Marine Propeller Shaft Flange Design

[Destiny]

First of all this is for marine duty. Iam using a Gear which supplies the shaft flange good for shafts up to 4" in diameter but iam restricted to use a 4.5" shaft. In this case i have to design the flange .. iam struck here could anyone of you please guide me ..
how to find out the flange length and thickness required..?
the flange is made of high strength steel with material strength of 800 to 950 N/sq.mm. where as the shaft material is Aquamet22 and has a tensile strength of 87,000psi
Please Help?

 

[anorlunda]

ping @jrmichler . This is a legit question from 2005, can you help?

 

[jrmichler]

That's a heavy duty gear installation. We need a sketch of the setup, plus more information:

Is the shaft cold rolled, rough turned, or smooth turned where the flange will be installed?
What is the exact shaft diameter to the nearest 0.001"? Need to measure to +/- 0.0005" or better.
Is the flange clamp fit, or shrink fit to the shaft?
What are the loads - gear pitch diameter, RPM, and horsepower?
Is the gear spur or helical? If helical, what is the helix angle?
How is the gear fastened to the flange? If by a bolt circle, what is the bolt circle diameter and number of bolts? Does the gear manufacturer specify the bolt grade? If so, what is it?
Is the gear piloted on the shaft or the flange? Show in the sketch.
Are there shock loads when the clutch is engaged, or is it a smooth engagement?