J. Cent. South Univ.

(2021) 28: 126−139

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-021-4591-3

Analysis of lubrication performance for internal meshing

gear pair considering vibration

JIAN Guang-xiao(菅光霄)1, 2, WANG You-qiang(王优强)1, 2, ZHANG Ping(张平)3,

LI Yun-kai(李云凯)1, 2, LUO Heng(罗恒)1, 2

1. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology,

Qingdao 266520, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Industrial Fluid Energy Conservation and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education,
Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China;
3. School of Mechanical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology,
Shanghai 200237, China
© Central South University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract: The thermal elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication characteristics of the internal meshing gears in a planetary gear
train under vibrations were examined considering the influence of the modification coefficient and time-varying
meshing stiffness. Based on dynamic theory of the gear system, a dynamic model of the planetary gear train was
established. The lubrication performances of modified gear systems under vibrations and static loads were analyzed.
Compared with other transmission types, the best lubrication effect could be produced by the positive transmission. A
thicker lubricating oil film could be formed, and the friction coefficient and oil film flash temperature are the smallest.
Increasing modification coefficient improves the lubrication performance continuously but intensifies the engage-in and
tooth-change impact. For the planetary and inner gears, the increase in the modification coefficient also leads a decrease
in the oil film stiffness.

Key words: internal meshing gears; dynamic model; modification coefficient; lubrication performance; oil film
stiffness

Cite this article as: JIAN Guang-xiao, WANG You-qiang, ZHANG Ping, LI Yun-kai, LUO Heng. Analysis of
lubrication performance for internal meshing gear pair considering vibration [J]. Journal of Central South University,
2021, 28(1): 126−139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-021-4591-3.

transient elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL)

1 Introduction have been mostly conducted using simplified static
load models [1−6]. Some scholars have also
Aviation transmission gears are characterized considered the effects of dynamic loads induced by
by high carrying capacities, harsh operating vibrations or impacts on the lubrication
conditions, and high reliability requirements. For performance. WANG et al [7, 8] considered the
nonlinear gear systems, especially high-speed and effect of the damping ratio and velocity, and
heavy-duty gear systems, the influence of dynamic obtained numerical solutions for dynamic loads that
loads induced by vibrations on the lubrication accounted for the distribution of oil film thickness
characteristics cannot be ignored. Studies of gear and friction coefficient. WANG et al [9] studied the
Foundation item: Projects(51575289, 51705270) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
Received date: 2020-03-14; Accepted date: 2020-07-22
Corresponding author: WANG You-qiang, PhD, Professor; Tel: +86-18660279607; E-mail: wyq1970301@126.com; ORCID: https://
orcid.org/0000-0001-9228-6621
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139 127

