Design of Gears

R. K. Pandey, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
I.I.T. Delhi, New Delhi 110 106, India

Gears are used

to transmit
torque and
angular velocity
in wide varieties
of applications.

Gearbox

Variety of Gears

Helical gears: teeth are

Spur gears : tooth
inclined to the axis of
profile is parallel to the rotation, the angle
axis of rotation,
provides more gradual
transmits motion
engagement of the teeth
between parallel shafts. during meshing, transmits
motion between parallel
shafts.

Bevel Gear: teeth

are formed on a
conical surface, used
to transfer motion
between nonparallel and
intersecting shafts.

Straight Bevel Gear

Spiral Bevel Gear

Worm gear set: consists

of a helical gear and a
power screw (worm), used
to transfer motion between
non-parallel and nonintersecting shafts.

Rack and Pinion set: a

special case of spur gears
with the gear having an
infinitely large diameter,
the teeth are laid flat.

Gear

Worm

Gearset: Two
gears in mesh
Pinion: Smaller
of two gears

Nomenclature /Terminology

Nomenclature /Terminology

Gear tooth
sizes for
various
diametral
pitches.

Standard diametric pitch and

corresponding tooth size

Fundamental law of gearing

Angular velocity ratio between

gears of a gearset must remain
constant throughout the mesh

mV out / in rin / rout

VR (velocity ratio) =
(p / g) = (dg / dp) = (Ng / Np)

Torque ratio or Mechanical

advantage ( mA )

mA 1/ mV in / out rout / rin

Pressure angle ()
Angle between
the line of action
(common tangent)
and the direction
of velocity at the
pitch point.

Pressure angle ()
1. Standard values are
14.50 , 200 and 250 .
2. 200 most commonly
used.
3. 14.50 is now obsolete.

14.50

200

250

Circular pitch : pc d / N

Diametral pitch : p d N / d
Module : m d / N

Interference and undercutting

The involute tooth form is only
defined outside of the base circle.
Portion of tooth
below the base
circle will not be
involute and will
interfere with tip
of the tooth on the
mating gear.

Interference and undercutting

NB: Two mating gears must

have the same diametric
pitch ( pd ) and pressure angle
().

Gear manufacturing:
1. Forming (casting, molding,
drawing, extrusion etc.)
2. Machining (milling, shaping,
hobbing etc.)

Gear finishing processes:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Shaving
Grinding
Burnishing
Lapping
Honing

Gear materials:
1. Grey cast iron
2. Steels [medium to high
carbon (C35 to C60), alloy
steel]
3. Bronzes [Copper alloys
4. Thermoplastics

For gear design, the following

steps are essential:
1.Kinematics of gear teeth and gear trains
2.Force analysis
3.Design based on tooth bending strength
4.Design based on tooth surface strength

Free body diagrams of pinion and gear

Force Analysis (Helical Gears)

n = normal pressure angle
t = tangential pressure angle
=

helix angle
tan n = tan t cos

Wr = W sin n

Wt = W cos n cos
Wa = W cos n sin

Where W = total force

Wr = radial component
Wt = tangential component (transmitted load)
Wa = axial component (thrust load)
Wr = Wt tan t
Wa = Wt tan

t = pressure angle (20o or 25o)

= helix angle (10, 20, 30, or 40o)

American Gear Manufacturers

Association (AGMA) has for many
years been the responsible authority
for the dissemination of knowledge
pertaining to the design and analysis
of gearing.

The Lewis Formula

W. Lewis (1892)
was the first to
present a formula
for computing
the bending
stress in gear
tooth.

Assumptions made in deriving Lewis

equation
1. The load is applied to the tip of a single
tooth.
2. The radial component of the load, Wr , is
negligible.
3. The load is distributed uniformly across the
full face width.
4. Stress concentration in the tooth fillet is
negligible.

Bending stress

Lewis equation,
where

Modifications in Lewis equation according to

AGMA standards (American Gear Manufacturers
Association)
Modified Lewis
equation
Wt
Ka
KV
KS
KI
Pd
F
Km
KB
J

tangential transmitted load

application factor (accounts shocks)
dynamic factor (account for internally generated vibration)
size factor (refer fatigue concept)
Idler factor
transverse diameteral pitch
face width of the narrower member
load-distribution factor (accounts axial misalignment)
rim-thickness factor (gear has rim and spokes)
geometry factor for bending strength
which includes root fillet stress concentration factor Kf

Bending Stress Modifying Factors

Geometry factor J (Table 11-8 to 11-15)

Geometry factor J

Dynamic factor (Kv )

Application factor, Ka

Size factor, Ks
AGMA has not established
standards for size factor and
recommends that Ks be set to 1.

Rim thickness factor, KB

Backup ratio (mB)

KB = -2mB + 3.4 0.5 mB 1.2

KB = 1.0
mB 1.2

Load Distribution factor, Km

AGMA Bending Fatigue Strengths

for Gear Materials

Sfb is the corrected strength

KL is life factor
KT is the temperature factor

KR is the reliability factor

Reliability factor, KR

Temperature factor, KT
AGMA recommends using temperature factor
of 1 for operating temperatures (lubricant
temperature) up to 250oF. For higher
temperatures it can be estimated from:

KT=(460+TF)/620
This equation is valid for steel made gears.

