Spherical involute bevel gear system mesh stiffness calculation using analytical,FEM,and experimental approaches

Abstract

The spherical involute is one of the most important profiles used in bevel gear design. Spherical involute bevel gears have excellent features, such as insensitive to shaft angle variations, low sensitivity to transmission errors, and favorable wear conditions compared to planar involute bevel gears. These unique characteristics will establish the spherical involute as the standard for bevel gears. In this study, the mesh stiffness of spherical involute bevel gears has been calculated for the first time using three approaches: analytical, finite element, and experimental methods. The results of all three methods are consistent with each other. The maximum difference between the results of the proposed analytical and the experimental procedure is about 8.4%, which shows the high accuracy of the proposed experimental method. Also, the mesh stiffness of the spherical involute gear has been compared with the planar involute bevel gears. Furthermore, the impact of contact ratio and pressure angle on variations of mesh stiffness has been examined. The results indicate that increasing the pressure angle and contact ratio enhances the mesh stiffness in bevel gears with a spherical involute profile.