effect of the impact load on lubrication and Meanwhile, based on the numerical solution of the
discovered that the oscillations of the oil film EHL, a model for calculating oil film stiffness was
pressure and thickness often fall behind those of the established to characterize the dynamic properties
loads. De la CRUZ et al [10] established a tribo- of the oil film more clearly. The variation of the oil
dynamics model for spur gears and performed a film stiffness under different rotation speeds and
considerable amount of useful work on the subject modification coefficients was investigated.
of transient thermal mixed lubrication. The results
showed that the oscillations of the oil film pressure 2 Modeling
and thickness aggravated the vibrations of the gear
system and contributed to the production of noise. 2.1 Geometric model
XUE et al [11] analyzed the lubrication As shown in Figure 1, a planetary gear train
characteristics under dynamic load using numerical consisted of sun gear, planetary gear, inner gear,
simulations. LI et al [12, 13] and KANG [14] and planetary frame.
investigated the fatigue characteristics of gears The geometric model of the internal meshing
based on one tribo-dynamics model. BARBIERI gears in the planetary gear train is shown in
et al [15] established a coupled model for gear Figure 2. N2 and N3 represent the theoretical
lubrication and vibration, and the results showed engage-in point and recess point, respectively.
that lubrication performances such as oil film Actually, A is the true engage-in point and D is the
thickness and pressure are influenced by the true recess point. rbp and rbr denote the radii of the
dynamic characteristics. Although the above studies base circles (p represents the planetary gear and r
accounted for the effects of dynamic loads, they denotes the internal gear here and below) and their
ignored the influence of the velocity fluctuations on
the teeth surfaces caused by impact loads or
vibrations. In addition, some scholars [16−18]
studied oil film stiffness based on a static load
model but failed to relate them to the vibrations.
ZOU et al [19] carried out coupling research on
EHL and vibration. However, the description of the
dynamic properties exhibited by the oil film under
the dynamic load model was insufficient. YUAN
et al [20−22] studied the lubrication performance
based on one mixed lubrication model considering
the coupling effect of the lubrication and vibrations.
The results had great significance on subsequent Figure 1 Structure of planetary gear train
studies.
At present, most studies have focused on the
dynamic and lubricating characteristics of external
meshing gears, while internal meshing gears have
received less focus. Particularly for the internal
meshing gears in a planetary gear train, the research
of lubrication accounting for vibrations has been
rarely reported. Thus, the focus of this article is the
dynamic and lubricating characteristics of the
internal meshing gears in a planetary gear train. In
this work, a dynamic model of the planetary gear
train was first established, and then the vibrations of
the gear system were coupled with the lubrication,
and the dynamic behaviors and lubrication
performances considering different transmission Figure 2 Geometric model of planetary gear with inner
types and modification coefficients were examined. gear
128
rotation speeds are np and nr, respectively. P is the
pitch point, and K denotes any possible meshing
point during the transmission process.
2.2 Dynamic model of planetary gear train
For high-speed and heavy-duty gear systems,
the damping ratio and inertial forces have
significant effects on the transmission
characteristics, and thus, dynamic analysis is
necessary. The dynamic model of the planetary
train was established accounting for the excitation
of the time-varying meshing stiffness [23−25]. The
dynamic model is shown in Figure 3.
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
the meshing stiffness and damping between the
planetary gear and sun gear, respectively, and δsp is
the displacement of the planetary gear and the sun
gear at point K along the line of action.
For the planetary frame, there is
( J c  mp rc2 )c  [( cspsp  ksp sp ) cos  sp 
( crprp  krp rp ) cos  rp ]  rc  TL (3)
where Jc represents the moment of inertia of the
planetary frame, θc is the torsional angular
displacement due to the vibration, mp denotes the
mass of the planetary gear, and rc is the effective
radius of the planetary frame.
For the planetary gear and the internal gear,
the working pressure angle is αrp, and for the
planetary gear and the sun gear, the working
pressure angle is αsp. The damping coefficients are
expressed as follows:

krp rbr2 rbp

2
JrJp
crp  2 rp ;
rbr2 J r  rbp
2
Jp

ksp rbs2 rbp

2
JsJ p
csp  2 sp .
rbs2 J s  rbp
2
Jp

According to the analysis of WANG et al [7],

the values of εrp and εsp are generally 0.03−0.17.
Thus, in this work, εrp=εsp=0.1.
The Weber method [26] was used to determine
the time-varying meshing stiffness ksp and krp. The
displacements are calculated as follows:
Figure 3 Dynamic model of planetary gear train
sp  rbpp  rcc cos sp ,
For the inner gear, there is  rp  rbpp  rbrr  rcc cos rp (4)
J rr  (crprp  krp rp )  rbr  Tp (1) The lubrication of the oil film krp must be
corrected to obtain krp* ,
where Jr represents the moment of inertia of the
inner gear, θr is the torsional angular displacement 1 1 1
*
  (5)
induced by the vibration, krp and crp are the meshing krp k rp k h
stiffness and damping between the planetary gear where kh represents the oil film stiffness.
and the inner gear, respectively, δrp is the The dynamic load for the meshing teeth
displacement of the planetary gear and the inner between the planetary gear and the inner gear is
gear at point K along the line of action (LOA), and
Tp is the input torque.
*
Fd  krp rp  crprp (6)
For the planetary gear, there is The fluctuating velocity induced by the
J pp  (cspsp  ksp sp )  rbp  (crprp  krp rp )  rbp  0 (2) vibration of the inner gear is
ur  rbrr (7)
where Jp represents the moment of inertia of the
planetary gear, θp is the torsional angular The fluctuating velocity induced by the
displacement caused by the vibration, ksp and csp are vibration of the planetary gear is
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139 129

up  rbpp  rcc cos  rp (8) 2.3.2 Governing equations for lubrication

The generalized Reynolds equation is as
The dynamic component of the entrainment follows [14]:
velocity due to the vibration can be written as
     3 p   (  Uh ) ( eh)
u  (ur  up ) / 2 (9)   h   12  12 (15)
x   h  e x  x t

