Comparison of linear methodologies and not for the evaluation of the vibrational morphodynamics of a pair of gears in different tribological conditions

The gear wheels are the most common mechanism for the transmission of the torque between two organs. The tribological conditions can compromise both their performance and lifetime. Vibration analysis is a valid tool for the assessment of the health of a mechanical system. The following work illustrates a non-linear methodology for evaluating the vibrational dynamics of a single pair of gears, under different tribological conditions. The proposed methodology highlights the presence of damage on the surface of the teeth of the gear pair and evaluates effect on micro-vibratory dynamics due to different lubrication and rotation regimes. Once the vibratory dynamics features of the structure are known, a statistical model has been developed capable of classifying the different tribological regimes.