Torsional receptances and variable inertia of a two-inertia model of a universal joint

Abstract

This paper presents the derivation of the torsional receptances for a universal joint. The joint is modeled as two inertias connected by a massless cross-piece. The equations of motion and resulting receptances reveal that the universal joint may be represented as a variable inertia. The inertia is a function of misalignment angle and angular position. It is shown that the inertia variation may be approximated by a second order cosine for typical misalignment angles. Systems with variable inertia are known to exhibit non-linear vibration behaviour. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013.