Analytical model for mesh stiffness calculation of spur gear pair with non-uniformly distributed tooth root crack

Gear tooth crack is likely to happen when a gear transmission train is working under excessive and/or long-term dynamic loads. Its appearance will reduce the effective tooth thickness for load carrying, and thus cause a reduction in mesh stiffness and influence the dynamic responses of the gear transmission system, which enables the possibility for gear fault detection from variations of the dynamic features. Accurate mesh stiffness calculation is required for improving the prediction accuracy of the dynamic features with respect to the tooth crack fault. In this paper, an analytical mesh stiffness calculation model for non-uniformly distributed tooth root crack along tooth width is proposed based on previous studies. It enables a good prediction on the mesh stiffness for a spur gear pair with both incipient and larger tooth cracks. This method is verified by comparisons with other analytical models and finite element model (FEM) in previous papers. Finally, a dynamic model of a gear transmission train is developed to simulate the dynamic responses when cracks with different dimensions are seeded in a gear tooth, which could reveal the effect of the tooth root crack on the dynamic responses of the gear transmission system. The results indicate that both the mesh stiffness and the dynamic response results show that the proposed analytical model is an alternative method for mesh stiffness calculation of cracked spur gear pairs with a good accuracy for both small and large cracks.     

Meshing characteristics of spur gear pair under different crack types

The effects of three different gear crack types such as, for example, the crack along tooth width uniformly and the crack propagating in the depth direction (crack type 1, CT1), the crack along tooth width non-uniformly and the crack propagating in both the depth and the tooth width directions (crack type 2, CT2), and the spatial crack propagating in the depth, the tooth width and the tooth profile directions (crack type 3, CT3) on the time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) of spur gear pairs are investigated in this study. Firstly, an analytical model for studying these three types of cracks is established based on potential energy method. A finite element (FE) model of the cracked spur gear pair is also built in the ANSYS software as well. In order to verify the analytical method, the TVMS obtained from analytical method is compared with that obtained from FE method under different crack types. Moreover, the effects of the depth, the length and the height of crack are discussed. The equivalent stress, contact pressure and displacement of tooth are also analyzed under different crack types by using the FE method. The results show that the effect of crack depth on TVMS is the largest, while that of the crack height is the smallest, and the non-penetrating crack for CT2 and CT3 will generate the non-uniform load distribution along tooth width.     

Simulation of crack propagation in spur gear tooth for different gear parameter and its influence on mesh stiffness

Most of the gear dynamic model relies on the analytical measurement of time varying gear mesh stiffness in the presence of a tooth fault. The variation in gear mesh stiffness reflects the severity of tooth damage. This paper proposes a cumulative reduction index (CRI) which uses a variable crack intersection angle to study the effect of different gear parameters on total time varying mesh stiffness. A linear elastic fracture mechanics based two dimensional FRANC (FRacture ANalysis Code) finite element computer program is used to simulate the crack propagation in a single tooth of spur gear at root level. A total potential energy model and variable crack intersection angle approach is adopted to calculate the percentage change in total mesh stiffness using simulated straight line and predicted crack trajectory information. A low contact ratio spur gear pair has been simulated and the effect of crack path on mesh stiffness has been studied under different gear parameters like pressure angle, fillet radius and backup ratio. The percentage reduction of total mesh stiffness for the simulated straight line and predicted crack path is quantified by CRI. The CRI helps in comparing the percentage variation in mesh stiffness for consecutive crack. From the result obtained, it is observed that the proposed method is able to reflect the effect of different gear parameters with increased deterioration level on total gear mesh stiffness values.     

Frequency spectrum and vibration analysis of high speed gear-rotor system with tooth root crack considering transmission error excitation

A finite element node dynamic model of gear-rotor-bearing system with different lengths of crack by taking the time-varying mesh stiffness, backlash, transmission error excitation, flexible shaft and supporting bearing into account is proposed. The time-varying mesh stiffness of gear-pair with cracked tooth is obtained by applying the improved potential energy method. Due to the periodic features of the dynamic responses of the system when the tooth is cracked, the short term component (tooth profile error and tooth pitch error) and long term component (accumulative pitch error) transmission error excitations are introduced, the RMS values, kurtosis values, and frequency spectrum diagrams of the dynamic response with respect to input speed considering different forms of transmission error excitation are gained. The influences of transmission error excitation and crack length on the dynamic responses are investigated. The effectiveness of the RMS value, kurtosis value and frequency spectrum in the judgment of the crack length is analyzed.     

