Mechanism and Machine Theory Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 34%356, 1983 0094-114Xl83 $3.00+ .

00
Printed in Great Britain. © 1983Pergamon Press Ltd.

ANALYSIS OF SPROCKET LOAD DISTRIBUTION

MOHAMMAD R. NAJI
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004, U.S.A.

and

KURT M. MARSHEK
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.

(Received for publication 17 December 1982)

Abstract--A study was made to determine the load distribution for an elastic roller chain on an elastic sprocket.
The equations developed for the distribution include, as a subset, those for a rigid roller chain on a stationary rigid
sprocket. The effect of friction and sprocket rotation on load distribution is discussed. Results are presented for a
20-tooth sprocket with a 1800angle of roller chain wrap, for various tight-to-slack side tension ratios of both driver
and driven sprockets, with various spring constant ratios.

I. INTRODUCTION In the absence of the frictional forces, the equilibrium

In transmission of power via the roller chain and the consideration for roller i (see Fig. lb) leads to
sprocket, the chain is in contact with a number of
sprocket teeth. Each engaged tooth of the sprocket car- sin 0
ries a percentage of the transmitted load and the tension T~ = T~ ' s i n ( a + 0 ) ' (1)
on the chain links decreases (increases) as the chain links
move from the tight (slack) side strand to the slack (tight) When frictional forces are present (neglecting the
side strand of the chain drive. The distribution of the moment at the roller center), the effect of the frictional
chain tension and the tooth load depends on the number forces are equivalent to a change in the pressure angle by
of sprocket teeth in contact, the tooth pressure angles, a friction angle 6 (Fig. l(c). Static equilibrium of the
frictional properties and elastic properties. roller i gives
In 1956, Binder[l] analyzed the distribution of the
chain tension and the sprocket tooth load, assuming that T~=TI ~ s i n ( 0 - 8 )
the chain and sprocket were perfectly formed, rigid sin (0 + a + 8)' (2)
bodies. Recently Marshek[2] presented a spring model
analysis of the load distribution in chains and sprocket The relation between T~ and T~_~ in eqn (2) is not unique,
teeth. and the friction angle 8 could have any value bounded by
This paper is devoted to an analysis of the load dis-
tribution in roller chain links and on sprocket teeth. The
- t a n -t/x, < 6 < tan-'/x~ (3)
effect of the frictional and elastic properties of the roller
chain and the sprocket are included in the analysis. The
following assumptions are made in approaching the where/x~ is the lower value of the static coefficient of the
problem: (1) the chain pitch is equal to the sprocket friction between roller and sprocket tooth (/~r) or be-
pitch; (2) all rollers contacting the sprocket teeth are tween roller and bushing (/~h). The equilibrium condition
seated; (3) no mechanical tolerances are present; and (4) for the roller is satisfied when
the weight of the chain is negligible. There are also some
simplifying assumptions which will be stated at ap- sin(0 + 8s) T, s i n ( 0 - 8~)
(4)
propriate points in the analysis. siff-(O -_~-g~__6si < -f--- < sin ( O + a _ 8~)

2. ANALYSIS where
2.1 Equilibrium of a rigid roller chain on a stationary
rigid sprocket 8~ = min(tan -t/xr, tan l txb)
Figure l(a) shows the engagement of a roller chain and a
sprocket. The tension 7", and Ts are the tight and slack side For a ratio of Ti/T~+~ less than the expression on the left
tension, respectively. The pressure angle 0 and articulation side of the inequality (4), the roller slides up the tooth
angle a are also presented in the figure. The chain links flank for p,, < tzb, and rolls up the tooth flank for/Zr > /~b.
with seated rollers are numbered 1 to n, starting from the The minimum Ts/T, ratio which satisfies the static
tight side. In their present position, link 1 makes an angle equilibrium for the roller chain on the sprocket is
with the tight strand, and link n forms an angle ~ with the obtained if all engaged rollers of the chain contact the
slack strand. tight flank of the tooth and frictional forces resist the

MMT Vol. 18 No. 5--D 349

350 Xl. R. N~\Hand K. M. M~\RSH~k

T sin ~
P~--T~ . i = 1 ..... ~1, ~!II!
sin(0- 8,)
I ,)9
For a ratio of T,/T,, less than that given by eqn IS). static
equilibrium could not be satisfied, and the rollers will
move up the tooth flanks. The load distribution for
nonseated rollers is treated in[3].

