A Methodology to Predict Surface Wear of Planetary Gears Under Dynamic Conditions^#

Abstract

In this study, a torsional dynamic model and a surface wear model are combined to study the interaction between the surface wear and the dynamic response of planetary gear sets. The proposed dynamic planetary gear wear model includes the influence of worn surface profiles on the dynamic tooth forces and the motion transmission error as well as the influence of dynamic tooth forces on wear profiles. The dynamic model includes the gear backlash and the periodic time variation of gear mesh stiffnesses. The model is used to investigate the interactions between the surface wear and the dynamic behavior within both linear and nonlinear response regimes. Several sets of simulation results are used to demonstrate the two-way relationship between nonlinear planetary gear dynamics and tooth surface wear.

Keywords:

• Gear dynamics
• Gear wear
• Planetary gear sets

Notes

^#Communicated by S. Velinsky.