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NASA Technical Memorandum 89901

Profile Modification to Minimize

Spur Gear Dynamic Loading

Hsiang Hsi Lin

Memphis State University
Memphis, Tennessee

and

Dennis P. Townsend and Fred B. Oswald

Lewis Research Center
Clevekzandi Ohio ~ ~ ~~~~

Prepared for the

Design Engineering Technical Conference
sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Orlando, Florida, September 24-28, 1988
1

(NASA-TR-8990 1) F R O P I I E ? I C C l F I C A T I C l T C 187-2S918
L3blILIAZE SEUB G E E & . EY L A H l C L C A C l l r G (NASA)
52 p Avail: &?IS HC e02/r;€ B O 1 CSCL 131
Unclas
G3137 0098898
 PROFILE M O D I F I C A T I O N TO M I N I M I Z E SPUR GEAR DYNAMIC LOADING
Hsiang H s i L i n *
Memphis S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y
Memphi s, Tennessee 381 52

Dennis P. Townsend and Fred 6. Oswald

I .
N a t i o n a l Aeronautlcs and Space A d m i n i s t r a t i o n
I Lewis Research Center
I Cleveland, Ohio 44135

SUMMARY

-
I-
An a n a l y t i c a l computer s l m u l a t i o n program _. f o r dynamic modeling o f low-
c o n t a c t - r a t i o spur gear systems i s presented. ine procedure computes t h e gear
% s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r and uses a f a s t F o u r i e r t r a n s f o r m t o generate l t s
frequency spectrum a t various t o o t h p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n s .

The dynamlc l o a d i n g response o f an unmodified ( p e r f e c t i n v o l u t e ) gear

p a i r was compared w i t h t h a t of gears w i t h v a r i o u s p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n s . Cor-
r e l a t i o n s were found between various p r o f i l e r n o d i f i c a t l o n s and t h e r e s u l t i n g
dynamic loads. An e f f e c t i v e e r r o r , obtained from frequency domain a n a l y s i s o f
t h e g e a r ' s s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r , gave a very good e s t i m a t i o n o f gear
dynamic loading.

Design curves generated by dynamic s i m u l a t i o n a t s e v e r a l p r o f i l e m o d l f i -

c a t l o n s a r e g i v e n f o r gear systems operated a t v a r i o u s a p p l i e d loads. Optimum
p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n s can then be determined from t h e design curves t o y i e l d a
minimum dynamic e f f e c t f o r a gear system and t o p r o v i d e up-to-date knowledge
f o r b e t t e r gear deslgn.

NOMENCLATURE

frequency component of gear p a l r s s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n

amplitude o f ith
e r r o r , pm

damping values o f s h a f t s and gear t o o t h mesh N-m-sec; N-sec

p i t c h error, pm

combined spacing e r r o r between succeeding t o o t h p a i r s a and b, pm

transmission e r r o r

p o l a r mass moment o f i n e r t i a , m2-kg

* NASA Lewis Research Center Summer Faculty Fellow.

K stiffness, N-mhad

Ln normalized length of tooth profile modification zone

Q ~ , , Qcombined
~ meshing compliances of the contacting tooth pairs a and b,
pm/N

Rb base radius, m
T torque, N-m

Wn total transmitted load, N/m

wa ,Wb shared tooth loads for tooth pairs a and b, N/m
E reference value of profile modification; minimum amount of tip relief
recommended by Welbourn, pm
0 angular displacement, rad
6 angular velocity, rad/sec
6 angular accel erati on, rad/sec2
Subscripts:
f tooth contact frlction
9 meshing t o o t h pair
L 7 oad

a output torque
M motor
m lnput torque
sl shaft 1
s2 shaft 2
1 gear 1
2 gear 2
Superscripts:
a leadlng tooth pair
b lagging tooth pair

2
 INTRODUCTION

Reducing t h e dynamic l o a d i n g and n o i s e of gear systems has been an impor-

t a n t concern i n gear design. Many researchers have found t h a t t h e n o i s e
generated f r o m g e a r i n g i s b a s i c a l l y due t o gearbox v i b r a t i o n e x c i t e d by t h e
dynamic l o a d ( r e f s . 1 t o 9). This v i b r a t i o n i s t r a n s m i t t e d through s h a f t s and
bearings t o n o i s e - r a d i a t i n g surfaces on t h e gearbox e x t e r i o r . M i n i m i z i n g gear
dynamic l o a d i n g w i l l reduce gear noise.

The p r i n c i p a l source o f gear system v i b r a t i o n i s t h e unsteady component

of t h e r e l a t i v e angular motion o f meshing gear p a i r s . The s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n
e r r o r describes t h i s displacement type o f v i b r a t o r y e x c i t a t i o n . The v a r i a t i o n
of gear-pair meshing t o o t h s t i f f n e s s , which causes s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r ,
!s pr!mar!!y due t n t h e per!nd!c a!ternat!on !n t h e nnmhers nf c n n t a c t l n g
t e e t h . Secondary e f f e c t s i n c l u d e t o o t h p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n s , machining
e r r o r s , and wear.

