Keyless Pulverizer Main Shaft Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional EL type pulverizers suffer from main shaft failures due to stress concentration at keyway points and complex assembly processes involving key alignments, leading to costly and time-consuming repairs and assembly challenges.
Innovation Solution
A main shaft design without keyways, featuring threaded and tapered portions for secure attachment of the yoke and bevel gear assembly using jackbolt nuts, eliminating the need for key alignments and simplifying the assembly process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If keyways are used to attach components to the main shaft, then the components can be securely attached and torque can be transmitted, but stress concentration occurs at the keyway points leading to main shaft failure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the keyways from the main shaft design. By eliminating the keyways entirely, the source of stress concentration is removed, preventing main shaft failure while maintaining secure component attachment through alternative means (tapered portions and locking mechanisms).
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the attachment function into multiple components: tapered portions on the main shaft, corresponding tapered bores in the yoke and bevel gear assembly, and locking nuts or keys that secure the components. This segmentation allows torque transmission without creating stress concentration points in the main shaft.
2Ease of operation
If keyways and keys are used for component attachment, then torque transmission is achieved, but the assembly process becomes complex requiring precise key alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the alignment complexity by removing the keyway-key interface. The tapered portions naturally guide components into proper alignment during assembly, eliminating the need for precise key alignment while maintaining secure torque transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The tapered portions are pre-formed on the main shaft, creating a self-aligning feature that guides the yoke and bevel gear assembly into correct positioning during assembly. This preliminary geometric configuration eliminates the need for complex alignment procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A main shaft and method for installing a main shaft for a pulverizer are provided herein. The main shaft includes at least a first tapered portion for accepting a yoke and a first associated threaded portion for securing the yoke to the main shaft. Also included is a second tapered portion for accepting a bevel gear assembly and a second associated threaded portion for securing the bevel gear assembly to the main shaft.