Aug 3 1979
From The Space Library
NASA reported that LeRC engineers had worked for six years on perfecting a new power transmission system: the Nasvytis multiroller traction drive, capable of transmitting high-power loads at high-speed ratios without using toothed gears. Between 1879 and 1971 about 34 patents had been issued on various fixed-ratio traction-drive concepts; 8 of these were issued to Dr. Algirdis L. Nasvytis. NASA engineers working with Nasvytis had made key design changes in traction-drive roller geometries to produce a test rig that could operate in a 15-to-1 speed ratio. LeRC had developed for an automotive gas-turbine engine a similar drive that could transmit 7 horsepower per pound compared to conventional gears with about 4 horsepower per pound.
Stuart H. Loewenthal, lead LeRC engineer on the project, said the "quiet, almost vibrationless means of transmitting power [could aid in] minimizing the noise pollution that now surrounds us." The device would be cheaper to make because it needed no gear-tooth design or cutting; it was lighter and smaller than conventional gearboxes; it had performed at 95 % efficiency for 15-to-1 ratios at speeds to 73,000 rpm, and was more reliable, being less susceptible to wear and breakdown. (Lewis RC Release 79-104)
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