A method of monitoring a load on a gearbox

摘要

A method of determining the torque within an intermediate shaft 4 of a gearbox 1 comprising measuring by non-contacting means 7, 8 the angular windup of the intermediate shaft 4, and determining the mechanical torsional stiffness of the intermediate shaft 4 and then calculating the torque by multiplying the angular windup by the torsional stiffness of intermediate shaft 4. The angular windup may be determined by comparison of the instantaneous angular deviation between two spaced apart regions of the torque flow path of the intermediate shaft 4 when under load with the instantaneous angular deviation between the same two regions when the intermediate shaft 4 is rotating in a zero torque transmitting state.