I have a query (regarding) calculated gear life values. I would like to understand for what % of gear failures the calculated life is valid? Is it 1-in-100 (1% failure, 99% reliability) or 1-in-one-thousand (0.1% failure)?

The objective of this work is to introduce a method for the calculation of the tooth root load carrying capacity for gears, under consideration of the influence of the defect size on the endurance fatigue strength of the tooth root. The theoretical basis of this method is presented in this paper as well as the validation in running tests of helical and beveloid gears with different material batches, regarding the size distribution of inclusions. The torque level for a 50 percent failure probability of the gears is evaluated on the test rig and then compared to the results of the simulation. The simulative method allows for a performance of the staircase method that is usually performed physically in the back-to-back tests for endurance strength, as the statistical influence of the material properties is considered in the calculation model. The comparison between simulation and tests shows a high level of accordance.

Although gear geometry and the design of asymmetric tooth gears are well known and published, they are not covered by modern national or international gear design and rating standards. This limits their broad implementation for various gear applications, despite substantial performance advantages in comparison to symmetric tooth gears for mostly unidirectional drives. In some industries — like aerospace, that are accustomed to using gears with non-standard tooth shapes — the rating of these gears is established by comprehensive testing. However, such testing programs are not affordable for many other gear drive applications that could also benefit from asymmetric tooth gears.

In several applications like hoisting equipment and cranes, open gears are used to transmit power at rather low speeds (tangential velocity < 1m/s) with lubrication by grease. In consequence those applications have particularities in terms of lubricating conditions and friction involved, pairing of material between pinion and gear wheel, lubricant supply, loading cycles and behavior of materials with significant contact pressure due to lower number of cycles.

The common calculation methods according to DIN 3990 and ISO 6336 are based on a comparison of occurring stress and allowable stress. The influence of gear size on the load-carrying capacity is considered with the size factors YX (tooth root bending) and ZX (pitting), but there are further influences, which should be considered. In the following, major influences of gear size on the load factors as well as on the permissible tooth root bending and contact stress will be discussed.

This is the third article in a series exploring the new ISO 6336 gear rating standard and its methods of calculation. The opinions expressed herein are htose of the author as an individual. They do not represent the opinions of any organization of which he is a member.

One of the best ways to learn the ISO 6336 gear rating system is to recalculate the capacity of a few existing designs and to compare the ISO 6336 calculated capacity to your experience with those designs and to other rating methods. For these articles, I'll assume that you have a copy of ISO 6336, you have chosen a design for which you have manufacturing drawings and an existing gear capacity calculation according to AGMA 2001 or another method. I'll also assume that you have converted dimensions, loads, etc. into the SI system of measurement.

ISO 6336 Calculation of Load Capacity of Spur and Helical Gears was published in 1997 after 50 years of effort by an international committee of experts whose work spanned three generations of gear technology development. It was a difficult compromise between the existing national standards to get a single standard published which will be the basis for future work. Many of the compromises added complication to the 1987 edition of DIN 3990, which was the basic document.

The American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to write all U.S. standards on gearing. However, in response to the growing interest in a global marketplace, AGMA became involved with the International Standards Organization (ISO) several years ago, first as an observer in the late 1970s and then as a participant, starting in the early 1980s. In 1993, AGMA became Secretariat (or administrator) for Technical Committee 60 of ISO, which administers ISO gear standards development.

In Part I differences in pitting ratings between AGMA 218, the draft ISO standard 6336, and BS 436:1986 were examined. In this part bending strength ratings are compared. All the standards base the bending strength on the Lewis equation; the ratings differ in the use and number of modification factors. A comprehensive design survey is carried out to examine practical differences between the rating methods presented in the standards, and the results are shown in graphical form.