Chapter 14

Loading on Spur Gear:

Consider the torque from the pinion Tp being transmitted to the gear. This results in the force W
which can be resolved into its two components
Tp 2Tp 2Pd Tp
Tangential component, Wt   
rp dp Np
Radial component, Wr  Wt tan 
Wt
Resultant Force, W 
cos 

Lewis ignores the radial loading and this is conservative as the compressive radial stresses are
beneficial.

The AGMA has modified the Lewis equation, where a large amount of test data now used to
better estimate stresses, which account for many different factors, e.g. geometry factor, dynamic
factor, load distribution factor, application factor, size factor, rim thickness factor, idler factor.

This approach has some assumptions:

 Load is applied at the tip of tooth
 Only one tooth carries the load (if machined well, when load is on the tip another tooth will
be engaged, in reality when only one tooth carries the load, the force is near the middle)
 Lewis ignores the radial loading and this is conservative as the compressive radial stresses
are beneficial.

There are some of assumptions for AGMA bending stress equation

1. The contact ratio is in between 1 and 2 (Conservative when mp > 2)
2. There is no interference between the tips and root fillets of mating teeth, there is no
undercutting of teeth above the theoretical start of the active profile (It limits the analysis
of gear that obey minimum tooth rules. It can be overcome by using different shaped
teeth and changing the shape factor J)
3. No teeth are pointed
4. There is nonzero backlash (It is concerned with limiting the friction)
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5. Root fillets are standard, assumed smooth and produced by a generating process (It
requires stress concentration research)
6. Friction forces are treated as negligible
7. External teeth (Because internal gear tooth geometry is different enough to require a
different apporach)

Load is time varying

Look at bending stress in gears. We want to model the gear tooth as a beam (Lewis bending
equation)

W
t
F

Mc
 , here M = Wt L, c = t/2, I = Ft³/12
I
W L t 6Wt L
So,   1 t 32 
12 Ft Ft 2
Wt Pd
Putting this equation in terms of common gear parameters, we get,  
FY
Where, Pd = Diametral Pitch, F = Face width
and Y = Form factor (accounts for effective strength at the root) [Table 14-2]

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Now, AGMA introduced a number of factors for stress calculation,
WP K K
U.S.  b  t d  a m K S K B K I
FJ Kv
W K K
S.I.  b  t  a m K S K B K I
FmJ K v
Here,
Geometry factor (J): It varies with gear properties and resultant loading, e.g. tip loading (low
precision gears), HPSTC (Highest Point of Single Tooth Contact) loading (share load amongst
teeth in high precision gears), tooth depth, pressure angle. It is different for pinion and gear.
Dynamic factor (Kv): It estimates vibration loads (from non-conclusive meshing). Normally this
parameter is estimated, but can also be determined via testing. Precision gears will have less
vibration (so, larger Kv, 1 is ideal).

B
 A 
U.S. K v    [Vt = Pitch line velocity, ft/min]
A V 
 t 
B
 A 
S.I. K v    [Vt = Pitch line velocity, m/sec]
 A  200V 
 t 
Here, A = 50 + 56(1 – B)
12  Q v 
2

6  Qv  11
3

B
4

Load distribution factor (Km): Axial misalignment of axial deviation in tooth form causes uneven
load distribution.

Wt

This problem is more prevalent in wider teeth.

Km = f(F)
8 16
Recommended, F
Pd Pd
(12/Pd is nominal value of face width factor)
1.6 F  2in  50mm 
1.7 2in  50mm  F  6in  150mm 

Km  
1.8 6in  150mm  F  10in  250mm 

2.0 F  10in  250mm 

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Application factor (Ka): Loading model assumes Wt is uniform with time. If dynamic loads are
not known, Ka can be used to account for them heuristically based on nature of driving machine
and driven machine. These dynamic loads go outside normal operation.

Size factor (KS): Can be used with very large teeth to account for impact of scaling. There is not
many recommendation, but 1.5 would be conservative.

Thickness factor (KB): It accounts for potential of radial fracture. A parameter backup ratio is
defined as,
t r Rim thickness 
MB 
h t whole depth of teeth
The factor,
 1 M B  1.2

K B   2M B  3.4 0.5  M B  1.2
  M B  0.5, Not recommende d 


Idler factor (KI): The values are.

1.42 for idler 
KI  
 1 for non  idler 
Out of these factors Wt, Pd, F, Ka, Km, Kv and KS are typically same in all gears in same gear
train, while J, KB and KI are different for different gear in same gear train.

