Coupled lateral-torsional-axial vibrations of a helical gear-rotor-bearing system

Considering the axial and radial loads, a math- ematical model of angular contact ball bearing is deduced with Hertz contact theory. With the coupling effects of lateral, torsional and axial vibrations taken into account, a lumped-parameter nonlinear dynamic model of helical gearrotor-bearing system （HGRBS） is established to obtain the transmission system dynamic response to the changes of dif- ferent parameters. The vibration differential equations of the drive system are derived through the Lagrange equation, which considers the kinetic and potential energies, the dis- sipative function and the internal/external excitation. Based on the Runge-Kutta numerical method, the dynamics of the HGRBS is investigated, which describes vibration properties of HGRBS more comprehensively. The results show that the vibration amplitudes have obvious fluctuation, and the frequency multiplication and random frequency components become increasingly obvious with changing rotational speed and eccentricity at gear and bearing positions. Axial vibration of the HGRBS also has some fluctuations. The bearing has self-variable stiffness frequency, which should be avoided in engineering design. In addition, the bearing clearance needs little attention due to its slightly discernible effect on vibration response. It is suggested that a careful examination should be made in modelling the nonlinear dynamic behavior of a helical gear-rotor-bearing system.

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Coupled Gear-Rotor-Bearing System with the Effect of Internal and External Excitations

Extensive studies on nonlinear dynamics of gear systems with internal excitation or external excitation respectively have been carried out. However, the nonlinear characteristics of gear systems under combined internal and external excitations are scarcely investigated. An eight-degree-of-freedom（8-DOF） nonlinear spur gear-rotor-bearing model, which contains backlash, transmission error, eccentricity, gravity and input/output torque, is established, and the coupled lateral-torsional vibration characteristics are studied. Based on the equations of motion, the coupled spur gear-rotor-bearing system（SGRBS） is investigated using the Runge-Kutta numerical method, and the effects of rotational speed, error fluctuation and load fluctuation on the dynamic responses are explored. The results show that a diverse range of nonlinear dynamic characteristics such as periodic motion, quasi-periodic motion, chaotic behaviors and impacts exhibited in the system are strongly attributed to the interaction between internal and external excitations. Significantly, the changing rotational speed could effectively control the vibration of the system. Vibration level increases with the increasing error fluctuation. Whereas the load fluctuation has an influence on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics and the increasing excitation force amplitude makes the vibration amplitude increase, the chaotic motion may be restricted. The proposed model and numerical results can be used for diagnosis of faults and vibration control of practical SGRBS.