Dynamic response of a beam supported with variable gear to base excitations

The beam supported with gear having nonlinearly varying stiffness characteristics is analyzed to study vibration transfer characteristics. The gear attached at the end of the beam was considered as rotational spring and damper having angular dependent variation. The dynamic characteristics of the gear were determined by the contact point between the gear teeth. The displacement-dependent properties of the gear had an effect on vibration transmissibility of the beam system. The computational simulation based on the spectral element method (SEM) was used with several variables (the dynamic characteristics of the gear, the gear design, and excitation level). The validity was verified by comparison with the measured results. The vibration of the beam was strongly influenced by the gear-pair. These results can be utilized to design the optimal gear-pair system for minimizing undesirable vibration.