DME

Module 4
Power Screw
Dr. F. Tauheed
A Power Screw is a mechanical device used for converting rotary motion into linear motion and
transmitting power.
Application:
1. Screw jack
2. Lead screw in lathe
3. Vice
4. UTM
5. Press
Form of threads:
V-threads are used for fastening purpose but not as power screw. The purpose of fastening threads is to
provide high frictional forces to lessen the possibility of loosening of assembled parts. On the other
hands, the purpose of transmission thread is to reduce friction between screw and nut.

Advantages of square threads:

(i) Efficiency is more than trapezoidal threads.
(ii) No radial pressure on the
nut. Disadvantages of square
threads:
(i) Difficult to manufacture
(ii) Less thickness at core diameter than trapezoidal threads so less load carrying capacity
(iii) Compensation for wear is not possible so replacement is the only
way. Advantages of trapezoidal threads:
(i) Economical in manufacturing
(ii) More thickness at core diameter than Square threads so more load carrying capacity
(iii) Axial wear can be compensated by using split
nut Disadvantages of trapezoidal threads:
(i) Less efficiency than square threads.
(ii) Side thrust on the nut

Acme threads:
It is special type of trapezoidal thread. It is identical to trapezoidal thread except thread angle is 290
instead of 300 in trapezoidal threads.
Buttress threads:

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It combines the advantages of square and buttress thread. Buttress threads are used where heavy axial
force acts in one direction.
Advantages of Buttress threads:
(i) Higher efficiency than trapezoidal threads
(ii) Economical in manufacturing
(iii) Axial wear can be compensated by using split nut.
(iv) Threads are stronger as compared to square or trapezoidal threads due to greater base thickness.
Disadvantages of Buttress threads:
It can transmit power and motion in one direction only.

Screw jack, presses, clamping devices: Square thread

Lead screw and other power transmission devices: Trapezoidal and Acme threads
Vices where force is applied in one direction: Buttress threads.

Square Thread
M t = Torque required
W = Load
d m = Mean diameter of the screw
 = Friction angle
 = Helix angle
l = Lead of the screw

Torque required for lifting Wdm

M  tan   
load t
2
Torque required for lowering Wdm
load M  tan   
t
2
(i) If
   M t is negative i.e. no force is required for lowering the load and the load will descend
itself.
This condition is called Overhauling. This property is not at all required in screw jack but is useful in
Yankee screw driver.
(ii)    M t is positive i.e. force is required for lowering the load and the load will not descend itself.
This is called self locking.
A screw is self locking if the coefficient of friction is equal to or greater than the tangent of helix
angle.
For self locking screw

 l
 tan  tan 
 dm
Efficiency of square threaded screw:
tan
  tan   
Condition for maximum efficiency

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max 1  sin 
 1  sin 

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Efficiency of self locking screw:
 1 tan2  
   
2 2 
Therefore, efficiency of self locking square threaded power screw is less than 50%.
Trapezoidal or Acme threads

Torque required for lifting Wd  sec  tan 

M t  2m
load 1   sec tan 

Wdm  sec  tan 

Torque required for lowering
load Mt  2 1  sec tan 
tan 1  sec tan 
Efficiency  
 sec  tan 
Design of Screw Jack:

A bottle screw jack for lifting loads is shown in Fig. The various parts of the screw jack are as follows:
1. Screwed spindle having square threaded screws,
2. Nut and collar for nut,
3. Head at the top of the screwed spindle for handle,
4. Cup at the top of head for the load, and
5. Body of the screw jack.
In order to design a screw jack for a load W, the following procedure may be adopted:
1. First of all, find the core dc by considering that the screw is under pure compression,
diameter
W  2
 c dc
4
The standard proportions of the square threaded screw are fixed from Data book
2. Find the torque T1 required to rotate the screw and find the shear stress  due to this
torque. We know that the torque required lift the load,
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 d d
M P  W tan    m
t
2 2
where P = Effort required at the circumference of the screw, and
d m = Mean diameter of the screw.
So, Shear stress due to Mt,
torque
16M
  d 3t
c
Also find direct compressive stress  c due to axial load, i.e.

c  W
 2
dc
4
3. Find the principal stresses as follows:
Maximum principal stress (tensile or compressive),
 c   2
    c   2

c max
2  2 
and maximum shear stress,
  2
 max   c   2
 2 
These stresses should be less than the permissible stresses.
4. Find the height of nut (h), considering the bearing pressure on the nut. We know that the bearing
pressure on the nut,
pb  W

d d
2 2
n
0 c
4
where n = Number of threads in contact with screwed spindle.
So, Height of nut, h = n × p
where p = Pitch of threads.
5. Check the stresses in the screw and nut as follows:
W
 screw 
t ndc
W
 nut   nd t
0
where t = Thickness of screw = p / 2
6. Find inner D1 , outer diameter D2 and thickness t1 of the nut collar. The inner diameter D1 is
diameter
found by considering the tearing strength of the nut. We know that

