Engineering Research Express

PAPER You may also like

- Influence of wheel-diameter difference of
Vibration analysis of locomotive transmission the same locomotive on ride quality of
locomotive
system Bin Zhao, Fei Liu, Ruiyu Li et al.

- Application of the object model in the

modelling process of locomotive drive
To cite this article: Liu Yang et al 2020 Eng. Res. Express 2 035001 units
D Ya Antipin, V I Vorobyev and S O
Kopylov

- Periodic thermodynamics of laser-driven

molecular motor
View the article online for updates and enhancements. Li Dan, Zheng Wen-Wei and Wang Zhi-
Song

This content was downloaded from IP address 115.245.27.130 on 20/01/2024 at 07:06

 Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 https://doi.org/10.1088/2631-8695/aba1d7

PAPER

Vibration analysis of locomotive transmission system

RECEIVED
7 April 2020
REVISED
Liu Yang1,2 , ShaoPu Yang3,2, Ruquan Liang1, Dengbo Zhang1 and Yuanmei Song1
10 June 2020 1
School of Mechanical & Vehicle Engineering, Linyi University, 276000, People’s Republic of China
2
ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and System Safety of Traffic Engineering Structures, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University,
1 July 2020 Shijiazhuang 050043, People’s Republic of China
3
PUBLISHED School of Mechanical Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, People’s Republic of China
13 July 2020
E-mail: yang_8873@126.com

Keywords: vibration response, finite element method, wheel-rail excitation, taper rolling bearing

Abstract
When locomotives are running at high speed, under the influence of complicated wheel-rail
excitation, the vibration response of the locomotive transmission system is not clear when the vital
parts failure. In order to explore the dynamic response characteristics of the critical parts of
locomotive, in this study, a complete dynamic model of the locomotive transmission system is
established. The vibration response characteristics of the locomotive transmission system under
different operating conditions are analyzed. Firstly, the influence of helical gear, wheel-rail coupling,
and taper rolling bearing are considered, and the dynamic response characteristics of the key parts of
the locomotive are established. Secondly, under the complex influencing factors, the natural frequency
and modal response of the system are solved. Finally, the response characteristics of the key parts of
the locomotive transmission system under wheel-rail excitation disturbance are studied. The results
show that the experimental acceleration signal is consistent with the simulation signal, under the same
conditions. Under different conditions of operating speed, the vibration response of the system node
is mainly gear meshing frequency. Due to the influence of small random excitation of wheel-rail, the
vibration response of bearing nodes changes significantly. In the frequency domain response, there is
an obvious bearing natural frequency band, while the vertical vibration of wheel nodes changes
slightly.

1. Introduction

In complex running conditions, dynamic analysis of locomotive transmission system is of greatest importance.
Especially in the high speed running of locomotive, bearing failure and gear failure will bring great safety hidden
trouble to locomotive running. Therefore, how to accurately establish the nonlinear locomotive transmission
system model and dynamic behaviors of locomotive transmission system is very important.
The locomotive transmission system consists of wheel-set, gears, bearings and shafts. Originally, In the rotor
system aspect, Jia [1] established a 26 degrees of freedom gear dynamic model include three shafts and two pairs of
spur gears. R B Randall [2] presented a simulation model for a gearbox, in which inner and outer bearing faults can be
studied. Ma and Chen [3] studied the vibration characteristics of gear system under local defects condition. The
lumped mass model can express the most important characteristics of a system structure, but the changes of system
stress and dynamic parameters are ignored. The finite element model could obtain rich internal information. By
Timoshenko beam element theory, Nelson [4] established the model of flexible rotor. Kahraman [5] represented a
gear rotor system model by a finite element method and the stiffness of the bearing was considered. Baud and Velex
[6] investigated the dynamics of a gear-shaft-bearing system using a nonlinear gear model. Siyu [7] Chen developed
the rotor dynamics of a double-helical gear transmission system by using the finite element method.
In the gear drive system aspect, A Karaman et al [8] established the nonlinear characteristics of the meshing
clearance of gears. Hivida et al [9] studied the influence of time-varying stiffness and clearance on the response of
gear drive system. Ma et al [10] investigated the accurate calculation of gear stiffness under different parameters

