Prediction of Driveshaft Critical Speed Using the Transfer Matrix Method

A Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) based procedure has been developed to model and predict the resonant frequency of one piece driveshaft assemblies. The TMM approach was selected because it allowed the ability to change the geometry of a driveshaft between joint centers. This ability more accurately models some driveshaft types, specifically an inboard slip assembly. When an inboard slip assembly was modeled using the TMM, the TMM prediction was within 6.7% of the actual test results compared to 16.1% using the SAE AE7 prediction with a typical correction factor.