Flexible Coupling Torque Disc Flange Groove Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible couplings, such as torque discs made from composite materials like carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), face issues with delamination and stress fractures under excessive bending forces, which can lead to damage and failure, especially during installation, maintenance, or repair when higher bending moments occur than designed for.
Innovation Solution
A flexible coupling design featuring a torque disc with mount points, first and second coupling members, and flanges that engage with grooves to restrict angular deflection, preventing off-axis bending and allowing for controlled movement, while ensuring torque transmission through the interface between coupling members even if the disc fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a torque disc made from composite materials is used to allow angular and axial displacements, then flexibility and weight reduction are improved, but the risk of delamination and stress fractures under excessive bending forces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling members are designed with pre-formed engagement features (protrusions and grooves) that create preliminary mechanical constraints against excessive bending. These features act in advance to prevent the torque disc from experiencing bending moments beyond its design limits, thereby preventing delamination and stress fractures before they can occur during installation or maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement between coupling members provides a cushioning effect by mechanically limiting the range of motion. This prevents excessive bending forces from being transmitted to the torque disc, cushioning it against loads that would otherwise cause damage during unexpected events such as improper installation or maintenance operations.
2Reliability
If hollow shafts with pins are used to prevent excessive bending, then protection against damage is improved, but assembly difficulty increases due to the need to span the joint
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is segmented into separate components: a torque disc with mount points, and separate coupling members that attach to these mount points. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured and prepared independently, then assembled together without requiring complex spanning operations through hollow shafts. The coupling members engage with the torque disc at discrete locations, simplifying the assembly process while maintaining protection against excessive bending.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the coupling allows small angular and axial displacements for flexibility, then adaptability is improved, but the risk of damage from higher bending moments during installation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling design incorporates dynamic characteristics by allowing controlled angular and axial displacements through the flexible torque disc while maintaining static protection through the engagement features of the coupling members. The system dynamically adapts to operational misalignments but statically resists excessive bending moments through mechanical constraints, creating a hybrid behavior that provides both flexibility and protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively limits angular and axial movement to prevent damage to the torque disc, maintains torque transmission, and simplifies assembly by reducing the number of components and weight, ensuring reliability and safety in drive systems like aircraft wings and motor vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
said first coupling member comprises one or more flanges substantially parallel with said torque disc; and wherein said one or more second coupling members each has a groove engaging with said one or more flanges so as to limit the displacement of said first coupling member with respect to said second coupling member
Implementation Method 2
movements (axial or angular) result in deformation of the torque disc
Implementation Method 3
Such composite materials can be designed to have good torque transmission characteristics (i.e. high rigidity) in the rotation direction (i.e. circumferentially) while having a degree of compliance under bending moments (i.e. out of plane loads)
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible coupling includes a flexible torque disc comprising a plurality of mount points and a first coupling member mounted to a first subset of said mount points. The coupling also includes one or more second coupling members each mounted to a second subset of said mount points. The first coupling member comprises one or more flanges substantially parallel with said torque disc and the one or more second coupling members each has a groove engaging with said one or more flanges so as to limit the displacement of said first coupling member with respect to said second coupling member.