Planetary Gearbox Vibration Signal Characteristics Analysis and Fault Diagnosis

Planetary gearboxes are widely used in helicopters, wind turbines, mining machinery, and so forth. The structure and motion type of a planetary gearbox are more complex in comparison with a fixed-shaft one, which makes condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of planetary gearbox a challenging issue in practical applications. In order to understand the fundamental nature of planetary gearbox vibration, this paper conducts an investigation on vibration characteristics of a single-stage planetary gearbox. Assuming that the gearbox and the sensor revolve inversely at the speed of planet carrier, the problem can be transformed into two easier parts: research on fixed-shaft gearbox signal model and research on influence of sensor spinning. Based on this assumption, a vibration signal model of planetary gearbox is obtained. Experimental data are used to validate the model.