© 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd

Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 1. Locomotive transmission System.

using finite element method. Li et al [11] researched the meshing rigidity of gear drive system. The study of
bearing dynamics mainly focused on the dynamic behavior of the normal bearing and the whole rotor. Many
literatures [12, 13] mainly study the dynamic response of bearing with local fault. Gupta et al [14] studied an
unbalanced flexible rotor supported by ball bearings. Cao et al [15] studied the raceway defects and centrifugal
deformations using the finite element method. Wang et al [16] considered the factors such as the nonlinearity
backlash and time-varying meshing stiffness, studied a three-degree-of-freedom torsional vibration model of
spur gear transmission system. Chen et al [17] studied locomotive dynamic performance under traction/
braking conditions considering effect of gear transmissions. Based on finite element simulation software,
Xu et al [18] analyzed the torsional vibration characteristics of the vehicle.
It can be seen from the above literature that most of the shaft dynamic models only research the vibration
response of the rotor-bear-gear. However, it is difficult to find accurate modeling of locomotive transmission
system in many literatures. On the basis of predecessors, considering meshing stiffness and the contact stiffness
of bearing and wheel-set, the dynamic model of locomotive transmission system are established. Aiming at a
practical engineering problem in China, the dynamic response characteristics of the system are analyzed under
complex environments.

2. Dynamic model

The locomotive transmission system is a high-dimensional and strongly nonlinear complex system under the
random excitation force of wheel-rail. In order to research dynamical response characteristics of key parts of
locomotive, the influence of wheel-rail contact, bearing contact deformation and time-varying meshing stiffness
of bearing and gear is considered. Then the nonlinear finite element dynamic model of locomotive is established
in this paper, the structure is shown in figure 1. FBN is the contact force of bearing node, FlN is the wheel-rail
contact force, mb1, mb2 are the bearing mass of left and right axle box, ml1, ml 2 are the mass of left and right
wheel, mc1, mc 2 are the mass of pinion and big gear, k m (t ), cm (t ) are the time-varying meshing stiffness and
damping respectively.

2.1. Shaft unit model

Driven shaft and drive shaft are discretized into N shaft elements by finite element method. Where, each axis
unit is a two-node circular beam, as shown in figure 2, the coordinates of each node unit are
(ui , vi, wi, fi , ji , qi ). Considering transverse bending and torsional deformation, suppose the cross-sectional
area of the element remains flat after deformation, then, the kinetic energy of the rotating shaft element can be
expressed as:

rA l 2 rI l rIr l
ò ò0 (f + j 2) dx + (W + q1 ) ò0 (fj - jf ) dx
2
Te = (w + v 2 + u 2) dx +
2 0 2 2
rIr l
+
2 0 ò
(W + q1 )2dx (1)

In the model, strain potential energy is generated by axial, torsional, shear and bending deformation, which
is expressed by:

2
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 2. Timoshenko-beam shaft model.

1 ⎛ ⎞2 l
Ue =
2
∭V E ⎝-zw  - yv  + 12 v ¢ + 12 w ¢⎠ dV + EA
⎜ ⎟
2 ò0
(u¢)2dx

mAG l G l
+
2 ò0 [(v ¢ - f)2 + (w ¢ - j)2] dx +
2 ò0 Io (q ¢)2dx (2)

Where, r is density, A is unit cross-sectional area, m is shear factor, E, G are respectively elastic modulus and
shear modulus of rotor material. Iρ is the polar moment of inertia, I is the moment of inertia.
For the deformation caused by bending, the displacement of any node of the rotating shaft element (v , w ) is
expressed by the interpolation of 3rd-order polynomial. For the deformation caused by axial force, the
displacement of any node of the element u is expressed by linear interpolation. Bending angle and torsion angle
(f, j, q ) are expressed by a linear interpolation formula, the function expression is described by :

