Characteristics of a New Test Rig and Methodology for Cyclic Testing of Gear Tooth Bending Fatigue Strength

Abstract

Tooth fracture is the most dangerous form of gear wear that excludes the gear from further use. In order to counteract the occurrence of this type of damage, it is very important to properly design the toothed gear. To calculate the gear tooth bending strength, a strength parameter called the nominal stress number σFlim is necessary. ISO 6336-5:2003(E) and available material databases provide σFlim values for the most popular engineering materials used for gears, including those for case-hardened steels. There is, however, no data for a new generation of nanostructured engineering materials, which are the subject of research conducted at the Tribology Department of ITeE – PIB. The σFlim parameter is most often determined in cyclic fatigue tests on toothed gears with specially selected tooth geometry. In order to determine the above strength parameter, a pulsator (symbol T-32) was developed and manufactured at ITeE-PIB in Radom. The article presents a new device, research methodology, and the results of verification tests for case-hardened steel 18CrNiMo7-6, confirming the correctness of the adopted design assumptions and the developed research methodology. The results of tooth bending fatigue tests are the basis for the selection of a new engineering material dedicated to gears, which later undergoes tribological testing.