Internal Gear Strains and Load Sharing in Planetary Transmissions: Model and Experiments

This paper presents results of a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study to determine the influence of certain key factors in planetary transmissions on gear stresses and planetary load sharing. A series of tests are conducted on a family of planetary gear sets, and strains are recorded at various locations on the outer diameter and gear tooth fillet of the ring gear. Pinion position errors are introduced as a representative key manufacturing tolerance, and the resultant changes in the planetary behavior are observed. The experimental data are compared to the predictions of a state-of-the-art multibody contact analysis model—Gear System Analysis Modules (GSAM). This model is capable of including the influences of a number of system-level variables and quantifying their impact on gear strains. The model predictions are shown to compare well with the measured strain at the ring gear outer diameter and tooth fillet. GSAM predictions of planet load sharing are then used to quantify the influence of tangential pinhole position errors on three-, four-, five-, and six-planet test gear sets. These predictions also agree well with the planet load sharing experiments presented in a companion paper.