Abstract
In helical gear systems, the bending-torsional-axial coupled vibration is significantly influenced by nonlinear factors such as backlash and Time-Varying Mesh Stiffness (TVMS), exhibiting complex nonlinear dynamic behaviors. Existing research primarily focuses on the mechanisms underlying nonlinear resonance, bifurcation, and chaos phenomena. However, the influence of various nonlinear dynamic behaviors on the laws of energy transfer and dissipation in coupled systems remains unclear. Based on power flow theory, this paper investigates the energy distribution characteristics of helical gear coupled systems from the perspective of energy dissipation and explores the influence of nonlinear bifurcation on energy variations. To this end, a 9-degree-of-freedom dynamic model of the bending-torsional-axial coupling is established, incorporating nonlinear factors such as backlash, TVMS, and Static Transmission Error (STE). An energy evaluation metric of time-averaged dissipated power is proposed to analyze the distribution and evolution of energy dissipation within various nonlinear dynamic behaviors. Furthermore, by constructing a two-dimensional dual-parameter plane, the global effects of key parameters, including STE, electromagnetic torque, damping ratio, and support stiffness, on the dynamic characteristics of the system are revealed, and the mechanisms by which these parameters influence the energy flow are examined. The results demonstrate that variations in rotational speed significantly influence the energy dissipation distribution across various branches of the helical gear system. Nonlinear bifurcation behaviors may lead to a sharp increase in dissipated energy. Through rational design of system parameters, it is possible to effectively suppress energy mutations and high energy dissipation levels induced by nonlinear bifurcations and resonances.