A frequent problem among our customers is not knowing the exact amount of load on their powertrain and the resulting life-span of components and drive shafts under real-life conditions. Estimates which are the basis for drive shaft designs often lead to over-dimensioning or under-dimensioning of some system components, resulting in inefficiency and premature failure – this is a difficult situation for a running operation.
Analysing the duty cycle is a good method to determine the actual load during the running operation, using suitable sensors. This helps assess if powertrains can be correctly dimensioned or are already dimensioned properly, giving you a prediction about the expected life-span.
Our Off-Highway Powertrain Services experts employ measuring technology directly connected to the drive shaft which makes data on duty cycle directly available during operation. It is especially essential to know torsional vibrations and intermittent torque peaks during operation, so that your components are reliably and robustly designed.
These are sensors for measuring torque and speed, so that you get a realistic picture about the loads on your machines. Based on the collected data and the required load spectrum, the life-span of the single components can be determined and a risk assessment can be conducted.
Many conventional measurement methods are examining symptoms which have already occurred. Vibration measurement is a good example because it’s usually conducted after unusual vibration noise appears. Determining the duty cycle of your powertrain is an anticipatory methods and allows for analysis right at the beginning of your operation or during the design phase of machine when changes can still be implemented. But it also makes sense at a later state of the machine’s life cycle to optimize your components according to the real-life requirements in order to prevent unplanned shutdowns and unwanted defects.
Drive shaft maintenance