Influences on the excitation behavior of lightweight planetary gearboxes

One of the main cost drivers in mechanical engineering is material. In order to reduce costs, but also to reduce CO2 emissions in mobile applications, increasing efforts are being made to reduce the mass of components. In gear development, power density as the ratio of transmittable power to gear weight has become one of the key quality criteria. However, saving material usually also leads to lower stiffness of the components. In combination with higher specific powers and the associated higher forces, higher deformations and displacements occur in the gear unit. The gear unit is more elastic overall.Within this paper a measuring cell is presented which allows to measure the influence of elastic deformations and additional misalignments on the excitation behavior. By means of this measuring cell, the influence of certain misalignments and different ring gear rim thicknesses are investigated. The results show modulated excitations and sidebands which are excited depending on the misalignment.

Input Torque Measurements for Wind Turbine Gearboxes Using Fiber Optical Strain Sensors

Accurate knowledge of the input torque in wind turbine gearboxes is key to improving their reliability. Traditionally, rotor torque is measured using strain gauges bonded to the shaft. Transferring the resulting signal from the rotating shaft to a stationary data acquisition system while powering the sensing devices is complex and costly. The magnitude of the torques involved in wind turbine gearboxes and the high stiffness of the input shaft pose additional difficulties. This paper presents a new alternative method to measure the input torque in wind turbine gearboxes based on deformation measurements of the static first stage ring gear. We have measured deformation using fiber optic strain sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings because of their advantages compared to conventional electrical strain gauges. The present study was conducted on a Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy gearbox with a rated power of 6MW, in which a total of 54 fiber optic strain sensors were installed on the outer surface of the first stage ring gear. The gear mesh forces between the planets and the ring gear cause measurable deformations on the outer surface of the stationary ring gear. The measured strains exhibit a dynamic behavior. The strain values change depending on the relative position of the strain sensors to the planet gears, the instantaneous variations of the input torque, and the way load is shared between planets. A satisfactory correlation has been found between the strain signals measured on the static ring gear and torque. Two signal processing strategies are presented in this paper. The first procedure is based on the peak-to-peak strain values computed for the gear mesh events, and therefore, torque can only be estimated when a gear mesh event is detected. The second signal processing procedure combines the strain signals from different sensors using a Coleman coordinate transformation and tracks the magnitude of the fifth harmonic component. With this second procedure, it is possible to estimate torque whenever strain data of all sensors is available, leading to an improved frequency resolution up to the sampling frequency used to acquire strain data. The method presented in this paper could make measuring gearbox torque more cost-effective, which would facilitate its adoption in serial wind turbines and enable novel data-driven control strategies, as well as a more accurate assessment of the consumed fatigue life of the gearboxes throughout their operation.

Research on the Mechanisms of Internal Gear Honing by use of Cone-shape Honing Wheel with Tool Tilt Angle

Ring gear is an important transmission component, but restricted by its ring-shape structure, the tooth surfaces are pretty hard to be finished after heat treatment. Honing is the most commonly used finishing technique for external gear, but for ring gear, it is inconvenient. In this paper, a new type of cone-shape honing wheel is proposed and the honing mechanism is studied for improving the honing performance of ring gear. First of all, the mathematical model of the honing technology by use of cone-shape honing wheel is built, and the merits of the new honing method are discussed. Then, the contact conditions between the honing wheel and the work gear are analyzed, and it is found that the tool tilt angle of the honing wheel has good influences on the honing mark distribution of the work gear. Finally, the honing simulations for ring gear by use of cone-shape honing wheel are carried out, by which the feasibility of the new honing technique are verified.

Application of Avinit vacuum plasma technologies Avinit to the manufacture of high-precision full-size gears

Avinit duplex technologies have been developed, combining Avinit N plasma nitriding of finished high-precision parts with subsequent application of Avinit superhard antifriction coatings in a single technological process Due to the absence of a brittle layer on the nitrided surface after precision nitriding, the preservation of the original geometric dimensions that do not require further mechanical refinement, and the compatibility of the processes of plasma precision nitriding of Avinit N and the vacuum plasma deposition of functional coatings Avinit C, duplex technologies allow the deposition of strong adhered, high-quality coatings. The effect of the duplex process on the dimensions of parts during plasma nitriding of high-precision gears and the application of Avinit C functional coatings was investigated, the properties of the nitrided layer and the parameters of Avinit coatings were studied. Plasma precision technology Avinit N allows nitriding of finished parts without changing dimensions, including gears of 4 degrees of accuracy. Avinit N nitriding time is 2 ... 4 times less than with gas nitriding. The coating of Avinit C310 parts increases the microhardness of the surfaces of the parts and reduces the coefficient of friction, while it has sufficient adhesion to the working surfaces of the gear teeth and bearing raceways. Manufacturing of high-precision gears with accuracy grade 4 using Avinit duplex technologies was carried out. Analysis of the results shows that, within the measurement accuracy, no changes in the profiles of the teeth, their location on the ring gear, as well as the location of the gear ring relative to the measuring bases are observed. Plasma nitriding makes it possible to reduce the nitriding time by more than two times compared to gas nitriding, while the thickness of the layer of the brittle phase with the maximum surface hardness is ensured within the specified values ​​to ensure the necessary indicators of contact and bending long-term strength in the manufacture of gears according to the degree of accuracy 4 without grinding after nitriding. Measurements of the ring gear after nitriding and coating showed that there were no changes in the geometry of the gear processed by duplex technology. Avinit C310 anti-friction coating 1.5 microns thick does not distort the geometry of the tooth profiles. All parameters of the ring gear manufactured using the Avinit duplex technology correspond to accuracy grade 4 in accordance with the requirements of technical documentation. The gears manufactured using the Avinit duplex technology were tested as part of the AI-450M engine reducer at the Ivchenko-Progress hydraulic brake stand according to the program of equivalent cyclic tests. A pair of experimental gears were installed in the engine reducer instead of the serial wheels of the second stage of the reducer. The total test time of the wheels was 26 hours. After testing, no damage to the gear, including the Avinit coating, was found. Antifriction coating Avinit C310 with a thickness of 1.5 microns does not distort the geometry of the tooth profiles during testing as part of the AI-450M engine reducer. Measurement of the parameters of the teeth showed a complete absence of wear.

Random vibration analysis of thin-walled elastic rings under multiple moving loads

This paper investigates the random vibration of a thin-walled ring subjected to multiple moving loads from the inside of the ring. A ring gear in a planetary gear train with three equally-spaced planets is taken as an example. The ring is discretized with the finite element method of curved beam elements. The supports of the ring gear are treated as three linear springs to mimic a general bolt connection. The stochastic Newmark algorithm is used to solve the equations and obtain the response's mean and variance. Monte Carlo simulations are also conducted to verify the results from the stochastic Newmark scheme. A parametric study is conducted to examine the effect of design parameters on the responses.