Measurement of vibratory motions of gears supported by compliant shafts

In this paper, an improved accelerometer-based method is proposed for measurement of motions of parallel-axis gears in torsional, translational and rotational directions. This method uses a family of triaxial accelerometers that are mounted on a shaft flange next to the gears at a given radius. Acceleration signals from the accelerometers are processed using a novel formulation to quantify the motions of a gear in the torsional, rotational (rocking), transverse (line-of-action and off-line-of-action) and axial directions. This measurement system is applied to example spur and helical gear pairs held by shafts having different bending compliances. The experimental results indicate that the proposed accelerometer-based measurement methodology is effective in measuring not only the torsional motions but also the other types of translational, rotational and axial motions of a gear as well as the dynamic transmission error. They also point to the influence of the shaft flexibility on gear vibration amplitudes in these directions.

► An accelerometer-based method to measure motions of gears is proposed.
► The method quantifies torsional, rotational, transverse and axial motions of gears.
► The method is demonstrated for spur and helical gears mounted on compliant shafts.