Practical application 3: fatigue verification of a winch

A winch is used for the storage of small boats. The driving torque is applied to the shaft by means of
a chain transmission. The winch drum is fitted onto the shaft.
It is requested to devise a model of analysis for the identification of the stress state in the shaft and
the nominal stress state at critical points. On the basis of the analysis verification the shaft must be
verified for fatigue assuming with reasonable approximation the most critical configuration for the
length 𝐿𝑋 .

Data:

Crown diameter 𝐷𝑐 = 250 mm

Drum diameter 𝐷𝑑 = 150 mm
Shaft diameters: 𝐷1 = 50 mm 𝐷2 =60 mm 𝐷3 = 50 mm

Length of shaft segments: 𝐿1 = 200 mm 𝐿2 =240 mm 𝐿3 = 320 mm

𝐿4 =16 mm 𝐿5 =250 mm
Bearing width 𝑠= 20 mm
Fillet radius at shoulders: 𝑟 = 2 mm
Slope inclination: 𝛼= 25°
Typical boat mass: 𝑚 = 600 kg
Friction coefficient boat/terrain 𝑓𝑏𝑡 =0.15
Shaft material properties: 𝜎𝑅 = 700 MPa 𝜎𝑌 =450 MPa
𝜎𝑙𝑖𝑚 =360 MPa (fully reversed bending)
Surface finish in the fillets: ground

1
Solution

Problem description

The data for the definition of the shaft loading will be calculated on the base of the information about
the boat and the towing conditions. We shall take into account the boat weight and the friction force
with the ground. The chain transmits the power to the crown through the tight side (upper) while the
force on the slack side can be neglected. The analysis of the forces will be carried out with respect to
a reference system aligned with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
For the fatigue verification of infinite life it is necessary to refer to the fatigue limit. Some factors
influence the response of the component and must be taken into account during fatigue calculation:
1) The shaft carries fillet shoulders (notch effect).
2) The stress state is not uniaxial, but multiaxial.
3) The shaft size is not standard.
4) The surface finish is not standard.

Analysis model

Ball bearings permit the shaft rotation about its longitudinal axis. The shaft is statically undetermined
for this degree of freedom. We must impose the dynamic equilibrium of the torques produced by the
external loads, viz. the rope and the chain forces.
Ball bearings constraint the radial displacements and the bearing mounted in (B) hinders axial
displacements too. Therefore, in any plane containing the shaft axis, the constraint scheme is that of
a simply supported beam (hinge + roller):

A B

We get the following analysis model:

2
We can draw the free body diagram:

x FCz

z Mtx RAy

RAz

Mtx
RBy
FRz FRy
RBz

Chain and rope forces

In steady-state conditions, the boat is hauled along the inclined plane at constant speed. Driving and
resisting torques are hence self-balanced. We assume the rope to be parallel to the inclined plane.

3
The equilibrium will be written with respect to the reference system 𝑥’𝑂𝑦’:

𝐹𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔 cos 𝛼 = 0
𝐹𝑅 − 𝐹𝑓 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝛼 = 0 ➔ 𝐹𝑅 = 𝐹𝑓 + 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝛼 = 𝑓𝐹𝑁 + 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝛼 = 𝑚𝑔(𝑓 cos 𝛼 + sin 𝛼)

The equilibrium condition about the shaft axis is:

𝑟 𝐷𝑑
𝐹𝐶 𝑟𝐶 = 𝐹𝑅 𝑟𝑅 𝐹𝐶 = 𝑟𝑅 𝑚𝑔 [𝑓 cos(𝛼) + sin(𝛼)] 𝑟𝑅 =
𝐶 2

Shaft loads

When the external forces are known, the support reactions of the bearings can be calculated from
the remaining equilibrium conditions.

x FCz

z Mtx RAy
a
RAz
b

Mtx
RBy
FRz FRy c
RBz

The rope force 𝐹𝑅 is decomposed into 𝐹𝑅𝑧 and 𝐹𝑅𝑦 .

FRz = FR cos(a ) FRy = FR sin(a )

4
Equilibrium on the plane 𝑥𝑂𝑦
𝑏
𝑅𝐴𝑦 + 𝑅𝐵𝑦 = 𝐹𝑅𝑦 𝑅𝐵𝑦 = 𝐹𝑅𝑦
(𝑏 + 𝑐)
⟹ 𝑐
𝑅𝐵𝑦 (𝑏 + 𝑐) = 𝐹𝑅𝑦 𝑏
𝑅𝐴𝑦 = 𝐹𝑅𝑦
(𝑏 + 𝑐)

Equilibrium on the plane 𝑥𝑂𝑧

𝐹𝑅𝑧 𝑏 + 𝐹𝐶𝑧 𝑎
𝑅𝐵𝑧 =
𝑅𝐴𝑧 + 𝐹𝑅𝑧 = 𝑅𝐵𝑦 + 𝐹𝐶𝑧 (𝑏 + 𝑐)
⟹
𝑅𝐵𝑧 (𝑏 + 𝑐) = 𝐹𝑅𝑧 𝑏 + 𝐹𝐶𝑧 𝑎 𝐹𝐶𝑧 (𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐) − 𝐹𝑅𝑧 𝑐
𝑅𝐴𝑧 =
(𝑏 + 𝑐)

Equilibrium about axis 𝑥

𝑟𝑅
𝐹𝐶 = 𝑚𝑔[𝑓 cos(𝛼) + sin(𝛼)]
𝑟𝐶

The characteristic lengths are given by:

s s s
a = L1 - b= + L2 + L4 + Lx c = L3 + - L4 - Lx
2 2 2

𝐿𝑥 varies between 0 and 𝐿5 ; it is quite intuitive to observe that the most critical condition for the shaft
is 𝐿𝑥 = 0 as the load is fairly centred with respect to the bearings and the maximum bending moment
is located in the vicinity of the shoulder.

