Gearbox Vibrations: Analysis and Reduction

Gearbox Vibrations: Analysis and Reduction covers the vibration characteristics of high-speed gearboxes and explains how vibration problems are dealt with in the field and in design. The first few chapters review the fundamentals of vibration in rotating equipment and the design of parallel-axis gearboxes, particularly offset parallel and epicyclic reducers used in turbines, generators, and compressors. The chapters explain how vibration is measured and analyzed and discuss the factors that play a role in vibration, including the damping capacity of housing materials, gear tooth geometry and spacing errors, contact ratio, unbalance, misalignment, backlash, bearing defects, spiking, rotodynamic instabilities, and wear. Examples are presented on how to: calculate critical speeds and frequencies, determine hunting ratios, balance rotating components, establish acceptable levels of vibration, and measure and interpret gear quality metrics such as pitch error, tooth transmission error, composite error, and index variation form error. The book includes case studies in which vibration issues and failures were found to be due to involute and lead error, housing resonance, high fluctuating loads, and improper heat treatment. It also provides design guidelines for reduced vibration and a detailed account of an epicyclic gearbox redesign. For information on the print version, ISBN: 978-1-62708-433-8, follow this link.