Influence of support stiffness on vibrations of a planet gear system considering ring with flexible support

Abstract

Planet gear systems (PGSs) are key components of transmission mechanisms. Structural and material characteristics of gearbox and shaft can affect the support stiffness and vibrations of PGSs. The ring gear flexibility should affect the vibrations of PGSs too. However, most previous work did not completely consider the effects of the ring gear flexibility on the vibrations of PGSs and flexible supports of ring and sun gears. Thus, this paper presents a flexible-rigid coupling multi-body dynamic (FMBD) model for a PGS with the flexible supports and ring gear flexibility. A finite element model of ring gear is established to formulate the ring gear flexibility. The influences of clearance and damping of planet bearings on the vibrations of PGS are considered. The effects of flexible supports and ring gear flexibility on the vibrations of PGS under different moment and speed conditions are studied. The statistical parameters and peak frequencies of PGS from the proposed FMBD and previous rigid multi-body dynamic (RMBD) models are compared. The results denote that the flexible support has a great effect on the vibrations of PGS. This paper can provide some guidance for the support structure design and vibration control for PGSs.