Stress Analysis of a Roller Chain Sprocket Assembly

Application ID: 78171


Chain drives are used for transmitting power from one shaft to another, located at some distance. This example demonstrates how to model a chain sprocket assembly in 3D. The geometry consists of a roller chain wrapped around two sprockets. All components are assumed to be elastic. The system dynamics is initiated by an angular velocity prescribed at one of the sprockets. The motion is transmitted via chain links to the second sprocket which is subjected to an external, counteracting torque.

The chain sprocket assembly geometry is created using built-in geometry parts. The Chain Drive node in the Multibody Dynamics interface is used for setting up the entire model. A transient analysis is performed to understand the load path, the contact forces and the stress distribution in various components of the assembly.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: