Dynamic Modeling of a Planetary Gearbox with Sun Gear Crack and Bearing Clearance

摘要

Planetary gearboxes are widely used in industrial applications, such as wind turbines, automobiles, and mining equipment. Although well designed, planetary gearboxes may experience failures if no early detection is conducted due to harsh working environment, such as high torque and heavy dust. To improve system reliability and reduce maintenance cost, it is important to carry out early fault detection. This study investigates the dynamic responses of a planetary gearbox with a tooth root crack in the sun gear. Reported studies have not considered the effects of bearing clearance on dynamic responses of planetary gearboxes with sun gear tooth crack. In this study, we consider the carrier bearing clearance, planet gear bearing clearance, and sun gear bearing clearance in a planetary gearbox with fixed ring gear. Simulation results reveal that if the bearing clearance is much smaller than the displacement of its corresponding gear, the clearance will not affect the dynamic response. Otherwise, the clearance will increase the displacement of its corresponding gear and change the dynamic responses of other gears.