Influence of Applied Misalignment on the Balanced High Speed Flexible Coupling of Fighter Aircraft

Abstract

The fighter aircraft transmission system consists of a light weight, High Speed Flexible Coupling (HSFC), used to transmit power from engine gear box to accessory gear box at speed ranging from 10,000 to 18,000 rpm. The HSFC accommodates larger parallel and axial misalignment resulting from differential thermal expansion of the aircraft engine and mounting arrangement. As the HSFC operates at higher rotational speeds close to critical velocities, it is important to analyze, the unbalance exciting forces considering the misalignment. In the present work, prediction of critical speed by camp bell diagram and unbalance response of the HSFC has been carried out using FEA. An experimental investigation also been carried out to study the influence of applied misalignment on a bi-plane dynamically balanced HSFC. The study shows that lower reaction forces are transmitted to HSFC end supports with the applied misalignments, as they are accommodated by the elastic material flexure of flexible plates.