Dynamic Responses of the Planetary Gear Mechanism Considering Dynamic Wear Effects

Gear wear is unavoidable and results in vibrations and decreased performance in a planetary gear system. In this work, the wear phenomenon of the gear teeth surface and the dynamic responses of the planetary gear mechanism are investigated through a computational methodology. Dynamic responses are presented by considering the dynamic wear effects. First, the model of the planetary gear mechanism dynamics is established by considering the nonlinear stiffness and friction of gear surfaces. The dynamic wear model of the gear is then established based on Archard’s wear model. Further, the coupling between the dynamics and wear characteristics of the planetary gear mechanism is presented by considering the dynamic wear effects. Finally, a numerical investigation is conducted. The simulation results reveal severe wear between the sun and planet gears. The wear depth and meshing vibration responses exhibit prominent nonlinear characteristics. The low-order resonance of the meshing frequency becomes more marked as the mesh times and wear increase.