Scuffing of cylindrical gears with pitch line velocities up to 100 m/s

Abstract

Increasing demands on the power density of gearboxes require a precisive gear design regarding common failure mechanism. Particularly in turbo gearboxes with low-viscosity lubricants, the damage mechanism scuffing is relevant. In this paper an innovative test rig for the experimental investigation of scuffing at pitch line velocities up to 100 m/s is presented. The scuffing load capacity depending on the pitch line velocity of two gear design variants running at constant temperatures and lubricant conditions was investigated. Furthermore, the morphology of scuffing was investigated with regard to the damage location and the surface condition. Based on the experimental results, a simulation approach with an accuracy superior to the existing standards for calculating the scuffing load capacity of highspeed gears has been derived.