A novel analytical method for mesh stiffness calculation of helical gears with tooth profile modification

Gear tooth profile modification can compensate for mesh interference and reduce the mesh impact and transmission error of helical gear system. The time-varying mesh stiffness and transmission error for helical gears with tooth profile modification are the main sources of internal excitation, which determine the dynamic performances of the system. In this paper, a novel mesh stiffness model of helical gear pairs with tooth profile modification is proposed based on the slicing principle. The mesh stiffness of the corresponding single spur tooth pair with tooth profile modification is calculated firstly. Four types of helical gears are classified based on the geometry characteristics of the gear. The single gear mesh stiffness for the four types of helical gear pairs with tooth profile modification is obtained by integrating the mesh stiffness of a sliced modified spur gear pair with the contact line of the helical gear. The total mesh stiffness of helical tooth pairs with tooth profile modification is obtained by summarizing the mesh stiffness of the single helical tooth with the number of tooth pairs in simultaneous mesh. The results show that the proposed analytical method is accurate and efficient for calculation of TVMS for helical gears with profile modification.