Selection and Installation of Keys and Keyseats The key and keyseat for a particular aplication are usualy desiged after the staft diameter is specifed by the methods of Chapter 9. Then, with the shaft ciameter 28 a guide, the size of the key is selected from Table 10-1. The only remaining varablesare the length ofthe key and is material. One of these can be speciied, andthe requirements forthe other can then be computed. ‘Typically the length of a key is specified to bea substantial portion ofthe hub length of the element in which i is insalled to provide for good alignment and sable operation. But ifthe keyseat in the shaft isto be inthe vicinity of other ‘geometric changes such as stouldr filets and ring grooves, it is important to provide some axial clearance between them so the effects of the stress concentra- tions are nat compounded. 10-3 MATERIALS FOR KEYS Keys are mostofien made from low-carbon, cold-drawa steel. For example, AISI 1(20 CD islistedin Appendix A-3 to have an ultimate tensile sirength of 61 Ksi (420 MPa), a yield sirength of 43 Ksi (296 MPa), and a 15% elongation. This is adequate strength and ductility for most applications. Standard key stock con- forming othe dimensions of ANSI Standard B17.1 (Table 10-1) is available from industrial supply centers in similar materis. You should check the actual mate- ria and guaranteed strength of key stock sed in critical applications. IF the low-catbon steelis not strong, higher carbon steel, such as AISI 10W0 or 1045 could be used, abo in the cold-dravn condition, Heattreated steels could be used to gain even higher sirength. However, the material should10-4 STRESS ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE KEY LENGTH. There are two basic modes of potential failure for keys transmitting power: shear ‘across the shafVhub interface and compression failure due to the bearing action between the sides of the key and the shaft or hub material. The analysis for either failure mode require san understanding of the forces tha act on the key. Figure 10-4 shows the idealized case in which the torque on the shaft creates a forve on the left side of the key. The key intum exerts «force on the right side ofthe hub keyseat. The reaction force of the hub back on the key then produces a set of opposing forces that place the key in direct shear over is cross section, W x L. The magnitute of the shearing fore can be found from F= 1012) ‘The shearing stress is then -f._t_ 74," ORNWD) ” DWE oy She le Sex ara = WE Fortof — spat ey 09 See ew Fgue 10-4 Forces ova Key340 KEYS, COUPLINGS, AND SEALS ! In design, we can set the shearing stress equal to a design stress in shear for the ‘maximum shear siress theory of failure, Then the required length of the key is or DW L (10-2) The failure in bearing is related to the compressive stress on the side of the key, the side of the shaft Keyseat, or the side of the hub Keyseat. The area in compression is the same for either of these zones, 1 » (1/2). Thus the falure ‘occurs on the surface with the lowest compressive yield strength. Let's define a design stress for compression as oy IN Then the compressive stress is F roar 4.” DPN ~ DLA (10-3) Leiting this stress equal the design compressive stress allows the computation of the required length of the key for this mode of failure, aT. opin (v-4) {n typical industrial applications, N= 3 is adequate.