KL is life factor

AGMA bending fatigue strengths for selection of gear materials

AGMA Bending Fatigue

Strength for the Steels
may be read from Fig.
11-25.

Surface Durability Analysis

Surface fatigue failure due to
many repetitions of high contact
stresses may evaluated using the
expression for the surface
contact stress.

Contact Stresses
Two bodies having curved
surfaces are pressed together then
point/line contact changes to area
contact and the stresses
developed in the two bodies will
be 3-D.

(a) Two spheres held in

contact by force F

(b) Contact stress at

face of width 2a

Stress
components
below the
surface of
contacting
spheres

(a) Two cylinders held in contact by force F;

(b) Contact stress at face of contact of width 2b

Stress
components
below the
surface of
contacting
cylinders

Plot of
shear
stresses
below the
surfaces
for point
and line
contacts

Surface Durability Analysis

pmax = 2W/( b l)
Where,
pmax = largest surface pressure
W = force pressing the two cylinders
l = length of cylinders

pmax = 2W/( b l)
2W
b

1/ 2

(1 ) / E1 (1 ) / E1

1/ d1 1/ d 2

W
2
t
c
F cos

2
1

2
1

2
2
(1 1 ) / E1 (1 1 ) / E1

1/ d1 1/ d2

Proper lubricating system

can minimize the surface
damage due to wear and
corrosion. But, surface
fatigue can occur even with
proper lubrication and its
the most common mode of
gear failure and is
characterized by pitting and
spalling of the tooth
surface. The damage is
caused by repeated contact
stresses.

Stress at concentrated line contact

(Buckingham equation)

W
t
c
F cos

1/ 2

2
2
(1 1 ) / E1 (1 1 ) / E1

1/ d1 1/ d 2

AGMA Surface Stress Equation

Cp
Wt
Ca
Cv
Cs
Cm
Cf
d
F
I

elastic coefficient, (lb/in2)0.5

transmitted tangential load
overload factor (same as Ka)
dynamic factor (same as Kv)
size factor (same as Ks)
load-distribution factor (same as Km)
surface condition factor
pitch diameter of the pinion
face width of the narrowest member
geometry factor

Surface Geometry Factor (I)

This factor takes into account the radii

of curvature of the pinion/gear teeth
and the pressure angle. AGMS provides
equations for I for different type of
gears. Please refer pages 724/725 and
761/764 of the main text book for
procedures of calculation of I for spur
and helical gears, respectively.

AGMA Elastic coefficient, CP

Surface finish factor Cf

AGMA recommends using
surface finish factor of 1 for gears
made by conventional methods.

AGMA Surface Fatigue Strength Equation

Refer Table 11-21 for Sfc

For CH refer page

734-735 of Machine
Design book by
Norton.

Safety factors against bending failure:

Nb pinion = Sfb/b pinion

Nb gear = Sfb/b gear

Safety factor against surface failure:

Nc pinion-gear = (Sfc/c pinion

2
)

The safety factor against surface failure is found by

comparing the actual load to the load that would produce a
stress equal to the materials corrected surface strength.
Because surface stress is related to the square rot of the
load, the surface fatigue safety factor can be calculated as
the quotient of the square of the corrected surface strength
divided by the square of the surface stress for each gear in
the mesh.

Please go through the

case study-7C printed on pages
741-747 of the text book
(Machine Design An Integrated
Approach written by R. L.
Norton. This will bring clarity
related to the gear design.

Exercise:
Following figure shows photographic and
schematic views of a reducer (a helical
gear set). The reducer connects a steam
turbine and an alternator in a power plant.
Shafts of the turbine (corresponds to
pinion shaft) and alternator (corresponds
to gear shaft) rotate at 8350 rpm and 1500
rpm, respectively.

continued
A need arises to determine the fatigue
safety factors of the pinion and gear teeth
for the data mentioned below:
Centre distance = 432 mm
Power to be transmitted = 3 MW
Plant operation= 3 shifts of 8 hours
Expected life of the reducer= 20 years

continued
Assume involute teeth profiles and
number of teeth on the pinion and gear 20
and 111, respectively. AGMA standard
full depth teeth may be used in design.
Both pinion and gear are made of same
material and the mating teeth surfaces
have equal hardness 60 HRC.

continued

Design steps
Step-1:
Number of teeth on gear and pinion:

(Ng)=111, Np=20
Velocity ratio:

mG= Ng/Np=111/20=5.55

Step-2:
Torque on the pinion shaft:
Tp = P/p
= 3.0 x 106 / (2 x x8350 / 60)
= 3430 N-m

Step-3:
Output torque:
Tg = mG x Tp = 5.55 x 3430
= 19036.5 N-m

Step-4:

