
Rotating shafts under bending stress. It is common to transmit motion using rotating shafts. The shafts are mounted in bearings and turned by force through a drive arrangement. The shafts usually also carry a load. These loads cause bending and the shaft reacts by producing counter stresses within itself. Provided the reactive stresses are within the shaft’s strength range it will take the load. But if the stresses are greater than what the shaft can take it will bend. Even if the stresses are below the load limit but fluctuate, it is possible that the shaft will break from fatigue. The point of highest stress can be found by looking at the arrangement of the shaft supports and loads and calculating the forces and stresses.
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