Dynamic analysis of spur gear pairs: Steady-state response and stability of the SDOF model with time-varying meshing damping

The steady-state response and stability of the single degree of freedom (sdof) model of a pair of low contact ratio spur gears are studied. In the proposed model, a time-varying stiffness of the meshing tooth pairs and a viscous damping proportional to the meshing stiffness are considered. Gear errors of each meshing tooth pair are also included. A continuous closed-form solution was obtained for any rotational speed where there is no tooth separation. Transition curves separating stable and unstable regions are computed by Hill infinite determinant; different meshing stiffness are considered and the influence of both damping and contact ratios are investigated. One of the advantages of the technique used is the speed and accuracy of the computation of the responses and transition curves. Results obtained by the numerical simulation of the steady-state responses of two different pairs of spur gears are satisfactorily compared to experimental results. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.