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POWER TRANSMISSION & COUPLINGS
In industries power is used in many forms. Steam turbines and gas
turbines are direct mechanical drives, which are used either to generate
electrical power or to drive the compressors or pumps. Electrical power is
used to drive rotary equipments through electric motors. In any
mechanical drive system there exists a need to couple the variety of
driven element with the driver and this is called the coupling and power
gets transmitted through coupling. The prime mover (Electric motor,
steam turbine or gas turbine) is generally a complete unit in it self and is
fitted on a suitable base frame skid. Similarly the driven units like pumps,
compressor, or fan etc. are also manufactured as independent units.
Driver and driven units are installed on common base frame and a
coupling is needed to connect both the systems.
These couplings may be directly coupled between the drive and driven
element or through speed reducing/speed increasing gearbox or torque
converters. Selecting the right coupling is an important and complex skill
because coupling failure means total breakdown of the equipment,
however coupling should always be the weakest link in the system. In any
abnormal circumstances, or disturbed operating conditions before brake
down of the costly driver or driven equipment, coupling shall fail. Coupling
shall be selected in such a way that it can absorb/withstand various varied
forces and many other factors within normal range of power transmission
without affecting driver or driven equipment. Primary factors that guide
the selection of type and size of coupling used for any applications are
listed below:
- Power to be transmitted
-Torque to be transmitted
- RPM
- Size of shafts
-Type of Prime mover (Motor, Turbine, Engine etc.)
-Type of driven equipment (Rotary, reciprocating, intermit ant, continuous,
Cam driven etc.)
- Distance between the shaft ends (Space limitation)
- Maintenance and installation
- Allowable misalignment
- Axial movement
- Dynamic Balance requirement
- Criticality of equipment (safety factor)
- Other specific conditions depend upon the industries
The above factors are the general type of criteria however for a complex
machine where the exact amount of thermal growth etc. is involved lot
complex criterias are considered important for selection of the couplings.
Classification:

Couplings are broadly classified in two groups:

Rigid Couplings
Flexible couplings
Rigid couplings are those in which two shafts of driver and driven
equipments are connected directly through coupling hubs and reamed
bolts without any flexibility between them. There is no margin for any
misalignment of any kind for this type of couplings. These couplings are
used in big reciprocating engines, compressors etc.
Flexible couplings are those coupling though which two shafts are
connected such that they have certain degree of flexibility between them.
They can absorb certain degree of misalignment also.
Flexible couplings may be of many kinds. In general following types of
flexible couplings are used in industries:
-

Pin-Bush type
Gear coupling
Spider coupling
Tyre coupling
Disc coupling
Grid couplings (BIBY Couplings)
Elastomer star couplings (LOVEJOY couplings)
Flexible metallic membrane coupling (metaflex type)
Magnetic couplings etc, etc

All above type of couplings have their own advantages and

disadvantages. The key advantages and limitations of any category can
influence the coupling selection. The advantage of any coupling shall be
judged keeping in mind the expected life and maintenance requirement
during that period with respect to the application. If any equipment is
required to be shut downed for maintenance of couplings only then the
type of coupling is not suitable and in long run may prove to be costlier
than other better options at the time of initial purchase.

Metallic Grid Coupling (Biby Type)

Elastomer flexible element coupling:In this category of couplings, non-metallic element are used within the
coupling through which the power is being transmitted. The elastomer
material may be rubber or polyamide of special grade. Again elastomer
coupling may be of compression type or shear type. Typical example of
compression type coupling is PIN-Bush type and Love Joy jaw type
couplings. Tyre or Molded element couplings are shear type elastomer
couplings.

An Elastomer, Jaw Coupling

Elastomers of different
designs
Elastomer couplings fails in two basic failure modes. One, due to fatigue
from cyclic loading, which can occur from misalignment or torque beyond
capacity. Second, failure due to environmental factors, e.g. high
temperature, chemical reactions or expired shelf life of elastomer.
Advantages of Elastomeric couplings are
-Torsionally soft
-No lubrications or Maintenance is required
-Good vibration damping and shock absorbing qualities
-Less expensive than metallic coupling
-Lower reactionary loads on bearings
Limitations
-Usually not Torsionally stiff enough for positive displacement type of
services
-Larger outside dia than metallic coupling for same capacity
-Not suitable for very high RPM
Metallic Flexible Couplings:These type of coupling do not use any elastomer element to transmit the
torque. Their flexibility is gained through flexible fitting parts which roll or
slide against each other (Gear, Grid or Chain) or through flexing/bending
of a membrane (Diaphragm or Bellows). The primary cause of failure of
this type of coupling is mechanical wear of the flexible element. Flexible
membrane type coupling are generally more costlier then other form of
metallic Flexible couplings but they do not need any lubrication and

maintenance during the service life. Their primary cause of failure is

fatigue.
Advantages of Metallic couplings are:-

-Torsionally stiff
-High torque transmission capacity
-High RPM
-Zero backlash in many types