An improved time-varying mesh stiffness algorithm and dynamic modeling of gear-rotor system with tooth root crack

When a tooth crack failure occurs, the vibration response characteristics caused by the change of time-varying mesh stiffness play an important role in crack fault diagnosis. In this paper, an improved time-varying mesh stiffness algorithm is presented. A coupled lateral and torsional vibration dynamic model is used to simulate the vibration response of gear-rotor system with tooth crack. The effects of geometric transmission error (GTE), bearing stiffness, and gear mesh stiffness on the dynamic model are analyzed. The simulation results show that the gear dynamic response is periodic impulses due to the periodic sudden change of time varying mesh stiffness. When the cracked tooth comes in contact, the impulse amplitude will increase as a result of reductions of mesh stiffness. Amplitude modulation phenomenon caused by GTE can be found in the simulation signal. The lateral–torsional coupling frequency increases greatly within certain limits and thereafter reaches a constant while the lateral natural frequency nearly remains constant as the gear mesh stiffness increases. Finally, an experiment was conducted on a test bench with 2 mm root crack fault. The results of experiment agree well with those obtained by simulation. The proposed method improves the accuracy of using potential energy method to calculate the time-varying mesh stiffness and expounds the vibration mechanism of gear-rotor system with tooth crack failure.     

Fault mode analysis and detection for gear tooth crack during its propagating process based on dynamic simulation method

Gearbox is one of the most important parts of rotating machinery, therefore, it is vital to carry out health monitoring for gearboxes. However, it is still an unsolved problem to disclose the impact of gear tooth crack fault on gear system vibration features during the crack propagating process, besides effective crack fault mode detection methods are lacked. In this study, an analytical model is proposed to calculate the time varying mesh stiffness of the meshing gear pair, and in this model the tooth bending stiffness, shear stiffness, axial compressive stiffness, Hertzian contact stiffness and fillet-foundation stiffness are taken into consideration. Afterwards, the vibration mechanism and effects of different levels of gear tooth crack on the gear system dynamics are investigated based on a 6 DOF dynamic model. Then, the crack fault vibration mode is studied, and a parametrical-Laplace wavelet method is presented to describe the crack fault mode. Furthermore, based on the maximum correlation coefficient (MCC) criterion, the optimized Laplace wavelet base is determined, which is then designed as a health indicator to detect the crack fault. The results show that the proposed method is effective in fault diagnosis of severe tooth crack as well as the early stage tooth crack.     

Experimental investigation of spur gear tooth mesh stiffness in the presence of crack using photoelasticity technique

Gear mesh stiffness plays a very important role in gear dynamics and it varies in the presence of gear fault such as crack. The measurement of stress intensity factor can lead to the determination of gear tooth mesh stiffness variation in the presence of crack in a spur gear system. In this paper, the technique of conventional photoelasticity has been revisited to explore the possibility of using it as a supplementary technique to experimentally measure the variation of gear mesh stiffness. An attempt has been made to calculate the variation of mesh stiffness for a pinion having a cracked tooth and a gear tooth with no crack of a spur gear pair. An analytical methodology based on elastic strain energy method in conjunction with total potential energy model has been adopted and implemented within the mesh stiffness calculations. To visualize the state of stress in a structure using finite element and other currently available methods, photoelasticity is considered to be one of the oldest and most developed experimental technique. An experimental methodology based on conventional photo-elasticity technique for computing stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracked spur gear tooth is presented for different single tooth contact position and crack length. The relation between contact position, crack length, crack configuration, SIF and the variation of total effective mesh stiffness have been quantified. Finally, a comparison has been made and the results obtained from finite element method (FEM) based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), analytical method and proposed experimental method has been outlined.     

The effects of spur gear tooth spatial crack propagation on gear mesh stiffness

Due to the presence of non-uniform load distribution, local non-homogeneity of material quality and potential misalignment of gear shafts and bearings, etc., spatial cracks may occur in the fillet region of spur gear teeth. These cracks will eventually propagate in three distinct directions either individually or simultaneously. These directions are the crack depth direction, the tooth width direction and the tooth profile direction. In this paper, an analytical investigation of the influence of spatial crack propagation on the time-varying Gear Mesh Stiffness (GMS) and also the Load Sharing Ratio (LSR) is presented. In order to quantitatively define the spatial crack propagation scenario, the involute spur gear tooth geometry cut with a typical double rounded rack is first determined using two parametric equations. The effects of some gear design parameters and initial crack locations on GMS and LSR are determined and compared with the results from previous papers that used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in order to verify the proposed analytical model. Finally, a quasi-parabolic crack propagation scenario is assumed, in which 7 propagation cases and 3 typical crack growth paths on the tooth surface are investigated to determine their effect on the maximum reduction of GMS when compared to normal conditions. The results are important for the dynamic simulation of gear transmission behavior, and consequently helpful for the monitoring of gearbox working condition and detection of early crack damage that may exist in gear sets.     

