Advantage of hollow tail shaft over fully built up shaft:

In comparison to a solid shaft, a hollow shaft is of less weight, for a given length and
diameter. This is pretty obvious and wont be requiring any further explanation. Moreover
its a good idea to go ahead with hollow shafts, if we our emphasis is on weight
reduction and cost-cutting.

Hollow shafts are much better to take torsional loads compared to solid
shafts. As shown in the figure, shear stress in a shaft subjected to torsion varies linearly
from zero at the center to the maximum at the boundary. Inside a solid shaft, most of the
material experiences / carries a shear stress whose value is much below the maximum
shear stress [Interior portion of the shaft]. But at the same they are adding to the weight,
without contributing much to the capability of the shaft to carry torsional load.

Shear stress at a point in a hollow shaft () is given by , =Tr/Ip

where ==Shear stress in a hollow shaft
T = Torque in shaft (N-m)
r = radial distance from the center to the point of interest (m)
Ip=Polar area moment of inertia (m4)
Lesser inertia therefore less starting torue
Average shear stress[ (Min. Shear stress + Max. Shear Stress)/ 2 ]
in a hollow shaft will be higher compared to a solid shaft and its value is more closer
to the maximum shear stress.

Hollow shaft has a greater Strength to weight ratio.

Illustration to show the same:

Consider a solid shaft with outer radius of 60 mm and hollow shaft of the same outer diameter but
with an inside radius of 40 mm. They are of the same length and are both made of the same material,
which implies that the maximum allowable shear stress \tau_{max} is the same in both shafts.
Maximum shear stress occurs at the outer radius, r=ro=60mm.
Inside radius can be written as ri=2ro/3
Allowable Torque for the hollow shaft,

T1 = maxIp/ro = max/ro(ro4/2 (2/3*ro)4/2) =max(0.4012ro3)

Allowable Torque for the Solid shaft,

T2 = maxIp/ro = max/roro4/2 = max(0.5ro3)

Ratio of their weights: [is the density of the material and g= acceleration due to gravity]

/
W1/W2=(ro2(2ro/3)2)Lg ro2Lg

Strength to weight ratio for hollow shaft,

s1=max(0.4012ro3)/0.5556ro2Lg
=0.7221maxroLg
Strength to weight ratio for solid shaft,

s2=max(0.5ro3)/ro2Lg

=0.5maxro/Lg

Strength to weight ratio for hollow shafts1s1is 44.4 % higher than Strength to weight ratio for solid
shafts2.s2.

Disadvantages

If we reduce the wall thickness, then there are chances of wrinkling or buckling of the shaft
wall. So we have to be careful about these things
Machining will take time.