International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882

Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

Static and model analysis of drive shaft using steel and high performance
polymer composites comparison
Baswaraj1, N Kapilan2, Sangamesh3
1, 2

(Department of Mechanical Engineering, NCET, Bangalore)

(Department Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, NITK, Surathkal)

ABSTRACT
The main concept of this work is to reduce the weight of
automotive drive shaft with the utilization of composite
material. Composite materials have been used in
automotive components because of their properties such
as low weight, high specific stiffness, corrosion free, and
ability to produce complex shapes, high specific strength
and high impact energy absorption. As the automotive
drive shaft is a very important component of vehicle.
The modeling of the drive shaft assembly was done
using CATIA software and meshed using hypermesh
and analysis is done in ANSYS.A shaft has to be
designed to meet the stringent design requirements for
automotive. In automobiles the drive shaft is used for the
transmission of motion from the engine to the
differential. An automotive propeller shaft, or drive
shaft, transmits power from the engine to differential
gears of rear wheel-driving vehicle. In present work an
attempt has been to estimate deflection, stresses under
subjected loads & natural frequencies using FEA, for
light duty drive shaft and Heavy duty Drive shaft using
different materials like High alloy steel, glass/epoxy,
carbon/epoxy, Kevlar/epoxy and carbon-Kevlar/epoxy.
For Light duty drive shaft, the usage of composite
material (Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy) has resulted to
considerable amount of weight saving in the range of
79.74% when compared to conventional steel drive
shaft. For Heavy duty drive shaft, the usage of CarbonKevlar/Epoxy has resulted to considerable amount of
weight saving in the range of 81.3% when compared to
steel drive shaft.
Keywords - Composite, Drive shaft, FEA analysis.

1. INTRODUCTION
A driveshaft is a rotating shaft that transmits power from
the engine to the differential gear of a rear wheel drive
vehicles. Driveshaft must operate through constantly
changing angles between the transmission and axle. [1]
Conventional steel drive shafts are usually manufactured
in two pieces to increase the fundamental bending
natural frequency. But the two-piece steel driveshaft
involves three universal joints, an intermediary thrust
bearing and a supporting bracket in its assemblage,
which increases the total weight of the vehicle. Since

one-piece composite driveshaft will suffice in the place

of a two-piece steel driveshaft, it substantially reduces
the inertial mass. Moreover, a composite driveshaft can
be perfectly designed to effectively meet the strength
and stiffness requirements. Since composite materials
generally have a lower elasticity modulus, during torque
peaks in the driveline, the driveshaft can act as a shock
absorber. Moreover, the breakage of composite a
driveshaft (particularly in SUVs) is less-risky, since it
results in splitting up of the fine fibers as compared to
the scattering of broken steel parts in various directions.
[2] The composite drive shaft [3] has advantages like
considerable weight reduction, symmetric composite
assured the dynamic balance of increasing operating
speed, electrically nonconductive, custom end fitting
considerations, vibrations and harshness (NVH), long
fatigue life and also it reduce the bearing & journal wear.
The materials usually have a lower modulus of elasticity
which results in when torque peaks are occurred the
drive shaft may works as a shock absorber. A drive shaft
must operate through constantly changing angles
between the transmission and rare axle. A GA proposed
by the Goldberg [5] based on natural genetics will be
studied in the second phase of study. Rajiv and
Krishnamurthy [4] proposed a method for converting a
constrained optimization problem into an unconstrained
optimization problem. Polymer matrix composites are
most common composite material being used in drive
shaft. The most common are carbon epoxy, glass epoxy
and carbon/glass epoxy hybrids. The advanced
composite materials such as Graphite, Carbon and Glass
with suitable resins are widely used because of their high
specific strength (strength/density) and high specific
modulus (modulus/ density) [6, 7]. Substituting
composite structures for conventional metallic structures
has many advantages because of higher specific stiffness
and strength of composite materials [8].