Factor of Safety for Gear:

Note that this is an estimate based on experimental data. This provided as estimate which should
ideally be verified through testing. Factor of safety,
S
N  fb
b
Here, Sfb is a corrected bending fatigue strength of published trains which result in the
experimental value Sfb'.

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 KL
Sfb  Sfb '
KTKR

Life factor (KL): Test data is available for 107 cycles. Reducing this number of cycles allows for
an increased loading (with same factor of safety), while increasing the number of cycles would
require a reduction in loading (to maintain same factor of safety). This increase is nonlinear (Fig.
14-14, it is denoted as Stress-Cycle Factor, YN). Gear does not have a true endurance limit in
most applications.

Temperature factor (KT): For steel gears,



1 T  250F
K T   460  T

T  250F
 620
For other materials, see specific test data or contact the manufacturer.

Reliability factor (KL): To achieve a targeted reliability for the gear, the following values are
used. These are derived from the 99% reliability case.

Reliability KR
90% 0.85
99% 1.00
99.9% 1.25
99.99% 1.50

1. A 20° full-depth steel spur pinion has a diametral pitch of 5 teeth/in and 24 teeth and
transmits 6 hp at a speed of 50 rev/min. Find an appropriate face width if the allowable
bending stress is 20 kpsi.

N 24
Sol. d   4.8 in
P 5
From Table 14-2, for 24 teeth, Y = 0.337
dn   4.8  50
Linear velocity, V    4 in s
60 60
P = 6 hp = 6  550 ft.lb/s = 6  12  550 in.lb/s = 39,600 in.lb/s
P 39,600
Load, Wt    3151lb
V 4
WP WP 3151  5
So, stress,   t  F  t   2.34 in
FY Y 20  10 3  0.337

2. A 21-tooth pinion rotating at 1800 rpm meshes with a 33-tooth gear in a spur gear
reducer. Both pinion and gear are manufactured to a quality level of 9. A reliability of 0.9
has been specified, and the transmitted tangential load is 2800 lb. Conditions are such
that Km = 1.7. It is proposed that standard 25°, full-depth teeth be used, with both pinion

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 and gear hobbed from an AISI 4140 nitrided steel. The diametral pitch is 6, and the face
width 2.000 in. Estimate the number of cycles of bending stress (using the AGMA
equations) that the gear set can withstand. Fatigue strength, Sfb' = 39.5 kpsi

Sol. Tooth number, Np = 21, Ng = 33, Pinion speed, n = 1800 rpm, Mounting factor, Km = 1.7,
Diametral pitch, pd = 6/in, Quality index, Qv = 9, Face width, F = 2.000 in,
Pressure angle, ϕ = 25°, Tangential load, Wt = 2800 lbf, Reliability, R = 0.90
Sfb' = 39.5 kpsi

Assumptions: The life of the pinion will be less than that of the gear.
N p 21
Diameter of the pinion, d    3.5 in
pd 6
dn   3.5 1800
And the pitch-line velocity, V    329.9 in s  1649 in s
60 60
For the dynamic factor K,
12  Q v  12  9
2 2
3 3

B  0.52 , A = 50 + 56(1 – B) = 50 + 56(1 – 0.52) = 76.88

4 4
The bending geometry factor, J (Table 12-13) , J = 0.40
B
 A   76.88 
0.52

Kv       0.802
A V   76.88  1649 
 t 
Assume an application factor, Ka = 1

Wt Pd K a K m
The bending stress,  b   K SK BK I
FJ Kv
Here, J = 0.40, Ka = 1, Km = 1.7, Kv = 0.802, F = 2 in, KS = 1.5, KB = 1, KI = 1
2800  6 11.7
b   1.5 11  66770 psi  66.8 kpsi
2  0.40 0.802
Fatigue strength from table 12-20, Sfb' = 39.5 kpsi
The reliability factor for R = 0.90, KR = 0.85
Assuming temperature less than 250°F, KT = 1
KL KL
b  Sfb '  66.8   39.5  K L  1.4374
KTKR 1  0.85
Assuming life cycle over million cycles,
K L  1.6831N 0.0323  1.4374  1.6831N 0.0323  N  132 (so, this is not the range)
Assuming life cycle between thousand and million cycles,
K L  3.517 N 0.0817  1.4374  3.517 N 0.0817  N  57,063

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