Contact pressure in misaligned spline couplings

Abstract

Spline couplings are increasingly being studied because of their growing use, particularly in the field of electric cars. Due to clearances, geometrical obligations and elastic deformation, spline couplings operate mainly in slightly misaligned situations. From these kinds of situations, problems could appear such as vibrations or contact damages. The purpose of this article is to analyse the misalignment of splined couplings and the effects it induces. In order to identify behavioural trends, this work offers analytical approaches for estimating contact pressures in spline connections. In the chosen approach, the simplifying hypotheses necessary for equations are detailed as well as the various analytical modelling. Despites these assumptions, comparisons with pure numerical approaches illustrates the quality of analytical approach adopted in this paper. This method of modelling contact pressure allows the identification of the main mechanical factors to be identified including stiffness, thus deceasing problems due to misalignments.