Numerical simulation of conjugate spur gear action

This paper describes a finite element procedure which simulates the conjugate action of spur gear drives, by approximating both the rotations of gears and the elastic deformations of the load carrying teeth. Drive members are considered as individual subdomains, being able to rotate around corresponding axes, allowing elastic engagements at successive contact points. Discretizing gear motion by imposing incremental rotations on the driver gear, one establishes rolling contact between operating teeth surfaces. The load transmission occurred by the contacting surfaces arises variable elastic deformations which are being evaluated through finite element analysis. Accounting on standard proportions of gears and transmission characteristics of drives, the proposed model formulates a computational design problem by means of a few linearly independent global variables. Considering the necessary cases, the numerical efficiency of the method was examined and time histories of some significant stress components are presented and discussed. The proposed model describes effectively both the tooth loading conditions and the variation of stresses, and constitutes further a potent tool in analyzing gear drives.