M o d i f y i n g t h e gear t o o t h p r o f i l e has been found t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y a f f e c t

t o o t h meshing s t i f f n e s s . Therefore, m i n i m i z i n g meshing s t i f f n e s s v a r i a t i o n t o
achieve a smooth s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r has become a w i d e l y used p r a c t i c e
f o r r e d u c i n g gear dynamic load. Much research has been done i n t h i s area, y e t
t o t h e b e s t o f t h e a u t h o r s ' knowledge t h e r e i s a l a c k o f systematic work lead-
i n g t o d e t a i l e d understanding o f how t o o t h p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n a f f e c t s t h e
dynamic response o f spur gear systems.

T h i s paper presents an a n a l y t i c a l procedure and associated computer simu-

l a t i o n t o s y s t e m a t i c a l l y change t h e l e n g t h o f t h e m o d i f i e d zone and t h e t o t a l
amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n and t o study how t h i s a f f e c t s t h e s t a t i c t r a n s -
m i s s i o n e r r o r and dynamic l o a d i n g o f spur gears. A method i s presented f o r
m i n i m i z i n g dynamic l o a d i n g through an optimized p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n t o produce
q u i e t e r spur gears.

The dynamic load and transmission e r r o r f o r an i n v o l u t e spur gear p a i r

and f o r v a r i o u s m o d i f i e d gear p a i r s are presented i n t h e t i m e domain (as e i t h e r
degrees o f r o l l angle o r r o t a t i o n a l speed) and i n t h e frequency domain. The
e f f e c t o f v a r i o u s p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n s on gear dynamics i s discussed. The
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f dynamic l o a d i n g and t h e F o u r i e r spectrum o f t h e t o o t h p a i r s '
t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r a r e compared. On the b a s i s o f t h i s comparison an e f f e c t i v e
e r r o r , weighted from t h e frequency components o f s t a t i c transmission e r r o r , i s
recommended as a c r i t e r i o n f o r optimum p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n t o minimize gear
dynamic load. This procedure w i l l produce a gear s e t o p t i m i z e d f o r one
p a r t i c u l a r design load.

For a gear system t h a t must operate over a range o f loads ( r a t h e r than a t

a steady design l o a d ) , several curves a r e provided t h a t a l l o w t h e designer t o
make i n t e l l i g e n t t r a d e o f f s t o produce a q u i e t gearbox.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

The dynamic model used f o r t h e spur gear system was based on t h a t o f L i n

and Huston ( r e f . 10). Other researchers ( r e f s . 4, 6, and 11) have used a s i m -
i l a r system dynamic model approach. The t h e o r e t i c a l model, as shown i n
f i g u r e 1, comprises t h r e e basic elements of a spur gear system, (1) t h e gears,
(2) the shafts, and (3) the connected masses. Given this model, the governing
equations developed, using basic gear geometry and elementary vibration prin-
ciples, may be expressed as follows:

J li + csl(hl - 6,)
1 1
+ K ( e - e,,) + c ( R 6
sl 1 g bl 1
-~ ~ ~ 6 , )

J
2 62 t Cs2(h2 - 6,) + KS1(e2 - el) + cg ( R b262 - Rblhl)
t K [ R (R 8 - R e ) ] =
g b2 b2 2 bl 1 Tf 2

Similar procedures developed by Cornel1 (ref. 8) and Tavakoli (ref. 9)

were used to determine the tooth spring stiffness by modeling the elastic
behavior of the gear tooth. The range of tooth contact was divided into a
sequence of contact positions.
The meshing analysis for static transmission error and load-sharing com-
putation is simllar to that of Tavakoli and Houser (ref. 9). The load was
assumed to be uniformly distributed along the tooth face width. Four equations
were solved simultaneously to determine the load sharing and total transmission
error of a low-contact-ratio (less than 2) mesh:

Wf + wib = wn

where the subscript i represents the contact point on the tooth profile and
the superscripts a and b represent the leading and lagging tooth pairs,
respectively.
The static transmission error has basic periodicities related to the gear
tooth mesh frequency and the shaft rotational frequency. It consists of com-
ponents attributable to elastic tooth deformations, to deviations of the tooth
profile from the perfect involute profile, and to uniform lead or spacing
errors. A Fourier spectrum analysis of the static transmission error wave

4
shows harmonic components t h a t occur a t i n t e g r a l m u l t i p l e s o f t h e t o o t h meshing
frequency ( r e f . 12). These components a r e caused by t o o t h deformation and t h e
d e v i a t i o n o f t o o t h surfaces f r o m t h e p e r f e c t i n v o l u t e p r o f i l e . The lower h a r -
monic frequencies occur a t t h e i n t e g r a l m u l t i p l e s o f s h a f t r o t a t i n g frequencies
and a r e caused by t o o t h spacing e r r o r s . The equations o f motion i n c l u d e e x c i -
t a t i o n terms due t o t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r s . The c o n t r i b u t i o n o f each i n d i v i d u a l
frequency component t o t h e dynamic loading response o f gear systems was inves-
t i g a t e d i n t h i s study.

