Arab Gulf Academy For

Maritime Studies
Navy College
Engineering department
Second Stage

Important applications of
epicyclical gear in machines

A report Submitted by the student:

TO

Report as a part of final test 2019_2020

Introduction
Due to the fact that the function of a transmission mechanism is to provide proper
torques and velocities for a vehicle, it is essential to identify the relations among the
velocity ratio, torque distribution and the power flow in an EGM.

The studies on power flow analysis of EGMs are mostly done in the context of
efficiency formulations . Pennestri and Freudenstein use the same fundamental
circuits proposed earlier[6] for a complete static force analysis. Hsieh and Tsai [5]
apply a similar formulation in conjunction with their earlier kinematic study to
determine the most efficient kinematic configuration. The work by Del Castillo
further generalizes the efficiency formulations of gear trains formed by single- or
double-planet arrangements.

A review of formulas for the mechanical efficiency analysis of two degrees-of

freedom (dof) epicyclic gear trains is presented by Pennestri and Valentini.

The EGT to be used by [1] in a new generation of tandem bicycles is shown in Fig.1.

Figure 1 : Gear train to be used in the Human Powered Vehicle Cory's design effort.
The transmission unit is a velocity ratio change unit that maintains a proper balance
between the velocity and torque capabilities of two riders (inputs) to the velocity and
torque demanded by the drive wheel. The first step in the design process of such a
mechanism involves finding the configuration that not only provides the correct
velocity ratios, but also meets other dynamic and kinematic requirements and
ensures that the two inputs have a mutually constructive nature and not a partially or
fully destructive nature. In general, in order to create a physical model of the system,
all relevant physical relations such as velocity, torque, power flow and power losses
must be examined. The absence of torque, power flow and power loss analyses may
lead to flawed results.

In this regard, the power distribution is one of the most important consideration
factors in the design of two-input EGTs.

In what follows, the concept of fundamental circuit will be reviewed.

Fundamental circuit
The fundamental circuit is defined [10] as a circuit consisting of one geared edge
and several turning pair edges connecting the endpoints of the geared edges. Fig.
2(a) shows a gear pair which consists of two gears, ga and gb, and a supporting
carrier, c. Fig.2 (b) shows the corresponding schematic representation, which is a
fundamental circuit.
 Figure 2: A basic gear pair and its schematic representation.

This schematic diagram consists of a block, three nodes, and three chords. The block
represents a fundamental circuit. The symbol denotes the kth fundamental circuit of
an EGT. The nodes represent the links of the fundamental circuit which transfer
power or torque to the other fundamental circuits. The chords connecting the nodes
to FCk
the block are labeled with Tkga,Tkgb,Tkc,, and which denote the external torques
exerted on links ga, gb, and c, respectively.

The term "gear ratio" is used to denote the ratio of a meshing pair, while the term
"velocity ratio" is used to denote the velocity ratio between the input link and the
output link of an EGM.

Considering the kinematic of a fundamental circuit, the fundamental circuit equation

can be written as

Where, ωga ωgb and ωc denote the angular velocities of a gear pair ga and gb, and its
carrier c, respectively, and denotes the basic gear ratio N,gagb

Where Zgb and Zga denote the numbers of teeth on the gears b and a, respectively,
and the positive or negative sign refers to the internal and external gear pairs,
respectively.

To simplify the torque analysis, an overall schematic diagram is drawn using the
fundamental circuits as the building blocks. We call such a diagram a fundamental
circuit diagram.
 Figure 3: Fundamental circuit diagram for the EGT shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 3 shows the FC-diagram for the EGT shown in Fig. 1. Equation (1) can be re-
written for the coaxial links of this single-planet EGT as follows

Dividing Eq. (3) by (4) yields a kinematic equation relating the angular velocities of
the two gears i and j, and the carrier k.

Let Rkij the symbol denote the velocity ratio between links i and j with reference to
link k. That is
Conclusions

This study contributes to the development of a systematic methodology for the

torque and power flow analyses of two-input EGMs without reaction link.

A schematic diagram using the fundamental circuits as the building blocks is shown
to be an effective method of analysis. Two-input EGTs without reaction link
contains an uncertainty in the torque solution space. Even for the special case when
a solution can be found, the EGT should be self-locked due to geometrical conditions
of the planetary gear mechanism only, or it needs two riders with significantly
different fitness (torque) levels.

The results presented are meant to deepen the knowledge as to how and why a two-
input epicyclic-type transmission should operate in a certain way under the given
conditions and to explore the root cause of some confusions in the field of EGTs.
Future work will apply the results of this work to the development of new designs
for the multi-rider human powered vehicle.
References
[1] Corey , C. A., "Epicyclic gear Train Solution Technique with Application to
Tandem Bicycling ," Thesis (M. Sc.) , Department of Mechanical Engineering ,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg , VA (2003) .

[2] Willis, R.," Principle of Mechanism", Second Edition . Longmans, Green Co.,
London, (1870).

[3] Pennestri, E. , and Freudenstein, F. , "A Systematic Approach to Power-Flow

and Static Force Analysis in Epicyclic Spur-Gear Trains", ASME J. of Mechanical
Design, Volume 115, No. 3 , pp. 639-644, 1993.

[4] Pennestri, E. , and Freudenstein, F. , "The Mechanical Efficiency of Epicyclic

Gear Trains", ASME J. of Mechanical Design, Volume 115, No. 3 , pp. 645-651,
1993.

[5] Hsieh, H. L., and Tsai, L. W. , " The Selection of a Most Efficient Clutching
Sequence Associated with Automatic Transmission," ASME J. of Mechanical
Design, Volume 120, pp. 514-519, 1998.