Dynamic analysis of a hyperbolic composite coupling

A novel composite coupling is proposed: flexible hyperbolic composite coupling. In addition to enjoying the advantages of composite materials, the proposed coupling may provide some of the needed damping and can be readily integrated with a composite drive shaft into a single unit. A mathematical model of the coupling is developed based on the Timoshenko beam theory using the energy approach and the extended Lagrange's equations. The corresponding discrete equations of vibration are derived by using the Galerkin finite element method. The finite element analysis is programmed in MATLAB and applied to solve for the natural frequencies of the proposed coupling. The dynamic characteristics of the coupling (axial, torsional and bending natural frequencies) are studied in order to assess the merits and potential of the proposed coupling.