The gear t o o t h meshing process leads t o instantaneous l o a d f l u c t u a t i o n s

on t h e t e e t h even under constant loading c o n d i t i o n s . The magnitude o f t h e
l o a d f l u c t u a t i o n I s i n f l u e n c e d by t h e damping e f f e c t o f t h e l u b r i c a n t and t h e
p r o x i m i t y o f t h e o p e r a t i n g frequencies t o t h e system n a t u r a l frequencies.
S t r u c t u r a l damping was n o t considered.

To s i m p l i f y t h e a n a l y s i s , t h e dynamlc process was d e f i n e d i n t h e r o t a t i n g

p l a n e o f t h e gear p a i r , and t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l equations o f motion were developed
by u s i n g t h e t h e o r e t i c a l l i n e o f a c t i o n . Damping due t o l u b r i c a t i o n , e t c . i s
expressed as a c o n s t a n t damping f a c t o r t h a t i s t h e r a t i o o f t h e damping c o e f f i -
c i e n t t o t h e c r i t i c a l damping value. The damping f a c t o r used f o r t h e t o o t h
mesh was 0.10 ( a t y p i c a l value f r o m gear research l i t e r a t u r e ) .

For convenience, t h e same amount and t h e same l e n g t h o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a -

t i o n s were assumed t o be a p p l i e d t o the t o o t h t i p o f b o t h p i n i o n and gear.
Since m o d i f y i n g t h e r o o t o f one member has t h e same e f f e c t as m o d i f y i n g t h e
t i p o f t h e mating member, a l l m o d i f i c a t i o n was assumed t o be a p p l i e d a t t h e
t o o t h t i p s . E x t r a c a r e must be taken i n m o d i f y i n g t h e r o o t s o f gear t e e t h
because o f t h e complex geometry, p a r t i c u l a r l y on gears w i t h small numbers o f
t e e t h . I n some extreme cases w i t h l o w - c o n t a c t - r a t i o gears, r o o t m o d i f i c a t i o n
can d e s t r o y t h e e f f e c t s o f t i p m o d i f i c a t i o n , making i t p r e f e r a b l e t o g i v e o n l y
t i p m o d i f i c a t i o n ( r e f . 5).

The minimum amount o f conventional t i p r e l i e f was chosen as a r e f e r e n c e

value i n t h i s study. This r e f e r e n c e value was designated A. According t o
Welbourn ( r e f . 13), t h e minimum t i p r e l i e f should be equal t o t w i c e t h e maximum
spacing e r r o r p l u s t h e combined t o o t h d e f l e c t i o n evaluated a t t h e h i g h e s t p o i n t
o f s i n g l e - t o o t h c o n t a c t (HPSTC).

The a n a l y s i s was a p p l i e d t o a sample s e t o f gears as s p e c i f i e d i n t a b l e I .

These a r e i d e n t i c a l spur gears w i t h s o l i d gear bodies and w i t h v a r i o u s l i n e a r
p r o f i l e ( t i p r e l i e f ) m o d i f i c a t i o n s . A t y p i c a l t o o t h p r o f i l e showing b o t h t h e
unmodified ( t r u e i n v o l u t e ) p r o f i l e and a m o d i f i e d p r o f i l e i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n
f i g u r e 2(a). A sample p r o f j l e m o d i f l c a t i o n c h a r t t s shown i n f i g u r e 2(b),
where t h e amount o f m o d i f i c a t i o n i s 1.00 A and t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n zone extends
t o t h e HPSTC. This l e n g t h o f m o d i f i c a t i o n from t o o t h t i p t o HPSTC i s designa-
t e d as t h e normalized l e n g t h Ln. I n t h i s case, t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n l e n g t h i s
1.00 Ln. Note t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e l e n g t h o f m o d i f i c a t i o n i s shown as a v e r t i -
c a l d i s t a n c e ( p a r a l l e l t o t h e t o o t h axis i n f i g . 2 ( a ) ) , i t i s a c t u a l l y d e f i n e d
i n terms o f t h e gear r o l l angle.

The optimum l e n g t h o f t i p r e l i e f w i l l a l l o w l o a d i n g t o pass smoothly f r o m

one t o o t h t o t h e n e x t . The l e n g t h required depends upon t h e c o n t a c t r a t i o .
T i p r e l i e f should n o t extend t o t h e p i t c h r a d i u s unless t h e c o n t a c t r a t i o I s
a t l e a s t 2 ( r e f . 5 ) . To e v a l u a t e t h e e f f e c t o f t h e l e n g t h o f t i p r e l i e f , t h e

