Effect of Gear Tooth Crack on Spur Gear Dynamic Response by Simulation

Geared transmission systems are widely applied to transmit power, torque and high rotational speed, and as well as change the direction of rotational motion. Their performances and efficiencies depend greatly on the integrity of the gear structure. Hence, health monitoring and fault detection in geared systems have gained much attention. Often, as a result of inappropriate operating conditions, application of heavy load beyond the designed capacity or end of fatigue life, gear faults frequently occur in practice. When fault happens, gear meshing characteristics, including mesh stiffness that is one of the important dynamic parameters, can be affected. This sudden change in mesh stiffness can induce shock vibration as the faulty gear tooth passes through the engagement zone. In this study, a finite element model representing the crack at the tooth root of a spur gear is developed. The theory is applied to investigate the effect of different crack sizes and the corresponding change in mesh stiffness. In addition, a lumped parameter model is formulated to examine the effect of tooth fault on gear dynamic response.