may be made of heat-treated stainless steel, bronze, graphite, or other materials.
f) Pins are usually made of carbon steel or alloy steel carburized and case hardened, or through hardened.
g) Rollers are generally made of carbon or alloy steels, carburized and surface hardened or through hardened, as the
application requires. Sprocket teethm usually steel, are often surface hardened to about Rockwell C 59-63.
Table 3 : Single-Strand Sprocket Tooth Counts Available from Morse Chain Company, Ithaca, NY, Type B hub sprockets
REFERENCES
[1] Richard Budynas, Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design, Tata McGraw Hill Education, 2014.
[2] Jack A. Collins, Henry R. Busby, George H. Staab, Mechanical Design of Machine Elements and Machines : A
Failure Prevention Perspective, John Wiley and Sons, 2010.
[3] Robert C. Juvinall, Kurt M. Marshek, Fundamentals of Machine Component Design, 5th Edition, John Wiley
and Sons, 2011.