5
modified zone was varied from zero to the pitch radius. Only linear tip relief
was considered in this study. This means that the tip modification line (as
in fig. 2(b)) i s straight.
The equations of motion were solved by a linearized Iterative procedure.
The linearized equations were obtained by dividing the mesh period into n
equal intervals. In the analysis, a constant input torque Tm was assumed.
The output torque Ta was assumed to be fluctuating as a result of time-
varying stiffness, friction, and damping in the gear mesh.
To start the solution iteration process, initial values of the angular
displacement were obtained by preloading the input shaft with the nominal
torque carried by the system. Initial values of the angular speed were taken
from the nominal system operating speed.
The iterative procedure was as follows: the calculated values of angular
displacement and angular speed after one period were compared with the assumed
initial values. Unless the differences between them were smaller than preset
tolerances, the procedure was repeated using the average of the initial and
calculated values as new initial values.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The foregoing analysis was applied to a typical set of low-contact-ratio
spur gears whose specifications are given in table I. Since this is an
analytical work, the choice of gears used can be arbitrary. Two identical
gears with solid gear bodies were selected for the study.
As a control case, the dynamic solution at design load was calculated for
the sample gear with unmodified (true involute) tooth profile. Plots o f static
transmission error and shared tooth load (fig. 3) were generated from the
solutions of the simultaneous equations presented in the previous section.
To investigate the effect of tooth profile modification, the amount of
modification was varied from 0.25 to 1.50 of the reference value A in incre-
ments of 0.25 A. At each amount of modification, the length of modification
was also varied in fixed increments. If one of the tooth pairs in the double-
contact region lost contact because of excessive profile modifications or tooth
deflections, the meshing analysis equations were solved for the load and static
transmission error of the tooth pair that maintained contact. Figure 4 shows
how the static transmission error and the tooth load of a gear pair are affected
by the change of the length of modification at a constant 1.25 A.
Frequency analysis of static transmission error was performed by taking
the fast Fourier transform ( F F T ) of its time wave. A periodic time signal was
selected to avoid possible leakage error. The dc component created by gear
body windup was neglected; only the tooth meshing frequency component and its
harmonics, which are the major vibratory excitation source of gear dynamics,
were included i n the analysis.
The beneficial effects of profile modification can be seen by comparing
figures 5 and 6. These figures show the static transmission error, the Fourier
spectrum of the static transmission error, and the dynamic factor as a function

6
o f speed ( a "speed sweepll) f o r unmodified gears ( f i g . 5) and gears m o d i f i e d
w i t h 1.25 A l i n e a r t i p r e l i e f a l o n g a m o d i f i c a t i o n l e n g t h o f 0.52 Ln ( f i g . 6 ) .
The dynamic f a c t o r i s d e f i n e d as t h e r a t i o o f t h e maximum dynamic t o o t h l o a d
t o t h e s t a t i c t o o t h load.

Since gear n o i s e and gear dynamic l o a d i n g a r e o f t e n t y p i f i e d by s t r o n g

components a t t h e t o o t h mesh frequency and i t s f i r s t two m u l t i p l e s ( r e f . 9 ) ,
t h e r e l a t i o n between t h e gear dynamic f a c t o r and t h e s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n
e r r o r ' s f i r s t t h r e e harmonics o f the fundamental t o o t h mesh frequency was
i n v e s t i g a t e d . With no p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n , a b r u p t changes i n t h e t r a n s -
m i s s i o n e r r o r ( f i g . 5 ( a ) ) produced a very s t r o n g l i n e a t t h e f i r s t harmonic o f
t h e t o o t h meshing frequency A1 ( f l g . 5 ( b ) ) . With p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n , t h e
changes i n transmission e r r o r occurred more smoothly ( f i g . 6 ( a ) ) . This
r e s u l t e d i n a much reduced f i r s t harmonic. although t h e t h i r d harmonic
increased. The unmodified gears had a s t r o n g resonance a t about 11 000 rpm
( f i g . 5 ( c ) ) . A t t h i s resonant speed the dynamic f a c t o r was about 2.2, which
means t h a t t h e maximum dynamic t o o t h load d u r i n g c o n t a c t was 2.2 times t h e
s t a t i c t o o t h load. The dynamic f a c t o r o f t h e m o d i f i e d gears ( f i g . 6 ( c ) ) d i d
n o t exceed 1.5. This represents a r e d u c t i o n o f 32 percent i n t h e maximum
dynamic l o a d i n g over t h a t f o r t h e unmodified gears.

Comparing t h e f i r s t t h r e e peaks o f F o u r i e r spectrum w i t h t h e gear dynamic

f a c t o r i n f i g u r e s 5 and 6 shows t h a t the gear dynamic f a c t o r seems t o be
r e l a t e d p r i m a r i l y t o t h e magnitude o f t h e fundamental t o o t h mesh frequency.

The maximum gear dynamic f a c t o r was r e l a t e d t o t h e s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n

e r r o r ' s amplitudes o f t h e f i r s t f o u r harmonics o f t h e t o o t h mesh frequency,
designated as AI, A2, A3,. and A4, f o r t h e sample gear a t 1.00 8 and v a r y i n g
l e n g t h s o f m o d i f i c a t i o n ( f i g . 7 ) . The t r e n d o f amplitude (shape o f t h e curve)
o f t h e maximum gear dynamic f a c t o r w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n
l e n g t h was most s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f AI. That means t h a t A1 should be weighted
more t h a n any o t h e r frequency component i n any r e l a t i o n between t h e gear
dynamic f a c t o r and t h e F o u r i e r frequency components o f t h e s t a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n
error.

