LMS Virtual.Lab Gear Motion automates the modeling and simulation of a system of helical or spur gears for automotive, ground vehicle or general machinery applications. The solution predicts the dynamic behavior of a gear system and the loads acting on its components. Using it, engineers can study how effects like back-lash in the gear system are spread throughout a mechanical system, and detect the root cause of possible noise issues such as gear rattle or gear whine. Thanks to integration within LMS Virtual.Lab, users can examine how gear loads are driven through a housing structure, producing structure-borne exterior acoustic radiation. The gear systems can be incorporated within larger system models to study system level responses and generate accurate load predictions for use in structural analysis, noise and vibration simulation, fatigue prediction and other fields.
With Virtual.Lab Gear Motion, users can quickly define the nominal layout of the gear train, the gear properties and the specific shape of the gear teeth. They can then assign constant or non-linear torque loads on the gears and delineate various input excitations to the system. The system calculates a periodic meshing stiffness for the coupled teeth found between two gears. It also accounts for the “cantilever-effect”; i.e., the deformation of an individual tooth due to strong meshing forces. The efficient and accurate LMS Virtual.Lab Motion solver results in a very reliable and fast simulation.
The solution’s dedicated post-processing features help engineers to easily identify and effectively solve the root causes of an engineering problem within a gear train system. Users can review dynamic responses, including all system loads, accelerations and positions. They can detect collisions based on detailed CAD models, analyze motion envelopes and force vector animations. Simulation results visualized on different types of displays, for example a combined animation of displacements and stresses.