r~ 2.2 Equilibrium of the roller chain and sprocket (con-

(c) 5
(b) sidering the elastic properties)
Figure l shows an engagement of chain rollers i and
rt i + l with a sprocket. The rollers are in the seated
position and are contacting the tight flank of the teeth.
From the free body diagrams of chain rollers i and i + 1.
it can be deduced that

P~ cos (0~ - 83 = Ti 1- Ti cos a (1 I)

i-I

PIcos(E+,-SI+,)= T~- T ~ c o s a (12)

P~ sin (0~ - &) = T~ sin a (13)

Pi+, sin (01+l- 81+1)= Ti+, sin a (14)

i+l
where

- tan t*~ < 8j < tan ~, for ] = i,i + 1.

n+l
Considering the elasticity of the chain and the sprocket.
the tension T~ causes the link i to elongate by AL~ and
the tooth load Pi produces the displacement u, of the
center of the roller i in a direction of the contact line.
(a) The displacement u~ is the result of the deformation of
the tooth i and the contact deformation between the
Fig. 1. Forces between chain and sprocket.
roller and sprocket tooth. An expression for determining
u~ is given in Appendix A. Defining the spring constant
of the ith sprocket tooth by KTi and the spring constant
upward motion of the rollers. For this condition of each chain link by KL, the tooth displacement u, and
chain elongation AL~ can be represented by
T~=T~ , .sin(O-&) i=9.,...,n. (5)
sm (0 + a - &) Pi
u, =~7,' (15)
Equilibrium of the first and last rollers in contact gives
Ti
AL, =~--~. (16)
sin (0 - 8,)
T, = T, sin (0 + ~ - 8,) (6)
In general, depending on the relative values of K L and
T~ = T, . s i n ( 0 - 8,) KL, application of the chain tension results in an upward
sin (0 + e - 8~) (7) or downward movement of the rollers on the sprocket
tooth flanks. However, for certain KTdKL ratios, the
combining eqns (5)-(7), and solving for TdT, gives contact points of the rollers and the sprocket teeth remain
unchanged. The deflection analysis of the roller chain
T~ [ sin(O-~)_ ] " - ' sin2(0-6s) and the sprocket teeth for this case gives
T, [sin(O+a-8.,)] sin(O+~-Ss)sin(O+e-&)"
(8) Ti
ul COS(Oi + a - &) - ui+, cos (0H - 8i) = ~ . (17)
The distributions of the chain link tension and the tooth
load, in this case, are given by eqns (9) and (10) The corresponding value for this case can be found by
assuming that the change in pressure angle due to tooth
[ s i n ( O - S D ]~ ' s i n ( 0 - 6 , ) deflection is negligible; the friction angles are equal for
r , = r, [sin (0 + a _ & ) j sin (0 + ~ - 8,) (9)
all engaged rollers; and for small deflection the tooth
 Analysis of sprocket load distribution 351