Crack behavior in a high contact ratio spur gear tooth and its effect on mesh stiffness

The efficiency of high contact ratio (HCR) gearing can be achieved by proper selection of gear geometry for increased load capacity and smoother operation despite of their high sliding velocities. The prediction of variation in mesh stiffness of HCR gearing is critical as the average number of teeth being in contact is high at a given time as compared to conventional low contact ratio (LCR) gearing. In this paper, linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) based finite element method is used to perform the crack propagation path studies of HCR spur gear having tooth root crack for two gear parameters viz. backup ratio and pressure angle. A total potential energy model has been adopted to analytically estimate the mesh stiffness variation. The results depict the mesh stiffness reduction in the presence of the crack. The percentage change in mesh stiffness with increasing crack length is an important parameter in fault diagnosis of geared transmission. Higher the percentage change in mesh stiffness, easier to detect the fault. Two gear parameters viz. back-up ratio and pressure angle has been studied and the effect of crack length on mesh stiffness have been outlined. With the increase of deterioration level gears having lower back-up ratio fault can be detected at an early stage, similarly, chances for early fault detection is more for gears having higher pressure angle.     

带有齿根裂纹故障的齿轮传动系统非线性动力学模型研究

在考虑齿面摩擦、时变啮合刚度、传递误差和质量偏心的情况下,利用集中质量法及牛顿定律建立了齿轮传动系统非线性振动微分方程.通过时变啮合刚度仿真了齿根裂纹故障,进而建立了具有齿根裂纹的非线性动力学故障模型.该模型在计算摩擦力时,考虑了载荷在啮合区的动态分配以及利用齿轮副的检验标准与公差值来确定齿轮副的传递误差.模型数值解的结果与故障特征的规律相符,为频谱机理的分析及故障特征的提取提供了有力的理论依据.     

The spur planetary gear torsional stiffness and its crack sensitivity under quasi-static conditions

The sun–planet and ring–planet tooth mesh stiffness variations and the resulting transmission errors are the main internal vibration generation mechanisms for planetary gear systems. This paper presents the results of torsional stiffness analysis of involute spur planetary gear systems in mesh using finite element methods. A planetary gear model with three planet gears and fixed ring gear and its subsystem models have been developed to study the subsystem and overall torsional stiffnesses. Based on the analysis of torsional mesh stiffness, predictive models for single branch sun–planet–ring and overall planetary gear torsional stiffnesses have been proposed. A crack coefficient was introduced to the sun–planet and ring–planet meshes to predict the effect and sensitivity of changes to the overall torsional mesh stiffness. The resulting mesh stiffness crack sensitivity of the overall gear system was analysed under quasi-static conditions. It was found that the carrier arm stiffness has great influence on the crack sensitivity while the overall stiffness was most sensitive to the crack on the sun–planet mesh.     

Time-varying mesh stiffness calculation of spur gears with spalling defect

Considering the effects of extended tooth contact (ETC), revised fillet-foundation stiffness under double-tooth engagement region, nonlinear contact stiffness and tooth spalling defect, an analytical model for time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) calculation of spur gears is established. In addition, the analytical model is also verified by comparing the TVMS under different spalling widths, lengths and locations with that obtained from finite element method. The results show that gear mesh stiffness decreases sharply with the increase of spalling width, especially during the single-tooth engagement; the spalling length only has an effect on the beginning and ending of gear mesh stiffness reduction; the spalling location can affect the range of gear mesh stiffness reduction, and the range will reduce when the spalling location is close to the addendum. This study can provide a theoretical basis for spalling defect diagnosis.     

基于齿轮传动系统横-扭-摆耦合非线性动力学模型的齿廓修形优化设计

基于齿轮传动系统动力学模型的齿廓修形优化设计可真实地反映修形参数对齿轮动态特性的影响。考虑几何偏心、陀螺力矩和齿向偏载力矩,建立了单级齿轮传动系统10自由度横-扭-摆耦合非线性动力学模型。提出了考虑齿轮实际运动状态并可适用于齿廓修形齿轮的啮合刚度模型,并采用解析法计算啮合刚度。为了降低齿轮传动系统的振动和噪声,以减小齿轮传动系统的动载系数为目标,建立了基于齿轮传动系统横-扭-摆耦合非线性动力学模型的齿廓修形优化模型。对某重载车辆齿轮传动系统进行了齿廓修形优化设计,优化结果有效的降低了齿轮的动载荷,可为设计低振动和低噪声的齿轮传动系统提供依据。     

Analysis of crack propagation during tooth interior fatigue fracture

Tooth interior fatigue fracture is a failure mode that is initiated as a fatigue crack in the interior of the tooth of a gear. TIFF cracks have been observed in case hardened idler gears. A fracture mechanical analysis of a TIFF crack is performed utilising FEA. A 3D TIFF crack is modelled at a position in the tooth that corresponds with an observed crack surface. The different material properties in the case and the core, determined by mechanical testing, are considered, as well as the residual state of stress due to case hardening. Various crack lengths are analysed to estimate crack propagation both into the core and into the case. The following results have been found:

• A TIFF crack initiated slightly under the case layer will propagate into the case layer where it stops.

