Application study of fractal theory in mechanical transmission

Mechanical transmissions are applied widely in various electrical and mechanical products, but some qualities of some high-end products can’t meet people’s demand, and need to be improved with some new methods or theories. The fractal theory is a new mathematic tool, which provides a new approach for the further study in the area of the mechanical transmission, and helps to solve some problems. The basic contents of the fractal theory are introduced firstly, especially the two important concepts, the self-similar fractal and the fractal dimension. Then, the deferent application of the fractal theory in this area are given to display how to further the study and improve some important characteristics of the mechanical transmission, such as contact surfaces, manufacturing precise, friction and wear, stiffness, strength, dynamics, fault diagnosis, etc. Finally, the problems of the fractal theory and its application are discussed, and some weaknesses, such as the calculation capacity of the fractal theory is not strong, are pointed out. Some new solutions are suggested, such as combining the fractal theory with the fuzzy theory, the chaos theory and so on. The new application fields of the fractal theory in the area of the mechanical transmission are proposed.