Operating Load and Fatigue Life of the Rack and Pinion of Three Gorges Ship Lift

doi:10.3901/JME.2024.05.119

Abstract

Abstract: Based on the operating data of the Three Gorges ship lift, the variation load of the rack and pinion under different operating conditions is studied, and the load model is established using the data fitting results. The rack and pinion load spectrum under multiple working conditions was compiled via the load model and the statistical distribution of water depth in the operations of ship lift. The service reliability of the rack and pinion transmission system of Three Gorges ship lift was verified by the fatigue life calculation in the combination with previous full-size test results. The results show that the operating load of rack and pinion of the Three Gorges ship lift is mainly composed of a deterministic load that controlled by the water depth and operating state and a random load deviation conforming to the normal distribution. The load model is established based on the data fitting results. Under the influence of the ship lift operation state and the water depth of the ship box, the load could be at both the upper and lower tooth surfaces of the rack and pinion, and the magnitude of load at different positions of the rack is not the same, so it is necessary to compile the load spectrum by region and component the rack and pinion. The load is mainly concentrated on the pinion’s lower tooth surface and the upper tooth surface of the rack in the middle region, but for the rack in the top and bottom region, the loaded surface is mainly the lower and upper tooth surface, respectively, and the load is more significant than that of the middle rack. It is the upper tooth surface of the bottom rack that suffered the most severe load condition, while its calculated fatigue damage degree is only 1.36×10^‒5, corresponding to a potential fatigue life of 3.11×10¹¹ cycles, which is far beyond the design life of the rack. The full-size simulation test results completed in an early stage also verified that there is no risk of fatigue damage of the pinion and rack of the Three Gorges ship lift.

Key words: Three Gorges ship lift, rack and pinion, operating load, load spectrum, fatigue life

CLC Number:

TH114
TH132

SHI Lubing, ZHANG Zhihong, YAN Xiaoqing, TANG Weibi, PEI Bang, LIU Zhongming. Operating Load and Fatigue Life of the Rack and Pinion of Three Gorges Ship Lift[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2024, 60(5): 119-129.

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