2. MATERIAL DATA
Material properties for the shaft materials need to be
selected from standard material handbook. Most of the
products are generally made of steel. And also some
other materials used for the material are listed below
table 1 in order to optimize the design. For both the

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

Light and Heavy duty shaft the totally five different

materials are used in this project. [9, 10]

Table 1 material properties

Material
Description

Youngs
Modulus(E)
MPa

High alloy
Steel
Glass/Epoxy

2.1e

Carbon/Epoxy

1.34e

Kevlar/Epoxy
CarbonKevlar/Epoxy

7.9e

0.403e
0.62e

Density()

1.236e

1.91e
1.6e

-9

-9

1.43e
5

-9

1.47e

Poissons
Ratio()

angle of 10 . Figure 2 shows the complete meshed model

of heavy duty drive shaft. Summary of total no of nodes
and elements used for the light duty and heavy duty shaft
is listed in the table

0.3
0.2
0.3

-9

0.35

-9

0.328
Figure 2 Complete Meshed model of Heavy duty Drive
shaft.

3. MODELING AND ANALYSIS

In this project we have used the two drive shafts, mainly
one for light duty vehicle and the other for the heavy
duty vehicle. The development of the FE-model for the
light duty drive shaft starts by importing the CAD model
of the drive shaft, unit from SOLID WORK to Hyper
mesh. The SOLID WORK model is exported to hyper
mesh in .stp format. Meshing of CAD model is carried
out using solid elements (tetra) with minimum element
size of 0.5mm, maximum element size of 6mm and a
0

feature angle of 10 . Fig. 1 shows the complete meshed

model of light duty drive shaft

After meshing all the components with respective

elements and sizes, quality criteria of the elements is
checked and maintained. Hyper view deck is prepared in
the Hypermesh by assigning the materials and properties
and by giving proper control cards and contacts.
Component
Total No. of
Nodes
Total No. of
Elements
Tetra 4 elements

Light duty
shaft
9002

Heavy duty
shaft
6424

419151

26099

419151

26099

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 1 Complete Meshed model of light

duty drive shaft
The development of the FE-model for the heavy duty
drive shaft starts by importing the CAD model of the
drive shaft, and assembled unit from SOLID WORK to
Hypermesh. The assembled SOLID WORK model is
exported to Hypermesh in .igs format. Meshing of CAD
model is carried out using tria and solid elements (tetra).
Both the intermediate shafts are meshed using solid
elements (tetra) with a minimum element size of 2mm
and a maximum element size of 20mm and a feature

In this section we will discuss and compare the results of

various materials used for the light duty and heavy duty
drive shaft such as contour plots Displacements,
Stresses, Element Strain Energy, Eigen Values, and
Frequency).
4.1. Light Duty Drive Shaft
The static and modal analysis is performed to find the
displacements, stresses, and strains in the components
and the natural frequencies in lateral directions.
Following are the different materials used for the light
duty drive shaft.
4.1.1 High alloy Steel
The following figures 3 and 4 show the simulations of
the light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures
the static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
0.4366 mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 1148
MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
4
Frequency is 1.4056e Hz and also for constrained modal
3

analyses Maximum Frequency is 3.81e Hz.

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

The following figures 5 and 6 show the simulations of

the light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures
the static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
2.126 mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 1712
MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
4
Frequency is 1.2546e Hz and also for constrained modal
3

analyses Maximum Frequency is 3.3938e Hz.

Figure 3 Static Simulation (Displacements and Vonmises stresses) of Steel

Figure 5 Static analyses (displacements and Von-mises

stresses) Glass/Epoxy

Figure 4 Free-Free & Constrained Modal

Analysis of Steel
4.1.2. Glass/Epoxy
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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

Figure 6 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of

Glass/Epoxy

4.1.3. Kevlar/Epoxy
The following figures 7 and 8 show the simulations of
the light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures
the static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
1.525 mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 1637
MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
4
Frequency is 1.7866e Hz and also for constrained modal
3

analyses Maximum Frequency is 4.770e Hz.

