Torsional Rigidity of a Cycloid Drive Considering Finite Bearing and Hertz Contact Stiffness

This paper presents contact force and torsional rigidity analysis of a cycloid drive considering finite bearing and Hertz contact stiffness. Contacts between the disk and pin-rollers are simplified as linear spring elements, and the bearing is modeled as a rigid ring that has frictional contact to the disk and an elastic support. FE (finite element) analysis for contact force and Hertz theory calculation for contact stiffness are performed iteratively until the contact stiffness converges less than 1%. Contact force and pressure distributions under different contact and bearing stiffness are analyzed. In addition, effects of cycloid disk rotation are discussed. Finally, torsional rigidity of the cycloid drive is analyzed and compared with experimental result.