Effects of macro-parameters on vibration and radiation noise for high speed wheel gear transmission in electric vehicles

Considering flexible shafts, a coupled dynamic model for the gear transmission system of wheel reducer used in electric vehicle was developed. By combining the acoustics finite element modal for housing in Virtual Lab and the coupled dynamic model for gear transmission system, a simulation method was proposed for the prediction of the radiation noise for the wheel reducer. Then, the effects of different macro geometry gear parameters including pressure angle and helical angle on the dynamic response and radiation noise were investigated under the rated working condition. Results show that the peak-peak value of the transmission error dramatically falls in the starting zone, followed by an upward trend with the increase of the pressure angle for the low speed stage gear pair. The minimum transmission error and vibration acceleration occur when the pressure angle is 17 degrees. The increase of the pressure angle does not affect the sound pressure level at the field point obviously. The design case with 17 degrees pressure angle shows the optimum radiation noise level, which is 4.41dB less than the original model. Compared to the pressure angle, the helix angle has a major influence on the transmission error, vibration acceleration and acoustic radiation noise. With the increase of the helix angle, the time-varying transmission error curve becomes more smooth with a lower peak-peak value. Besides, the increase of helix angle results in lowering the varying and fluctuating trend of both vibration acceleration and acoustic radiation noise. The design case with 24 degrees helix angle shows the prime radiation noise level, which is 7 dB less than the original scheme.