A CAD-FEM-QSA integration technique for determining the time-varying meshing stiffness of gear pairs

Estimation of time-varying meshing stiffness (TVMS) is a vital process as it is one of the primary sources of vibration and noise. There are two ways to evaluate the TVMS, the analytical method (AM) and the finite element method (FEM). Owing to the complex geometries and the use of empirical values, analytical model is not precise to perform the exact calculation. The current FEM is inconvenient due to the use of complex programming codes. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to develop a new technique to determine the TVMS based on NX, ANSYS Workbench, and Quasi-static Algorithm (QSA). The second aim is to compare results of the analytical method (AM) and the proposed method. The effects of tip radius and misalignment of gear pair are also analysed using this new method. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.