Effect of friction coefficients on the dynamic response of gear systems

Abstract

The inevitable deterioration of the lubrication conditions in a gearbox in service can change the tribological properties of the meshing teeth. In turn, such changes can significantly affect the dynamic responses and running status of gear systems. This paper investigates such an effect by utilizing virtual prototype technology to model and simulate the dynamics of a wind turbine gearbox system. The change in the lubrication conditions is modeled by the changes in the friction coefficients, thereby indicating that poor lubrication causes not only increased frictional losses but also significant changes in the dynamic responses. These results are further demonstrated by the mean and root mean square values calculated by the simulated responses under different friction coefficients. In addition, the spectrum exhibits significant changes in the first, second, and third harmonics of the meshing components. The findings and simulation method of this study provide theoretical bases for the development of accurate diagnostic techniques.

Keywords

dynamic response / friction coefficient / wind loads / wind turbine gearbox

References

[1] Facing up to the Gearbox Challenge: A survey of gearbox failure and collected industry Knowledge. Windpower Monthly, 2005, 21 (11)

[2] Antoni J, Randall R B. Differential diagnosis of gear and bearing faults. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 2002, 124(2): 165–171 

[3] Gao X. Finite element contact analysis of meshing gears in gearbox of wind turbine generator. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Dalian: Dalian University of Technology, 2008 (in Chinese)

[4] Shan G. Research on condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of MW wind turbine. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Shenyang: Shenyang University of Technology, 2011 (in Chinese)

[5] Velex P, Cahouet V. Experimental and numerical investigations on the influence of tooth friction in spur and helical gear dynamics. Journal of Mechanical Design, 2000, 122(4): 515–522

[6] Vaishya M, Houser R. Modeling and analysis of sliding friction in gear dynamics. In: Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Baltemore, 2000, 200, 601–610

[7] Houser D R, Vaishya M, Sorenson J D. Vibro-Acoustic Effects of Friction in Gears: An Experimental Investigation. SAE Technical Paper 2001-01-1516. 2001

[8] He S, Gunda R, Singh R. Effect of sliding friction on the dynamics of spur gear pair with realistic time-varying stiffness. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2007, 301(3–5): 927–949

[9] Blankenship G W, Singh R. A comparative study of selected gear mesh force interface dynamic models. In: Proceedings of the 6th ASME International Power Transmission and Gearing Conference. Phoenix, 1992

[10] Chen L. Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System and ADAMS Application. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2005 (in Chinese)

[11] Yin S. Study on mechanical properties locomotive traction gear based on tribology. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Dalian: Dalian Jiaotong University, 2013 (in Chinese)

[12] Xu H. Development of a generalized mechanical efficiency prediction methodology for gear pairs. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Ohio: The Ohio State University, 2005

[13] Velex P, Cahouet V. Experimental and numerical investigations on the influence of tooth friction in spur and helical gear dynamics. Journal of Mechanical Design, 2000, 122(4): 515–522

[14] Rebbechi B, Oswald F B, Townsend D P. Measurement of Gear Tooth Dynamic Friction. NASA Technical Report ARL-TR-1165. 1996

[15] Liu G. Nonlinear dynamics of multi-mesh gear systems. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Ohio: The Ohio State University, 2007

[16] Liang X. Dynamic characteristics research based on load spectrum of megawatt level wind turbine gearbox. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Chongqing: Chongqing University, 2013 (in Chinese)

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51575177), the China Scholarship Council, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and the Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2015JC3108).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2017 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg