Design of helical gear with carbon reinforced EN36 steel for two stage constant mesh gearbox weight reduction

Abstract

Engineering design is an iterative process that requires to be dealt with all feasible design solutions in order to arrive at a desired objective. Gear drives are considered as the critical components in a mechanical power transmission system. It is possible that gears will predominate as the most effective means of transmitting power in future machines due to their high degree of reliability and compactness. With the advancing technology in recent years, the machines are demanding varying speed and load. Over the years, research has been done predominantly on gears to minimize or to reduce the failures and for optimal design. The main aim of this work is to design and analyse the hybrid composite gears for two stage constant mesh helical gearbox and to compare the stress and deformation results with and without the inclusion of Carbon Fibre Reinforced (CFR) material. The objective of this research work is to reduce weight and rotational inertia of the entire assembly by using Hybrid Helical Gears. Carbon Fibre Standard UT Prepreg was selected for this study because of its high strength to weight ratio. By comparing the weights of EN36 Steel Gear and Hybrid Gear, a 25.3% reduction in weight was observed. This research work illuminates the replacement of EN36 alloy steel gear in terms of stresses and deformation with an added advantage of reduced weight and rotational inertia of the helical gear by using EN36/Carbon Fibre Composite material while considering the safety of the component in the application of two-stage constant mesh gearbox.