Effects of the gear eccentricities on the dynamic performance of a planetary gear set

Gear eccentricities are one of the practical types of the manufacturing errors that affect the dynamic performance of a planetary gear train (PGT). Previous research about the effects of the gear eccentricities is abundant, and many of them focus on the parallel shaft gear set. However, almost none of them have considered the influence of the gear eccentricities on the mesh stiffness. In fact, the existence of the gear eccentricities can change the center distance and the mesh positions of a meshing gear pair, which will directly affect the mesh stiffness. Situation can be even more complex for the PGT with either sun gear eccentricities or planet gear eccentricities or both of them. Based on that, a new dynamic model of a PGT with gear eccentricities is established. The planar motions of the PGT and the mesh stiffness are integrated and solved simultaneously where the mesh stiffness is determined by the actual mesh positions of the meshing gear pair. The mesh stiffness is calculated by the energy potential method. The time-varying center distance caused by the gear eccentricities is also considered, which can result in the change of line of action, pressure angle, contact ratio and mesh positions. The influence of gear eccentricities on the dynamic performance of a 4-planet PGT is studied. Some useful results are derived at last.