W  D2d 2  
1 0 t
4
The outer diameter D2 is found by considering the crushing strength of the nut collar. We know that

W 
D 2D2  
2 1 c
4

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The thickness t1 of the nut collar is found by considering the shearing strength of the nut collar. We know
that, W  D1t1
7. Fix the dimensions for the diameter of D3 on the top of the screw and for the cup.
head

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Take D  1.75d . The seat for the cup is made equal to the diameter of head and it is chamfered at the
3 0
D
top. The cup is fitted with a pin of diameter D  3
approximately. This pin remains a loose fit in the
4
4
cup.
8. Find the torque required Tfrictionto overcome friction at the top of screw. We know that

Tfriction  R3R 3
2
3 1W  R3 2  R4 2  ... (Assuming uniform pressure conditions)
 3 4 

2  R3  R4 ... (Assuming uniform wear conditions)

T
  W


friction
3 1
 2 
where R3 = Radius of head, and R4 = Radius of pin.
9. Now the total torque to which the handle will be subjected is given by
T  Mt  Tfriction
Assuming that a person can apply a force of 300 – 400 N intermittently,
the length of handle required = T / 300
The length of handle may be fixed by giving some allowance for gripping.
10. The diameter of handle D may be obtained by considering bending effects. We know that bending
moment,

M  3
32 b D
11. The height of head H is usually taken as twice the diameter of handle, i.e. H  2D .
12. Now check the screw for buckling load.
Effective length or unsupported length of the
screw,
L = Lift of screw 1 Height of nut
+ 2
We know that buckling or critical load,
   L 2 
W  a  1 y   
cr c y
 4C E  k  
2

where  y = Yield stress,

C = End fixity coefficient. The screw is considered to be a strut with lower end fixed and load end free.
For one end fixed and the other end free, C = 0.25
k = Radius of gyration = 0.25 dc
The buckling load as obtained by the above expression must be higher than the load at which the screw is
designed.
13. Fix the dimensions for the body of the screw jack.
14. Find efficiency of the screw jack.

Example. A screw jack is to lift a load of 80 kN through a height of 400 mm. The elastic strength of
screw material in tension and compression is 200 MPa and in shear 120 MPa. The material for nut is
phosphor-bronze for which the elastic limit may be taken as 100 MPa in tension, 90 MPa in compression
and 80 MPa in shear. The bearing pressure between the nut and the screw is not to exceed 18 N/mm 2.

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Design and draw the screw jack. The design should include the design of
1. screw, 2. nut, 3. handle and cup and 4. body.
Solution:
Given : W = 80 kN = 80 × 103N ; H1 = 400 mm = 0.4 m ; σet = σec = 200 MPa
= 200 N/mm2 ; τe = 120 MPa = 120 N/mm2 ; σet(nut) = 100 MPa = 100 N/mm2 ; σec (nut) = 90 MPa

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= 90 N/mm2 ; τe(nut) = 80 MPa = 80N/mm2 ; pb = 18 N/mm2
The various parts of a screw jack are designed as discussed below:
1. Design of screw for spindle
Let dc = Core diameter of the screw.
Since the screw is under compression, therefore load (W),

W
  2  ec
d
c
4 c fs
Taking factor of safety = 2
dc = 32 mm
For square threads of normal series, the following dimensions of the screw are selected from data book.
Core diameter, dc = 38 mm
Nominal or outside diameter of spindle, do = 46 mm
Pitch of threads, p = 8 mm
Now check for principal stresses:
We know that the mean diameter of screw,
d  dc
d  0  42mm
m
2
and tan  p
 0.0606
dm
Assuming coefficient of friction between screw and   tan  0.14
nut, So,dTorque required todrotate the screw in the nut,
M  P  W tan    m  340 X103 Nmm
t
2 2
Now compressive stress due to axial load,
c  W
 70.53N / mm 2
 2
dc
4
and shear stress due to the torque,
16Mt
  31.55N / mm2
dc 3

So, Maximum principal stress (tensile or compressive),


cmax   c   c 2  2 82.58N / mm2
2  2 
 200
The given value of  is equal to ec   100 N / mm2
c
fs 2
We know that maximum shear stress,
  2
 max   c   2 47.315N / mm2
 2
 120
The given value of  is equal to e   60N / mm2
fs 2
Since these maximum stresses are within limits, therefore design of screw for spindle is safe.
2. Design for nut

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Let n = Number of threads in contact with the screwed spindle,
h = Height of nut = n × p, and

