Dynamic analysis of gear pairs considering the actual contact state of truncated asperities on the 3D rough surfaces and force-dependent mesh stiffness

Aiming at the problem of calculating the contact characteristics of gear pairs at the mesh position caused by the actual contact state (number, size, position, etc.) of truncated asperities under the action of dynamic mesh force, an original method to determine the nonlinear contact stiffness of rough surfaces that considers the actual contact state of asperities rather than using an empirically assumed function is proposed based on the revised hill-climbing algorithm. Then, an improved dynamic model of gear systems by integrating the mating tooth surface topography and the force-dependent mesh stiffness is established. Nonlinear dynamic features of a gear system under different machining precisions and surface topographies are revealed. Analysis results indicate that the effect of surface scale parameters on gear mesh stiffness is more sensitive than that of torque and speed. Finally, the proposed model is compared to the existing models and validated by the experimental results. The modeling strategy of this present work provides a more accurate and realistic simulation of nonlinear contact stiffness and supplies theoretical guidance for the practical design and manufacturing process of gear pairs.