Effects of Temperature on the Time-Varying Mesh Stiffness, Vibration Response, and Support Force of a Multi-Stage Planetary Gear

Abstract The thermal deformation of gears will affect the vibration of the planetary system; this research mainly studied the effect of thermal conditions on planetary systems nonlinear vibration under the thermal equilibrium state. To study the influence of gear temperature on the planetary gear system, a nonlinear dynamic model considering thermal deformation was established. The mathematical expression of the thermal time-varying mesh stiffness (TTVMS) varied with temperature, and the backlash caused by the temperature change was also computed. The influence of temperature on the TTVMS was investigated. The calculation results indicated that the methods used to determine the TTVMS and backlash of gear pairs were effective, and the trends of the change in the nonlinear dynamic characteristics with temperature were obtained. According to the fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectrums and root-mean-square (RMS) analysis, the influence of temperature change on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the system was analyzed. When the temperature was lower than 80 °C, the vibration displacement and the supporting shaft load remained unchanged or decreased. Once the temperature was higher than 80 °C, the vibration displacement and load of the system were strengthened.