[mm] [mm]
𝑠 (bearing width) 20 𝑎 190
𝐿1 200 𝑏 (𝐿𝑥 = 0) 266
𝐿2 240 𝑐 (𝐿𝑥 = 0) 314
𝐿3 320 𝑎 190
𝐿4 16 𝑏 (𝐿𝑥 = 250mm) 516
𝐿5 250 𝑐 (𝐿𝑥 = 250mm) 64

Forces

[N] [N]
Boat weight 𝑚𝑔 5886 Friction force 800.2
Rope force (𝐹𝑅 ) 3287.7 Chain force (𝐹𝐶 ) 1972.626
𝐹𝑅𝑦 1389.4
𝐹𝑅𝑧 2979.7

𝐿𝑥 = 0 [N] 𝐿𝑥 = 𝐿5 = 250 mm [N]

𝑅𝐴𝑦 752.2 𝑅𝐴𝑦 153.3
𝑅𝐴𝑧 1005.7 𝑅𝐴𝑧 2290.0
𝑅𝐵𝑦 637.2 𝑅𝐵𝑦 1236.1
𝑅𝐵𝑧 2012.7 𝑅𝐵𝑧 3297.1

5
Internal loading diagrams

Plane 𝒙𝑶𝒚

Shearing force 𝑉𝑦
y
RAy
FRy B

C A R x
RBy

Bending moment 𝑀𝑧
y

C A x R x

Considering the coordinate 

ì RAy × x 0£x £b
ï
Mz = í
ïî RAy × x - FRy × (x - b) b<x £ b+c

Plane 𝒙𝑶𝒛

Case 𝐿𝑥 = 0
Shearing force 𝑉𝑧

FRz
z RBz

C A B

R x
FC RAz

6
Bending moment 𝑀𝑦

Case 𝐿𝑥 = 250 mm
Shearing force 𝑉𝑧

RAz FRz RBz

z

C A R B x

FC

Bending moment 𝑀𝑦
z x’ A R B x

Lx=250 mm

Considering the coordinate 𝜉′

−𝐹𝐶 𝜉′ 0 ≤ 𝜉′ ≤ 𝑎
𝑀𝑦 = { −𝐹𝐶 𝜉′ + 𝑅𝐴𝑧 (𝜉 ′ − 𝑎) 𝑎 ≤ 𝜉′ ≤ 𝑎 + 𝑏
−𝐹𝐶 𝜉 ′ + 𝑅𝐴𝑧 (𝜉 ′ − 𝑎) + 𝐹𝑅𝑧 (𝜉 ′ − 𝑎 − 𝑏) 𝑎 + 𝑏 ≤ 𝜉′ ≤ 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐

Torque:

C A R B x

7
Critical cross-sections

Considering the internal loading diagrams and the shaft geometry, the critical cross-section to be
verified is that at the shoulder in contact with the drum (E). Cross-section (A) undergoes 𝑀𝑧 = 0, in
addition 𝑀𝑦 is slightly higher than that in (E) only for 𝐿𝑥 = 250 mm.

We can determine the numerical value of the internal loadings on section (E) for both cases 𝐿𝑥 = 0
and 𝐿𝑥 = 𝐿5 .

𝑉𝑦 = 𝑅𝑎𝑦 𝑀𝑧 = 𝑅𝐴𝑦 (𝑏 − 𝐿4 − 𝐿𝑥 )
𝑉𝑧 = 𝐹𝐶 − 𝑅𝐴𝑧 𝑀𝑦 = −𝐹𝐶 (𝑎 + 𝑏 − 𝐿4 − 𝐿𝑥 ) + 𝑅𝐴𝑧 (𝑏 − 𝐿4 − 𝐿𝑥 )
1
𝑇 = 2 𝐹𝐶 𝐷𝑐

𝐿𝑥 = 0 𝐿𝑥 = 250 mm
𝑉𝑦 [N] 752.2 153.3
𝑉𝑧 [N] 966.9 -317.4
𝑇 [Nmm] 246578.3 246578.3
𝑀𝑧 [Nmm] 188054.4 38329.6
𝑀𝑦 [Nmm] -616531.6 -295445.7

The more critical condition for section (E) corresponds to 𝐿𝑥 = 0, while the support reactions are
highest for 𝐿𝑥 = 250mm. This latter case must be considered in the choice/verification of the
bearings.
An intuitive explanation of the fact that the support reactions are much higher for 𝐿𝑥 = 250mm, even
though the external loads are the same, is given considering the rope force decomposed into two parts:
r -r
FR = FC + FC C R
rR

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The effect of the rope force is the superposition of those of the two components:

In the first scheme, the arm of the couple 𝐹𝐶 is much larger for 𝐿𝑥 = 250mm, while the arm of the
support reactions is fixed, therefore the reactions on the bearings must be much higher.

