Dynamic interaction between contact loads and tooth wear of engaged plastic gear pairs

This study investigates the interaction between the dynamic contact load and the tooth profile wear of POM and Nylon 66 plastic gear pairs. A dynamic model of a plastic gear pair is presented. This model incorporates the effects of position-varying tooth mesh stiffness, damping ratio, load sharing, tooth profile wear and temperature on the dynamic contact load. The tooth wear equation developed by Flodin and Andersson [Simulation of mild wear in spur gears. Wear 1997;207:16–23] is utilized to simulate tooth wear and tooth profile variation. The variation of the contact load generated by the cumulative tooth profile wear is simulated and examined. A computational algorithm is developed to simulate the interaction between a dynamic contact load and tooth profile wear. Numerical results demonstrate that the dynamic load histogram of an engaged plastic gear pair can change markedly due to tooth wear.