Basics of Coupling

Prepared By:
Asif Abbas
PHS Maintenance
Power Transmission

• Why is power transmission required.

– Prime mover
– Driven equipment
• Methods of power transmission.
– Closed coupled.
– Coupling
– Gear trains
– V-belts
Couplings (Basic Function)

• To provide for the connection of shafts of units that are manufactured

separately such as a motor and generator and to provide for disconnection
for repairs or alternations.
• To provide for misalignment of the shafts or to introduce mechanical
flexibility.
• To reduce the transmission of shock loads from one shaft to another.
• To introduce protection against overloads.
• To alter the vibration characteristics of rotating units.
• Reduce bending and axial stresses from misalignment and thermal growth
• De-couple vibration response between shafts
• Tuning of torsional resonance
Coupling (Types)

•Flexible Couplings (Most common for general process machinery such as:
motors, gears, pumps, compressors, fans and blowers, Flexibility comes
from sliding or flexing of coupling elements)
– Elastomer Coupling
– Fluid Coupling
– Grid Coupling
– Disc Coupling
– Diaphragm Coupling
– Magnetic Coupling
•Rigid Couplings (Most common in large steam turbine-generator units and
large vertical pumps, Flexibility is from connected shafts)
– Gear Coupling
– Flange Coupling
– Universal Joint Coupling
Elastomeric Couplings

• Usually have a rubber, urethane, Teflon or nylon flexible element

• Much softer torsionally than gear, disk, or diaphragm couplings
• Limited in upper speed range because of distortion and strength
limitations of the elastomer element
• Elastomer element is subject to degradation from heat and
environmental factors

Different Type of Elastomeric Couplings are as follows:

• Jaw Type Coupling
• Tire Type Coupling
• Geared Rubber Element Coupling
• Croset Coupling
Elastomeric Couplings
Jaw Type Coupling
Croset Coupling

No Torque Applied Torque Applied

Exploded View of Croset Coupling

Fluid Coupling
Grid Couplings

• Similar to gear coupling

• Transmit torque by deflection of metal ribbon.
• Torsionally softer than gear couplings - teeth on hub are crowned to allow
bending of grid
• Always close coupled (no spacer)
• Grease lubricated
Disk Pack Couplings

• No lubrication required
• Higher operating temperatures than lubricated couplings
• Not good for applications with high axial motion (thermal growth, axial load
direction change)
• Transmit more power per inch of diameter or pound of weight than any
other non-lubricated coupling
• Tight balancing tolerances are difficult to achieve unless disk packs are not
disassembled when the spacer is removed
Disk Pack Couplings

• The more bolts that are used, the higher the torque capacity
• The more bolts that are used, the lower the allowable misalignment and
axial displacement
• Maximum stress occurs at bolt holes
• Some disks are scalloped at the OD to create a beam with uniform stress to
increase flexibility
Disk Pack Couplings
• Disk pack couplings fail due to fatigue
• Disk packs are subject to fretting and corrosion
• Disk packs can be inspected during operation with strobe light (disk packs
are exposed and failure usually starts at the end disks in a pack)
Diaphragm Couplings
• Accommodate misalignment through flexing of metal elements
• No lubrication required
• Higher operating temperatures than lubricated couplings
• Not good for applications with high axial motion (thermal growth, axial load
direction change)
• Failure mode is fatigue of diaphragms
Diaphragm Couplings

• Transmit torque radially through the diaphragm to a bolted connection

• Shear forces in diaphragm vary with the radius
• Angular misalignment produces bending stress and axial displacement
• Stress is proportional to radial dimension of diaphragm
• Reduce stress by increasing the OD, reducing the ID or both
• Two primary designs - contoured and convoluted
Gear Couplings
• Transmit more torque for a given diameter than any other flexible coupling
• Most gear hubs have 60 teeth, regardless of size
• Can accommodate more axial shaft movement than disk or diaphragm
couplings
• Parallel and angular misalignment accommodated by gear tooth crowning
and backlash
Gear Couplings

This is a cutaway drawing of a gear coupling with no spacer.

Pertinent parts include the gear hubs (with external teeth,)
shrouds (with internal teeth), bolts, and O-rings in the
shrouds to retain the lubricant.

An illustrates of how a gear coupling

accommodates misalignment through
sliding. Note how the gear hubs are
engaged at different axial locations in the
hubs because of the angle between the
shafts.
Gear Couplings

• Backlash is the tangential clearance between the hub and shroud gear
teeth.
• Backlash is usually created by reducing the shroud tooth thickness, since
the internal tooth is inherently stronger than the external tooth.
• Larger backlash allows greater misalignment.
• Increasing the amount of backlash in a gear coupling increases the
misalignment capability but decreases the torque capability.
 Gear Couplings

• Torque rating is determined by durability for all but low speed applications
• Life rating limited by tooth contact pressure and quality of lubrication
• Contact pressures range from 2,000 to 16,000 psi, dependent upon
material and geometry
• Misalignment capability and torque capacity are design trade offs
• Gear couplings rely on a lubricant to minimize sliding friction and resultant
wear. The lubricants used for gear coupling lubrication are grease and oil.
The majority of oil lubricated couplings utilize a forced lubrication system.
General purpose (low speed) grease lubricated gear couplings must be
periodically shut down for re-lubrication. Special purpose (high speed)
continuously lubricated gear couplings generally have longer service lives
than grease lubricated models, but have shorter service lives than disk or
diaphragm designs
Root Cause of Failed Gear Coupling and Inspection
• Use of actual, correct viscosity coupling grease
• Check for contamination of lubricant
• Leakage of lubricant
• Clear path for oil (if sludged continuous lubrication)
• Check position of spray nozzles for continuous lube
• Check the shaft alignment
• Verify torque rating and service factor of the coupling