where p denotes oil film pressure (Pa), and h

2.3 Lubrication model
denotes oil film thickness (m). Equivalent
2.3.1 Basic contact parameters for planetary and
parameters such as ρ*, ρe and (ρ/η)e are concerned
inner gears
with the viscosity η and density ρ of the lubricant.
As depicted in Figure 2, according to the
w is the load (N/m), and the oil film pressure
properties of the involute curve, the instantaneous
must satisfy the following equation:
radii of curvature at any possible meshing point K
x
are as follows:  p ( x ) dx  w (16)
Rp ( K )  N 2 K  N 2 P  PK  rbp tan  rp  s(t ) , when considering the effect of vibration, w is the
Rr ( K )  N 3 K  N 3 P  PK  rbr tan  rp  s(t ) (10) dynamic load, i.e., w=Fd.
The equation of oil film thickness is as
where s denotes the distance from the meshing follows:
point K to the pitch point P.
x2 2 x
2 R(t ) πE 
The value of αrp can be obtained by the h( x, t )  h0 (t )   p( , t )ln( x   )2 d (17)
following equation:
z3  z2 where h0 is the central film thickness of the rigid
x  x3  x2  (inv rp  inv ) (11) body and E is the overall elastic modulus of those
2 tan 
two contact surfaces.
where z3 and z2 denote the tooth number of the inner A Ree–Eyring fluid was used for the analysis,
gear and the planetary gear, respectively, and the and its constitutive equation is as follows:
modification coefficients are denoted as x3 and x2,
u  0  
respectively.  sinh   (18)
z  0 
The comprehensive radius of curvature at any
possible meshing point K is where τ0 is the feature shear stress, and η is the
Rp ( K ) Rr ( K ) apparent viscosity.
R( K )  (12) The equivalent viscosity is defined as follows:
Rr ( K )  Rp ( K )
u
The linear velocities of the planetary and inner  =  (19)
z
gears are as follows:
Thus, the equivalent viscosity function can be
U p (t )  p Rp (t ) written as
 (13)
U r (t )  r Rr (t )
   