⎧u ⎫ ⎧ ⎫
⎪f ⎪
⎨ v ⎬ = [Ns1]{q (t )}, ⎨j ⎬ = [N ]{q (t )} (3)
⎩w ⎭ ⎪ ⎪
⎩q ⎭

Where, unit node coordinate is {q (t )} = (v1, w1, f1, j1, q1, v2, w2, f2, j2, q2), [Ns1], [N ] is written by:
⎡ N1 0 0 0 0 0 N2 0 0 0 0 0⎤
[Ns1] = ⎢ 0 Ns1 0 0 Ns2 0 0 Ns3 0 0 Ns4 0⎥ (4)
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0 0 Ns1 - Ns1 0 0 0 0 Ns3 - Ns4 0 0⎦
⎡ 0 - Nt1 Nt 2 0 0 0 - Nt 3 Nt 4 0 0 ⎤
⎢
[N ] = Nt1 0 0 Nt 2 0 Nt 3 0 0 Nt 4 0 ⎥ (5)
⎢ ⎥
⎣0 0 0 0 N3 0 0 0 0 N3 ⎦

here, [Nsi ], [Nti ] are:

1 1 12EI
Nsi = 1 + J (a i + Jbi ), Nti = 1 + J (ei + Jdi ), J = mAGl 2 , ai , bi, ei , di, please see Resources.
Substitute the above formula (1)–(5) into the Lagrange equation:

d ⎛ ¶L ⎞ ¶L
⎜ ⎟- = Qi (6)
dt ⎝ ¶qi ⎠ ¶qi

Where: L = T - U, Qi is the external force, finite element nonlinear dynamical equation of the system is:
[M]e q̈ + (W [G]e + [C]) q + [K]e q = 0 (7)

Where, the mass matrix [M]e, gyroscopic matrix [G]e, stiffness matrix [K]e and damping matrix [C], respectively
described as:

[M]e = [M]e0 + [M]1e + [M]e2 , [G]e = [G]e0 + [G]1e + [G]e2 , [K]e = [K]e0 + [K]1e
+ [K]e2 , [C].

2.2. Gear meshing unit model

In addition to bending vibration, torsional vibration and axial vibration, the vibration form of CRH locomotive
gear transmission system also has torsional pendulum vibration produced by the gear pair under the action of axial
force. The model is shown in figure 3, the coordinate of meshing gear is {q}c = (uci , vci, wci, fci , jci , qci, i = 1, 2).
Considering the deformation caused by axial vibration, the gear meshing unit kinetic energy is written by:

3
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 3. Meshing gear element model.

1 1 I
mci (vci 2 + wci 2 + u ci 2) + Idci (j ci 2 + fci ) + oci (W + qci )(jci fci - fci j ci )
2
Tc =
2 2 2
Ioci
+ (W + qci ) 2 (8)
2
Gear time-varying meshing stiffness and gear clearance are considered, potential energy of gear meshing can
be expressed as:
1 1 1
Uc = km (t )(rc1 - rc 2 - e )2 + C m (rc1 - rc 2 - e)2 + K i (rc1 - rc 2)2
2 2 2
1
+ C i (rc1 - rc 2)2 (9)
2
Caused by Eccentric force of gear and external load, the external potential of gear meshing unit can be
described as :
Wc = mci ri W2 (wci cos Wt + vci sin Wt ) + Ti qci (10)
Where km (t ) is time varying meshing stiffness of a gear pair, Cm is synthetic damping coefficients of a gear pair ,
rc1, rc2 are normal deformation of the driving and driven gear, mci is the mass of meshing gear, Idci is the moment
of inertia of gear meshing, Ki is the elastic stiffness of gear support, Ci is elastic damping of gear support, Ti is
input or output torque, i = 1, 2. bij is the helical angle, yij is normal pressure angle.
By using Lagrange method, dynamical equation of gear meshing unit can be written:
[M]c q̈ c + ([C ]c + W [G]c ) q c + [K]c qc = [Qc] (11)
Where, [M]c , [C ]c , [G]c and [K]c are the gear mass matrix, damping matrix, gyroscopic matrix and time-varying
meshing stiffness matrix of gear. Here, the expression of time-varying meshing stiffness of helical gear meshing
nodes is described as:
[K]c = km (t ) · A ijT · A ij (12)
Aij = [- sin bij , sin yij cos bij , cos yij cos bij , sgn ri cos bij , sgn ri sin yij sin bij , sgn ri cos yij sin bij
Where:
sin bij , - sin yij cos bij , - cos yij cos bij , sgn ri cos bij , sgn ri sin yij sin bij , sgn ri cos yij sin bij ]
ri, rj : the radius of the driving and driven gear.
Force of gear meshing point:
[Q]c = [m i e c W2i cos Wi t , m i e c W2i sin Wi t , 0, 0, 0, sgn Ti ,m i e c W2i cos Wi t ,
m i ec W2i sin Wi t , 0, 0, 0, sgn Tj ] (13)

4
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 4. Bearing contact element model.