spring constant K% is not a function of T~. Defining the with rollers contacting the tight side of the tooth flank,
spring constant ratio KT/KL by Ko and substituting for the decrease in tension causes these links to contract,
u~ from eqn (5) in eqn (7) gives which in turn causes a small movement of the rollers
toward the bedded (seated) position. The effect of the
P~cos(O+t~-8)-P~+,cos(O-8)=KoTi. (18) frictional forces developed by this movement, on the
load distribution, can be taken as an increase in the
The five eqns (11)--(14) and (18) constitute a system of pressure angle by the friction angle &. For links with
linear simultaneous equations with unknowns; Ti-l, T, rollers contacting the slack side of the tooth flanks of the
T~+,, P~ and P~+~. Equating the determinant of the sprocket, the elongation of the links, due to increase in
coefficient of this system of equations to zero and solv- tension, causes a movement of the rollers away from the
ing for Ko gives seated position. Consequently, the frictional forces have
an effect of reducing the pressure angle by the friction
[cos(0+~-8) co_s(_0_-_~)_] angle &.
Ko--- K~ = sin a [ s-~-n(~U~8) sin(0 + a - 8)J" Likewise for the roller chain on a driven sprocket, the
(19) effect of the frictional forces is to reduce the pressure
angles by the friction angle & for links with rollers
Now if the spring constant ratio Ko satisfies the relation contacting the tight side of the tooth flanks, and increase
given by eqn (19) (Ko = Ko*), then solving the system of the pressure angles by the friction angle & for links with
equations leads to rollers contacting the slack side of the tooth flanks. In
the presence of the frictional forces, the distribution of
sin (0 - ~ (20) the sprocket tooth loads and chain link tensions for the
%+. = T~ sin(0+a 8)' chain on the driven sprocket differs from those for the
chain on the driver sprocket.
sin
P~ = T~ sin(0 + a - 8)" (21) 2.4 Load distribution for roller chain on sprocket with
ASA tooth profile
The relationships given by eqns (20) and (21) are the Case l: Ko > K*. Referring to Fig. l(a), in the absence
same as those given by Binder[l] for the load dis- of a tight and slack side tension (T, and T,) all engaged
tribution of the rigid sprocket and roller chain. rollers are in a seated position. Application of the tension
For cases where the spring constant ratio Ko is greater T, and T, results in the elongation of the chain links. The
than Ko*, the elongation of the chain link causes the deflection of the sprocket tooth with Ko > K* would not
rollers to climb the sprocket tooth; and for cases where accommodate the chain link elongation and the rollers
the value of Ko is less than Ko*, the deflection of the would climb the sprocket teeth. For a steel chain on a
tooth causes the contact point to move down the seating sprocket with an ASA tooth profile, the elongations of
curve. The analysis for the load distribution in these two the links for reasonable service loads are small. This
cases, namely for Ko > Ko* and Ko < Ko*, will be treated produces only a minute displacement of the rollers from
in separate sections of this paper; but before proceeding the seated position. Therefore, the change in pressure
with further analysis, a discussion regarding the role of and articulation angle are not appreciable and eqns (20)
the frictional forces in the chain load distribution for a and (21) are applicable for this case.
rotating sprocket is presented. For the roller chain and sprocket engagement shown in
Fig. 1, when all n + 1 rollers of n links contact the tight
2.3 Rotating sprocket side of the tooth flanks, the distribution of the chain link
In discussing the static equilibrium of the roller chain tension and tooth loads are given by
and sprocket engagement, the effect of the frictional
forces was calculated as a change in the pressure angle [ s i n ( 0 - 8 ) 1'-' sin(0-8)
by the friction angle 8. The friction angle 8 could have T~:T, L s i n ( 0 + a _ 8 ) ] sin(0+~-8)" (22)
any value between + 8, and - 8s. However, for the chain
of a rotating sprocket, due to the continuous change in _ sin a
chain link elongation and sprocket tooth deflection, there P, = r, sin ~ 8)" (23)
exists an infinitesimal movement between the rollers and
the sprocket teeth. Consequently, the friction angle 8 has The friction angle, 8, should be taken as - & for the
the value -tan-~/z,, or +tan-'g,, where u~ is the driver sprocket and + & for the driven sprocket. To
dynamic coefficient of friction. The direction of the satisfy force equilibrium for the roller chain on the
frictional forces (the sign of the friction angle &) sprocket, the ratio of the slack side to tight side tension
depends on the direction of sliding or rolling motion should have the value
between rollers and sprocket teeth. Inertia effects are
neglected. T._z,=[ s i n ( 0 - 6 _ ) ] " sin(0-8) 2
Consider the engagement of the roller chain and the T, I_sin(0+a 8) s i n ( 0 + ~ - 8 ) sin(0+~-8)"
driver sprocket. As the chain link immediate to the first (24)
engaged link articulates, the tension in all links with
rollers contacting the sprocket teeth change. For links For a tension ratio greater than that given by eqn (14),
352 \1. k. N ',ll and K. M. M \k>m k

the last few rollers will contact the slack side of the tooth where
flanks. The tension on chain link i decreases with i for
the first j links with rollers contacting the tight side tooth B =v'(B: 4A(')
flanks, and increases with i for the remaining links.
Defining the j + i roller as the balance roller and lhe
contact point of this roller as the bahmce point, the and coefficients A, and A2 are determined from lhc
distribution of the chain tension can be given by boundary conditions