Metallic Flexible coupling

Misalignment Capacity 1/3 degree per pack
Limitations of Metallic Couplings are :-

-Fatigue or wear are the main cause of failure

-May need schedule lubrications
-Assembly is some times complex
-Usually cannot damp vibrations or absorb shock

Some time selection of coupling is guided by application and criticality of

equipment as categorized below
-

Generall purpose Industrial

Specific Purpose Industrial
High speed
Very heavy load
Motion control and tensional

It is always better to understand the type of load to be carried by the two

pieces of equipment to be connected through couplings. For example if
there is mild shock low cyclic load requirement that may lead to selection
of elastomer element coupling and if high torques are involved then Gear
coupling is likely to be found suitable. High speed equipment will lead to
selection of disc or diaphragm couplings. Diesel engine drivers need the
benefits of torsional flexible coupling.
Some important factors and terminology regarding alignment and
couplings

Alignment limits
The OEM of the equipments generally specifies alignment limits, however
in industries some thumb rules are made and are acceptable by and large
by all the first line supervisors for general rotary machines. These thumb
rules are OK for low speed machines but for RPM of 1500 and more OEM
recommendations shall always be followed.
The shaft-to-shaft residual misalignment is acceptable when the
intersection point of the two shafts is within the coupling area and the
included angle between the shaft centerlines is small. These two criteria
must be applied in two orthogonal directions, typically horizontal and
vertical for convenience, and normalized to speed. That is, slow-speed
machines are allowed a larger tolerance. High-speed machines are
required to be better aligned. If the machines or any part of driver or
driven machine is subjected to high temperature than necessarily
temperature correction to the cold alignment shall be taken into account.
Alignment versus vibration and Noise

Vibration shall not be used as criteria to judge alignment, even though the
purpose of alignment is to reduce vibration. Other factors can also cause
excessive vibration, such as structural resonances or unbalance. In a
similar manner, noise and excessive bearing temperature could indicate
shaft misalignment but these symptoms could also indicate other
problems. Noise and excessive bearing temperatures shall not be used
alone to judge alignment.
Angular misalignment:-The angle made between the extension of
centerlines of driving and driven shafts is called the angular misalignment.
This is also known as axial misalignment. All couplings are designed to
tolerate some angular misalignment and these limits are specified by the
manufacturers.

Offset or parallel misalignment

Parallel misalignment:- Parallel misalignment occurs when the two shaft
centerlines are parallel, but not in the same line. They are offset
horizontally or vertically (or both), displaced to the left or right, or
positioned at different elevations.
Combination misalignment :- Combination misalignment occurs when the
motor shaft suffers from angular misalignment in addition to parallel
misalignment.

Example of an acceptable misalignment for

an 1800 rpm machine.

Axial Forces:- Due to axial misalignment, the driver or driven equipment

can generate axial (thrust) force. In such cases the coupling will transmit
these forces to the nearest bearing taking the thrust load. Bearing may
not give sufficient service life in such cases. To minimize these unforeseen
forces, proper axial alignment shall be done and proper couplings shall be
selected to take care of such un-foreseen forces.
Backlash:-The amount of free movement between two mutually coupled
rotating parts is called the Backlash. Small amount of backlash is always
kept in the mating parts and it helps by providing the cushioning effect. If
one half of a coupled gear coupling is held rigid and the other half can be
moved to a slight amount, this is due to the play that exist between the
meshing gears. This freedom of movement or looseness is called the
backlash. Generally it exists in all meshing gear systems. This helps in
movement of lubricant and air between the meshing gears, however in
case of excessive backlash values, abnormal sound level and whistling
sound will be observed in running condition which varies with speed.
Reactionary loads: - If two shafts are having parallels misalignment
(offset), then the couplings radial stiffness will cause a bending moment
to be exerted on the shafts. This force caused by the coupling due to
misalignment is called reactionary loads. The quantum of force depends
on the radial rigid ness and amount of misalignment. If this force is more
then the bending moment of the shaft this may cause plastic bend in the
week shaft.
Based on the above discussion it may be noted that if the selection of
coupling is not proper and / or if there is any misalignment of the shaft
greater than the acceptable limits, in both cases, both the machine and
coupling may fail immature due to one reason or other.
Other Important Related Definitions:
BORE: The central hole in the coupling hubs, that becomes the mounting
surface for the coupling on the shaft is called the Bore. Close tolerances
are required and OEM of the equipment normally recommends the amount
of the tolerances. Depending upon the service and the speed of the
equipment, tolerance limits are followed strictly to get the expected life.

