Static contact analysis of spiral bevel gear based on modified VFIFE (vector form intrinsic finite element) method

Abstract

• A new method to determine the theoretical formulas of the 8-node hexahedral entity element for the VFIFE method was developed. • Matching contact algorithms are proposed and combined with the VFIFE method. • Finite element model of a spiral bevel gear pair was established and analyzed by the VFIFE method. • The computational accuracy of the VFIFE models with different mesh densities was discussed and summarized. Since the intrinsic limitations of FEM (Finite element method) and lumped-mass method, we derive the formula of 8-node hexahedral element based on VFIFE (vector form intrinsic finite element method) method and applied it in contact analysis of gears. This paper proposed a new method to determine pure nodal deformation, which could simplify the computation compared to the traditional VFIFE method. Combining the VFIFE method and matching contact algorithm, we analyzed spiral bevel gear meshing problems. Spiral bevel models with two different mesh densities are calculated analyzed by the VFIFE method and FEM. Performance indicators of gears are extracted and compared, including contact forces, contact and bending stresses, contact stress patterns and loaded transmission errors. The results show that the VFIFE method has a stable performance and reliable accuracy under coarse or refined mesh conditions, while the FEM inaccurately calculates the contact stress of the coarse mesh model. The examples demonstrate that the proposed method could precisely analyze gear meshing problems with a coarse mesh model, which provides a new solution for gear mechanics.