Question:
State the effect of keyway on the strength of the shaft.
Answer:
The keyway is a slot machined either on the shaft or in hub to accommodate the key. It is cut by vertical or horizontal milling cutter. A little consideration will show that the keyway cut into the shaft reduces the load carrying capacity of the shaft. This is due to the stress concentration near the corners of the keyway and reduction in the crosssectional area of the shaft. It other words, the torsional strength of the shaft is reduced. The following relation for the weakening effect of the keyway is based on the experimental results by H.F. Moore.
