Static and dynamic simulations of mild abrasive wear in wide-faced solid spur and helical gears

Abstract

An original model is set up which incorporates the contribution of tooth wear in quasi-static and dynamic simulations of wide-faced solid spur and helical gears. Considering mild abrasive wear, Archard's law is used and the influence of the lubrication regime is included. Wear is accounted for via time and position varying distributions of normal deviations with respect to ideal flank geometry which are superimposed on profile and lead modifications. A time-step integration scheme combined with a contact algorithm is used to solve the equations of motion. The numerical results show that, for wide-faced gears, wear is asymmetric in the lead direction and can progressively improve load distribution. Wear seems generally detrimental to helical gear dynamic behaviour whereas, for uncorrected spur gears, it can be beneficial in terms of vibrations as it acts to a certain extent as profile relief. In the case of spur gears, wear appears as a dynamic phenomenon which interacts with gear vibrations as shown by transmission errors which are dependent on wear.