[ sin(O-,5) ]' ' sin (0 - ,5) sin (0 '5)

for i = I. (34)
T~ = T, [sin (0 + c~- ,5)J sin(0+~-8) L : T, sin (0+ ~:- 8)
(25l
sin (0 + e - ,5)
and T,, = T, for i = n. (35)
sin(O '5)
sin(0 + ~) q1~ ' sin{0+,5) i = / + 1 ..... n.
T[ For the case where only the first i rollers contact the
T~-- , [ s i n ( 0 + a + 8 ) ~ sin(O+e+8)
tight side tooth flanks of the sprocket, the direction of
(26)
the frictional force changes for the last n - j rollers. In
The location of the balance point, and hence the pressure order to obtain the distribution of the link tension, the
angle 0* of roller j +1 is such that 0* satisfies eqn (27) finite difference eqn (28) is solved for two sets of the
boundary conditions. Defining the jth link as the balance
=L sin ( 0 ' - 8__)'5) link and specifying the tension in this link by T*. the
(27)
sin (0' + a boundary conditions for the first j links in contact are
given by
Case 2: Ko<Ko*. Refering to the roller chain
engagement in Fig. l(a), when the tensions 7", and 7', are T,=T, sin(0-8) fori=l
applied, due to the flexibility of the teeth, the contact sm(0+~-8)
points of the rollers move down the bottom curve of the
tooth profile. This results in an increase in both the T,:T* for i = j.
pressure angle and the tooth spring constant. In general,
the point of contact (and consequently the pressure angle The boundary conditions for the last n - j links in con-
0 and tooth spring constant KT) varies from tooth to tact are
tooth for all engaged teeth. However, in the spring model
analysis presented herein, it is assumed that the load Ti=T* fori:j.
distribution can be obtained using average values of the
pressure angle and the tooth spring constant ratio. T sin (0 + ~ + '5)
T,,= , : fori=n.
Experimental data is needed to verify this assumption. sm (0 + 8)
Equation (8), which was obtained from deflection
analysis, can be modified by replacing the 0 and Ko by The value of T* can be calculated by first considering
an average pressure angle 0 and an average spring con- equilibrium of the balance link rollers j and j + 1 which
stant ratio /(.. Substituting for P, and P~+I from eqns leads to eqn (36)
(11) and (12) into eqn (18) and rearranging leads to
sin ((~ ,5)sin(O+ a + 6)
= i . (36)
ATi. I+BTi+CTi i = 0 (28) T>, T, sin (0 + ,5) sin (0 + a - ,5)

where Next, solving for Tj ~ and Tj.~ from eqn (32) with a
proper set of boundary conditions and friction angle,
A = cos a
(29) yields two additional equations with T* as an unknown
parameter. Using these two equations and eqn (36), T~
cos a cos {0+ c, - '5)]
B : - + 87 -
(30) and Tj +~ can be eliminated to produce an equation for T*
as a function of T, and T,.
and
3. RESULTS
C - cos ( # + c~ - ' 5 ) Figure 2 shows the engagement of the roller chain and
cos ( ~ - '5) (31) the sprocket used for numerical calculation. The 20-
tooth sprocket has a standard tooth form (Per ASA
When all engaged rollers contact the tight flanks of the B29.1-1950). The pressure angle and the articulation
teeth, the direction of the frictional forces will not angle for a new chain are 29 and 18°, respectiveJy. The
change, and numerical analysis[4] yields a solution to angle of the roller chain wrap is 180°. In the position
eqn (28) shown, the tension in links 0 and 10 are equal to the tight
side tension and the slack side tension, respectively.
Ti = A1A1 i + AzA2 i (32) Considering the sprocket as the driver sprocket, the link
 Analysis of sprocket load distribution 353

6 5

INK NO.3

10

10

rs re
Fig. 2. Engagement of a roller chain and a 20-tooth sprocket.

0 takes the position of the link 10. after 180° counter- tension ratio the location of the balance point moves
clockwise rotation of the sprocket, and the tension in the toward the tight side.
link changes from T, to Ts. For the sprocket as the Figure 4 shows plots of the link tension for the roller
driven sprocket, the link l0 takes the position of the link chain on the driven sprocket. The minimum tension ratio
0, after 180° clockwise rotation of the sprocket. for seated rollers is 0.007. For a tension ratio of 0.2 the
The results of the numerical calculation for the dis- roller 7 is the balance roller and the tension in a chain
tribution of the chain link tension and tooth load are
given in Figs. 3-8. The abscissas for the figures are in 1.
degrees, with 0 degree corresponding to the start (end) of FRICTION ANGLE= 5*

meshing of roller 0 with the driver (driven) sprocket. The x-," =.. i ,. ,. ,. ,.