Transmitted load will be same on

pinion and gear.
Wt = Tp/(dp/2) = 3430/(0.1319/2)
= 52 x 103 N

Step-5:
Velocity factor (Kv):
Pitch line velocity (Vt)
= (dp/2)p
= (0.1319/2) x (2 x x 8350/60)
= 57.66 m/s
Kv = { 78/ [78+ (200 x Vt)0.5]}0.5
=0.648

Step-6:
Various factors:
Size factor Ks = 1.0
Rim thickness factor KB = 1.0 (solid-disk gears)
Load distribution factor Km= 1.8
Application factor Ka = 1.25 (Moderate shock)
Idler factor KI = 1.0 (non idler case)
Bending geometry factor Jpinion = 0.428

Step-7:

Pinion-tooth bending stress:

bp = {(Wt x pd)/ (F x J)} x ( Ka.Km.Ks.KB.KI/Kv)

= {(52050 x 151.63)/(.190 x 0.428)}

x (2.25/0.65)
= 335.95 MPa

Step-8: Gear tooth bending stress:

bg = {(Wt x pd)/ (F x J)} x ( Ka.Km.Ks.KB.KI/Kv)

={(52050 x 151.63)/(.190 x 0.61)} x

(2.25/0.65)

=235.71 MPa

Step-9:

Length of action:

Zpg = {(rp+ap)2 (rp cos )2}0.5 +{(rg+ag)2

(rg cos )2}0.5 - Cpg sin

= { (0.0723)2 (0.06595 x cos(20.7))2}0.5 +

{ (0.3723)2 (0.366 x cos(20.7))2}0.5 -0.432
x sin (20.7)
=0.0377 + 0.1462 0.1527 = 0.0311 m

Step-10:

Transverse contact ratio:

mpg =pd x Zpg / (3.14 x cos (20.7)) =1.6
Step-11: Axial contact ratio:
mF = F x pd x tan/3.14 = 0.190 x 151.63 x
0.28/3.14 =2.57
px = pt cot = 0.0207 x cot 15.67 = 0.0737 m

Step-12: Normal pressure angle and

helix angle:

n = 200 , b = 14.70

Step-13: Minimum length of the lines of contact

for mesh:
nrpg = Fractional part of mppg = 0.6
na=Fractional part of mF = 0.57

Lmin pg = {mp pg F (1-na)(1-nr pg) px}/ cos b

={1.6 x 0.19 - (1- 0.57) (1- 0.6) x 0.0737}/cos 14.7
= 0.301 m
m N pg = F/ Lmin pg = .190/.301 = 0.63

Step-14:
Radii of curvature of teeth:
p = {{ 0.5 [(rp+ap)+(Cpg-rg-ag)]}2 -(rp cos )2}0.5

={0.00435 - .003805} 0.5 = 0.0233 m

g = Cpg sin - p = 0.432 sin (20.7)- 0.0233

= 0.129 m

Step-15:

Pitting geometry factor:

Ipg = cos /{ (1/p +1/g) dp mN pg}

= .935/(50.67 x .1319 x 0.63)
= 0.222

Step-16: The elastic coefficient:

Cp = {3.14 x [(1-2p)/ Ep +(1-2g)/ Eg]}-0.5
= 191.63
Material of pinion and gear is same.

Step-17: Surface stress at mesh:

c p = Cp { (Wt Ca Cm Cs Cf)/ (F Ipg dp Cv)}0.5

= 191.63 {(52050 x1.25 x1.8x1.0x1.0)/
(0.19x.222x0.1319x.65)}0.5

=1090.5 MPa

Step-18: Corrected bending-fatigue strength:

Sfb = 6235 + 174 HB 0.126 HB2
=6235 + 174 x 600 0.126 x (600) 2
= 65275 x 6890= 450 MPa
This value needs to be corrected for certain
factors. Service life = 20 years continuous
run.

Operating temperature= 700C

No. of cycles during service =8350 x 20 x 365 x 24 x60

=8.77 x1010
Life factor KL= 1.3558 (8.77 x1010) -0.0178 = 0.86
Temperature factor KT= 1.0
Reliability factor KR = 1.0
Corrected bending fatigue strength:
Sfb = (KLx Sfb)/ (KTx KR)
=(0.86 x 450)/(1x1) =387 MPa

Step-19: Corrected surface-fatigue strength:

Sfc = 27 000 + 364 x HB= 27000 + 364 x
600 =245400x6890= 1690 MPa
CL = Life factor = 1.44(8.77 x1010) -0.023 =0.81
CT=1.0
CR=1.0
CH=1.0
Sfc = CL x CH x Sfc /(CTxCR) = 0.81 x 1690
= 1369 MPa

Step-20:
Safety factor against bending failure:
Nb pinion = 387/335.95= 1.15
Nb gear = 387/ 235.71 = 1.64

O.K.
O.K.

Step-21:
Safety factor against surface failure:
Nc Pinion = (1369/ 1090.5) 2 = 1.57
O.K.

Thank you for

your kind
attention
Dr. R. K. Pandey, Dept. of Mech. Engg., IIT Delhi