2.3. Tapered roller bearing node

For tapered roller bearings, considering axial force and normal contact force, as shown in figure 4. According to
the nonlinear Hertz contact theory, the load force generated by rolling element and raceway can be obtained:

⎧( - 1)i sin (ai ) ⎫

⎧ Fxb ⎫ ⎪ j
⎪
⎪ ⎪ 2 N ⎪ ⎪
FBN = ⎨ Fyb ⎬ =
⎪
åå Qj ⎨ i cos (ai ) cos (j i )
j j ⎬ (14)
⎩ Fzb ⎪
⎭ i=1 j=1 ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎩ cos (a j ) sin (j j ) ⎪
i i
⎭

⎧ Mxb ⎫ ⎧0 ⎫
⎪ ⎪ 2 N ⎪ ⎪
åå Qji ⎨ Rc sin(j j ) ⎬
i
MBN = ⎨ Myb ⎬ = (15)
⎩ Mzb ⎪
⎪ ⎭ i=1 j=1 ⎪ i ⎪
⎩- Rc cos (a i )⎭

Where, i is the number of rows of bearings, j is the number of rolls, Qi j is contact load force of rolling element,
jij = Wt + 2p ( j - 1) /N denotes rotational angle in time t of the j-th rolling element.
The contact force and contact deformation of bearing node are:

Qij = Kbe D1.11 (16)

D = (v b cos jij + w b sin jij - ce ) cos a ij + sgn ub sin a ij (17)

Where, Kbe is the bearing contact stiffness, the node coordinate of the bearing: {q}b = (ub , vb, wb, fb, jb, qb ).
The motion equation of bearing node:

[M]b q̈ b + ([C ]b ) q b + [K]b qb = [F]b (18)

here, [M]b , [C]b , [K]b and [F]b respectively are the mass matrix, damping matrix, support stiffness and contact
acting force of bearing, [K]b can be described as:
⎡ kxx kxy kxz k xf k xj 0⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎢ k yy k yz k yf k yj 0⎥
⎢ kzz k zf k zj 0⎥
[K]b = ⎢ ⎥ (19)
⎢ kff kfj 0⎥
⎢ kjj 0⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0⎦
¶Fxb ¶Fyb
Where, k xx = ¶x
, k yy = ¶y
.

5
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 5. Wheel set contact element model.

2.4. Wheel node

The wheel-rail contact node model is shown in the figure 5, FN is wheel-rail contact force and Fl is creep force,
wheel coordinate is (uli , vli, wli, fli , jli , qli, i = 1, 2). Considering the deformation caused by raceway contact,
the kinetic energy and potential energy of wheel set can be expressed by:
1 1 I
Mli (u li 2 + vli 2 + w li 2) + Idci (f li + j li 2) + oli (W + q li )(fli j li - jli f li )
2
Tl =
2 2 2
Ioli
+ (W + q li )2 (20)
2
1 1
Ul = Kli (wli )2 + Cli (w li )2 (21)
2 2
Based on the Lagrange method, dynamical equation of wheel node is:

[M]l q̈ l + ([C ]l + W [G]l ) q l + [K]l ql = [F ]l (22)

Where, [M]c , [C ]c , [G]c and [K]c are the mass matrix, damping matrix, gyroscopic matrix and support stiffness
matrix of wheel.
According to the nonlinear Hertz theory, the force of wheel contact node is:
⎡1 ⎤3 / 2
FN = ⎢ Dd (t ) ⎥ (23)
⎣G ⎦

In the equation, under the condition of conical tread without wear, G = 4.57 ´ 10-8Rl-0.149 (m N-1). The
normal contact deformation of wheel node is:
Dd = (sgn i )(wli sin (gR - fli ) sin jli - uli sin (gR - fli ) cos jli ) + vli cos (gR - fli ) (24)
Where, gR is the contact angle of wheel tread, for the wheel rail creep force, please see the [15].