2πnp
     sinh   (20)
2πnr 0  0 
where p = and r = .
60 60
The entrainment velocity is as follows: Other governing equations applied for
lubrication, such as the equation of oil film
U (t )  U 0 (t )  u (14)
thickness, viscosity–pressure equation, density−
where U0 is the steady value of entrainment velocity pressure equation, and the energy equation, can be
without consideration of the vibrations: given by Ref. [9].
U 0 ( t )  [U p (t )  U r (t )] / 2
2.4 Model of oil film stiffness
where u denotes the fluctuation of entrainment 2.4.1 Global method
velocity induced by vibration and its value can be Figure 4 shows the model for calculating oil
given by Eq. (9). film stiffness based on the “global method”. At each
130
Figure 4 Model of oil film stiffness
node in the Hertz contact zone, the oil film can be
assumed to be some parallel small springs, and the
oil film stiffness can be obtained by adding the
stiffness of these small springs together [27].
The specific formula to calculate the oil film
stiffness using the global method is as follows:
 n2
f i
kglo  
 i  n1 hi
k  k
 h glo
where n1 denotes the node in the inlet zone, n2
denotes the node in the outlet zone, Δfi represents
the difference in the load at node i, which can be
expressed as follows:
fi  B0 pi x
where B0 is the tooth width of the gear, Δx denote
the distance between two adjacent nodes on the grid,
and pi represents the oil film pressure at node i.
For the oil film thickness, the corresponding
change is as follows:
hi  hi ( f i )  hi ( f i  fi )
This method can capture the oil film pressure
and thickness of each node in the Hertz contact
zone and has certain practicability.
2.4.2 Average method
The formula for calculating the oil film
stiffness using the averaging method is as follows:
 f
kave 
 h
kh  kave
n2 n2
h   hi ( f )/(n2  n1 )   hi ( f  f )/(n2  n1 )
i  n1 i  n1
where h and Δf denote the difference in the
average oil film thickness and load, respectively.
We adopted the average method to correct krp in
Eq. (5).
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
3 Numerical method
The governing equations for lubrication
described above can be solved by the Gauss-Seidel
iteration method and the corresponding boundary
conditions can be found elsewhere [6]. The
Reynolds equation was calculated using a uniform
grid based on the finite difference method. The
solution of oil film pressure can be obtained by the
multigrid technique. The column scanning
technique was applied to determine oil film and
surface temperature. The multigrid method utilized
the W-cycle, and the steps involved in to obtain a
converged solution are shown clearly in Ref. [28].
The solution of elastic deformation was obtained by
the multilevel multi-integration method [28]. Six
levels of grids were applied to calculate the oil film
(21) thickness and pressure. In the X direction, there
were 961 nodes on the finest level and the real
domain for the infinite line contact was between
Xin=−4.6 and Xout=1.4, where the subscripts in and
out indicate the inlet and outlet, respectively. Along
the line of action, the calculation process for
transient Reynolds equation was divided in 180
time steps. Based on the multigrid method, the
pressure is needed to be relaxed on each grid level.
Based on the dynamic model, the calculation
flow chart for the analysis of the lubrication
performance under different modification
coefficients is shown in Figure 5.
As depicted in Figure 5, the relative error for
the vibration displacement and velocity are denoted
as ERR(δ) and ERR(u), respectively, and ERR(kh)
represents the relative error for the oil film stiffness.
The convergence criteria were defined as follows:
 t 1   t
ERR( )   105 ,
t
u t 1  u t
ERR(u )   105 ,
(22) t
u
ERR(kh ) 
 khi   khi 1  0.001 .
(23)  khi
4 Results and discussion
The basic parameters for the gear transmission
and lubrication are shown in Table 1.
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
Figure 5 Calculation flow chart for analysis of
lubrication performance with different modification
coefficients
Table 1 Basic parameters for calculation
Parameter
Viscosity under ambient pressure, η0/(Paꞏs)
Pressure-viscosity coefficient, α/10−8 Pa
Density under ambient pressure, ρ0/(kgꞏm−3)
Tooth number, z1, z2, z3
Module, m/mm
Tooth width, B0/mm
Pressure angle, α/(°)
Addendum coefficient, ha * 1.0
Elastic module of gear, E/GPa
Rotating speed of inner gear, nr/(rꞏmin−1)
Input power, P/kW
Oil specific heat capacity, c/(Jꞏkg−1ꞏK−1)
Gear densities, ρ1, ρ2, ρ3/(kgꞏm−3)
Gear heat conductivity coefficients,
k1, k2, k3/(Wꞏm−1ꞏK−1)
Gear specific heat capacities, c1, c2, c3/(Jꞏkg−1ꞏK−1)
Oil viscosity-temperature coefficient, β/K−1
Oil heat conductivity coefficient, k0/(Wꞏm−1ꞏK−1)
131
4.1 Influence of different transmission types on
lubrication
The lubrication performances of different
transmission types were analyzed based on the
simplified static load model. The different
transmission types were as follows:
Positive drive: x  x3  x2  0 ,
Negative drive: x  x3  x2  0 ,
Equivariant drive: x  x3  x2  0, x3  0,
x2  0 ,
Standard drive: x  x3  x2 =0, x3  x2 =0 .
Figure 6 shows the distribution of the load
along the line of action. S denotes the distance from
the meshing point to the pitch point, and S=0
denotes the position of the pitch point. In Zones I
and III, there were two pairs of meshing teeth.
However, in Zone II, there was only one pair of
meshing teeth.
Value
0.08
2.19
Figure 6 Load spectrum of gear system
870
Figure 7 shows the variations of the
68, 34, 136
comprehensive radius of curvature, entrainment
2 velocity, and slide-roll ratio. The modification
40 coefficient had significant influence on the tooth
20 profile. Among the different transmission types,
both the comprehensive radius of curvature and the
210 entrainment velocity were the largest when the
1200 positive drive was used. For the negative drive, the
50
comprehensive radius of curvature was the smallest,
leading to the smallest entrainment velocity. The
2000
inner gear was active. As shown in Figure 2, A was
7850
the engage-in point. Based on the properties of the
46 involute curve, the comprehensive radius of
470 curvature decreased consistently in the transmission
process. Affected by the comprehensive radius of
0.042
curvature, the entrainment velocity continued to
0.14
decrease.
132 J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139

Figure 7 Transmission characteristics of gear

system: (a) Equivalent radius of curvature;
(b) Entrainment velocity and slide-roll ratio

