Couplings and Drives

Dynamic transfer of torques and motions

Couplings and drives blocks represent power transmission elements and systems such as springs, dampers, pulleys, and drives. To model the dynamic transfer of torques and motions, connect these blocks together just as you would assemble a physical driveline system.

Simscape Blocks

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Coupling and Drive Assemblies

Bearing	Bearing that provides trans-axial support to freely rotating shaft (Since R2023a)
Belt Drive	Power transmission system with taut belt connecting two pulleys
Belt Pulley	Power transmission element with frictional belt wrapped around pulley circumference
Cable	Cable connection that enables tension transfer (Since R2021a)
Chain Drive	Power transmission system with chain and two sprockets
Flexible Shaft	Shaft with torsional and bending compliance
Rod	Axially flexible bar or cable
Rope Drum	Power transmission system with tightly wound rope around cylindrical drum
Shock Absorber	Spring and damper system that absorbs translational shocks
Torque Converter	Torque converter coupling between two drive shafts
Torsional Spring-Damper	Rotational spring and damper coupling with Coulomb friction, locking, and hard stops
Universal Joint	Rotational coupling between two driveline shafts
Variable Ratio Transmission	Dynamic gearbox with variable and controllable gear ratio, transmission compliance, and friction losses

Springs and Dampers

Air Spring	Sealed translational air spring (Since R2021a)
Nonlinear Rotational Damper	Nonlinear damper in a rotational system
Nonlinear Rotational Spring	Torsional spring based on polynomial or table lookup parameterizations
Nonlinear Translational Damper	Nonlinear damper in a translational system
Nonlinear Translational Spring	Translational spring based on polynomial or table lookup parameterizations
Rotational Damper	Linear rotational damper
Translational Damper	Linear translational damper
Variable Rotational Damper	Rotational damper with variable damping coefficient
Variable Rotational Spring	Rotational spring with variable spring stiffness
Variable Translational Damper	Translational viscous damper with variable damping coefficient
Variable Translational Spring	Translational spring with variable spring stiffness

Topics

Model Driveshafts with Loss
Model damping due to viscous friction.
Model Drivetrain Noise
Model random noise in a drivetrain.
Model and Detect Drivetrain Faults
Model faults that disturb drivetrains.
Best Practices for Modeling Pulley Networks
Learn about belt direction and using ropes and inertias in pulley networks.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshoot Driveline Modeling and Simulation Issues

Identify and eliminate issues that prevent your model from simulating to completion.

Troubleshoot Pulley Network Issues

Learn how to solve initialization and motion issues in pulley networks.

Featured Examples

Compound Pulley

A block and tackle system that is represented by the Belt Pulley and Cable blocks from the Simscape™ Driveline™ library. This compound pulley is rigged as a threefold purchase with two triple blocks. The system has a mechanical advantage of 6.

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Flexible Shaft

Two flexible aluminum shafts modeled using a lumped parameter approach. Both shafts consist of 20 segments containing inertias, damping, and stiff torsional springs. At the start of the simulation, the clutch is unlocked and the driven shaft is free. Note that the initial velocity of the motor shaft is set to 200 rad/s and that the system starts at steady state. The clutch engages and disengages during the test, and during each event the effect of the shaft flexibility can be seen in the simulation results.

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Shaft with Torsional and Transverse Flexibility

Two flexible shafts that have torsional and transverse flexibility. One shaft computes transverse motion using computed eigenmodes, and the other shaft uses a lumped parameter approach. The boundary conditions on the shafts can be changed on the block masks.

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Torque Converter in Two-Mode Modeling

Basic operations of a torque converter including lock-up clutch mechanism. You can select three different simulation cases - Basic Lock-up, Drive Mode Test, and Coast Mode Test.

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Washing Machine Fault Analysis

Model a washing machine and introduce a fault in its operation. The machine water supply faults at a specific time and this example models the system response under this scenario. The electric motor switches off and the machine operation is aborted by discharging the partially filled outer drum.

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