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CHAIN DRIVES
A chain drive consists of an endless chain running over two sprockets. A chain can be defined as
a series of links connected by pin joints. The sprocket is a toothed wheel with a special profile
for the teeth. The sprockets and the chain are thus constrained to move together without slipping
and ensures perfect velocity ratio. The chain drive is intermediate between belt and gear drives.
It has some features of belt drives and some of gear drives. companies producing chains: TIDC,
L.G.Balakrishnan & Bros. Ltd. etc.

The advantages of chain drives compared with belt and gear drives are as follows:
(i) Chain drives can be used for long as well as short centre distances. They are
particularly suitable for medium centre distance, where gear drives will require
additional idler gears.
(ii) A number of shafts can be driven in the same or opposite direction by means of the
chain from a single driving sprocket.
(iii) Chain drives have small overall dimensions than belt drives, resulting in compact
unit.
(iv) A chain does not slip and to that extent, chain drive is a positive drive.
(v) The efficiency of chain drives is high. For properly lubricated chain, the efficiency of
chain drive is from 96% to 98%.
(vi) Chain does not require initial tension. Therefore, the forces acting on shafts are
reduced.
(vii) Chains are easy to replace.
(viii) Atmospheric conditions and temperatures do not affect the performance of chain
drives.
The disadvantages of chain drives are as follows:
(i) Chain drives are not suitable for non-parallel shafts. Bevel and worm gears and
quarter turn belt drives can be used for non-parallel shafts.
(ii) Chain drive is unsuitable where precise motion is required due to polygonal effect.
(iii) The velocity of the chain is not constant resulting in non-uniform speed of the driven
shaft.
(iv) Chain drives require housing.
(v) Chain drives require precise alignment of shafts.
(vi) Chain drives require proper maintenance, particularly lubrication.
(vii) Chain drives generate noise.

Applications:
Chain drives are popular in the transportation industry, such as bicycle, motorcycle and
automobile vehicle. They are used in metal and wood working machinery for the transmission of
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power. They are widely used in agricultural machinery, oil-well drilling rigs, building
construction and materials handling equipment.
Chain drives are used for velocity ratios less than 10 : 1 and chain velocities of up to 25 m/s. In
general, they are recommended to transmit power up to 100 kW. In some cases, higher power
transmission is also possible.

Types of chains
There are different types of chains. With respect to their purpose, chains are classified into the
following three groups:
(i) Load lifting chains
(ii) conveyor chains
(iii) Power transmission chains
(i) Load lifting (hoisting) chains are used for suspending, raising or lowering loads in
materials handling equipment. The popular example of this category is a ‘link’ chain.
Link chains are used in low capacity hoists, winches.
(a) Chain with oval links. The links of this type of chain are of oval shape. The joint of
each link is welded. The sprockets which are used for this type of chain have
receptacles to receive the links. Such type of chains are used only at low speeds such
as in chain hoists and in anchors for marine works.

(b). Chain with square links. The links of this type of chain are of square shape. Such
type of chains are used in hoists, cranes etc.
(ii) Conveyor (hauling) chains are used for carrying materials continuously by sliding,
pulling or carrying in conveyors. The popular example of this category is a ‘block’ chain.
It consists of side plates of simple shapes and pins. It operates at medium velocities of up
to 2 to 4 m/s. In general, hauling chains have long pitches because they have considerable
length and mesh with sprockets whose size is not strictly limited. These chains are
relatively noisy and wear rapidly because of the impact between the blocks and the
sprocket. These chains are used only for conveyor applications.
(iii) Power transmission chains are used for transmitting power from one shaft to another.
Roller chain, bush chain, silent chains are used to transmit power.
(a) Bush chain was used in the early stages of development in the power transmission. It
produces noise when approaching or leaving the teeth of the sprocket because of rubbing
between the teeth and the links. Such types of chains are used to some extent as conveyor
chain at small speed.
(b) Silent chain designed for noiseless running. When properly lubricated, this chain
gives durable service and runs very smoothly and quietly. The roller chain and bush
chains are recommended for low and medium speed and silent chain is employed for high
speed ratio due to its smoother and quiet operation.
(c) A bush roller chain is extremely strong and simple in construction. It gives good
service under severe conditions. There is a little noise with this chain which is due to
impact of the rollers on the sprocket wheel teeth. This chain may be used where there is a
little lubrication.
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ROLLER CHAINS
The construction of a roller chain is shown in Fig.. It consists of alternate links made of inner and
outer link plates. A roller chain consists of following five parts:
(i) Pin
(ii) Bushing
(iii) Roller
(iv) Inner link plate
(v) Outer link plate
The pin is press fitted to two outer link plates, while the bush is press fitted to inner link plates.
The bush and the pin form a swivel joint and the outer link is free to swivel with respect to the
inner link. The rollers are freely fitted on bushes and, during engagement, turn with the teeth of
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the sprocket wheels. This results in rolling friction instead of sliding friction between roller and
sprocket teeth. The rolling friction reduces wear and frictional power loss and improves the
efficiency of the chain drive. The inner and outer link plates are made of medium carbon steels..
The pins, bushes and rollers are made of case carburising alloy steel.

