In the never ending discussions about auto conversions, redrives and remote mounted propellers, etc., there always seems to be several favored schemes to isolate, dampen or otherwise absorb the resonance in the system. One of those schemes is the use of a quill shaft to add some pliability. Rolls Royce eventually used a quill shaft to allow the Merlin and it's PSRU to play together, and there have been countless others. What you often DONT see is the theory that goes into the design of such a shaft. For instance, if I'm trying to couple a V-8 to a 70 pound aluminum propeller, where does the math start for the design? Seems like you should be able to feed in some parameters like cylinder firing, RPM, length, radius of gyration, etc., and some on line calculator will come up with a shaft of a certain dimension.
…Or is the solution only after countless hours of in situ testing with each unique combination?
My question is: Where the heck do you start?
…Or is the solution only after countless hours of in situ testing with each unique combination?
My question is: Where the heck do you start?