Loads on sprocket axles and teeth

[Vainglorious]

I'm attempting to calculate the directional loads placed upon a sprocket axle which has approx half its teeth engaged with a chain drive.

Is the load of a chain drive distributed evenly over all engaged teeth of a sprocket?

What is an esay way to calculate the resultant vector of this engagement?

Is this distribution of load over teeth (and resulting axle forces) the same for driver and driven sprockets?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Philrock]

Assuming one chain span is slack and one is tight, the resultant vector is exactly along the tight span, and its magnitude is equal to the chain tension. The chain tension is the shaft torque divided by the sprocket pitch radius.

Don't worry about loads on teeth, etc., unless you are doing something very unusual. Use chain manufacturers power rating tables to determine capacity of any given setup, or to select adequate components.