Meshing behavior assessment methods for hybrid metal-composite gears with anisotropic and quasi-isotropic webs.

• Numerical prediction methods for elastic behavior of anisotropic and quasi-isotropic webs are proposed. • The iterative calculation methods of meshing behavior for two hybrid metal-composite gears are unified. • The calculation accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are verified. • Detailed discussion on effects of hybrid gears replacing full metal gears. • Multi-parameter design to reduce mesh stiffness fluctuations. Thin-web structures are the primary strategy for lightweight gears in the aerospace and automotive fields, but current research mainly focuses on metal thin web, lacking understanding of the application of anisotropic and quasi-isotropic composite thin-web gears. Focusing on accurate and efficient calculations of mesh stiffness and load sharing ratio, this work develops a unified numerical analysis method to assess the meshing behavior of the two hybrid metal-composite gears. Multi-scale numerical prediction methods for elastic properties of anisotropic composite and homogeneous laminated webs are established, and two tooth-loading deformation calculation methods for metal-composite-metal gear bodies with different web widths are developed separately. A numerical analysis method is proposed by unifying the iterative calculation process of the two hybrid gears through deformation coordination relationships, which is also applicable to full metal gears. Finally, extensive comparisons with the finite element method (FEM) and existing numerical method verify the proposed analytical method (PAM). The investigation results reveal the impact of replacing full metal gears with these two hybrid gears on the meshing behavior and further elucidate the advantages of using composite webs for micro and macro parameters design in adjusting the mass and stiffness and reducing mesh stiffness fluctuations. This work provides a new analytical method for the structural design and performance assessment of lightweight hybrid metal-composite gear systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]