scholarly journals Duncan Dowson: Pioneer of elastohydrodynamic lubrication of gears

Author(s):  
HP Evans ◽  
RW Snidle

The paper briefly reviews Duncan Dowson's ground-breaking contribution to the theory of elastohydrodynamic lubrication in relation to the understanding of lubrication of gear tooth contacts. His early work with Higginson on numerical modelling of elastohydrodynamic lubrication finally explained how gears can operate successfully, and avoid wear, due to the generation of a stiff, protective oil film. The resulting minimum film thickness equation stands as a reliable reference formula for calculations in gear design standards. The paper includes examples of how elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory has been developed by the present authors and their co-workers, and applied to aid the design of engineering components such as worm gears, thrust rims and profile-modified helical gears. Also included is its extension to include the important effects of surface roughness at the asperity level (micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication) and its relevance to the current, troublesome problem of micropitting.

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Masjedi ◽  
M. M. Khonsari

Three formulas are derived for predicting the central and the minimum film thickness as well as the asperity load ratio in line-contact EHL with provision for surface roughness. These expressions are based on the simultaneous solution to the modified Reynolds equation and surface deformation with consideration of elastic, plastic and elasto-plastic deformation of the surface asperities. The formulas cover a wide range of input and they are of the form f(W, U, G, σ¯, V), where the parameters represented are dimensionless load, speed, material, surface roughness and hardness, respectively.


Author(s):  
Amir Torabi ◽  
Saleh Akbarzadeh ◽  
Mohammadreza Salimpour

In this study, a numerical model is developed to show the performance improvement of a cam–follower mechanism when using a roller type follower compared to the flat-faced follower. Nonconformal geometry besides the thermal effects due to the shearing of the lubricant film results in formation of a thin film in which the asperities contribute in carrying the load. The numerical model is developed in which the geometry, load, speed, lubricant properties, and the surface roughness profile is taken as input and the film thickness and friction coefficient as a function of cam angle are predicted. The asperities are assumed to have elastic, elasto-plastic, and plastic deformation. Simulation results indicated that the thermal effects cannot be neglected. Surface roughness is also a key parameter that affects the pressure distribution, film thickness, and friction coefficient. Finally, asperity and hydrodynamic pressure is reported and the performance of the two mechanisms is compared. Roller follower has a considerable preference in terms of friction coefficient compared to flat-faced follower. The minimum film thickness, however, is slightly larger in the flat follower.


Author(s):  
V. D’Agostino ◽  
V. Petrone ◽  
A. Senatore

A numerical solution of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) contact between two rough surface cylinders is presented. In the theoretical approach the free-volume viscosity model is used to describe the piezo-viscous behavior of the lubricant in a Newtonian Elastohydrodynamic line contact [1,2]. Random rough surfaces with Gaussian and exponential statistics have been generated using a method outlined by Garcia and Stoll [3], where an uncorrelated distribution of surface points using a random number generator is convolved with a Gaussian filter to achieve correlation. This convolution is most efficiently performed using the discrete Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, which in MATLAB is based on the FFTW library [4]. The maximum pressure and average film thickness are studied at different values of RMS, skewness, kurtosis, autocorrelation function and correlation length. Numerical examples show that skewness and kurtosis have a great effect on the parameters of EHD lubrication. Surface roughness, indeed, tends to reduce the minimum film thickness and it produces pressure fluctuations inside the conjunction which tend to increase the maximum stress. In this way the dynamic stress increases and tends to reduce the fatigue life of the components. It can be seen that the pressures developed in the fluid film in the case of rough surfaces fluctuate with the same frequency of the surface roughness. These pressure ripples correspond to the asperity peaks. This indicates that surface roughness causes very high local contact pressures which may lead to local thinning of the film. A significant reduction has been also observed in the minimum film thickness due to surface roughness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 736 ◽  
pp. 57-63
Author(s):  
Panichakorn Jesda ◽  
Wongseedakeaw Khanittha

This paper presents the effect of surface roughness on soft elastohydrodynamic lubrication in circular contact with non-Newtonian lubricant. The time independent modified Reynolds equation, elastic equation and lubricant viscosity equation were formulated for compressible fluid. Perturbation method, Newton-Raphson method, finite different method and full adaptive multigrid method were implemented to obtain the film pressure, film thickness profiles and friction coefficient in the contact region at various the amplitude of surface roughness, surface speed of sphere, modulus of elasticity and radius of sphere. The simulation results showed that the film thickness in contact region depended on the profile of surface roughness. The minimum film thickness decreased but maximum film pressure and friction coefficient increase when the amplitude of surface roughness and modulus of elasticity increased. For increasing surface speeds, the minimum film thickness and friction coefficient increase but maximum film pressure decreases. When radius of sphere increases, the minimum film thickness increases but maximum film pressure and friction coefficient decrease.


Author(s):  
R. W. Snidle ◽  
H. P. Evans ◽  
M. P. Alanou

The paper presents a brief review of developments in understanding of gear tooth contact lubrication in relation to problems of surface durability and distress. Gear tooth contacts tend to operate under conditions where the lubricating oil film is thin compared with surface roughness. This feature is shown to have a significant effect on scuffing capacity and friction and is also thought to be a factor in micropitting. Recent developments in thin-film micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory are described and these should lead to a better understanding of the behaviour and modes of surface distress in gears. The paper also describes the application of elastohydrodynamic analysis to other transmission components such as high-conformity gears and thrust cones.