Pitch (p) of the chain is the linear distance between the axes of adjacent rollers. Roller chains are
standardized and manufactured on the basis of the pitch. These chains are available in single
strand or multi-strand constructions such as simple, duplex or triplex chains. The roller chains
are designated on the basis of ‘pitch’. It is designated in the following way.
(i) The chain number is given in the first column, e.g., 08B or 16A. It consists of two
parts—a number followed by a letter. The number in two digits expresses the ‘pitch’ in
sixteenths of an ‘inch’. The letter A means American Standard ANSI series and the letter B
means British Standard series. Most of the chain manufacturers are American and their ANSI
series is popular in engineering industries.
(a) Let us consider the designation ‘08B’. The pitch of this chain is (08/16) inch or 12.7 mm. The
letter B indicates British standard series.
(b) Let us consider the designation ‘16A’. The pitch of this chain is (16/16) inch or 1 inch, i.e.,
25.4 mm. The letter A indicates American Standard ANSI series.
(ii) In chain number 08B-2 or 16A-1, 1 for simple chain, 2 for duplex chain, 3 for triplex chain,
and so on. For example,

Breaking load
There is a specific term, breaking load, Breaking load is defined as the maximum tensile load,
which if applied will result in chain failure.
Pitch circle diameter
The pitch circle diameter of the sprocket is defined as the diameter of an imaginary circle that
passes through the centres of link pins as the chain is wrapped on the sprocket.
No of links
The number of links (Ln) is adjusted to the previous or next digit so as to get an even number. It
is always preferred to have an ‘even’ number of links, since the chain consists of alternate pairs
of inner and outer link plates.
When the chain has an odd number of links, an additional link, called ‘offset’ link, is provided.
The offset link is, however, weaker than the main links. In practice, a small amount of sag is
essential for the links to take the best position on the sprocket wheel.
No of teeth
It has been observed that the speed variation is 4% for a sprocket with 11 teeth, 1.6% for a
sprocket with 17 teeth, and less than 1% for a sprocket with 24 teeth. For smooth operation at
moderate and high speeds, it is considered a good practice to use a driving sprocket with at least
17 teeth.
Chain have even no. of teeth and sockets odd no as, continuous motion of chain over the
sprocket can cause wear and tear, and if both the chain and socket have even no. of teeth then
same link of chain will run over same portion of the sprocket. Thus if there are greater chances
of failure of any one particular link, or sprocket teeth. If there is even and odd numbers each time
a link will pass over a different teeth until it complete a full cycle thus the damage will be
averaged over.(If there is a particular teeth having defect, or for a particular link of chain which
can cause damaging effect on the teeth.)
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Types of chain failure

(i) Wear :The wear of the chain is caused by the articulation of pins in the bushings. The wear
results in elongation of the chain, or in other words, the chain pitch is increased. This makes the
chain ‘ride out’ on the sprocket teeth, resulting in a faulty engagement. The failure of roller
chains is mainly due to wear on the rollers and pins. The chain is elongated due to wear in the
joints and as a result, the rollers shift with respect to the teeth on the sprocket. When the sprocket
is made of the large number of teeth (with shorter pitch), even a small elongation of the chain
displaces the chain with respect to the teeth on the sprocket to a greater extent, leading to
improper meshing. This limits the maximum number of teeth on the sprocket. For roller chains,
the recommended maximum number of teeth for the sprocket wheel is about 100 to 120
(ii) Fatigue: As the chain passes around the sprocket wheel, it is subjected to a tensile force,
which varies from a maximum on the tight side to a minimum on the loose side. The chain link
is, therefore, subjected to one complete cycle of fluctuating stresses during every revolution of
the sprocket wheel. This results in a fatigue failure of side link plates. For infinite life, the tensile
stress should be lower than the endurance limit of the link plates.
(iii) Impact :The engagement of rollers with the teeth of the sprocket results in impact. When
excessive, this may lead to the breakage of roller or bushing. Increasing the number of teeth on
the sprocket or reducing chain tension and speed reduces the magnitude of the impact force.
(iv) Galling: Galling is a stick-slip phenomenon between the pin and the bushing. When the
chain tension is high, welds are formed at the high spots of the contacting area. Such microscopic
welds are immediately broken due to relative motion of contacting surfaces and leads to
excessive wear, even in the presence of the lubricant. The expected service life of these chains is
15,000 hours. The velocity ratio should be kept below 6 : 1 to get a satisfactory performance.
Chain drives can be arranged as vertical or horizontal. As far as possible, vertical chain drives
should be avoided. In case of a vertical drive, due to sag, the tendency of the chain is to leave the
profile of teeth at the lower side of the lower sprocket. Therefore, vertical arrangement requires
more careful adjustment of chain tension in order to prevent the outward shift of chain.
Horizontal chain drives are always preferred.
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D-16: Design a roller chain drive for driving a compressor by 12 kW electric motor,
running at 1200 rpm. The compressor speed is around 350 rpm. The compressor operates
at 16 hrs/day.
Solution: Given=12kW, N1= 1200 r.p.m., N2= 350 r.p.m.,
1. Selection of chain type: roller chain is selected to transmit power.
2. No. of teeth on sprockets:
VR= N1/ N2=1200/350= 3.4, from table 12.2, z1 =25,z2= 3.4*25 =86
3. kW rating of chain
It is assumed that the chain is simple roller chain with single strand (Kn = 1)
Tooth correction factor Kt = 1.46 (T14.5)
Ks =K1*K2*K3*K4*K5*K6 = 1.25
From table 12.6, K1=1, K2=1, K3=1, K4=1, K5=1, K6=1.25,
kW rating of chain = kW to be transmitted*Ks/Kn*Kt