Nominal stress in the critical cross-section

Geometric characteristics of the cross section:

D3 2 D3 4 D3 4
A= I= Jp =
4 64 32
4
Shear factor for circular cross-sections: =
3
Due to polar symmetry of the shaft circular cross-section we can combine the bending moment and
shearing force components into rotating vectors of amplitude:

M b = M y2 + M z2 V = Vy2 + Vz2

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The maximum nominal stresses are:

V [N] 1225.1 𝜏𝑉 [MPa] 0.83

T [Nmm] 246578.3 𝜏 𝑇 [MPa] 10.0
Mb [Nmm] 644574.0 𝜎𝑏 [MPa] 52.5

The fatigue load cycle can be calculated considering the stress state experienced by an elementary
volume during the shaft rotation.

Nominal bending stress: it is highest when the elementary volume lies on the tensioned fibres (instant
t1), is lowest when it lies on the compressed fibres (instant t3), is zero when it lies on the neutral plane
(instants t0 and t2).
t1 sb sb t1
t t

Mb
t2 t2
t0 t0
t

t3
t3

Torsional shear stress: during rotation the elementary volume is subjected to the same torsional
shear stress, which will be constant with time:
t1 t T
t Mt

tT t2
t0 t t0 t1 t3
T t2
t
tT

t3

Transverse shear stress: The transverse shear stress is highest on the neutral plane and zero on the
outer fibres; therefore it is out of phase with respect to the bending stress (almost 90°):

10
 tV
t1 t1 3
t 2
1 4
T t2 1
t0 t0 t t2 t3
2 t

3
t3
4 tV

In most cases, transverse shear stress is negligible and not considered in the fatigue verification. As
a rule of thumb, we will neglect transverse shear stress as long as it is below 10% of the bending
normal stress. This condition is satisfied in the present case.

Notch effect on the critical cross-section

The bending stress is fully-reversed, therefore it must be corrected by the notch fatigue factor:

𝐾𝑓 = 1 + 𝑞(𝐾𝑇 − 1)

D 60
= = 1.2
d 50
r 2
= = 0.04
d 50

𝑟 =2 mm

𝐾𝑇 =2.08

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q=0.82 K f = 1 + q  (KT − 1)) = 1 + 0.82  (2.08 − 1) = 1.89

𝜎𝑎,𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑏 = 99.2 MPa

The torsional stress is constant (static loading), therefore we will correct it by the shape factor 𝐾𝑇 if
𝜎 𝜎
𝜏𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝐾𝑇 𝜏 𝑇 ≤ 𝑌 . Conversely if 𝜏𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝐾𝑇 𝜏 𝑇 > 𝑌 a more complicated elastic-plastic analysis is
√3 √3
required. In the present case 𝜏𝑒𝑓𝑓 is well below the yield strength.

𝜏𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 1.67 × 10.0 = 16.7 MPa

D 60
= = 1.2
d 50
r 2
= = 0.04
d 50

r =2 mm

KT=1.67

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Multiaxial loading Gough Pollard multiaxial criterion

The Gough-Pollard multiaxial criterion will be used to define an equivalent (isocritical) monoaxial
stress amplitude:

2
æ C ×C ×C × s ö C ×C ×C × s
s a,eq = s a,eff + H × t eff = s a,eff
2 2 2 2
+ ç S d load lim ÷ × t Mt 2 £ S d load lim
è s / 3
Y ø f

Tensile strength: 700 MPa (ca. 100 kpsi)

CS = a (s R ) = 1.58 ( 700 )
b -0.085
= 0.9

Cload  1 bending/torsion loading

Cd = 1 d £ 8 mm
Cd = 1.189d -0.097 8 < d £ 250 mm
Cd = 0.6 d > 250 mm

Cd = 1.189 ( d ) = 1.189 ( 50 )
-0.097 -0.097
= 0.82

𝐶𝑠 𝐶𝑑 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝜎𝑙𝑖𝑚 0.82 × 0.90 × 1 × 360 265.7

𝜎𝑎𝑙𝑙 = = =
𝜙 𝜙 𝜙

æ 265.7 ö
H =ç = 1.023
è 450 / 3 ÷ø

2 2
𝐶𝑠 𝐶𝑑 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝜎𝑙𝑖𝑚
𝜎𝑎,𝑒𝑞 = √𝜎𝑎,𝑒𝑓𝑓 + 𝐻 2 𝜏𝑒𝑓𝑓 ≤
𝜙

𝐶𝑠 𝐶𝑑 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝜎𝑙𝑖𝑚 265.7

𝜙= = ≈ 2.64
2 100.7
√𝜎2𝑎,𝑒𝑓𝑓 +𝐻 𝜏2𝑒𝑓𝑓

13