A method for detecting degenerate structures in planetary gear trains

A method for detecting degenerate structures in planetary gear trains (PGTs) is presented. In the context of the graph representation of the kinematic structure of PGTs, the method uses the concept of fundamental circuits and their grouping to generate the detection algorithm. The main advantage is the reduction in the required combinatorial analysis relative to other methods. A computer implementation of the algorithm was used to obtain the graphs of all the PGTs of up to nine members that contain degenerate structures.