• The main crack propagation will take place in the core.

• The crack propagation is only a small portion of the total life (order of 10⁵ cycles).

• After reaching the case layer the TIFF crack eventually deflects toward the tooth root and the upper part of the tooth falls off. The crack deflection is due to redistribution of contact loading. Several gear teeth pairs are simultaneously in contact and the cracked tooth is loaded less than the uncracked during this stage of life.

Influence of different load models on gear crack path shapes and fatigue lives

A computational model for determination of the service life of gears with regard to bending fatigue at gear tooth root is presented. In conventional fatigue models of the gear tooth root, it is usual to approximate actual gear load with a pulsating force acting at the highest point of the single tooth contact. However, in actual gear operation, the magnitude as well as the position of the force changes as the gear rotates. A study to determine the effect of moving gear tooth load on the gear service life is performed. The fatigue process leading to tooth breakage is divided into crack‐initiation and crack‐propagation period. The critical plane damage model has been used to determine the number of stress cycles required for the fatigue crack initiation. The finite‐element method and linear elastic fracture mechanics theories are then used for the further simulation of the fatigue crack growth.     

Wavelet analysis for gear crack identification

There are many typical damages and faults that can cause problems in relation to gear unit operation, a crack in the tooth root being probably the least desirable among them. It often results in failure of gear unit operation. Fault analyses presented in this article are based on gear units with real damages or faults, produced on the basis of real operating conditions. A test plant has been used. A possible damage can be identified by monitoring vibrations. The influences of a crack in a single-stage gear unit on produced vibrations are presented. A fatigue crack in the tooth root causes significant changes in tooth stiffness, whereas, in relation to other faults, changes of other dynamic parameters are more expressed. Different methods are used to analyse signals acquired by experiments. Signal analysis has been carried out in relation to a non-stationary signal, using the family of Time Frequency Analysis tools, such as Wavelets Analyses. Typical spectrogram and scalogram patterns resulting from reactions to faults or damages indicate the presence of damages in a very reliable way.     

Detecting cracks in the tooth root of gears

A crack in the tooth root is the least desirable damage caused to gear units and often leads to failure of gear unit operation. A possible damage in gear units can be identified by monitoring vibrations. In relation to that, different methods of time signals analysis are presented. Signals have been obtained by experiments. Significant changes in tooth stiffness are the result of a fatigue crack in a tooth root. As a consequence, dynamic response differs from the one in concern to an undamaged tooth. Amplitudes of time signal are, by frequency analysis, presented as a function of frequencies in spectrum with time frequency analysis.     

Investigation of crack propagation scatter in a gear tooth’s root

This paper describes the problem of determining crack initiation location and its influence on crack propagation in a gear tooth’s root. Three different load positions on the gear tooth’s flank were considered for this investigation of crack initiation and propagation. A special test device was used for the single tooth test. It can be concluded from the measurements that a crack can be initiated at very different locations in a tooth’s root and then propagate along its own paths. A numerical investigation into a crack initiation’s position and its influences on its propagation were carried out within the framework of linear fracture mechanics. The influence of a tooth’s load position, the geometry of the tooth’s root, and the influence of non-parallel load distribution on the tooth’s flank were considered when investigating the crack initiation’s position. Results show that linear fracture mechanics can be used for determining crack propagation, if better initial conditions for crack initiation are considered.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of crack initiation and propagation in bcc iron under load within spur gear tooth root

Spur gears are widely used in practice, and one of their typical failures is tooth breakage. In general, the tooth breakage occurs at tooth root, and the amount of crack growth during a meshing cycle is in atomistic scale. This work aims at identifying the mechanisms of crack initiation and propagation at tooth root by using molecular dynamics simulation. The results prove that there are phase transition regions and edge dislocations at crack tips. According to the distribution characteristic of the atomic potential, its concentration can be observed obviously by visualization software. In these concentration regions, microvoids come into being and expand gradually, which results in the subcrack initiation. Additionally, the microvoids and subcracks propagate along the high potential direction and then come together to accelerate the crack growth. Through carrying out a comparative simulation, the effects of heavy load at single meshing area on crack initiation and propagation are addressed.