New Applications in Version 5.2a Differential Gear This example illustrates the modeling of a differential gear mechanism, commonly used in automobiles. The differential gear allows the outer drive wheel to rotate faster than the inner drive wheel during a turn. This is necessary when the vehicle turns, making the wheel that is traveling around the outside of the turning curve roll farther and faster than the other. In this model, five sets of straight bevel gears are used to model the differential mechanism. The speed ratio of the two output shafts is varied to simulate the motion of a vehicle on a straight as well as a curved path. Gear Train This example illustrates the modeling of a gear train where shafts are mounted on an elastic housing. A transient analysis is performed to compute the angular velocity and acceleration of all of the gears, contact forces on the gear pairs, and the normal acceleration of the housing. The gear mesh is assumed elastic and the detailed contact model is set up for the computation of gear mesh stiffness. A parametric analysis is performed to compute the gear mesh stiffness as a function of gear rotation in one mesh cycle. Bevel Gear Pair This is a verification example where the obtained results are compared with the results from the reference. This example illustrates the modeling of a straight conical bevel gear pair. The gears are modeled as rigid. One of the gears is fixed and the other is mounted on a rigid bar, which is free to rotate about the center of the fixed gear. A transient analysis is performed to compute the forces and moments experienced by the fixed gear. Helical Gear Pair This is a tutorial example that illustrates the modeling of a helical gear pair. The gear mesh is assumed rigid and elastic in two different cases. A transient study is performed to analyze the effect of gear mesh stiffness as well as the joint stiffness on the contact force and the speed of the gears. An eigenfrequency analysis is also performed to compute the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a gear pair for both rigid and elastic gear mesh.