A suggested procedure f o r c a l c u l a t i n g an e f f e c t i v e t r a n s m i s s i o n e r r o r i s
t o t a k e t h e sum o f A1 w i t h t h e square r o o t o f t h e sum o f t h e squares o f t h e
f i r s t 12 F o u r i e r harmonic components o f t o o t h mesh frequency. Because t h e
magnitudes o f t h e harmonic components a f t e r t h e 1 2 t h harmonic a r e u s u a l l y
small, t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e v i b r a t o r y e x c i t a t i o n o f gear dynamics i s
negligible.

Ae = A1 t [E A]: 1'2
i=1

This r e f e r e n c e value i s termed " e f f e c t i v e e r r o r , " s i n c e i t comprises t h e f r e -

quency components of t h e s t a t i c transmission e r r o r . The e f f e c t o f p r o f i l e
m o d i f i c a t i o n l e n g t h on e f f e c t i v e e r r o r ( c u r v e A, i n f i g . 7 (b)) correlates
w e l l w i t h t h e gear dynamic f a c t o r curve ( f i g . 7 ( a ) ) . The e f f e c t i v e e r r o r o f a
gear t o o t h p r o f i l e appears t o be an e x c e l l e n t i n d i c a t o r f o r t h e gear dynamic
f a c t o r . I t may a m p l i f y t h e p e n a l t y of llmistuned'l p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n due t o

7
t h e weighted e f f e c t o f t h e A1 component. Therefore, t h e e f f e c t i v e e r r o r can
be a s e n s i t i v e device f o r o p t i m i z i n g gear t o o t h p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n . I t can
be used f o r t u n i n g t h e l e n g t h and amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n i n o r d e r t o
minimize p o s s i b l e dynamic e x c i t a t i o n and thus lower t h e gear dynamic l o a d i n g .
The l e s s t h e e f f e c t i v e e r r o r , t h e smaller t h e gear dynamic loading. I n addi-
t i o n , gear system dynamic f a c t o r s can be determined w i t h o u t going through t h e
time-consuming i t e r a t i o n procedure t o s o l v e t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l equations o f
motion. A simple c a l c u l a t i o n o f t h e F o u r i e r spectrum and e f f e c t i v e e r r o r o f
t h e s t a t i c transmission e r r o r w i l l g i v e a good e s t i m a t e o f t h e gear dynamic
f a c t o r . B e t t e r gear dynamic design can be achieved w i t h l e s s time and e f f o r t
by v a r y i n g gear t o o t h p r o f i l e s and e v a l u a t i n g t h e r e s u l t a n t e f f e c t i v e e r r o r o f
t h e meshing t o o t h p a i r s .

From f i g u r e 8(a) i t i s apparent t h a t t h e l e n g t h o f m o d i f l c a t i o n should

be decreased for gears w i t h a g r e a t e r amount o f m o d i f i c a t i o n t o achieve t h e
minimum dynamic e f f e c t . The optimum decrease depends on t h e amount o f p r o f i l e
m o d i f i c a t i o n . For 1.25 A, t h e minimum dynamic f a c t o r was obtained w i t h a
20-percent l e n g t h r e d u c t i o n f r o m t h a t f o r 1.00 A. For gears w i t h a g r e a t e r
amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n , t h e v a r i a t i o n o f t h e gear dynamic f a c t o r w i t h
respect t o l e n g t h o f m o d i f i c a t i o n was more s e n s i t i v e t h a n f o r gears w i t h a
smaller amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n . The v a r i a t i o n o f t h e gear dynamic
f a c t o r w i t h l e n g t h o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n was very s i m i l a r t o t h e e f f e c t i v e
e r r o r curve f o r both gears ( f i g . 8 ) .

When t h e t o o t h p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n amount i s l e s s than t h e minimum t i p

r e l i e f A, t h e l e n g t h o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n should be increased t o minimize
dynamic e f f e c t ( f i g . 9 ) . As i n f i g u r e 8, t h e optimum l e n g t h o f m o d i f i e d t o o t h
p r o f i l e depends on t h e p r e s c r i b e d amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n . Here approx-
i m a t e l y Ln = 1.09 was optimum f o r 0.75 A, Ln = 1.21 was optimum f o r 0.50 A,
and Ln = 1.28 was optimum f o r 0.25 A. For gears w i t h a s m a l l e r amount o f pro-
f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n , t h e l e n g t h o f m o d i f i c a t i o n has a l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on
t h e gear dynamic f a c t o r than f o r gears w i t h a g r e a t e r amount o f p r o f i l e
modification.

