Abstract Reliable lubrication is essential to the life of gear transmission systems. An approach to predict the reliability of gear elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) under a random input torque is proposed in this article. Firstly, a single-degree-of-freedom nonlinear stochastic dynamic model that considers backlash, a time-varying mesh stiffness, and random loads is established to obtain the probability distribution of the tooth meshing force. An EHL model is employed to obtain the relationship curve of the gear meshing force and the minimum film thickness at different positions of the active line. Then, the probability distribution of the minimum film thickness, which is the input variable of the reliability model, can subsequently be obtained by combining the probability distribution of the tooth meshing force and the meshing force–minimum film thickness curve. Finally, the reliability of the lubrication can be evaluated by the generalized stress–strength interference theory. To validate the method, an involute gear pair is analyzed, and the results show that the failure probability of full-film lubrication is high at the dedendum of the pinion and boundary lubrication would not occur. The wear condition of the gear obtained from the failure probability is consistent with observations.

中文翻译：

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随机载荷作用下齿轮弹流润滑的可靠性分析方法

摘要 可靠的润滑对齿轮传动系统的寿命至关重要。本文提出了一种预测随机输入扭矩下齿轮弹性流体动力润滑 (EHL) 可靠性的方法。首先，建立考虑齿隙、时变啮合刚度和随机载荷的单自由度非线性随机动力学模型，得到齿啮合力的概率分布。采用EHL模型得到齿轮啮合力与有效线不同位置最小油膜厚度的关系曲线。然后，最小薄膜厚度的概率分布，这是可靠性模型的输入变量，随后可以通过结合齿啮合力的概率分布和啮合力-最小膜厚曲线来获得。最后，润滑的可靠性可以通过广义应力-强度干涉理论进行评估。为了验证该方法，对渐开线齿轮副进行了分析，结果表明小齿轮齿根处全膜润滑失效概率较高，不会发生边界润滑。从失效概率得到的齿轮磨损情况与观察结果一致。结果表明，小齿轮齿根处的全油膜润滑失效概率较高，不会发生边界润滑。从失效概率得到的齿轮磨损情况与观察结果一致。结果表明，小齿轮齿根处的全油膜润滑失效概率较高，不会发生边界润滑。从失效概率得到的齿轮磨损情况与观察结果一致。