Author(s):  
Mongkol Mongkolwongrojn ◽  
Khanittha Wongseedakaew ◽  
Francis E. Kennedy

This paper presents the analysis of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) of two parallel cylinders in line contact with non-Newtonian fluids under oscillatory motion. The effects of transverse harmonic surface roughness are also investigated in the numerical simulation. The time-dependent Reynolds equation uses a power law model for viscosity. The simultaneous system of modified Reynolds equation and elasticity equation with initial conditions was solved using multi-grid multi-level method with full approximation technique. Film thickness and pressure profiles were determined for smooth and rough surfaces in the oscillatory EHL conjunctions, and the film thickness predictions were verified experimentally. For an increase in the applied load on the cylinders, the minimum film thickness calculated numerically becomes smaller. The predicted film thickness is slightly higher than the film thickness obtained experimentally, owing to cavitation that occurred in the experiments. For both hard and soft EHL contacts, the minimum film thickness under oscillatory motion is very thin near the trailing edge of the contact, especially for stiffer surfaces. The surface roughness and power law index of the non-Newtonian lubricant both have significant effects on the film thickness and pressure profile between the cylinders under oscillatory motion.


2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ei-Sayed Aziz ◽  
C. Chassapis

Numerical analysis and true 3-D solid models of gear pairs are highly desirable to simulate real working conditions and reduce long and expensive test phases. This article presents methods, within a knowledge-based Automated Concurrent Engineering Software (ACES) for gear design and manufacturing system, for defining the gear tooth profile analytically from basic geometric parameters (diametral pitch, pressure and helix angles, number of teeth and tooth thickness) and determining the coordinates of all points on the working and the fillet portions of the tooth for standard and nonstandard gears, in order to generate FEM models for analysis, through automatic mesh generation and boundary condition assignment and produce a suitable gear construction (3-D model). The involute and trochoid curves can then be plotted on a Cartesian coordinate system emanating at the center of the gear. An accurate description of the tooth geometry and the associated mating-gears model for FEM analysis provide an early estimation of the full stress fields during the design phase, where there is still time to make significant changes. This 3-D solid model provides maximal value to a designer for machining the gear on a standard CNC milling machine without form cutters; far defining tool paths for Electric Discharge Machining (EDM); for rapid prototyping systems and for viewing VRML models. The system has a direct interface with a FEM processor (ANSYS) and a CAD tool (Pro/E). A case study is presented to demonstrate the system functionality with spur and helical gears.


2012 ◽  
Vol 482-484 ◽  
pp. 1057-1061
Author(s):  
Sountaree Rattapasakorn ◽  
Jesda Panichakorn ◽  
Mongkol Mongkolwongrojn

This paper presents the effect of surface roughness on the performance characteristics of elastohydrodynamic lubrication with non-Newtonian fluid base on Carreau viscosity model in elliptical contact. The time independent modified Reynolds equation and elastic equation were formulated for compressible fluid. Perturbation method, Newton Raphson method and full adaptive multigrid method were implemented to obtain the film pressure, film thickness profiles and friction coefficient in the contact region at various amplitude of combined surface roughness, applied loads, speeds and elliptic ratio. Simulation results show surface roughness amplitude has significant affected the film pressure in the contact region. The minimum film thickness decreases but friction coefficient increases when the combined roughness and applied loads increases. The minimum film thickness and friction coefficient both increase as the relative velocity of the ball and the plate is increase. For increasing the elliptic ratio, the minimum film thickness increases but the friction coefficient decreases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 317-319 ◽  
pp. 548-551
Author(s):  
You Qiang Wang ◽  
Zhi Cheng He

A full transient elastohydrodynamic lubrication(EHL) solution of involute spur gears is obtained under impact load based on the multi-grid (MG) method for solving the pressures, the multi-level multi-integration (MLMI) approach for evaluating the elastic deformations, which takes into account the variation of equivalent curvature , entertainment velocity and load on time along the line of action, the gear tooth surface is assumed to be smooth. The influences of impact load spectrum and the approach impact load when the teeth come into action on the EHL pressure and film thickness are analyzed in the paper. The results show that the approach impact load can strongly influence the approach point maximum pressure and minimum film thickness. The impact load can lead to instantaneous lubrication film deterioration between contact teeth of involute spur gears. The maximum pressure and the minimum film thickness all occur in the vicinity of approach point immediately after the impact load was feed. The approach impact load is seriously harmful to the gear lubrication.


2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingbao Huang ◽  
Youqiang Wang

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the mechanism of spur gears running-in and to solve the lubrication problems of teeth running-in. Design/methodology/approach – The elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model considering solid particles was established by applying multi-grid and multiple-grid integration methods to the numerical solution. Findings – In the region where debris settle, transient pressure increases sharply, and a noticeable increase in the running-in load causes a remarkable increase in both the centre and maximum pressures and a slight increase in the minimum film thickness. Roughness wavelength makes a considerable difference to the minimum film thickness at double-to-single tooth transient. A considerable increase in rotation velocity can cause a remarkable reduction in both the centre and maximum pressures but an amazing increase in the minimum film thickness. The effects of roughness amplitude on the maximum pressure are considerably distinct. Research limitations/implications – Research on EHL of spur gears in the running-in process considering solid particles, surface roughness and time-variant effect is meaningful to practical gears running-in. Thermal effect can be included in the next study. Practical implications – The analysis results can be applied to predict and improve lubrication performance of the meshing teeth. Social implications – The aim is to reduce gears’ manufacture and running-in costs and improve economic performance. Originality/value – The EHL model that considers solid particles was established. The Reynolds equation was deduced taking the effects of solid particles into account. The EHL of spur gears running-in was investigated considering the time-variant effect, surface roughness, running-in load and rotation speed.


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