Abstract: In order to investigate the rattling characteristics of a gear system, the numerical simulation and mapping method are used. According to the mapping relationship between the every impact, or between the periodic rattling process, it is concludes that the exciting amplitude is an important factor, which affects the rattling characteristics. When the exciting amplitude is increased, the impacting velocity is also increased, and in certain condition, backside impact takes place. When the exciting amplitude is changed, the initial disengagement state is also changed, therefore, one, double, multiple periodic rattling, even quasi-periodic rattling characteristics appear in a gear system. The second harmonic of the speed fluctuation affects the rattling characteristics as same as the first harmonic, therefore, neglecting the second harmonic can lead to more error. It is convenient to investigate the rattling characteristics by means of the mapping relationship between the periodic rattling process.

Key words: Gear system, Mapping, Nonlinearity, Rattling, Speed fluctuation