Positioning of a material sensor in a splined shaft

Abstract To evaluate the load condition and remaining service life of a splined shaft, a material sensor can be utilized to determine the experienced torsional loads. There are several options for its placement. The stresses occurring in the material sensor and in the splined shaft depend on the position of the material sensor and on other geometric characteristics of the shaft-hub connection, including the number of teeth, the root radius, and, for hollow shafts, the bore diameter. To estimate the maximum stresses in the material sensor and the splined shaft, a calculation model is presented. This model can also be used to convert the stresses in the material sensor to the maximum stress in the splined shaft. The model is validated by comparisons with numerical simulations, which show a high level of agreement.