scope:

Shaft misalignment is a significant problem in the design of spline joint transmissions. Involute splines with flank line crowned teeth are a solution to compensate shaft parallel misalignments avoiding interferences between shaft and hub teeth. A precise determination of the influence of misalignment on spline load capacity can be performed by FEM or other powerful numerical simulation.

In this study a geometrical model of crowned spline joint for misalignment compensation is proposed. Flank line crowning is determined as a function of shaft misalignment and the minimum theoretical circumferential backlash.

The proposed approach is adopted for the design of a spline joint, part of a high-performance automotive driveline. Finite element simulation has been performed to determine the spline loaded tooth contact pattern and optimize the theoretical crowning value. Experimental results are in good agreement with simulations.