Nonlinear dynamic analysis of coupled gear-rotor-bearing system with the effect of internal and external excitations

Extensive studies on nonlinear dynamics of gear systems with internal excitation or external excitation respectively have been carried out. However, the nonlinear characteristics of gear systems under combined internal and external excitations are scarcely investigated. An eight-degree-of-freedom(8-DOF) nonlinear spur gear-rotor-bearing model, which contains backlash, transmission error, eccentricity, gravity and input/output torque, is established, and the coupled lateral-torsional vibration characteristics are studied. Based on the equations of motion, the coupled spur gear-rotor-bearing system(SGRBS) is investigated using the Runge-Kutta numerical method, and the effects of rotational speed, error fluctuation and load fluctuation on the dynamic responses are explored. The results show that a diverse range of nonlinear dynamic characteristics such as periodic motion, quasi-periodic motion, chaotic behaviors and impacts exhibited in the system are strongly attributed to the interaction between internal and external excitations. Significantly, the changing rotational speed could effectively control the vibration of the system. Vibration level increases with the increasing error fluctuation. Whereas the load fluctuation has an influence on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics and the increasing excitation force amplitude makes the vibration amplitude increase, the chaotic motion may be restricted. The proposed model and numerical results can be used for diagnosis of faults and vibration control of practical SGRBS.