F i g u r e 10, which shows t h e e f f e c t o f l e n g t h o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n on

t h e gear dynamic f a c t o r a t v a r i o u s amounts o f m o d i f i c a t i o n , can be used as a
design c h a r t t o determine t h e optimum m o d i f i c a t i o n l e n g t h f o r minimum dynamic
e f f e c t . As an example, consider a gear w i t h 1.00 A (minimum amount o f t i p
r e l i e f ) , operating a t a load smaller than design load such t h a t i t i s equiva-
l e n t t o o p e r a t i n g - a l o n g t h e curve represented by 1.50 A ( p o i n t C i n f i g . 10).
The optimum l e n g t h o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n i n t h i s case should be 0 68 Ln
i n s t e a d o f 1.00 Ln. I f t h e gear mentioned above were operated a t a range o f
loads e q u i v a l e n t t o o p e r a t i n g between t h e 1.00 A curve and t h e 1.50 A curve,
t h e optimum l e n g t h o f m o d i f i c a t i o n should be 0.75 Ln, corresponding t o p o i n t A
i n f i g u r e 10, t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n o f t h e 1.00 A curve and t h e 1.50 A curve. The
choice o f p o i n t B, o r p o i n t C, o r any p o i n t o t h e r than A, would y i e d l e s s
d e s i r a b l e higher dynamic f a c t o r s under t h i s range of loads.

The envelope o f minimum dynamic f a c t o r s a c h i e v a b l e f o r gears w i t h t h e

p r e s c r i b e d amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n i s shown as dashed l i n e s i n f i g u r e s 9
and 10. T h i s envelope i s more s e n s i t i v e t o l e n g t h of m o d i f i c a t i o n f o r gears
w i t h a s m a l l e r amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n t h a n f o r gears w i t h a g r e a t e r
amount o f p r o f i l e m o d i f i c a t i o n .

8
 Since the characteristic of effective error at varying modification
lengths gives a good indication of the gear dynamic factor of a gear pair, an
example is shown in figure 11. The sample gear in table I was used for this
example with the tooth profile modified at 1.00 A for one gear and 1.25 A for
the mating gear. The length of modification was Ln = 0.65 for both members.
The relative position of the effective error curves in figure 11(a) should
indicate a corresponding position for the dynamic factor curves in fig-
ure ll(b). For this particular case the gear dynamic factor was predicted to
be approximately 1.4. The maximum gear dynamic factor calculated by solving
the gear system equations of motion (fig. ll(c)) was found to be 1.39, indeed
close to the value predicted from the effective error in figure ll(b).

CONCLUSIONS
An analysis and a computer program were developed t o investigate the
effect of linear profile modifications on the dynamic loading response of a
spur gear system. The relation between the gear tooth dynamic factor and the
tooth mesh frequency components of transmission error was also studied.
Applying the program to a pair of identical low-contact-ratio spur gears
revealed the following:
1. The dynamic characteristics of a spur gear system are affected
significantly by tooth profile modifications.
2. The dynamic (load) factor can be simulated analytically by the
effective error, which is calculated from the frequency components of a gear
pair's static transmission error.
3. The effective error is a good indicator for tuning the length and
amount of profile modification to reduce gear dynamic loading.
4. If gears are to be operated at less than the design load, the length
of the modification zone should be reduced. Conversely, if gears are to be
operated at greater than the design load, the length of modification should be
increased.
5. An increase in the applied load (or a decrease in the total amount
of tip relief) reduces the sensitivity of the gears to changes in the length
of profile modifications.
6. The dynamic tooth loads on gears that must operate over a range of
loads can be minimized by using profile modifications optimized according to
the procedures outlined i n this work.
The results obtained herein should be useful for predicting the vibra-
tion excitation of spur gear systems and for modifying tooth profiles for
improved gear dynamic performance.
To fully understand and best utilize gear tooth profile modification,
it is recommended that the analysis be extended to nonlinear profile modifica-
tions. Experimental tests should be performed t o verify the analytical
results.

9
 REFERENCES
1. Harris, S.L., 1958, "Dynamic Loads on the Teeth of Spur Gears," Proceedings
of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 172, No. 2, pp. 87-112.
2. Selreg, A. and Houser, D.R., 1970, IIEvaluation of Dynamic Factors for Spur
and Helical Gears," Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vol. 92, No. 2,
pp. 504-515.

3. Terauchi, Y., Nadano, H., and Nohara, M., 1982, "On the Effect of the Tooth
Profile Modification on the Dynamic Load and the Sound Level of the Spur
.
Gear," JSME Bulletin, Vol 25, No. 207, pp. 1474-1481.
4. Kubo, A. and Kiyono, S., 1980, "Vibrational Excitation of Cylindrical
Involute Gears Due to Tooth Form Error," JSME Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 183,
pp. 1536-1543.

5. Smith, J.D., 1983, Gears and Their Vibration: A Basic Approach to Under-
standing Gear Noise, Marcel Dekker, New York.
6. Kasuba, R. and Evans, J., 1981, "An Extended Model for Determining Dynamic
Loads in Spur Gearing,Il Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 103, No. 2,
pp. 398-409.

