Shaft coupling’s high friction coefficient doubles torque transmission capability

Anew generation of shaft couplings from SKF offers significant benefits for marine propulsion systems, including those in offshore vessels. The first delivery has been made to Rolls-Royce for a newbuilding in a Norwegian shipyard.

SKF, whose unique couplings are widely used in the marine industry, has arranged a series of events to introduce the OKX coupling to the shipbuilding sector. In August it presented the new product to major Korean shipyards, reports marketing and sales manager Jörgen Dahlgren.

The coupling, which has DNV type approval, has a special carbide coating on one of the sleeves which gives it a friction coefficient of 0.3, compared with 0.14 for a typical conventional coupling - in other words, it has double the torque transmission capacity of a conventional coupling.

This means that a smaller, lighter OKX coupling can be used instead of a conventional coupling, making it easier and faster to mount and dismount. Alternatively, a customer may wish to take the benefit in terms of higher torque transmission, replacing a conventional coupling with an OKX coupling of the same size.

SKF sees further possibilities for the new coupling, such as in high torque applications or for use in confined spaces where existing couplings are too large to be used. A combination of the two is also possible, as all couplings are tailor-made for each customer’s requirements, Dahlgren says.