Light weight, compactness and efficiency are key objectives in high performance vehicular transmission systems, which are subject to large variations in torque and power. Pitch line velocities of up to 52 m/s and teeth pair contact pressures of up to 3 GPa are routinely encountered under race conditions. Contact patch asymmetry due to angular misalignments between input and output shafts leads to the generation of high edge stress discontinuities on gear flanks, inducing fatigue spalling which affects system durability. Crowning is widely used as a palliative measure to mitigate these undesired effects. These problems can be further exacerbated by contact footprint truncation. The paper presents a new approach to modelling the kinematics and contact micro-geometry of meshing conjunctions of involute spur gears with profile and lead modifications. A time-efficient analytical method is presented to accurately determine the contact footprint and kinematics, leading to the solution of highly loaded non-Newtonian mixed thermo-elastohydrodynamic contact under the extreme prevalent conditions of high performance vehicular transmissions. The effect of tooth form modification on contact footprint truncation, contact kinematics and generated frictional power loss is investigated. This approach has not hitherto been reported in literature.
Efficiency and durability are key areas of research and development in modern racing drivetrains. Stringent regulations necessitate the need for components capable of operating under highly loaded conditions whilst being efficient and reliable. Downsizing, increasing the powerto-weight ratio and modification of gear teeth geometry to reduce friction are some of the actions undertaken to achieve these objectives. These approaches can however result in reduced structural integrity and component durability. Achieving a balance between system reliability and optimal efficiency requires detailed integrated multidisciplinary analyses, with the consideration of system dynamics, contact mechanics/tribology and stress analysis/structural integrity.This paper presents an analytical model to predict quasi-static contact power losses in lubricated spur gear sets operating under the Elastohydrodynamic regime of lubrication. Tooth Contact Analysis (TCA) is used to predict variations in contact loads, local surface curvature and rolling and sliding velocities. This is combined with an extrapolated oil film thickness formula available in literature, to predict instantaneous lubricant film thickness and sub-surface stresses. Subsequently, viscous and boundary friction are estimated, enabling calculation of power losses.The presented methodology has been used to investigate the effects of parabolic tip relief on power loss and induced sub-surface stresses. The results of this investigation are also presented.
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