Analysis of Vibratory Excitation of Gear Systems as a Contributor to Aircraft Interior Noise

Application of the transfer function approach to predict the resulting interior noise contribution requires gearbox vibration sources and paths to be characterized in the frequency domain. Tooth-face deviations from perfect involute surfaces were represented in terms of Legendre polynomials which may be directly interpreted in terms of tooth-spacing errors, mean and random deviations associated with involute slope and fullness, lead mismatch and crowning, and analogous higher-order components. The contributions of these components to the spectrum of the static transmission error is discussed and illustrated using a set of measurements made on a pair of helicopter spur gears. The general methodology presented is applicable to both spur and helical gears.