ordinates of the figures are normalized with respect to ~.8

the tight side tension T,. ...q
Application of eqn (19) gives the value 0.065 for the z_ .6
spring constant ratio Ks*. For a sprocket and a roller chain
with Ks greater than 0.065, utilizing the equations
developed in Section 2.4 gives the load distribution ~ .4
presented in Figs. 3-5. The friction angle of 5o is assumed
for the distributions. _z
Figure 3 shows plots of the chain link tension for the ~ .a
roller chain on the driver sprocket. The minimum tension o
ratio for the seated rollers is 0.032. For a tension ratio of .¢ i I .t,, t i

0.2, the roller 8 is the balance roller and rollers 9-11 O 30 60 90 120 I,.50 180
contact the slack side of the tooth flanks. The tension in ANGLE OF ROTATION IN DEGREES
a link decreases as the link rotates from 0° angle (tight
side strand) to 1400 angle, and increases as the link Fig. 3. Roller chain load distribution for a chain on a 20-tooth
rotates farther toward the slack side. By increasing the driver sprocket.
 ;;~4 M.R. NAJI ~ind K M. M,XR~HtI:K

~ '~ ' , F;,CT,ON AFNGL~E:5 / 8=5* Ko= 0 2 T~/T~ : .2 4 8 i ///i

~. 81\ T,/T, = oo~. 2, 4, 6.8.,. /

2 Z
J .6
Z
<~
-r
(J
.4
~-z .4 " IJ.I
'1-
1-

z .2
~2 a
o
_J
0 I I I I i
0 15'0 6'0 9 0' {20
' 150 180 0 30 60 90 120 150 180
ANGLE OF ROTATION IN DEGREES ANGLE OF ROTATION IN DEGREES

Fig. 4. Roller chain load distribution for a chain on a 20-tooth Fig. 7. Roller chain load distribution for a chain on a 20-tooth
driven sprocket. driver sprocket.

I.__.5 i i i i I
:£.5 i , i

1- FRICTION ANGLE, 5 " ~" 8=50 ~ rs/To" I

8 ~ T , / Tt =l. )'.4 Ko=.02 "= .2
1-4
I-- o
hi
3¢"
¢J

°.3
0.
u3
IJJ
"r
I-.2
Z
o

,,¢.1
q

i I i Y I YI JO
0 :50 60 90 120 150 180 30 60 90 120 150 180

ANGLE OF R O T A T I O N IN DEGREES ANGLE OF ROTATION IN DEGREES

Fig..5. Tooth load distribution of a 20-tooth driver sprocket. Fig. 8. Tooth load distribution of a 20-tooth driver sprocket.

link is minimum when it takes the position of link 6 (108 °

l i , i , i
from the tight side strand).
i..r
~ Ke = 0 6 5 Comparing Figs. 3 and 4, the following observations
~" .8 \\~ ........ o0, are made: (1) for a tension ratio of 1, the two cor-
Z \~% .......... 0 responding curves are mirror images of each other; (2)
for any specific tension ratio, the rate of change in
z .G \\\'~ tension at the beginning of the curves is higher for a

o
tO \\,X~ chain on the driven sprocket.
\ "~,,
.4 \,5\, Figure 5 shows the load on a sprocket tooth as the
tooth rotates from the tight side to the slack side (from
position 0 to position 10 in Fig. 2). For a tension ratio of
1, the load on the tooth is 0.39 of T, when it takes the
position of tooth 1. The load on the tooth decreases to
zero as the tooth moves to the position of tooth 6. Fur-
.0
ther movement of the tooth toward the slack side, causes
0 30 60 90 120 150 180
contact of a chain roller with the slack side of the tooth
ANGLE OF ROTATION IN DEGREES
flank and an increase in tooth load. The load on the tooth
Fig. 6. Effect of spring constant ratio on roller chain load is a maximum (0.46 of T,) when the tooth takes the
distribution. position of tooth 10.
 Analysis of sprocket load distribution 355