Figure 8 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of

Kevlar/Epoxy
4.1.4. Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy
The following figures 9 and 10 show the simulations of
the light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures
the static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
0.7549 mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 1654
MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
4
Frequency is 2.49e Hz and also for constrained modal
3

analyses Maximum Frequency is 6.7783e Hz.

Figure 7 Static Analyses (Displacements and Von-mises

Stresses) of Kevlar/Epoxy

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016
3

analyses Maximum Frequency is 1.0255e Hz and also

for constrained modal analyses Maximum Frequency is
2

2.1766e Hz.

Figure 9 Static Analyses (Displacements and Von-mises

Stresses) of Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy

Figure 11 Static Analyses (Displacements and Vonmises Stresses) of Steel

Figure 10 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of

Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy
4.2. Heavy Duty Drive Shaft
The static and modal analysis is performed to find the
displacements, stresses, and strains in the components
and the natural frequencies in lateral directions.
Following are the different materials used for the light
duty drive shaft.
4.2.1. High alloy Steel
The following figures 8.11 and 8.12 show the
simulations of the light duty steel drive shaft. From the
below figures the static analyses results are, Maximum
-3
Displacement is 6.876e mm and Maximum Von-mises
Stress is 2.327 MPa. And for the free-free modal
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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

Figure 12 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of

Steel
4.2.2. Glass/Epoxy
The following figures 8.13 and 8.14 show the
simulations of the light duty steel drive shaft. From the
below figures the static analyses results are, Maximum
-2

Displacement is 3.334 mm and Maximum Von-mises

Stress is 2.747 MPa. And for the free-free modal
2
analyses Maximum Frequency is 9.07748e Hz and also
for constrained modal analyses Maximum Frequency is
2
1.9339e Hz.

Figure 8.14 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses

of Glass/Epoxy
4.2.3. Carbon/Epoxy
The following figures 8.15 and 8.16 show the
simulations of the light duty steel drive shaft. From the
below figures the static analyses results are, Maximum
-2
Displacement is 1.078e mm and Maximum Von-mises
Stress is 2.327 MPa. And for the free-free modal
3
analyses Maximum Frequency is 1.8203e Hz and also
for constrained modal analyses Maximum Frequency is
2

3.8635e Hz.

Figure 13 Static Analyses (Displacements and Vonmises Stresses) of Glass/Epoxy

Figure 15 Static Analyses (Displacements and Vonmises Stresses) of Carbon/Epoxy

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

Figure 17 Static Analyses (Displacements and Vonmises Stresses) of Kevlar/Epoxy

Figure 16 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of

Carbon/Epoxy
4.2.4. Kevlar/Epoxy
The following figures 17 and 18 show the simulations of
the light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures
the static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
-2

2.405e mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 2.298

MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
3

Frequency is 1.3166e Hz and also for constrained modal

2

analyses Maximum Frequency is 2.7873e Hz.

Figure 18 Free-Free and Constrained Modal Analyses of
Kevlar/Epoxy
4.2.5. Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy
The following fig. 19 and 20 show the simulations of the
light duty steel drive shaft. From the below figures the
static analyses results are, Maximum Displacement is
-2

1.190e mm and Maximum Von-mises Stress is 2.694

MPa. And for the free-free modal analyses Maximum
3

Frequency is 1.8288e Hz and also for constrained modal

2

analyses Maximum Frequency is 3.8763e Hz.