7. Cornell, R.W. and Westervelt, W.W., 1978, "Dynamic Tooth Loads and Stress-
ing for High Contact Ratio Spur Gears," Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol.
100, NO. 1 , pp. 69-76.
8. Cornell, R., 1981, "Compliance and Stress Sensitivity of Spur Gear Teeth,"
Journal o f Mechanical Design, Vol. 103, No. 2, pp. 447-459.
9. Tavakoli, M.S. and Houser, D . R . ,
1986, llOptimum Profile Modifications for
the Minimization of Static Transmtssion Errors of Spur Gears," Journal of
Mechanisms, Transmissions. and Automation in Design, Vol. 108, No. 1 ,
pp. 86-95.
10. Lln, H.H. and Huston, R.L., 1986, "Dynamic Loading on Parallel Shaft
Gears. 'I NASA CR-179473.
1 1 . Pintz, A., Kasuba, R.,
Frater, J.L., and August, R., 1983, "Dynamic Effects
of Internal Spur Gear Drives," NASA CR-3692.
12. Mark. W.D.. 1978. "Analysis of the Vibratory Excitation of Gear Systems:
Basic Theory," Journal of the Acoustical Soiiety of America, Vol.-63,
No. 5, pp. 1409-1430.
13. Welbourn, D . B . , 1979, "Fundamental Knowledge of Gear Noise - A Survey,"
Noise and Vibration of Engines and Transmissions, Mechanical Engineering
Publications, London, pp. 9-14.

10
 TABLE I. - GEAR DATA

Gear tooth . . . . . . . . . Standard full-depth tooth

.
Module (diametral pitch), mn . . . . . . . , 3.18 (8)
Pressure angle, deg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Nt!!!Er c f teeth . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . -a LO

Face width, mn (in.) . . . , . . . . . . . . 25.4 (1.0)

Design load, N/m (lb/in.) . . . . . . . 350 OOO (2000)
Theoretical contact ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.64

TM~M
A- ( GEAR 1
((
/
n

GEAR 2
SHAFT 2
n

U.

-ii' LOAD

L'

Ks1 Kg k52
JM J1 J2 JL

cs1 cg cs2

FIG. 1 COMPUTER RODEL OF SPUR GEAR SYSTEM

11
 INVOLUTE TOOTH PROF I LE
7TRUE
LENGTH OF PROFILE \\
MODIFICATION, Ln \

*
[
j,' \ // ~ I O U N T OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION, A

T MODIFIED PROFILE

I LHIGHEST
CONTACT. POINT
HPSTCOF
SINGLE-TOOTH

\ LPITCH POINT

LLOWEST POINT OF SINGLE-

TOOTH CONTACT, LPSTC

(A> GEAR TOOTH WITH MODIFIED TOOTH PROFILE

30 -
TIP
I
20 -

10 -

0.
“Ir
5 20

L I I I I
(A) STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR FOR ONE MESH CYCLE
I
4x105
r
d
4
I
!-
0
0
!-

ROLL ANGLE. DEG

(B) SHARED TOOTH LOAD FOR ONE MESH CYCLE
FIG. 3 SPUR GEAR PAIR UNDER DESIGN LOAD, NO PROFILE
NODI F ICATION

13
 NORMALIZED
LENGTH OF
TOOTH PROFILE
MOD I F ICATION
ZONE,
Ln

n I.-\/ 30

(A) STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR FOR ONE MESH CYCLE

15 20 25 30 35
ROLL ANGLE, DEG
(B) SHARED TOOTH LOAD FOR ONE MESH CYCLE
F I G . 4 EFFECT OF VARYING LENGTH OF PROFILE MODIFI-
CATION ZONE AT CONSTANT AMOUNT OF PROFILE MODIFICA-
TION, 1.25A
 10 20 30 40 50
ANGLE OF ROTATION, DEG
(A) STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR

x
.
1
A2

i A3

0 2 4 6 8 10 12
HARMONICS OF TOOTH MESH FREQUENCY
(B) FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR
2 . 5 1

ROTATING SPEED, RPM

(C) DYNAMIC FACTOR AS FUNCTION OF ROTATING SPEED

FIG. 5 SPUR GEAR PAIR UNDER DESIGN LOAD - NO PROFILE
MOD I F ICAT ION

15
 --
I
50
ANGLE OF ROTATION, DEG

(A) STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR

L
1 1.5 - A2

1.0 -

.5 - A1
A4 A 1 1 A12
I A a A A

HARMONICS OF TOOTH MESH FREQUENCY

(B) FREQUENCY SPECTRUM OF STATIC TRANSMISSION ERROR

.5

/
’ ; oe 3 6 9 12
1 5 i lO3
ROTATING SPEED, RPM

(C) DYNAMIC FACTOR AS FUNCTION OF ROTATING SPEED

FIG. 6 SPUR GEAR PAIR UNDER DESIGN LOAD - PROFILE
MODIFICATION: AMOUNT. 1.25 A; LENGTH, 0.52 Ln

16
8
I-
2.5 - HIGHEST POINT OF
SINGLE-TOOTH

(A) GEAR TOOTH DYNAMIC FACTOR

n
1
----

31.'t
2

0
1
I
I
I
I
/ I

LENGTH OF PROFILE MODIFICATION, L,

(B) TRANSMISSION ERROR FREQUENCY COMPONENTS
AND EFFECT I VE ERRORS
F I G . 7 EFFECT OF VARYING LENGTH OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION ZONE AT CONSTANT AMOUNT OF
PROFILE NODIFICATION. 1.00 A