Regardless of the type of transmission, over

the whole process, the slide-roll ratio increased
constantly. The difference in the slide-roll ratio was
too small initially, but after the pitch point, it was
enlarged. The slide-roll ratio of the negative drive
exceeded that of the other three transmission types
gradually.
Figure 8 shows the performance of the gear
system. Figures 8(a)−(c) show the variation of the
central oil film thickness and pressure (hc and pc), Figure 8 Lubrication performance of the gear system:
minimum oil film thickness, and friction coefficient (a) Central oil film thickness and pressure; (b) Minimum
(hmin and f) as well as the flash temperature of the oil film thickness and friction coefficient; (c) Flash
oil film in dimensionless form (Tmax/T0). temperature in dimensionless form
As depicted in Figure 8, affected by the
entrainment velocity, the central and minimum oil dimensionless form (Tmax/T0) and the central oil
film thickness decreased consistently, leading to an film pressure (pc) exhibiting similar trends were
increasing friction coefficient. Compared with the both influenced by the load (w) significantly. In
other three transmission types, the oil film thickness Zone I, because of the increasing load and slide-roll
of the positive drive was the largest, and its friction ratio, the value of the flash temperature continued
coefficient was the smallest. to increase. In Zone II, the load was the largest.
The flash temperature of the oil film in Thus, the value of the flash temperature increased
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
dramatically when the meshing point K varied from
Zone I to Zone II. With the decrease in the oil film
thickness, at the last point (C−) of Zone II, the
value of the flash temperature reached its peak. In
Zone III, although the slide-roll ratio continued to
increase, the linear velocities of the planetary and
inner gears were low, leading to a low shearing rate
between the lubricant molecules. Meanwhile, the
load continued to decrease. Thus, in Zone III, the
value of the flash temperature decreased slightly.
When gear pairs are subjected to heavy loads,
the lubricant film can rupture and consequently
cannot separate the tooth surfaces adequately,
leading to scuffing. The minimum oil film thickness
and the flash temperature of the oil film are two
important indictors for evaluating the scuffing load
capacity. As shown in Figures 8(b) and (c), at the
last point of Zone II and the recess point (C− and D,
respectively), the value of the flash temperature was
high, while the minimum oil film thickness was
small, which could easily lead to scuffing failure.
Thus, C− and D were two dangerous points for
lubrication.
Figure 9 depicts the distribution of the oil film
stiffness along the line of action (LOA). When the
load was unchanged, in the analysis of the
lubricating performance within different
transmission types, the oil film thickness of the
positive drive was the largest. A thicker oil film
corresponded to an increase in the distance between
the lubricant molecules as well as a decrease in the
intermolecular repulsion. The smaller
intermolecular repulsion between the lubricant
molecules was, the more easily the oil film was
133
Figure 9 Oil film stiffness under different transmission
types
compressed, which meant that the oil film stiffness
was smaller. Consequently, the oil film stiffness of
the positive drive was the smallest. On the contrary,
the oil film stiffness of the negative drive was the
largest. Regardless of the type of transmission, at
the last point (C−) of Zone II, the oil film stiffness
reached its peak.
4.2 Influence of different modification
coefficients on lubrication
Based on the above analyses of the different
transmission types, the positive drive exhibited the
best lubricating performance. Because the above
analyses were based on a simplified static load
model, in this section, analyses of the lubrication
characteristics under different modification
coefficients were carried out for the positive drive
based on the dynamic model. The basic parameters
for the calculation are shown in Table 2. Among