• Corrosion at the sliding elements (teeth) or shroud flange faces

• Wear at the teeth of the hub and shroud
• Buildup of lubricant or other deposits at the teeth
Flange Coupling
Cardan (Universal) Couplings

• Utilize sliding members to transmit torque

• Used in low speed, high torque applications, with torques up to
25,000,000 lb-in (2,800,000 N-m)
• Can be used where axes of shafts to be connected are not collinear
Forces and Moments Produced by Couplings

• All flexible couplings resist being misaligned

• Flexing or sliding elements in couplings resist being deformed or displaced
• Forces and moments are “restoring” quantities that are generated by
coupling elements resisting deformation or displacement caused by
misalignment
• Magnitude of forces and moments is dependent upon size and type of
coupling
Coupling Balance
• Couplings are generally assembled from several cylindrical or disc
shaped components
• Concentricity between components is maintained by piloted fits
• Piloted fits are not interference fits
• Components will have some amount of eccentricity
• Coupling assembly will have an eccentricity that is the result of the
sum of these fits and tolerances
Coupling Balance Standards
• AGMA 9000-C90, Flexible Couplings - Potential Unbalance
Classification

• API Standard 671, Special Purpose Couplings for Petroleum, Chemical,

and Gas Industry Services
Causes of Vibration Due to Couplings
• Wear or fatigue
• Improper installation
• Eccentricity
Vibration From Wear in Couplings
• Gear couplings wear because of lubrication breakdown
• Loss of lubrication causes increased magnitude of forces from the
coupling
• Wear can also result in loss of pilot fits which can cause unbalance
• Replacement of the gear elements is usually required when wear is
discovered
Vibration From Improper Installation

• High axial vibration can be a result of improper DBSE with disk or

diaphragm couplings
• Improper DBSE stretches or compresses disk or diaphragm packs
outside manufacturer’s recommended distance
• Results in higher axial forces
• Over extension of the flex elements can result in premature fatigue
failure or plastic deformation
Vibration From Eccentricity/Unbalance

• Verify that all matchmarks are aligned

• Check the coupling bolts
• Measure the runouts on the shafts and couplings
• Check the radial movement of the gear shroud relative to the hub
• If no eccentricity problems are found, then field balancing is indicated
Clearance and Interference Fits

• Torque capability of a hub-to-shaft connection is dependent upon the type

of fit
• Clearance fit hubs require careful adherence to dimensions in order to
work reliably
• Interference fits are generally used for all applications except low-speed,
low-horsepower services
• Interference fit hubs are expanded to fit over the shaft during installation
• Interference fits have much higher torque capability than keyed clearance
fits
Clearance Fits

• Rely upon the key to transmit the torque from shaft to the hub
• Torque capability is dependent upon the shear strength of the key, shaft,
and hub materials, the applied tangential force (torque) and the size of the
key
Key Stress - Clearance Fit

• For most applications, hub length is equal to the shaft diameter

• For standard key sizes, this means that the shear stress in the key is 150%
of the shear stress in the shaft
• It is important that the key material have the same yield stress as the shaft
material when used for clearance fits
• Use of key material with yield strength less than the shaft material will
result in reduced torque capacity
Interference Fits

• Most reliable method of torque transmission between coupling hub and

shaft
• Interference fit means that hub bore is smaller than the corresponding
shaft diameter when hub is not mounted on the shaft and is at room
temperature
• AGMA Standard 9003, Flexible Couplings – Keyless Fits specifies many of
the design parameters for torque transmission using interference fits for
couplings
• Torque capability of an interference fit is proportional to the contact
pressure
• Amount of interference (interference rate) is expressed in terms of in/in or
mm/mm
Interference Fits
• Amount of interference depends on applied torque and rotational speed
• Interference fit is limited by yield strength of the hub material
• Increasing interference fit past yield strength of the hub will not increase
torque capability of the hub connection
• If torque varies with time or has a shock or impulse nature then an
increased interference fit is required
• Coupling hub bore diameter increases with speed, so interference fit must
be increased to account for loss of fit and torque capacity
Interference Fits
• AGMA 9002 specifies 0.0005 in/in as a standard value for interference fits
• API 671 interference fit dependent upon coupling attachment
configuration
• Maximum interference fit for alloy steel hubs are approximately 0.003 in/in
Key Fitting
• AGMA Standard 9002, Bores and Keyways for Flexible Couplings (Inch
Series), defines the standard sizes and tolerances for keys and keyways
• AGMA 9002 lists three classes of key fits: commercial, precision, and fitted
• Most industrial machinery applications require a fitted class
• Keys should be fitted so that they are a tight slide fit in the hub and shaft
keyways
Key Fitting
• Key material should be of the same strength as shaft material
• The key height should be slightly less than the depth of the hub keyway to
prevent the hub from hanging up and distorting on the key
• Keys should be chamfered according to the AGMA 9002 tolerances to
insure that the key does not interfere with the keyway radius
• Key material that protrudes from the back of the hub should be trimmed
to maintain balance quality
Heating of Coupling Hubs

• Non hydraulic fit hubs with interference fit need to be expanded using
heat
• Four common heating methods: induction heater, air oven, heated oil
bath, open flame torch
• Hub must be heated evenly and not overheated
• Oven is the preferred method, torch is the least desirable (and most
often used)
• Overheating hubs reduces mechanical strength required for coupling
performance
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