Design and analysis of a tunable eccentric bearing block mechanism for vibration control in spur gear systems with angular misalignment error

Angular misalignment error is a prevalent issue in gear transmission systems, often leading to adverse effects such as uneven load distribution and the induction of vibrations. Tooth modification methods are commonly utilized to optimize load distribution and mitigate vibrations in gear systems experiencing angular misalignment. However, these methods may exhibit degradation when gear systems operate outside the supposed specified range of working conditions. In this paper, we introduce a new tunable eccentric bearing block (TEBB) mechanism specifically designed for vibration control in spur gear system with angular misalignment errors. The spatial position variation of bearing rotation axis, time varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) and contact line length are analyzed with the proposed TEBB and angular misalignment. Subsequently, a 10-degree-of-freedom (DOF) dynamic model of spur gear system is established to investigate the effects of the TEBB on dynamic responses considering angular misalignment. The findings reveal that the proposed TEBB offers superior performance in vibration control compared to the traditional tooth crown modification method. Furthermore, a back-to-back experimental setup is constructed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed TEBB. The results demonstrate that the proposed TEBB mechanism is indeed beneficial for vibration control in spur gear system with angular misalignment error.