Timothy L. Krantz -- Gear Technology Author

Timothy L. Krantz

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

Articles by Timothy L. Krantz

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2015-01-01

On the Correlation of Specific Film Thickness and Gear Pitting Life

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.