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Hollow shaft 1670 kW at 4500 rpm: size

Short answer

Average torque 3.544 kN·m, maximum 4.607 kN·m. Strength gives outer diameter 50.0 mm, stiffness gives 124.0 mm; stiffness governs: outer diameter ≈124.0 mm, inner ≈70.8 mm.

A 1 m long hollow cylindrical shaft is to be designed to transmit a power of 1670 KW at a rotational speed of 4500 rpm. The outer diameter is to be 1.75 times the inner diameter. The maximum shear stress of the material is to be limited to 210 MPa and the angle of twist is not to exceed 0.5 degrees. Assume maximum torque is 30% greater than the average torque. shear modulus of material is 25.5 GPa. Determine the size of the shaft.

Data: L=1L = 1 m, P=1670P = 1670 kW, N=4500N = 4500 rpm, D=1.75dD = 1.75d, τmax=210 MPa\tau_{max} = 210\ \text{MPa}, θ≤0.5∘\theta \le 0.5^\circ, Tmax=1.3 TmeanT_{max} = 1.3\,T_{mean}, G=25.5 GPaG = 25.5\ \text{GPa}. So k=d/D=1/1.75=0.5714k = d/D = 1/1.75 = 0.5714 and 1−k4=0.89341-k^4 = 0.8934.

Torque

Tmean=60P2πN=60(1670×103)2π(4500)=3543.9 N⋅m,Tmax=1.3Tmean=4607.0 N⋅mT_{mean} = \frac{60P}{2\pi N} = \frac{60(1670\times10^3)}{2\pi(4500)} = 3543.9\ \text{N·m}, \qquad T_{max} = 1.3T_{mean} = 4607.0\ \text{N·m}

Strength condition

Tmax=π16τD3(1−k4)⇒D3=16(4.6070×106)π(210)(0.8934)=1.2506×105 mm3T_{max} = \frac{\pi}{16}\tau D^3(1-k^4) \Rightarrow D^3 = \frac{16(4.6070\times10^{6})}{\pi(210)(0.8934)} = 1.2506\times10^{5}\ \text{mm}^3 D1=50.01 mmD_1 = 50.01\ \text{mm}

Stiffness condition

θ=TmaxLGJ,J=π32D4(1−k4),θ=0.5∘=0.00873 rad\theta = \frac{T_{max}L}{GJ}, \quad J = \frac{\pi}{32}D^4(1-k^4), \quad \theta = 0.5^\circ = 0.00873\ \text{rad} D4=32 TmaxLπGθ(1−k4)=32(4.6070×106)(1000)π(25 500)(0.00873)(0.8934)=2.3605×108 mm4D^4 = \frac{32\,T_{max}L}{\pi G\theta(1-k^4)} = \frac{32(4.6070\times10^{6})(1000)}{\pi(25\,500)(0.00873)(0.8934)} = 2.3605\times10^{8}\ \text{mm}^4 D2=123.95 mmD_2 = 123.95\ \text{mm}

Size of the shaft

The larger value governs (stiffness controls):

D=123.95 mm,d=D1.75=70.83 mmD = 123.95\ \text{mm}, \qquad d = \frac{D}{1.75} = 70.83\ \text{mm}

Answer: external diameter ≈124.0\approx 124.0 mm, internal diameter ≈70.8\approx 70.8 mm.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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