The Influence of Gear Design Parameters on Gear Tooth Damage Detection Sensitivity

Abstract

This paper develops an analytical model to simulate the gear mesh contact for a spur gear pair with and without tooth damage. Three common gear tooth faults are simulated including pitting, wear and root cracks. The effect of tooth face width on detection sensitivity for pitting and the effect of crack width on detection sensitivity for crack are investigated. Using static performance measures, such as transmission error, results suggest that basic gear design parameters, such as diametral pitch, pressure angle and number of teeth, may have a significant effect on damage detection sensitivity. It appears that a decrease in diametral pitch will enhance damage detection sensitivity for all the three types of damage. An increase in pressure angle or number of teeth will enhance detection sensitivity for pitting damage, but tends to decrease the sensitivity to crack or wear damage.