An example of shaft-Coupling hub hole diameter tolerance table

In normal services Coupling bores / shafts are always kept round and
couplings are locked with the key and key-ways. However depending on
the specific services, other mating surfaces types can be of hexagonal,
square, d-shaped, tapered, and splined. In these non-standard shapes,
requirement of additional Key & key-ways is eliminated. A splined bore is
one with a series of parallel keyways formed internally in the hub and
matching corresponding grooves are cut on the shaft. Splined bores and
shafts are most commonly confirmed to Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) standards.
DAMPING: Some couplings greatly reduce the amount of vibration
transmitted between driver and driven shafts because of the damping
capacity of an elastomer element in the coupling. The stiffness of the
elastomer affects the rate at which vibration is damped. This property is
specific in the elastomer element couplings. All-metal couplings do not
exhibit this property as the most part are made of metals and have poor
damping capacity.
FACTORS OF SAFETY: In rotary machines, though coupling shall be the
weakest element between the driver and the driven equipment but still
couplings shall be designed to perform consistently for the life of the
equipment. Factor of safety is applied on the designed parts to take care
of un-known forces during the actual performance. The coupling designer
applies these factors to compensate for unknown elements of the product
design. The factors can compensate for temperature variation, material
variations, fatigue strength, dimensional variations, tolerances, and
potential stress risers due to unknown reasons etc. These are generally
proprietary of the manufacturers and they recommend the designed
models for the specific requirements.

FAIL-SAFE: A fail-safe coupling is one that continues to operate for a

period of time after the failure of the torque-transmitting element between
the two hubs. This is characteristic of couplings in which some protruding
ends of both halves operate in the same plane, allowing direct contact
between those parts. An example of this is the jaw coupling, in which
driving jaw faces push the driven jaw through an elastomer pad in
compression between them; if the elastomer breaks away, the driving
faces simply advance to push the driven faces directly. These type of
couplings are required for very critical services where the sudden
stoppage of equipment may cause up set of the whole complex. After
failure of the elastomer pad, though the equipment continues to run but
an abnormal metallic sound starts coming from the coupling, which
indicates the failure of the coupling elastomer and sounds you to plan the
equipment shutdown.
STATIC TORSIONAL STIFFNESS: A resistance to twisting action (rotational
displacement) between driving and driven halves of the coupling. Stiffness
is expressed in lb-inch/radian and measures the amount of angular
displacement about the coupling's axis of rotation at its static torque
rating. Even seemingly stiff all-metal couplings can have some degree of
torsional twist.
TORSIONAL SOFTNESS: Torsional soft or hard rating is determined by
dividing the dynamic torsional stiffness by the nominal coupling torque
rating. Values greater than 30 are hard (very stiff). Values between 10 and
30 are torsionally flexible or soft . Values less than 10 are considered very
soft couplings.
DYNAMIC TORSIONAL STIFFNESS: It is the relationship of the torque to be
transmitted to the torsional angle under the loaded condition of actual
operation. The dynamic stiffness will be greater than the static. The
dynamic torsional stiffness can be linear, a constant value, or non-linear,
an increasing value.
TOLERANCES: The amount of variation permitted on dimensions or
surfaces finish of machined parts. It is equal to the difference between
maximum and minimum limits of any acceptable specified dimensions.
TORQUE: In rotary motion, it is the force multiplied by the radius at which
force is applied, to the axis of rotation.
Torque= F x r (Where F is Force and r is radius at which force is
applied)
In English units (F) is in pound and (r) is in inche, expressed as in-lbs.
In metric units (F) is in Newton and (r) is in meter, expressed as Newtonmeters (Nm).
TORSIONAL VIBRATION: The change in torque and variation in rate of
change in torque of a rotating system cause vibration in the system. This
generally happens during the start-ups and shutdown of the system.

Some other causes of torsional variation are the geometry of the rotating
parts of the system e.g. internal combustion engines, cyclic and irregular
torque demands of the driven equipment e.g. hydraulic press, and
variations in the output of certain types of electric motors at startup etc.

