Analytic solution of simplified Cardan’s shaft model

Abstract

Torsional oscillations and stability assessment of the homokinetic Cardan shaft with a small misalignment angle is described in this paper. The simplified mathematical model of this system leads to the linearized equation of the Mathieu’s type. This equation with and without a stationary damping parameter is considered. The solution of the original differential equation is identical with those one of the Fredholm’s integral equation with degenerated kernel assembled by means of a periodic Green’s function. The conditions of solvability of such problem enable the identification of the borders between stability and instability regions. These results are presented in the form of stability charts and they are verified using the Floquet theory. The correctness of oscillation results for the system with periodic stiffness is then validated by means of the Runge-Kutta integration method.