The Finite Element Transient Structure Analysis of the Startup of the Sugarcane Harvester Transfer Case

The broken bearings, great noise and vibration often occurs with the small sugarcane harvester transfer case when it starts up working. To analyze the startup status of the transfer case conveniently and quickly, the finite element transient structure analysis is carried out. The virtual prototype technology to simulate the transfer case's startup dynamic process and measure the instantaneous load values is used. Stress distribution and load variation analysis results show that during startup, the stress concentration of node load increases rapidly with gear speed rising transiently. The maximum value lying on the underside of the bearing base goes beyond the allowable range before dropping sharply to approach the steady state with stress within the allowable range. Therefore, at startup the impact load of the transfer case increases far greater than in the steady state which deteriorates the structure stress condition seriously. The strength of the transfer case is then enriched by structural improvement accordingly to reduce maximum stress by 36.8%, the maximum deviation by 18.5% and the vibration up to 30%, improving the bearings working reliability notably.