Wedge-loading planetary traction drive: Modeling and performance analysis

The continuous development of motors with high speed and high power density has significantly increased the demand for high-speed reducers. Traction drive has emerged as a new option for high-speed reducers due to its high transmission efficiency and accuracy in high-speed transmission. In the previous theoretical studies on traction drive, the traction coefficient was set as a fixed value, and the influence of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) on the traction coefficient was ignored. Therefore, this paper investigated the wedge-loading planetary traction drive (WL-PTD) and established a theoretical model combining the macroscopic and microscopic traction mechanisms of the traction drive based on Hertzian contact and mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (mixed EHL). The loading principle and transmission performance of WL-PTD were studied through numerical computations, and the effects of different design parameters on transmission performance were discussed. When the input speed of WL-PTD was 10,000 rpm, the peak value of the global sliding coefficient was approximately 1.27×10 −5 , and the maximum transmission efficiency reached 97.41%, indicating an excellent transmission performance of the WL-PTD. The findings of this study can provide theoretical guidance for subsequent optimization design.