Tim Krantz
has since
1987 worked as a research
engineer at the NASA Glenn
Research Center — first
as an employee of the U.S.
Army and presently as an
employee of NASA. He has
researched many topics
to improve power transmission components
and systems, with an emphasis on helicopter
gearbox technologies. He has also helped
investigate several issues for the NASA
Engineering Safety Center
—
including the
space shuttle rudder speed brake actuator,
space shuttle body flap actuator and the
International Space Station solar alpha rotary
joint mechanisms. Krantz is the current vice-
chair of the ASME Power Transmission and
Gearing Committee
The effect of the lubrication regime on gear performance has been recognized, qualitatively, for decades. Often the lubrication regime is characterized by the specific film thickness defined as the ratio of lubricant
film thickness to the composite surface roughness. It can be difficult to combine results of studies to create a cohesive and comprehensive data set. In this work gear surface fatigue lives for a wide range of specific film values were studied using tests done with common rigs, speeds, lubricant temperatures, and test procedures.