2.5. System motion equation

The above influence factors are considered, for the gridding of locomotive transmission system unit,
equations (7), (11), (14) and (17) are added to the system unit, the system finite element dynamical equation is:
[M] q̈ + ([C] + W [G]) q + [K] q = [Q] (25)
Where, {q} = [u1, v1, w1, f1, j1, q1, ......, qn ]T , n is the number of nodes, [M], [C], [G], [K] and [Q] respectively
are the mass matrix, damping matrix, gyroscopic matrix and stiffness matrix of the system.

3. The natural frequency and modal analysis of the system

To analyze the key energy concentration points and modal response characteristics of the vibration response of
the drive system, its natural characteristic frequency was first obtained. When locomotive transmission system

6
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 6. System the dynamic natural frequency.

Table 1. Natural frequencies of the rotor system.

First Second Third Fourth Five

Model order order order order order

w 314.1 363.6 540 939 1016

withstands bending and torsion vibration, the speed causes a fluctuation in the system response. Considering
speed, there is no external load, and the dynamic equation of the locomotive transmission system can be written
as follows:
[M] q̈ + ([C ] + W [G]) q + [K] q = 0 (26)

The above equation is a quadratic eigenvalue problem and to solve the natural frequency of the equation,
which is transformed into state equation as follows:

[A] Y + [B ] Y = 0 (27)

Where,
⎡ q ⎤
Y=⎢ ⎥
⎣q ⎦

⎡0 - [M ]⎤ ⎡[M ] 0 ⎤
[ A] = ⎢ ⎥ , [B ] = ⎢
⎣[M ] [C ] ⎦ ⎣0 [K ]⎥⎦

It can be concluded from equation (26) that eigenvalue l is the complex number related to the rotating
speed W, and the values are 4n pairs conjugate complex numbers, i.e., l = wi. When, W = l , the influence of
gear time-varying meshing stiffness is considered, and the dynamic natural frequency of the locomotive
transmission system can be obtained.
As shown in figure 6. under the selected system parameters, when the input speed of the locomotive motor-
spindle W = 374 rad s-1, the limit of maximum locomotive speed and in specific the modal distribution
characteristics are considered, whereby the first five natural frequencies of the rotor system are obtained, as
shown in table 1.
The locomotive transmission system is a high dimensional complex nonlinear finite element model.
However, the time-varying stiffness and contact deformation can be assumed as constant values. The mass
matrix [M], stiffness matrix [K], and damping matrix [C] of the system equation are all asymmetric matrixes,
and thus the expression of the characteristic root equation of the asymmetric system is given as follows:

(l r2 [M] + l r [C] + [K]){Ur} = 0

(l r2 [M] + l r [C] + [K]){Vr} = 0 (28)

7
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 7. The amplitude-frequency curves.

Where, l r is the eigenvalue, {Ur}, {Vr} are the eigenvector, when [A] Y + [B ] Y = f (t),
l r Ayr = Byr
l r A¢Fr = B¢Fr (29)
The equation of system responses can be written as follows:

Y ( s ) = H ( s) F ( s) (30)

The expression for any node transfer function is obtained as follows:

N ⎛ yi Fj ¯j ⎞
y¯ i F
h i , j (w ) = å ⎜⎝ iw - l +
iw - l¯ ⎠
⎟ (31)
i=1

Under the influence of different support bearing damping, the vertical vibration amplitude and frequency
response of the wheel node is shown in figure 7. The natural frequency of the system fwn1 , fwn2 , and fwn3 are
observed in the response of the wheel node under different damping conditions. The response amplitude energy
is mainly distributed in the higher-order when damping is small, but the response amplitude energy is
distributed in the low frequency when damping is large.