= 12*1.25/1.46*1 = 10.27 kW
4. Selection of chain number:
From Table 14.2, we find that corresponding to a pinion speed of 1200 r.p.m. the power
transmitted for chain No. 10B is 10.32 kW per strand. Therefore, a chain No. 10B can be
used to transmit the required power.
(11.67-8.97)/(1400-1000) = (11.67 – X)/(1400-1100)
X= 10.32 kW
5. Pitch, P.C.D , chain length, links and center distance:
Pitch = 15.875 mm from table 12.9
d=p/sin (180/z1) =126.7 mm
.Larger sprocket diameter:
D =p/sin (180/z 2) = 434.8 mm
No. of links
C = 30p to 50 p or 476 to 793, use C= 600 mm
Lp=2*C/p + (z1+ z2)/2 +p (z2- z1)2/4C (3.14)2
=133.5 say 134
Chain length =134*15.875= 2127.25 mm
Correct center distance = (E+ (E2 - 8B))*p/4 = 603.39 mm (page 164)
E = Lp –( z1+ z2)/2
B = ((z2 - z1)/(2*3.14))2
Center distance is reduced by 0.002 % to get required sag
Correct center distance = 0.998*613.1 = 602.18 mm
6. Actual factor of safety
Actual factor of safety = Fu/(F+Fc+Fs) (equation 12.11)
Fu (breaking load) for 10B chain =22700 N
F =P/v = 1519 N
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v = p*z1*N1/60000 =7.9 m/s

Fc = w*v2/g =57.9 N
w = 9.1 N/m from table 12.9
Fs =Ksag*w*C/1000 = 33 N
Ksag = 6 (T12.7)
Actual FOS= 14.1 >11.7 safe (minimum FOS = 11.7, T12.4)

D-16: it is required to design a chain drive to connect a 12 kW, 1440 rpm electric motor to
a centrifugal pump running at 720 rpm. The service conditions involve moderate shocks.
(i) Select a proper roller chain and give a list of its dimensions.
(ii) Determine the pitch circle diameters of driving and driven sprockets.
(iii) Specify the correct centre distance between the axes of sprockets
(iv) Determine the number of chain links and length of chain
Solution: Given=12kW, N1= 1440 r.p.m., N2= 720 r.p.m.,
1. Selection of chain type: roller chain is selected to transmit power.
2. No. of teeth on sprockets:
VR= N1/ N2=1440/720= 2, from table 12.2, z1 =27,z2= 2*27 =54
3. kW rating of chain
It is assumed that the chain is simple roller chain with only one strand (K n = 1).
Tooth correction factor Kt = 1.51(T14.5)
(1.73-1.46)/(30-25) = (1.73-X)/(30-27)
X = 1.51
Ks =K1*K2*K3*K4*K5*K6 = 1.25
From table 12.6, K1=1.25, K2=1, K3=1, K4=1, K5=1, K6=1,
kW rating of chain = kW to be transmitted*Ks/Kn*Kt

= 12*1.25/1*1.51 = 9.93 kW
4. selection of chain number:
From Table 14.2, we find that corresponding to a pinion speed of 1440 r.p.m. the power
transmitted for chain No. 10B is 11.67 kW per strand. Therefore, a chain No. 10B can be
used to transmit the required power.
5. Pitch, P.C.D , chain length, links and center distance:
Pitch = 15. 875 mm from table 12.9
d=p/sin (180/z1) =136.8 mm
.Larger sprocket diameter:
D =p/sin (180/z 2) = 273.1 mm
No. of links
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C = 30p to 50 p or 476 to 793 take = 700 mm

