Transient meshing performance of gears with different modification coefficients and helical angles using explicit dynamic FEA

The gearbox, as the main part of power transmission of many mechanical systems, plays a critical role for the performance of the system. The transient meshing performance of the gears is dependent on their structural parameters like modification coefficient and helical angle among others. In this paper, the effects of modification coefficients and helical angles on the transient meshing performance of the gears are investigated using the method of explicit dynamic finite element analysis (FEA) in an energy point of view. The relationships between the transient meshing performance and modification coefficient or helical angle of gears are obtained by explicit dynamic simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that explicit dynamic FEA can be used for choosing these structural parameters in the design and manufacture of gears to enhance their transient meshing performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.