Analysis of the Transmission Error of Spur Gears Depending on the Finite Element Analysis Condition

Abstract

Finite element analysis is widely used to predict the structural stability and tooth contact performance of gears. This study focused on the effect of finite element modeling conditions of a spur gear on the simulation result and the model simplification. The gear body and teeth, teeth width, configuration of mesh, frictional coefficient, and simulation time interval (gear mesh cycle division) were selected for model simplification for gear analysis. The static transmission error during a single-gear mesh cycle was calculated to represent the performance of the gear, and the elapsed time was measured as a simplification factor. Contact stress distribution was also checked. The differences in maximum transmission error and elapsed time depending on the model simplification methods were analyzed. After all simplification methods were estimated, an optimal combination of the methods was defined, and the result was compared with that of the most detailed modeling methods.