Effect of micro-textures on lubrication characteristics of spur gears under 3D line-contact EHL model

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a combination of numerical simulation and experiment to evaluate the performance of laser surface texturing (LST) in the field of gear lubrication, and to more accurately predict the lubrication characteristics of different surfaces. Design/methodology/approach The method used in this paper is developed on the basis of the deterministic solution of the three-dimensional (3D) mixed elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model and the model parameters are corrected by friction test. The film pressure, film thickness and friction coefficient of different micro-textured tooth surfaces are predicted on the basis of accurate 3D mixed EHL models. Findings The results demonstrate that the micro-texture structure of the tooth surface can increase the local film thickness and enhance the lubricating performance of the tooth surface without drastically reducing the contact fatigue life. The stress distribution and friction characteristics of the tooth surface can be optimized by adjusting the micro-texture arrangement and the size of the micro-textures. Originality/value A new evaluation method using a 3D hybrid EHL model and friction test to predict the lubrication characteristics of LST is proposed, which can effectively improve the processing economy and save time. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2020-0423