Dynamic characteristics of the planetary gear system with rolling bearing

Planetary gear system with rolling bearing is widely used in industrial and military applications. In this paper, a dynamic model of the planetary gear system with rolling bearing is proposed. For modeling the planetary gears, continuous gear profiles are discretized into a series of points; these points are judged circularly whether they satisfy the contact conditions. The rolling bearing is modeled via a contact force system. The Hertzian contact theory is used to determine the contact elastic deflection between the rolling elements and raceways. The gear mesh forces and the rolling element contact load are then determined in sequence. Compared with the existing model, the model considers the dynamic interaction of planetary gears and rolling bearing and can calculate the dynamic contact load of each rolling element. Using this model, the dynamic behavior of the system and the dynamic contact loads of rolling elements are analyzed. The simulations not only determine the number and dynamic contact load of contacting rolling elements as well as the load zone and load distribution of the rolling bearings, but also reveal the dynamic influence mechanism between planetary gears and rolling bearing. This study lays a foundation for the response prediction, parameter optimization, and fault simulation of the planetary gear system with rolling bearing.