Dynamic characteristics of the rack and pinion lift mechanism of the combined command cabin

Abstract

This paper presents a novel approach to accurately simulate the dynamic characteristics of a rack and pinion lifting mechanism while accounting for the coupling effect of meshing tooth pair stiffness and grease characteristics in real-world environments. A structure-grease coupling meshing stiffness model is established based on the deformation coordination conditions of the tooth pair meshing. The model incorporates the effect of the grease stiffness term on the time-varying meshing stiffness of the rack and pinion. By analyzing the dynamic characteristics of the combined command cabin lifting mechanism using this model, we find that the total meshing stiffness of the gear teeth is lower when the transient thermoelastic flow effect of the grease is considered. Furthermore, the total stiffness value decreases as the normal meshing force at the meshing point decreases. This research reveals that the worst lubrication conditions are typically found on the gear wheel teeth near the base circle, where the grease film temperature rise is highest, the grease film pressure is highest, and the grease film thickness is thinnest.