For a sprocket and a roller chain with spring constant greater than Ko* (given by eqn 19), the elastic properties
ratio Ko less than 0.065, application of the equations do not have an effect on the load distribution, and the
developed in Section 2.4 gives the load distributions maximum load on the sprocket tooth is only a function
presented in Figs. 6--8. of the pressure angle, articulation angle, friction angle
The curves in Fig. 6 show the effect of the spring and the tight side tension.
constant ratio Ko on the load distribution in a chain link. 2. For a number of roller chain and sprocket com-
The friction angle and the tension ratio are 0 and 0.016, binations, such as a steel chain and a thermoplastic (low
respectively. For Ko equal to 0.065, the load distribution elastic modulus) sprocket, with spring constant ratio Ko
is the same as that for the rigid sprocket and roller chain. less than Ko*, the load distribution is affected by the
By decreasing Ko, the slope of the load distribution tooth spring constant, and a lower tooth spring constant
curve decreases. This means a more uniform load dis- results in a more uniform tooth load distribution.
tribution for the sprocket teeth.
Figure 7 demonstrates the effect of the tension ratio,
T~/T,, on the distribution of the chain link tension for a REFERENCES
roller chain on a driver sprocket. The friction angle and 1. R. C. Binder, Mechanics of the Roller Chain Drive. Prentice-
spring constant ratio are 50 and 0.02 respectively. For a Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 0956).
tension ratio of 0.2, a chain link has the minimum tension 2. K. M. Marshek, Mechanism and Machine Theory 14(2), 135-
139 (1979).
equal to 12% of the tight side tension when the link takes 3. M. R. Naji, On Timing Belt and Roller Chain Load Dis-
the position of link 8. By increasing the tension ratio, the tributions. Doctor's Dissertation, University of Houston,
minimum tension of the chain link increases and the Houston, Texas (1981).
location of the link with minimum tension moves toward 4. H. A. Rothbart, Mechanical Design and Systems Handbook.
McGraw-Hill, New York (1964).
the tight side strand. For a tension ratio of 1, the mini- 5. D. G. Sopwith, Proc. Inst. Mech. Engrs, War Emergency
mum tension in a link is equal to 37% of T, when the link Issues, Vol. 159,pp. 373-383 and 396-397 (1948).
takes the position of link 6.
Figure 8 shows the load distribution for a tooth of the
APPENDIXA. DEFORMATIONOF A SPROCKET TOOTH
driver sprocket for tension ratios of 1 and 0.2. The
friction angle of 5° and a spring constant ratio of 0.02 are The deformation of a sprocket tooth caused by loading of the
tooth, through contact with a chain roller, can be subdivided into
assumed. For a tension ratio of 1, the load on a sprocket two deformations A and V; where the deformation A is the
tooth is 34% of T, when the tooth takes the location of contact deformation and V is the flexural deformation of the
tooth number 1. The load on the tooth decreases to zero tooth. The formulas for calculating these deformations and the
as the tooth moves to the position of tooth 7. Further assumptions involved are given in the following sections. The
total deformation of the sprocket tooth, U, is obtained by vector
movement of the tooth causes a roller to contact the addition of A and V.
slack side of the tooth flank, and the load on the tooth
increases. The load on the tooth is 33% of 1", when it Contact deformation
takes the position of tooth 10. For a tension ratio of 0.2, The deformation at the contact point between a chain roller
the load on the tooth is 39% of T, when it takes the and a sprocket tooth can be taken as a decrease in the length
between two distant points in the roller and the sprocket tooth.
position of tooth 1, zero in the position of the tooth 9, An approximation of the contact deformation can be obtained by
and 7% of T, in the position of tooth 10. Comparison of treating the sprocket tooth as an elastic half space, with a
the load distribution curves for a tension ratio of l, in pressure distribution over the contact area which approximates
Figs. 5 and 8 show that, due to elasticity of the tooth the that due to a finite length roller. The deformation of the surface
maximum load on a sprocket tooth decreases from 43% of this half space relative to its unstrained location plus the
deformation of the contact surface of the roller with respect to
of T, for tooth I0, to 34% of T, for tooth 1; and the its own axis gives the contact deformation.
location of the minimum load moves from tooth 6 to The displacement of the elastic half space due to the pressure
tooth 7. distribution, ellipsoidal in narrow dimension and constant in the
finite length were investigated by Lundberg[4]. Lundberg's result
4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
is given by eqn (Al)
The distribution of the link tension and the tooth load 41 = [2P(1 - m,2)lEiL~r][l.1932 + ln(L/b)]. (AI)
for the sprocket and the roller chain has been determined
and the effect of the frictional and elastic properties of When applied to the sprocket, A~ is the deformation at the
center of the pressure zone, E~ and m~ are the modulus of
the sprocket and the roller chain were shown. Based on
elasticity and Poisson's ratio of the sprocket material, P is the
the relative values of the tooth and chain link spring const- total tooth load, L is the thickness of the sprocket tooth, and b is
ants, two sets of solutions for the load distribution were the half width of the contact area. The half width of the contact
proposed. The first solution was obtained from the force area between the roller and sprocket tooth, b, can be expressed
by
balance analysis of the roller chain. The second solution
resulted from the spring model analysis of the sprocket
and the roller chain.
From the results of the analysis, the following state-
ments can be made: where R is the roller radius, and E2 and m2 are the modulus of
1. For a large selection of sprocket and roller chain elasticity and Poisson's ratio of the roller chain, respectively.
The deformation of a circular cylinder of finite length, with
combinations, including all available commercial steel elliptical pressure distribution across the width of contact was
sprockets and roller chains, with spring constant ratio Ko considered by Kovalsky. The change in radius of the cylinder
356 M. R. NXll ~md K Ni. b,'l~,R~;!tl ~,;

