Couplings
Hydraulic Couplings
Hydraulic couplings connect the vibration system (Hydraulic or Electrodynamic) to the table or test article, protecting the system from damage due to misalignment or angular motion.
Team Corporation designs, produces and tests our hydraulic couplings to ensure longevity. Our hydraulic couplings are a crucial component in our vibration testing systems.
When two or more actuators are coupled to a common vibration table, the actuators must operate in phase to prevent damage to the equipment. If the actuators go out of phase at any point during a test, some amount of lateral misalignment must be accounted for to avoid failure. Hydrostatic spherical couplings provide a friction-free joint to enable this movement.
Types of Hydraulic Couplings
Our standard inventory contains two types of hydraulic couplings.
Hydrostatic Spherical Couplings
Applications for Hydrostatic Spherical Couplings include structural fatigue testing, multi-axis vibration testing, and applications that require angular movement. The couplings transmit compressive and tensile forces and allow for angular misalignment. Team Corporation has single and double pivot couplings available in 0.5 or 6-degree configurations. The spherical surfaces are lubricated hydrostatically, which allows for zero-backlash and extremely high stiffness. The lubrication also extends the life of the couplings.
The spherical couplings come in two variations – single pivot, and double pivot. Along with these variations are a low angular deflection and high angular deflection, or +/- 0.5° and +/- 6.0° respectively. These components bolt mechanically to the end of the piston on the actuator and table, however, internally are supported hydrostatically to increase the stiffness dramatically than that of the typical greased swivels seen on many MAST tables and Hexapod designs. This allows for no metal-to-metal contact and drastically low service intervals; practically none except for the O-ring material that may degrade over time.
HydraBall Hydrostatic Bearing Ball Joints
The HydraBall is an oil-supported, hydrostatic bearing ball joint with non-contacting surfaces. It’s designed for use instead of conventional rods to save time and improve test results. The ball joints don’t require adjustment or greasing. The couplings are virtually maintenance-free and low-noise, making them a cost-effective replacement for conventional rod ends. Additionally, the small package and revolutionary design reduce pin shear, which is commonly associated with clevis pin assemblies. With the HydraBall, you only need 0.2 gpm of oil at 3,000 PSI.
Request a Quote for Hydraulic Couplings
Hydraulic couplings from Team Corporation help improve test results. Our engineering experts are standing by to help you choose the type of hydraulic couplings that are most appropriate for your testing requirements. Request a quote.