Table 2 Basic parameters for calculation

Parameter
Case Condition
x1/mm x2/mm x3/mm αsp αrp a'/mm
External meshing:
x=x1+x2=0.0500
1 −0.6998 0.7498 0.8000 20.154 20.154 102.1
Internal meshing:
x=x3–x2=0.0502
External meshing:
x=x1+x2=0.1520
2 −0.4964 0.6484 0.8000 20.457 20.457 102.3
Internal meshing:
x=x3–x2=0.1516
External meshing:
x=x1+x2=0.2550
3 –0.2905 0.5455 0.8000 20.754 20.754 102.5
Internal meshing:
x=x3–x2=0.2545
134
these basic parameters, the modification coefficient
of the external meshing ( x   ) and internal meshing
( x  ) are noteworthy.
4.2.1 Analysis of dynamic characteristics
Figure 10(a) shows the time-varying meshing
stiffness between the planetary gear and the internal
gear. The time-varying meshing stiffness between
the sun gear and the planetary gear is shown in
Figure 10(b).
Figure 10 Time-varying meshing stiffness of external
and internal meshing: (a) Meshing stiffness between
planetary gear and the inner gear; (b) Meshing stiffness
between sun gear and inner gear
For the external meshing, with the increase in
the modification coefficient ( x  ) , the meshing
stiffness between the sun gear and the planetary
gear (ksp) increased. In contrast, for the internal
meshing, the meshing stiffness between the inner
gear and the planetary gear (krp) decreased with the
increase in the modification coefficient ( x ) . For
both the external meshing and internal meshing, at
the alternation points (B and C) of the different
zones, the meshing stiffness changed dramatically,
leading to tooth-change impact.
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
Figure 11 shows the dynamic characteristics of
the gear system. As shown in Figure 10, when the
modification coefficients ( x  and x  ) were
unchanged, the values of δrp and u were much larger
in Zone II compared with the other two zones
(Zones I and III). The reason was that there was
only one pair of teeth meshing in Zone II, and the
values of meshing stiffness (krp and ksp) were
smaller. The distribution of δrp and u also illustrated
that the stability of the transmission in Zone II was
poor. The value of krp exceeded that of ksp, so that
the variations of the dynamic characteristics were
mainly influenced by krp. With the increase in the
modification coefficients, the meshing stiffness
between the planetary gear and the inner gear (krp)
decreased, which led to increases in δrp and u. The
variation of the dynamic load was influenced by δrp,
and u affected the fluctuation of the entrainment
velocity.
The load spectrum of the gear system is shown
in Figure 12, which reflects the variation of the
dynamic load. With the increase in the modification
coefficients ( x  and x  ), the steady value of
dynamic load decreased slightly. However, near the
engage-in point (A) and the alternation points (B
and C), the vibration amplitude of the dynamic load
increased. In addition, the vibration frequency was
weakened, which means that the engage-in and
tooth-change impacts were intensified. This was
mainly caused by a decreasing meshing stiffness
(krp) between the planetary gear and the inner gear.
4.2.2 Analysis of lubrication performance
Figure 13 shows the lubrication characteristics
determined using the dynamic model. With the
increase in the modification coefficients ( x  and
x  ), the minimum oil film thickness increased
while the friction coefficient (f) and the flash
temperature of the oil film (Tmax/T0) in
dimensionless form decreased consistently, which
indicated that the lubrication performance was
further improved. From the perspective of the
mechanism, this is consistent with the result in
Figure 7, which was mainly caused by the
increasing comprehensive radius of curvature and
entrainment velocity.
Figure 13(a) also shows that, near the engage-
in point (A), the vibration stability of the oil film
was weakened with the increase in the modification
coefficients. The main manifestation was the
increasing vibration amplitude of the minimum oil
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
Figure 11 Displacement along line of action at point K for planetary gear and inner gear (a, c, e) and dynamic
component of entrainment velocity (b, d, f)
film thickness, which indicated that the oil film
stiffness was undermined. In other words, the
increasing modification coefficients ( x  and x  )
led to a decrease in the oil film stiffness. The reason
for this phenomenon is shown in Figure 16.
As shown in Figure 13(a), when the
modification coefficients were unchanged,
comparing the vibration amplitudes and frequencies
of the oil film in segments AB, BC and CD, the
135
vibration stabilities of the oil films in segments BC
and CD were better than that in segment AB. This
indicated that the oil film stiffnesses in segments
BC and CD were larger than that in segment AB.
This is consistent with the results in Figure 9. The
oil film stiffness in different segments indicated that
compared with the tooth-change impact at points B
and C, the engage-in impact at point A was more
likely to cause oscillations of the oil film, which
136 J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139

Figure 12 Dynamic load spectrum of gear system

would have an adverse effect on the lubrication.