parallel to the applied force was found as W tan(.g-qS) (~ ~)]

&, = [2P(I - mee)/EnLrr][In(2R/b) * 11.407] (13)

where 'k: is the reduction in distance to the conlacl zone from the
roller axis.
The contact deformation, a~, is the sum of .X,. and a~: as given
by eqns (AI) and (t3), respectively.

2P I ml 2
5=/~ +~2=~l~(I.1932+ln(L/b)
~rL [ ~l
+ I --Eri12(0.407. In(2R/b))]. (A4)

Fig. 12. Equivalent system of loads and moment for a sprocket

For a chain and sprocket of the same material, eqn (A4) reduces tooth.
to
two loads, W parallel to. and W tan(/3 - 4a) perpendicular to the
2P(I - m:)[i n 1.6002 ] . axis as shown. The loads are statically equivalent to the system
of loads and moment shown in Fig. 12.
The simplifications mentioned above are permissible since
and b can be written as the shape of the tooth, from the contact line to the tip of the
tooth, has a negligible effect on the deflection at the contact line.
b = ,,/SPR(1 - m-')/EL~,. (16) The deflection for the tapered cantilever shown in Fig. 12 was
developed by Sopwith[5]. The displacement at the contact line
Flexural &formation of the sprocket teeth perpendicular to the side flank is given by
Figure A1 shows the model used in this analysis. In order to
obtain a closed form solution, the tooth is considered as a
tapered beam of wide angle loaded at its pitch point. The fun- V
=B'b
E,i,cos/3lnc+(l+c)
[( l + v ' ) ~ ] ~
sin/3]}
damental triangle of the tooth has an apex angle of 2/3, and a
~,B- . 2B~ I - c
+ . ~ Sin /3 In e + E.~ 7 - ( c, o s 2/3 - c) (A7)

where

Bl- W
213 - sin 2/3

W tan (/3 - (b)

B2 =
2/3 + sin 2/3

Wbc[1 + tan/3 tan (/3 - qS)]

B~=
sin 213 213 cos 2/3

Fig. A1. Sprocket tooth load. E,=~F~

l ['-

depth from the apex of b. The pitch point is at a distant cb (c is a ,= I:

constant O~<c ~< l) from the apex. The resultant load per unit r (I v)'
length of thickness of the tooth is applied at angle (h to the
normal where tan 0 = ~ is the coefficient of the friction between E and v are Young's modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio,
the roller and the tooth. This resultant load can be resolved into respectively.

ANALYSE DE LA D I S T R I B U T I O N DES CHARGES SUR LES DENTS D'UNE ROUE A CHAINE

Mohammad R. Naji et K u r t M. M a r s h e k

R~sum~ - Une ~tude a 6t~ faite pour d~terminer la d i s t r i b u t i o n des charges d'une chaine
rouleaux ~lastique roulant sur une roue ~ chalne avec dents ~lastiques. Les ~quations d~ve-
lopp~es pour la d i s t r i b u t i o n incluent, oomme un s o u s - e n s e m b l e , celles pour une chafne ~ rou-
leaux rigides sur une roue ~ chafne rigide et s t a t i o n n a i r e . L'effet du frottement et de la
rotation de la roue ~ chaine dans la d i s t r i b u t i o n des charges est d i s c u t ~ . Des r~sultats
sont pr~sent~s pour une roue ~ chafne de v i n g t dents avec un a n g l e d'enroulement de 180 de-
gr~s, pour des diff~rents rapports de tension des brins tendus et libres de la r o u e motrice
et de la r o u e men,e, et p o u r des diff~rents rapports des constantes 61astiques.