17
 AMOUNT OF PROFILE
-
---
MOD IF ICATION
1.00 A
1.25 A

HIGHEST POINT OF
CT
SINGLE-TOOTH
CONTACT
LL

(A) GEAR TOOTH DYNAMIC FACTOR

W
2
5
W
2
LL
LL
W

LENGTH OF PROFILE MODIFICATION, Ln

(B) EFFECTIVE ERROR
FIG. 8 EFFECT OF VARYING LENGTH OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION ZONE AT TWO AMOUNTS OF MODIFI-
CAT I ON

18
 AMOUNT OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION
-
--- 0.25 A

2.5 r --- .50 A

.75 A
e
0 I HIGHEST POINT OF
I-
s
LL
I

I S I NGLE-TOOTH e-
: 2.0 ’

L POINT
>
n
Z i r .- 0
z
3 I
1.0‘
1.2 1.0 .8 .6 .4 .2 0
LENGTH OF PROFI LE MODI F I CAT ION, L n
FIG. 9 DESIGN CHART FOR OPTIMAL LENGTH OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION ZONE AT LESS THAN 1.00 A (EQUIVALENT
TO OVERLOAD CONDITION AT 1.00 A )

AMOUNT OF PROFILE
MODIF I CAT I ON

---
---
1.00 A
1.25 A
1.50 A
2.5 p
e
0
I-
V
LL
.
:
2.0
L
>-
n
3 1.5
c(
*

3
1.0 -
1.2 1.0 .8 .6 .4 .2 0
LENGTH OF PROFILE MODIFICATION, L”
FIG. 10 DESIGN CHART FOR OPTIMAL LENGTH OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION ZONE AT GREATER THAN 1.00 A (EQUIVA-
LENT TO UNDERLOAD CONDITION AT 1.00 A )

19
 5r AMOUNT OF PROFILE
MODIFICATION

r
( A > CALCULATED EFFECTIVE ERROR AT Ln = 0.65
= 2.5
e ~ 1 . 2 5A
DYNAMIC FACTOR

1.2 1.0 .8 .6 .4 .2 0
LENGTH OF PROFILE MODIFICATION, Ln
(B> PREDICTION OF GEAR TOOTH DYNAMIC FACTOR
AT Ln = 0.65

.-

e o ---
0
ROTATING SPEED, RPM

(C) CALCULATED DYNAMIC FACTOR FROM EQUATIONS

OF MOTION
FIG. 11 EXAMPLE OF 1 .OO A ON ONE GEAR AND
1 - 2 5 A ON MATING GEAR

20
 NASA Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.

NASA TM-89901
5. Report Date

Profile Modification to Minimize Spur Gear Dynamic

Load i ng 6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Repon No.

Hsiang Hsi Lin, Dennis P. Townsend, and Fred B. Oswald E-3597

10. Work Unit No.

505-63-51
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
11. Contract or Grant No.
Nat 1 onal Aeronaut1 cs and Space Admi n 1st rat 1 on
Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135-3191 13. Type of Report and Period Covered

2. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Technical Memorandum

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
Washington, D.C. 20546-0001

5. Supplementary Notes
Prepared for the Design Engineering Technical Conference, sponsored by the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Orlando, Florida, September 24-28,
1988. Hsiang Hsi Lin, Summer Faculty Fellow, presently at Memphis State
University, Memphis, Tennessee 38152; Dennis P. Townsend and Fred B. Oswald,
NASA Lewis Research Center.
6. Abstract

An analytical computer simulation program for dynamic modeling of low-contact-

ratio spur gear systems is presented. The procedure computes the static trans-
mission err'or of the gears operating under load and uses a fast Fourier transform
to generate the frequency spectrum of the static transmlssion error at various
tooth profile modifications. The dynamic loading response of an unmodified (per-
fect Involute) gear pair was compared with that of gears with various profile
modifications. Correlations were found between various profile modifications
and the resulting dynamic loads. An effect-ive error, obtained from frequency
domain analysis of the static transmission error of the gears, gave a very good
indication of the optimum profile modification t o reduce gear dynamic loading.
Design curves generated by dynamic sirnulation at various profile modifications
are given for gear systems operated at various loads. Optimum profile modifica-
tions can be determined from these design curves for improved gear design.

7. Key Words (Suggested by Author(s)) 18. Distribution Statement

Spur gears; Dynamic load; Profile Unclassified - Unlimited
modifications; Equations of motion Subject Category 37
transmission error; Frequency analysis

1
I
3. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified
20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassif led
21. No of pages
21 jzz pr'T+02