4. Numerical analysis

CRH series locomotive is the research objective of this study, and the selected parameters of locomotive are as
follows: supported shafting length: L = 2100 mm, external diameter of the shaft section: R = 200 mm, inside
diameter: r = 65 mm, the mass of wheel: m = 305 kg, lumped inertial mass: Io1 = 18.75 kg.m2, module of
gear: ma = 6 mm, number of teeth: z1 = 14, z2 = 63, time-varying meshing stiffness of gear: Km, support
bearing NJ2232, the number of rollers: NB=17, the inside diameter of bearing: ri, external diameter: ro, and the
running speed of driving shaft: n1 = 3200 r min-1 . Also, the characteristic parameters can be represented as
follows:
Gear-meshing frequency, fm = f1 z1 = 752 Hz
The rotation frequency of bearing retainer, fc = f2 (ri /ro + ri ) = 4.21 Hz
Bearing passing frequency, fvc = fc /NB = 72 Hz
Figure 8. shows the time-domain and frequency-domain vibration responses diagram of bearing node to
rotating speeds, n1 = 3200 r min-1 , and n2 = 1600 r min-1 , respectively. In the time-domain response
diagram (a), as the rotation speed increases, the vibration responses of the bearing node become smaller. In the
time-domain response diagram (b), under the influence of different rotation speed, there exists lower frequency
fn , in addition, there is apparent gear meshing frequency and characteristic of multiple frequencies.

4.1. System response under no wheel-rail random excitation

When there is no random interference of wheel-rail, there exits contact deformation of wheel-rail. The time-
domain and frequency-domain diagrams are shown in figure 9. In the time-domain diagram, the acceleration
amplitude of bearing node is smaller as well as in the early tracking experiments of Fuxing Hao train. Also, in the
frequency-domain response, there is no bearing passing frequency, yet, there exists a natural frequency of the
system, and precise gear meshing frequency and multiple frequency characteristics can be found.

8
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 8. Response of driving bearing node in different speed condition (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

Figure 9. Response of driving bearing node (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

Figure 10. Response of the wheel node (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

When there is no random interference of wheel-rail, the observed time-domain and frequency-domain
response diagrams of the left wheel node are shown in figure 10. The acceleration amplitude of wheel node is
larger than the bearing node. In the frequency domain response diagram, there are apparent gear meshing
frequency and multiple frequency characteristics, and the vibration energy of the wheel node is mainly

9
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 11. Response of driving bearing node (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

Figure 12. Response of the wheel node (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

concentrated at the double gear meshing frequency, which exists at the characteristic system natural
frequency, fn .
In the long-term tracking test of Fuxinghao, when the train running speed at n1 = 3200 r min-1 , the
vibration response of box nodes is shown in figure 11. In the time-frequency response, there are no periodic
response characteristics under the influence of running environment. In the frequency response, there are
obvious gear meshing frequency and multiple frequency characteristics. Because the train is in the running-in
stage, the wheel-rail interference excitation is small, so the vibration response characteristics are basically the
same as the simulation signal.

4.2. System response under random disturbance excitation

When wheel-rail random disturbance excitation force F = (500rand ) N, the time-domain and frequency-
domain responses diagrams of wheel node are shown in figure 12. the response of wheel node in time-domain is
the litter. In the frequency-domain diagram, there are obvious gear meshing frequency and multiple frequency
characteristics, but the low-frequency band has no bearing passing frequency and no resonance energy band
caused by the random load as well.
When wheel-rail random disturbance excitation force, F = (500rand ) N, the obtained time-domain and
frequency-domain response diagrams of the bearing node are shown in figure 13. In the time-domain response
diagram, under the wheel-rail interference excitation, the amplitude of the vibration response of bearing nodes
changes significantly. In the frequency response diagram, there are precise gear meshing frequency and multiple
frequency characteristics, but the bearing resonance frequency band response is caused by the influence of
random disturbance excitation. The bearing node time-varying stiffness is shown in figure 14, and the natural

10
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

Figure 13. Response of driving bearing node (a) time domain and (b) frequency domain.

Figure 14. Time-varying contact stiffness of bearing node.

frequency wbn = k yy mb = 7717 rad s-1, and therefore the resonance response of the bearing nodes is caused
by random disturbance excitation.

5. Conclusion

In this investigation, the finite element nonlinear dynamical model is established, the influence of gear time-
varying stiffness and wheel-rail contact force is considered, and the value of natural frequency and modal
response characteristics are solved. Besides, the vibration response characteristics of the wheel node and
locomotive transmission system bearings are examined under different operating conditions.