Lp=2*C/p + (z1+ z2)/2 +p (z2- z1)2/4C (3.14)2
=129.1 say 130
Chain length =130*15.875= 2063.75 mm
Correct center distance = (E+ (E2 - 8B))*p/4 = 707.1mm (page 164)
E = Lp –( z1+ z2)/2
B = ((z2 - z1)/(2*3.14))2
Center distance is reduced by 0.002 % to get required sag
Correct center distance = 0.998*707.1 = 705.6 mm
6. Actual factor of safety
Actual factor of safety = Fu/(F+Fc+Fs)
Fu (breaking load) for 10B chain =22700 N
F =P/v = 1165 N
v = p*z1*N1/60000 =10.3 m/s
Fc = w*v2/g =98.5 N
w = 9.1 N/m from table 12.9
Fs = K sag *w*C/1000 = 38.7 N
Ksag = 6 (T12.7)
Actual FOS= 17.4 >11 safe (minimum FOS = 11, T12.4)

D-13: Select a suitable chain drive to transmit 50 kW from an electric motor to a line shaft.
Motor shaft diameter is 80 mm, motor rpm 1200, line shaft rpm 250, and centre distance is
adjustable from 600 mm. service is 10hr/day, 6 days per week.
Solution: Given=50kW, N1= 1200 r.p.m., N2= 250 r.p.m.,
1. Selection of chain type: roller chain is selected to transmit power.
2. No. of teeth on sprockets:
VR= N1/ N2=1200/250= 4.8, from table 12.2, z1 =21,z2= 4.8*21 =101
3. kW rating of chain
It is assumed that the chain is simple roller chain with three strand (K n = 2.5, T14.4)
(for Kn= 1, kW rating is 49.6, no chain is available for this power)

Tooth correction factor Kt = 1.26 (T14.5)

Ks =K1*K2*K3*K4*K5*K6 = 1.25
From table 12.6, K1=1, K2=1, K3=1, K4=1, K5=1, K6=1.25,
kW rating of chain = kW to be transmitted*Ks/Kn*Kt

= 50*1.25/2.5*1.26 = 19.8 kW
4. selection of chain number:
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From Table 14.2, we find that corresponding to a pinion speed of 1400 r.p.m. the power
transmitted by 12B is 18.15, which is unsafe, the power transmitted for chain No. 16B is
38.4 kW per strand. Therefore, a chain No. 16B3 can be used to transmit the required
power.
5. Pitch, P.C.D , chain length, links and center distance:
Pitch = 25.4 mm from table 12.9
d=p/sin (180/z1) =170.5 mm
Larger sprocket diameter:
D =p/sin (180/z 2) = 817.1 mm
No. of links
C = 600 mm
Lp=2*C/p + (z1+ z2)/2 +p (z2- z1)2/4C (3.14)2
=115.1 say 116
Chain length =116*25.4= 2946.4 mm
Correct center distance = (E+ (E2 - 8B))*p/4 = 613.1 mm (page 164)
E = Lp –( z1+ z2)/2
B = ((z2 - z1)/(2*3.14))2
Center distance is reduced by 0.002 % to get required sag
Correct center distance = 0.998*613.1 = 611.8 mm
6. Actual factor of safety
Actual factor of safety = Fu/(F+Fc+Fs)
Fu (breaking load) for 16B chain =129300 N
F =P/v = 4672.9 N
v = p*z1*N1/60000 =10.7 m/s
Fc = w*v2/g =1779.8 N
w = 9.1 N/m from table 12.9
Fs = K sag *w*C/1000 = 561.1 N
Ksag = 6 (T12.7)
Actual FOS= 18.4 >11.7 safe (minimum FOS = 11.7, T12.4)

Bicycle Chains are generally categorized into two types: 1/2 × 1/8 and 1/2 × 3/32.
The first number (1/2) is the chain pitch; the latter numbers (1/8 and 3/32,
respectively) indicate the inner width in inches.

Number 1/2 × 1/8 chain is used for simple transmission without speed shifting; it
has the same construction as Standard Roller Chain.

Number 1/2 × 3/32 chain is used with a derailleur (gear).

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Duplex chain

Triplex chain
 F T ra n sf o F T ra n sf o
PD rm PD rm
Y Y
Y

Y
er

er
ABB

ABB
y

y
bu

bu
2.0

2.0
to

to
re

re
he

he
k

k
lic

lic
C

C
w om w om
w

w
w. w.
A B B Y Y.c A B B Y Y.c