Simulation of Oil Lubrication and

Losses in Gear Transmission System

Rohit Kumar
Lubeena R
Padmesh Mandloi
2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Outline
Introduction
Usage of CFD
Current Study
Results

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Introduction: Gear Transmission

Power transmission :

Movement of energy from its place of generation

to a location where it is applied to performing
useful work.
Normally accomplished by gears, belts, ropes,
chains, couplings and friction clutches.

Gear Transmission: Transfer of power using gears

and gear trains.
Application of Gear Transmission

Automobiles
Agricultural Equipment
Wind Turbines
Industrial
Construction
Mining

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Lubrication
Functions of Lubricating Oil

Provide adequate lubrication

Provide cooling to gear components

Lubrication systems:

Grease Lubrication:
Suitable for any gear system that is open or enclosed, so long as it runs at low speed
Splash Lubrication: Difficult to predict
Gears dip into an oil bath and transfers the lubricant to the contacting teeth as it
rotates.
Forced-spray lubrication: Controlled
Lubricant is pumped to the gear train, then its returned to the reservoir to be
recirculated.

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

*Reference: Elements of Metric Gear Technology,Section:20

Challenges
To ensure proper lubrication
To ensure proper cooling
To minimize power losses
Load Dependent Power Loss: Mechanical Power loss due to friction at contacts
Load Independent Power Loss : Related to viscous effect
Churning Loss
Windage Loss

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Usage of CFD
Prediction of flow pattern
To ensure proper lubrication
To ensure optimum cooling performance

Prediction of Losses
Factors affecting the Losses
RPM
Fluid material
Gear geometry: No. of teeth, width, size
Gear casing

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Numerical Investigation on Fluid Flow of Gear

Lubrication
Numerical Investigation on Fluid Flow of Gear Lubrication, Li, L., Versteeg,
et,al, 2008 SAE International Powertrains, Fuels and Lubricants Congress
Study: Analyzed the flow pattern for different lubricant levels and physical
properties and rotational speed.
Using ANSYS Fluent ( VOF and MDM)
Compared with experimental results

The comparison of simulation and experiment results

of fluid flow for different rotational speed of pinion. (a)
& (b): 34 rad/s, (c) & (d): 126 rad/s. The legend in (a) &
(c) indicates the volume fraction.

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Simulations of Splash Losses of a

Gearbox
CFD Simulations of Splash Losses of a Gearbox, Carlo Gorla et al, Advances
in Tribology, Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 616923, 10 pages
Study- CFD simulations were performed in order to understand the
influence of geometrical and operating parameters on the losses in power
transmissions. The results of the model were validated with experimental
results.
Sliding Mesh was used to rotate the gear.

Contour plot of the velocity field for four different tangential

velocities (m/s) in the symmetry plane of the gear: (a) 500 rpm (b)
2000 rpm (c) 5000 rpm (d) 8000 rpm

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

CFD SIMULATION OF DRIVE UNIT

CFD SIMULATION OF DRIVE UNIT COOLING HELPS TO IMPROVE
RELIABILITY, By Tadashi Yamada, Drivetrain Unit Engineering
Design Division Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota, Japan

Oil Flow Pattern

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Surface temperatures were reduced in the model on the right after

redistributing cooling fins based on earlier simulation results

Current Study
Objectives
Obtain oil splash pattern and flow pattern in the gear system
Obtain churning losses
Effect of Viscosity on Churning Loss
Gear-Set-1-Driving
(972 Rpm,35T)
Gear-Set-1-Driven
(756 Rpm,45T)

Oil is half filled

Gear-Set-2-Driven
(453 Rpm,100T)
2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Gear-Set-2-Driving
(756 Rpm,60T)

Mesh
Mesh Type- Tetrahedral
Mesh
Mesh Count 4.2 Million
Minimum Cell volume :
-Gear Set 1: 3.413231e-11
-Gear Set 2: 4.482375e-11

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Gap Between Mating Gears

Gear-set-1

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Gear-set-2

Setup Details
3D Transient solver
Models
Viscous : Realizable K-e with Standard Wall Function
Multiphase: Explicit VOF with Implicit Body Force

Materials:
Oil (Secondary Phase)
Air (Primary Phase)

Dynamic Mesh
Remeshing with 2.5 D

Numerical Settings:
Scheme : SimpleC (Skewness Correction = 0)
Gradient: Green Gauss Node Based
Pressure: Presto
Volume Fraction : Compressive
Turbulent Kinetic Energy & Specific Dissipation Rate : First Order Upwind

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Results
Moment Plot
Churning Loss Plot
Animation

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Results: Moment History

Dynamic Viscosity -0.04kg/m-s

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Results: Moment History

Dynamic Viscosity -0.04kg/m-s

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Results: Churning Power Loss

Dynamic Viscosity -0.04kg/m-s

2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Results: Churning Power Loss

Dynamic Viscosity -0.04kg/m-s

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Results: Effect of Viscosity of fluids on

Moment

Dynamic Viscosity :
Low Viscous: 0.04kg/m-s
High Viscous: 1.06kg/m-s
2011 ANSYS, Inc.

Animations

Low-viscosity Lubricant

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High-viscosity Lubricant

Animations

Gear-Set-1

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Low-viscosity Lubricant

Gear-Set-2

APPENDIX

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Theoretical Calculation

2011 ANSYS, Inc.