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200

Table 2 Summary of Contour Plots for Light Duty Drive

shaft
Light Duty Drive shaft
Static Analysis
Yield
Strength
Max.
Max.
(MPa)
Disp.
Stress
(mm)
(MPa)
0.4366
1148
1620

Materials
Used

Mass of
Shaft(Kg)

Modal analysis
FreeConstrained
Free
(Hz)
(Hz)
14056
3810

High alloy
Steel
Glass/Epoxy

0.8378
0.2026

2.126

1712

2358

12546

3393.8

Carbon/Epoxy

0.1697

0.6842

1671

1730

24504

6762.8

CarbonKevlar/Epoxy

0.1559

0.7549

1654

1600

24900

6778.3

Kevlar/Epoxy

0.1516

1.525

1637

2930

17866

4770

Table 3 Summary of Contour Plots for Heavy Duty

Drive shaft

Figure 19 Static Analyses (Displacements and Vonmises Stresses) of Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy

Heavy Duty Drive shaft

Static Analysis
Yield
Stren
Max.
Max.
gth
Disp.
Stress
(MPa
(mm)
(MPa)
)
0.0687
2.327
1620

Materials Used

Mass
of
Shaft(
Kg)

High alloy
Steel
Glass/Epoxy

1039
251.3

0.03334

2.747

2358

Carbon/Epoxy

210.5

0.01078

2.327

1730

CarbonKevlar/Epoxy
Kevlar/Epoxy

193.4

0.0190

2.694

1600

188.1

0.02405

2.298

2930

Modal analysis
FreeConstrain
Free
ed
(Hz)
(Hz)
1025.
5
907.7
5
1820.
3
1828.
8
1316.
6

217.76
193.39
386.35
387.63
278.73

5. CONCLUSION
In this research, mainly the Static and Modal
analysis of the two shafts i.e., on Light duty and
Heavy duty Driveshaft. The following are some
of the points which are concluded from the
Table 2 and 3. Where comparison of the drive
shaft for steel and composite material
(Carbon/Epoxy and Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy) is
carried out based on maximum deformation and
weight of the shaft.
For Light duty drive shaft, the usage of
composite material (Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy) has
resulted to considerable amount of weight
saving in the range of 79.74% when compared to
conventional steel drive shaft.
o %
of
Weight
Saving=
(0.83780.1697)/0.8378 = 79.74%
It has been seen from Table 8.1 that, the
Maximum Displacement and Mass for a CarbonKevlar/Epoxy composite is 0.7549 mm and
0.1559Kg respectively are less than steel

Figure 20 Free-Free Modal and Constrained Modal

Analyses of Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy
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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2016

material (Displacement 0.4366 mm and Mass

0.8378 Kg).
For Heavy duty drive shaft, the usage of CarbonKevlar/Epoxy has resulted to considerable
amount of weight saving in the range of 81.3%
when compared to steel drive shaft.
o %
of
Weight
saving=
(1039193.4)/1039 = 81.3%
And also from Table 8.2, the Maximum
Displacement and Mass for a CarbonKevlar/Epoxy composite is 0.019 mm and 193.4
Kg are less than steel material (Displacement
0.0687 mm and Mass 1039 Kg).
Taking into considerations of the weight saving
and deformation it is evident that, the CarbonEpoxy and Carbon-Kevlar/Epoxy composites
have the most encouraging properties to act as
replacement for steel out of the considered two
materials.
These kind of light weight drive shaft can
replace the Heavy metallic one

International Review of Applied Engineering

Research, Volume 4, pp.21-28, 2014.
[8]. D. Dinesh, F. Anand Raju, Optimum Design And
Analysis Of A Composite Drive Shaft For An
Automobile By Using Genetic Algorithm And
Ansys, International Journal Of Engineering
Research And Applications, Vol. 2, Issue4, Pp.18741880, July-August 2012.
[9]. Badie, M. A., Mahdi, E., & Hamouda, A. M. S.
(2011). An investigation into hybrid carbon/glass
fiber reinforced epoxy composite automotive drive
shaft.Materials & Design, 32(3), 1485-1500.
[10]. Chirag B. Gandhi, Manthan Patel A Study
Paper On Analysis And Comparision Of Composite
Drive Shaft With Conventional Steel Drive Shaft
IJSRD, Vol. 2, Issue 03, 2014 | ISSN (online): 23210613.

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