1
0
t = Thickness of screw = p / 2 = 8 / 2 = 4 mm
Assume that the load is distributed uniformly over the cross-sectional area of nut.
We know that the bearing pressure pb,
pb  W

d d
2 2
n
0 c
4
So, n = 8.4 say 10 threads and height of nut, h = n × p = 10 × 8 = 80 mm
Now, check the stresses induced in the screw and nut.
We know that shear stress in the screw,
W
   16.15N / mm2 ... ( as t = p / 2 = 4 mm)
screw
ndct
and shear stress in the nut,
W
   13.84N / mm2
nut
nd t
0
Since these stresses are within permissible limit, therefore design for nut is safe.
Let D1 = Outer diameter of nut,
D2 = Outside diameter for nut collar, and
t1 = Thickness of nut collar.
First of all considering the tearing strength of nut, we have

W 
D2d 2 
  et
 
4
1 0 t t
fs
D1  65mm
Now considering the crushing of the collar of the nut, we have

W 
D 2D2  
  ec

4
2 c 1 c
fs
D2 = 80.6 say 82 mm
Considering the shearing of the collar of the nut, we have

W  D1t1 e(nut)
 
fs
t1 = 9.8 say 10 mm
3. Design for handle and cup
The diameter of the head D3 on the top of the screwed rod is usually taken as 1.75 times the outside
diameter of the screw d 0 .
D3  1.75d0
D3 = 80.5 say 82 mm
The head is provided with two holes at the right angles to receive the handle for rotating the screw. The
seat for the cup is made equal to the diameter of head, i.e. 82 mm and it is given chamfer at the top. The
cup prevents the load from rotating. The cup is fitted to the head with a pin of diameter D4 = 20 mm. The
pin remains loose fit in the cup. Other dimensions for the cup may be taken as follows:
Height of cup = 50 mm
Thickness of cup = 10 mm
Diameter at the top of cup = 160 mm
Now let us find out the torque required Tfrictionto overcome friction at the top of the screw.
Assuming uniform pressure conditions, we have
1
1
 2
 R3R 3
 3  
Tfriction W
3 31  R 2  R 2   321X10 Nmm
4
(Assuming 1 )
 3 4 

So, Total torque to which the handle is subjected,

T  Mt  Tfriction = 340 × 103 + 321 × 103 = 661 × 103 N-mm
Assuming that a force of 300 N is applied by a person intermittently, therefore length of handle required
= 661 × 103 / 300 = 2203 mm
Allowing some length for gripping, we shall take the length of handle as 2250 mm.
A little consideration will show that an excessive force applied at the end of lever will cause bending.
Considering bending effect, the maximum bending moment on the handle,
M = Force applied × Length of lever
= 300 × 2250 = 675 × 103 N-mm
Let D = Diameter of the handle.
Assuming that the material of the handle is same as that of screw, therefore taking bending stress
b  t et
 100N / mm2
2
We know that the bending moment (M),

M  3
32 b D
D = 40.96 say 42 mm
The height of head (H) is taken as 2D.
So, H = 2 D = 2 × 42 = 84 mm Now check the screw for buckling load.
We know that the effective length for the buckling of screw,
L = Lift of screw 1
Height of nut = 440 mm
+ 2
When the screw reaches the maximum lift, it can be regarded as a strut whose lower end is fixed
and the load end is free. We know that critical load,
   L 2 
W  a  1  y   
cr c y
 4C E  k  
2

For one end fixed and other end free, C = 0.25.

Also k = 0.25 dc = 0.25 × 38 = 9.5 mm
So, Wcr  179894 N
Since the critical load is more than the load at which the screw is designed (i.e. 80 × 103 N), therefore
there is no chance of the screw to buckle.
4. Design of body
The various dimensions of the body may be fixed as follows:
Diameter of the body at the top,
D5 = 1.5 D2 = 1.5 × 82 = 123 mm
Thickness of the body,
t3 = 0.25 do = 0.25 × 46 = 11.5 say 12 mm
Inside diameter at the bottom,
D6 = 2.25 D2 = 2.25 × 82 = 185 mm
Outer diameter at the bottom,
D7 = 1.75 D6 = 1.75 × 185 = 320 mm
Thickness of base, t2 = 2 t1 = 2 × 10 = 20 mm
Height of the body = Max. lift + Height of nut + 100 mm extra = 400 + 80 + 100 = 580 mm
The body is made tapered in order to achieve stability of jack.

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2
Let us now find out the efficiency of the screw jack. We know that the torque required to rotate the screw
with no friction,
d d
T  P  W tan m  101808 Nmm
0
2 2
So, Efficiency of the screw jack,
T
  0 101808  0.154 or 15.4%
 661X103
T
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