Enumeration and Selection of Clutching Sequences Associated with Epicyclic-type Transmission Mechanisms

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the kinematics, the torque distributions, and the power losses of epicyclic gear mechanisms based upon the concepts of fundamental geared entities and fundamental circuits. The kinematic characteristics of fundamental geared entity are applied to the overall speed ratio analysis of epicyclic gear mechanisms. It is shown that the overall speed ratio of an epicyclic gear mechanism can be symbolically expressed in terms of the speed ratios of its fundamental geared entities by decomposing an epicyclic gear mechanism into two subsystems and each subsystem into two subsystems until the lowest level subsystem contains only one fundamental geared entity. The results are then used for the estimation and comparison of various speed ratios of an epicyclic gear mechanism, which leads to the development of a methodology for the enumeration of feasible clutching sequences for a given epicyclic gear mechanism. Finally, a systematic methodology for the torque and power loss analyses is described and a procedure for selecting a most efficient clutching sequence of an epicyclic gear mechanism is presented.