UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

EG1012 – DESIGN & CAD GEAR SELECTION METHOD

The method of gear selection presented here is only for initial selection and can be used at the
conceptual design phase. If the gears are to be highly stressed or used in an environment where
failure would lead to loss of life, more detailed selection methods must be used such as those set
out in the AGMA Standard (American Gear Manufacturers Association).

1. Speed Ratio (U)

np
U=
ng

Where np is the rotational speed of the pinion (rpm)

ng is the rotational speed of the gear wheel (rpm)
The smaller of the gears is called the pinion and the larger one the gear wheel.

2. Gearwheel and Pinion Pitch Circle Diameters (PCD)

The gearwheel and pinion PCD’s are the effective diameters on which the two gears mesh and
are used in calculations. The PCD’s can be approximated by using the distance between the gear
centre’s and the speed ratio.
d p +d g
=Centre Distance
2

Where d p is the pinion PCD (mm)

Where d g is the gear wheel PCD (mm)
The pinion and gear wheel diameters are related to the speed ratio by;
dg
U=
dp
so,
d p U=d g

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3. Provisional Selection
Provisional gear set selection is undertaken in conjunction with a gear manufacturer’s stock
catalogue such as HPC Gears (http://www.hpcgears.com/) and can involve some amount of ‘trial
and error’.
Once at the website select Spur Gears
Metric Gears are based around a gear module (m). Browse the catalogue and select a gear
module. Take into account any restrictions on the gear design such as materials available and
gear bore size (it is unwise to open the bore of a gear to accept a larger drive shaft).
Select a gear set which closely matches the values calculated in section two for approximate
PCD’s.
The number of teeth on both gearwheel and pinion can be calculated from;
d
N=
m
N is the number of teeth
d is the PCD
m is the gear module

Calculate the number of teeth on both gear wheel and pinion. This will be an exact number, the
gear manufactures will only carry a specific number of gears, choose the closest available and
recalculate the gear set speed ratio, it should closely match the initial speed ratio.
The revised speed ratio Ur is given by;
Ng
Ur=
Np

Ng is the number of teeth on the gearwheel

Np is the number of teeth on the pinion

4. Transmitted Load (Wt)

P
W t=
V

Where Wt is the transmitted load (N)

P is power (W)
V is pitch line velocity (m/s)
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5. Minimum face width
The pinion is used for initial calculations as the larger gear has a greater radius of curvature and
lower stress levels.
Calculate an acceptable face width by considering the pinion geometry in the following
equation.

wt
F=
k v mY σ P
F is the face width (m)
Wt is the transmitted load (N)
m is the gear module (m) [the number given by the website will be in mm]
Y is the Lewis form factor and is available from tables.
σp is the permissible bending stress (Pa)
kv is the dynamic factor and is given by;
6.1
k v=
( 6.1+ V )

After calculating the minimum acceptable face width, compare this with the face width specified
on the website for the selected gearwheel and pinion. If the calculated face width is less than that
specified, the gear set is satisfactory and will run within the permissible bending stress.
If the calculated face width is greater than the actual gear face width specified in the catalogue,
the gear set could fail; repeat the process for a larger gear module.

6. Wear Failure
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As well as failure due to bending stress, failure due to wear on the gear surface must be
considered. Wear failure called surface compressive, Hertzian or contact stress for a gear set can
be modeled by;
0.5
k 'v W t 1 1
σ c =−C P
[ ( +
F cos ϕ r 1 r 2 )]
Cp is the elastic coefficient (√ MPa )
k 'vis the inverse of the dynamic factor kv
F is the actual gear face width (m)
Wt is the transmitted load (N)
ϕ is the pressure angle (º)

r1 is the radius of curvature for the pinion and is given by;

d p sin ϕ
r 1=
2
d p is the pinion PCD (m)

r2 is the radius of curvature for the gearwheel and is given by;

d g sin ϕ
r 2=
2
d g is the gear wheel PCD (m)

Using the specified units will give a contact stress σ c in kPa. The negative sign denotes a
compressive stress.
The contact stress should be less than the Ultimate Tensile Strength of the specified gear
material.