Coupling Selection

For selection of the proper couplings in industrial applications following

procedure and table may be of some help. These tables are quite
authentic because these have been taken from Coupling Manufacturers
catalogue.
Performance
The mechanical performance required of the coupling is mainly a function
of the power to be transmitted and thus of the torque and speed of the
drive. Couplings are often rated in terms of the torque they can transmit
at a standard speed (e.g.: 100 rev/min) and will be constrained by a
limiting speed. Flexibility required in torsional and other modes should
also be established.
Application
The application factors relate to the coupling's use in original fitting or in
service. Thus size, in relation to the space available, accessibility to
features requiring adjustment or maintenance, the need for lubrication
and the ease of assembling/dismantling will need to be considered.
Geometry
Geometry factors refer to the overall space available, the tolerances
required in alignment and the probability of significant misalignment

should be specified. Particularly important is the need to ensure

compatibility of shaft bores with those of the driving and driven machines.
Enviroment
For many couplings the ambient conditions are critical. Maximum
tolerance of vibration and pollutants, and the acceptable ranges of
humidity and/or temperature must be compared with the actual conditions
of the system. Extremes of condition will exclude some coupling types.
Safety
The failure of a correctly selected and applied coupling is an unlikely
event. However it could also be very dangerous. The reliability of the
coupling selected may be difficult to establish except by reputation but
manufacturers will usually quote the maximum loads and conditions. For
flexible couplings the duty and total service life of the coupling are
important because fatigue loading may be present. The frequency
acceptable and likely manner of possible failure should be established and
related to the consequences of failure in the context of the total system.
Commercial
Although price may be the most obvious commercial factor, other
considerations relate to any company policy there may be in dealing with
standardisation of suppliers or products, the ease and speed of obtaining
the required unit and the terms of trading and reputation of the supplier.

Shaft Design
Transmission shafts transmit torque from one machine to another
machine.There is always confusion among Shaft , Spindle and Axle.
Spindles are short rotating elements and donot take much torque.
Axles are non-rotating elements & take only radial load.
Shafts are power transmission elements which take radial as well as
torsional load
Shaft Loads
Torsion due to transmitted torque
Bending from transverse loads (gears, sprockets, pulleys/sheaves)_
Attachments and Stress Concentrations

Steps and shoulders are used to locate attachment (gears, sheaves,

sprockets,bearings)
Keys, snap rings, cross pins (shear pins), tapered pins.Use generous radius
to reduce stress concentrations
Shaft Design General Considerations
1. To minimize both deflections and stresses, the shaft length should be
kept as short as possible and overhangs minimized.
2. A cantilever beam will have a larger deflection than a simply supported
(straddle mounted) one for the same length, load, and cross section, so
straddle mounting should be used unless a cantilever shaft is dictated by
design constraints
3. A hollow shaft has a better stiffness/mass ratio (specific stiffness) and
higher natural frequencies than a comparably stiff or strong solid shaft,
but will be more expensive and larger in diameter.
4. Try to locate stress-raisers away from regions of large bending moment
if possible and minimize their effects with generous radius and relief.
5. General low carbon steel is just as good as higher strength steels (since
deflection is typical the design limiting issue).
6. Deflections at gears carried on the shaft should not exceed about 0.005
inches and the relative slope between the gears axes should be less than
about 0.03 degrees.
7.If plain (sleeve) bearings are to be used, the shaft deflection across the
bearing length should be less than the oil-film thickness in the bearing.
8. If non-self-aligning rolling element bearings are used, the shafts slope
at the bearings should be kept to less than about 0.04 degrees.
9. If axial thrust loads are present, they should be taken to ground through
a single thrust bearing per load direction. Do not split axial loads between
thrust bearings as thermal expansion of the shaft can overload the
bearings.
10. The first natural frequency of the shaft should be at least three times
the highest forcing frequency expected in service, and preferably much
more. (A factor of ten times or more is preferred, but this is often difficult
to achieve).
Interference Fits
Components can be attached to a shaft without a key or spline by using
an interference fit.
There are two methods used to assemble these components:
Press fit
Shrink (and/or expansion) fit
The amount of interference is important. The analysis of interference
follows from the equations for pressure on thick-walled cylinders. A rule of
thumb that is used is one to two thousands of diametral interference per
unit of shaft diameter, e.g., a shaft of two inch diameter would have 0.004
inches of interference with an attached gear hub.

Machinists use a simplified approach to this 1/1000 of interference for

each inch of diameter. However, there is a formal approach. Standards
have been developed for these fits.