Loading Rate Dependence of Reducer Hysteresis and Its Influence on Lost Motion Test

Abstract

The study of hysteresis can be traced back to the 19th century. The key characteristics of hysteresis are rate independence and rate dependence. A typical system with hysteresis characteristics is the reducer. In the industrial sector, the hysteresis phenomenon of a reducer is often illustrated by the lost motion, which is always consistent with the rate independence by default. In the paper, a hysteretic model of reducer considering geometric errors is established. Theoretically, the hysteretic characteristics of the reducer are found to mostly maintain the rate dependence rather than the rate independence. The loading rate will lead to a change in the hysteretic characteristics of the reducer, thereby affecting the lost motion test and the design of the reducer. Through further experimental research, it is verified that the dependence of the loading rate will have an impact on the results of the lost motion test, and different gear materials have different effects on the dependence of the loading rate.