(1) Finite element nonlinear dynamic model has been established, and the correlations of wheelset, gear, and
bearing are better analyzed.
(2) The influence of gear time-varying stiffness is considered, the value of natural frequency is solved. Under
different support damping conditions, the main resonance position of the system vibration response
changes apparently.
(3) Under different conditions of operating speed, the vibration response of the system node is mainly gear
meshing frequency. Due to the influence of small random excitation of wheel-rail, the vibration response of
bearing nodes changes significantly. In the frequency domain response diagram, there is an obvious bearing
natural frequency band, while the vertical vibration of wheel nodes changes slightly.

11
Eng. Res. Express 2 (2020) 035001 L Yang et al

By establishing a complete locomotive transmission system model, the vibration of each unit of the
locomotive transmission system can be well understood, and the main influencing factors of response changes
are analyzed, which provides an excellent dynamic model basis for the design of locomotive transmission
system.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication
of this article.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the grants of
11790282, 5167031, 11572206 and 51976087.

ORCID iDs

Liu Yang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6427-2345

References
[1] Jia S and Howard I 2006 Comparison of localised spalling and crack damage from dynamic modelling of spur gear vibrations Mech Syst
Signal Process 20 332–49
[2] Sawalhi N and Randall R B 2008 Simulating gear and bearing interactions in the presence of faults: I. The combined gear bearing
dynamic model and the simulation of localised bearing faults Mech Syst Signal Process 221 195–211
[3] Ma R and Chen Y 2012 Research on the dynamic mechanism of the gear system with local crack and spalling failure Eng. Fail. Anal. 26
12–20
[4] Nelson H D 1989 A finite rotating shaft element using timoshenko beam theory ASME, Mech. Design 102 793–803
[5] Kahraman A, Ozguven H N, Houser D R and Zakrajsek J 1992 Dynamic analysis of geared rotors by finite elements J. Mech. Des. 114
507–14
[6] Baud S and Velex P 2002 Static and dynamic tooth loading in spur and helical geared systems-experiments and model validation
J. Mech. Des. 124 334–46
[7] Siyu C and Tang J 2016 Rotor dynamics analysis of a double-helical gear transmission system Meccanica 51 251–68
[8] Kaharman A 1993 Nonlinear dynamics of a spur gear pair J. Vib. Acoust. 103 427–35
[9] Tsuta T 1991 Excitation force analysis of helical gear-pair with tolerance in their tooth shape and pitch on shaft JSME Int. Conf. on
Motion and power Transmission (Japan) 256, 72–7
[10] Ma H and Pang X 2015 Fault features analysis of cracked gear considering the effects of the extended tooth contact Eng. Fail. Anal. 4
79–91
[11] Jun W J and Fang L R 2016 The rotor-coupled vibrations of the gear systems China Mech. Eng. 9 51–8
[12] Harsha S P and Sandeep K 2006 Nonlinear dynamic behaviors of rolling element bearings due to surface waviness J. Sound Vib. 272
557–80
[13] Tandon N and Choudhury A 1997 An analytical model for the prediction of the vibration response of rolling element bearings due to a
localized defect JSV 205 275–92
[14] Gupta T C and Gupta K 2008 Nonlinear vibration analysisof an unbalanced flexible rotor supported by ball bearings with radial internal
clearance ASME 21 500–12
[15] Niu L and Cao H 2016 An investigation on the occurrence of stable cage whirl motions in ball bearings based on dynamic simulations
Tribology Internationa 6 12–24
[16] Junguo W, He G, Zhang J, Zhao Y and Yao Y 2017 Nonlinear dynamics analysis of the spur gear system for railway locomotive Mech.
Syst. Sig. Process. 18 41–55
[17] Chen Z, Zhai W and Wang K 2018 Locomotive dynamic performance under traction/braking conditions considering effect of gear
transmissions Veh. Syst. Dyn. 7 1097–117
[18] Xu Z-W, Wan H-Q, Huang D-D, Wwang H and Mu B 2012 Modeling and simulation analysis of vehicle transmission torsional
vibration Journal of Hefei University of Technology 7 13–6

12