Therefore, for the positive drive, although
increasing the modification coefficient could
improve the lubrication characteristics of the
system, it should be within a reasonable range or
the gear tooth profile should be modified
appropriately to reduce the engage-in impact.
The friction coefficient and flash temperature
of the oil film are greatly affected by the load. As
shown in Figures 13(b) and (c), with the increase in
the modification coefficient, the vibration amplitude
of the flash temperature and friction coefficient
increased, while the vibration frequency decreased
constantly. This was mainly because the engage-in
impact and tooth-change impact were continuously
strengthened because of the increasing modification
coefficient.
Figure 14 shows the transient temperature
variations in dimensionless form (T/T0) at point C−
under different modification coefficients. According
to the above analysis, C− was a dangerous point for
the lubrication. As shown in Figure 14, the
temperature of the oil film decreased gradually with
the increase in the modification coefficients.
Figure 13 Comparison of lubrication characteristics:
4.3 Discussion of oil film stiffness (a) Minimum oil film thickness; (b) Friction coefficient;
4.3.1 Influence of entrainment velocity on oil film (c) Flash temperature in dimensionless form
stiffness
Figure 15 shows the variation of the oil film increasing the entrainment velocity led to an
stiffness at the pitch point with the entrainment increase in the oil film thickness and the distance
velocity, where kglo and kave denote the oil film between lubricant molecules, which resulted in
stiffness determined using the global method and decreased intermolecular repulsion. With the load
the average method, respectively. With the increase unchanged, the thicker the oil film was, the more
in the entrainment velocity, the oil film stiffness easily it was compressed, which meant that the oil
decreased continuously. This was mainly because film stiffness was smaller.
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139 137

Figure 14 Transient temperature distribution at point C−: (a, b) Case 1; (c, d) Case 2; (e, f) Case 3

4.3.2 Influence of modification coefficient on oil conclusion obtained in Figure 13(a).

film stiffness
Figure 16 shows the variation of the oil film 5 Conclusions
stiffness at the pitch point with the modification
coefficient. According to the analysis in Figure 7, Considering the modification coefficient,
increasing the modification coefficient led to an time-varying meshing stiffness, and oil film
increase in the entrainment velocity. Thus, as shown stiffness comprehensively, the thermal
in Figure 16, with the increase in the modification elastohydrodynamic lubrication performances for
coefficient, the oil film stiffness decreased internal meshing gear pair are analyzed based on a
continuously, which was consistent with the simplified static model and a dynamic model. The
138
Figure 15 Oil film stiffness of pitch point under different
entrainment velocities
Figure 16 Oil film stiffness of pitch point under different
modification coefficients
conclusions are stated as follows:
1) Compared with a standard drive, the
positive drive could improve the lubrication
conditions of the gear system and enhance the
scuffing load capacity. In contrast, the negative
drive worsens the lubrication condition and
undermines the scuffing load capacity.
2) When the positive drive is adopted, with the
increase in the modification coefficient, the oil film
thickness increases, while the friction coefficient
and the highest temperature rise ratio of the oil film
decrease continuously, which indicates that the
lubrication performance is continuously improved.
Although increasing the modification coefficient
could improve the lubrication characteristics of the
system, it should be kept within a reasonable range
to reduce the engage-in impact and tooth-change
impact.
3) With the increment in the entrainment
J. Cent. South Univ. (2021) 28: 126−139
velocity, the oil film stiffness decreases. For the
modified gear transmission, an increase in the
modification coefficient leads to a decrease in the
oil film stiffness.
Contributors
The overarching research goals were
developed by JIAN Guang-xiao and WANG
You-qiang. JIAN Guang-xiao and WANG
You-qiang put forward the research ideas. JIAN
Guang-xiao, WANG You-qiang, ZHANG Ping, LI
Yun-kai and LUO Heng established the models.
JIAN Guang-xiao debugged the program, got the
research data and accomplished the relevant
analysis. The initial draft of the manuscript was
written by JIAN Guang-xiao. All authors replied to
reviewer’ comments and revised the final version.
Conflict of interest
JIAN Guang-xiao, WANG You-qiang,
ZHANG Ping, LI Yun-kai and LUO Heng declare
that they have no conflict of interest.
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中文导读
考虑振动的内啮合齿轮副润滑特性分析
摘要：为探究动载荷作用下行星齿轮的热弹流润滑特性，综合考虑变位系数和时变啮合刚度的影响，
基于动力学理论，建立行星齿轮系统的动力学模型，分析振动与静载荷作用下变位齿轮系统的热弹流
润滑特性。研究表明：与其它传动类型相比，采用正传动时，行星齿轮与内齿轮啮合时的润滑效果最
佳，轮齿间可以形成较厚的润滑油膜，轮齿间的摩擦系数、油膜的最高温升最小，并且，随着行星齿
轮与内齿轮变位系数的增大，润滑状况不断得到改善，热胶合承载能力增强；行星齿轮与内齿轮变位
系数的增加降低了其啮合刚度，增大了啮入冲击和换齿冲击，同时降低了油膜的刚度。
关键词：行星齿轮；动力学模型；变位系数；润滑特性；油膜刚度
139
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