Computational studies on cycloidal gearboxes: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Abstract The high compactness of cycloidal gearboxes, their low backlash and their capability to withstand overloads are just some of the factors that have led the research to focus on these solutions for reducing speed. These types of gearboxes have very complex geometries, architectures and dynamics, and the contact between the various components occurs simultaneously in different areas of them. Therefore, numerical simulations can represent an essential tool for the design of these systems. The objective of this study is to understand in what and how numerical simulations can support the design of cycloidal reduction systems and make a review of the literature to understand to date, who, why and how has conducted these of studies. The reviewed contributions, collected through Scopus, are analyzed and classified according to, among others, the component modelled and analyzed, the scope of the analysis and if the analysis has been validated with experimental results. Bibliometric analyses show that the topic is of growing interest to the international scientific community but remains almost an Asian monopoly since most of the results are not shared in English. It has emerged that the study of the contact between cycloidal disk and rollers remains the most widespread study. The research showed that only a small number of analyses have been validated by experimental results.