Effects of gear crack propagation paths on vibration responses of the perforated gear system

•Considering extended tooth contact, a finite element model of a gear pair is established.•Time-varying mesh stiffnesses of perforated gear with tooth and rim cracks are calculated.•A lumped mass model is adopted to investigate the vibration of the perforated gear system.•There exist three periods related to slots of the foundation in a rotating period.•Rim crack has a greater effect on vibration responses than the tooth crack.

This paper investigates the dynamic behaviors of a perforated gear system considering effects of the gear crack propagation paths and this study focuses on the effects of a crack propagating through the rim on the time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) and vibration responses. Considering the effects of the extended tooth contact, a finite element (FE) model of a gear pair is established based on ANSYS software. TVMS of the perforated gear with crack propagating through tooth and rim are calculated by using the FE model. Furthermore, a lumped mass model is adopted to investigate the vibration responses of the perforated gear system. The results show that there exist three periods related to slots of the gear body in a rotating period of the perforated gear. Gear cracks propagating through tooth and rim both reduce the gear body stiffness and lead to reduction of TVMS besides the crack tooth contact moment, and the TVMS weakening for the former is less than that for the latter. Moreover, the results also show that the gear crack propagating through the rim (CPR) has a greater effect on vibration responses than the gear crack propagating through the tooth (CPT) under the same crack level. Vibration level increases with the increasing crack depth, especially for the gear with CPR.