Time Varying Approaches to Dynamic Analysis of a Planetary Gear System Using a Discrete and a Continuous Models

Abstract

Two time varying approaches are executed in analyzing dynamics for an involute planetary gear system, which respectively use a conventional discrete model of the equivalent mass-damping-spring elements and a continuous geometry model by the finite element method. In the discrete approach, the tooth number, position, and phasing difference of the meshing tooth pairs are described by time varying and nonlinear meshing stiffnesses. Natural frequencies, deformations, meshing forces, fillet stresses, and dynamic factors can be calculated by using the Jacobi transformation and the Runge-Kutta integration. In the continuum approach, dynamics of the planetary gear system is analyzed using the software, LS-DYNA. The approach of the continuous geometry model can incorporate the time varying properties intrinsically. In this continuum study, not CAD models, high quality mesh elements of the planetary gear system are automatically generated directly using the derived tooth profile equations. After assigning initial and boundary conditions, dynamic responses for the planetary gear system are solved. Natural frequencies and fillet stresses of the both approaches are verified by each other comparison. Potentially, the continuum approach can extensively and sophistically analyze dynamics problems of the planetary gear systems.