Study on the Effect of Profile Shifts on the Meshing Stiffness of Helical Gears

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Lei Bu 1
Jingang Liu 1
Daqing Zhang 2
Yumin He 3
Wei Zhang 1
Bohuan Tan 1
1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, China
2 Sunward Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd, Changsha 410000, China
3 Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Xiangtan 411105, China
10.22055/jacm.2026.48790.5501
Abstract
Time-varying meshing stiffness (TVMS) is a primary excitation source of vibration and noise in helical gear systems. However, the effect of profile modification coefficients on TVMS remains insufficiently investigated. A novel analytical model for the TVMS of profile-shifted helical gears is proposed, which integrates the slice theory and tooth profile generation principles. This model incorporates both equidistant and non-equidistant profile shift design schemes and analyses the TVMS of helical gear pairs under positive, negative, and zero profile shifting conditions to reveal how modification coefficients affect the TVMS of helical gears. The results indicate that: Among multiple gear pairs with the same centre distance, those with a smaller modification coefficient on the pinion than on the gear exhibit higher TVMS; When the centre distance increases uniformly relative to the standard value, gear pairs where the pinion's modification coefficient remains constant while the gear's increases achieve higher TVMS. These findings provide valuable references for the structural design and optimisation of helical gears.
Keywords
Profile shift
Helical gear
TVMS
Modification coefficients
Centre distance
Subjects

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Journal of Applied and Computational Mechanics

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 26 January 2026