On the Dynamical Behavior of Rotating Shafts Driven by Universal (Hooke) Couplings

Abstract

Abstract The system considered here is a massless, uniform elastic shaft carrying at its mid-point a disk (having mass) and supported at the ends by universal (Hooke) joints. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effect of Hooke-joint angularity (as obtained by design, or from faulty alignment) on the bending stability of the rotating shaft. It is found that separate investigations are required for shafts not transmitting axial torques and for those required to transmit torques. Each gives rise to instabilities which are absent when the Hooke joint is straight. In the absence of axial torques, the shaft develops unsuspected mild critical speeds at odd integer submultiples of the “familiar” critical speed found with a straight Hooke joint. When the shaft is required to transmit moderate axial torques, the joint angularity produces true instabilities near all integer submultiples of the familiar critical speed. Surprisingly, these instabilities vanish for sufficiently large axial torques.