An Experimental Study of the Influence of Lubrication on Gear Vibro-impacts
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
As the automotive industry continues to innovate, the noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) of vehicles are becoming more prominent. A class of NVH problems are originated from unwanted impacts that the gears of the transmission experiences. Caused by fluctuating external torques, these vibro-impacts can be severe enough to influence the noise and durability performance of the vehicle. This phenomenon is largely unavoidable due to the need for adequate gear mesh backlash (clearance), which allows the gear teeth to separate and impact. This results in gear rattle noise caused by periodic or non-periodic (chaotic) vibro-impacts. While gear rattle has been studied extensively, the effect that lubrication has on gear rattle is not yet clear. With the aim of better understanding the role of lubrication on gear rattle, an existing experimental setup is equipped with a lubrication system and various measurement systems of acceleration, relative gear displacement, and sound pressure levels. Resulting acceleration and sound pressure data show that the transient impacts (aftershocks) following a major after impact are significantly diminished with increased oil viscosity. However, lubricant within the mesh is shown not to alter overall quantitative system behavior. Also shown is a reduction of sound pressure levels with application of lubricant through diminished strength of impacts, while simultaneously damping transient vibrations within the tooth. These results will aid automotive design engineers in understanding the role of lubrication within a gear train.
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Keywords
Gear rattle, Lubrication, Vibro-impact, transient