New designs of variable stiffness couplings

Flexible couplings are widely used in mechanical drives of transport and other machines. A fundamental function of flexible shaft couplings regarding torsional vibration is the optimum tuning of torsional oscillating mechanical systems. At the authors’ workplace, the focus is on the research and design of pneumatic couplings, where the torque is transmitted mainly by compressed gas (air) in their pneumatic flexible elements. The primary advantage of these couplings is that their mechanical properties can be quickly and effectively adjusted, especially the dynamic torsional stiffness, by air pressure change directly while the mechanical system is running. This allows us “to tune” the properties of the pneumatic coupling according to the current parameters of the machine drive to avoid resonance and minimize torsional vibration. Therefore, we tend to refer to them as “pneumatic tuners of torsional vibration”. This paper aims to present two new types of these “pneumatic tuners” that were recently granted patent protections, namely “Pneumatic flexible shaft coupling with hose flexible element” and “Drum pneumatic flexible shaft coupling”. Because these pneumatic tuners are not in practical use yet, this paper describes only their design and supposed benefits.