Analysis of the nonlinear behavior of gear pairs considering hydrodynamic lubrication and sliding friction

This paper describes an analysis of the nonlinear behavior of gear pairs according to the direct contact elastic deformation model over a wide range of speeds, considering the hydrodynamic effects and friction force. The inclusion of the hydrodynamic effect facilitates nonlinearity by increasing the overlap range (i.e., multiple solution regimes) and damping, as well as decreasing elastic deformation and tooth reaction forces. The effects of various lubrication parameters, such as viscosity and film width, on the nonlinear dynamic behavior were analyzed. While the viscosity has a strong effect on the behavior of gear pair systems, friction has very little effect on torsional behavior. Although the model of direct contact without friction has overall nonlinear behavior similar to the model including hydrodynamic effects with friction, the time data of these models are different due to the squeeze effect.