ANSI/AGMA 1010-E95 American (Revision of AGMA 110.04) Gear Manufacturers Reaffirmed April 2007 Association Technical Resources American National Standard Appearance of Gear Teeth - Terminology of Wear and Failure 8 4 3 S < = G < a z zANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD American Appearance of Gear Teeth - Terminology of Wear and National ANSUMGMA 1010-95 Standard (Revision of ANSVAGMA 110.04) Approval of an American National Standard requires verification by ANSI that the re- Quirements for due process, consensus, and other criteria for approval have been ‘met by the standards developer. Consensus is established when, in the judgment of the ANS! Board of Standards Re- view, substantial agreement has been reached by directly and materially affected in- terasts. Substantial agreement means much more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity. Consensus requires that all views and objections be consid- ered, and that a concerted effort be made toward their resolution, ‘The use of American National Standards is completely voluntary; their existence does notin any respect preclude anyone, whether he has approved the standards or not, from manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, or using products, processes, or procedures not conforming to the standards. ‘The American National Standards Institute does not develop standards and willin no circumstances give an interpretation of any American National Standard. Moreover, ‘no person shall have the right or authority to issue an interpretation of an American National Standard in the name of the American National Standards Institute. Rle- ‘quests for interpretation ofthis standard should be addressed to the American Gear Manufacturers Association. CAUTION NOTICE: AGMA technical publications are subject to constant improve- ment, revision, or withdrawal as dictated by experience. Any person who refers toany AGMA Technical Publication sould be sure that the publication is he latest available {from the Association on the subject matter. [Tables or other self-supporting sections may be quoted or extracted. Credit lines should read: Extracted from ANSVAGMA 1010-E95, Appearance of Gear Teeth ~ Terminology of Wear and Failure, with the permission of the publisher, the American Gear Manufacturers Association, 1500 King Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, Virginia 22314) Approved December 13, 1995 ABSTRACT This nomenclature standard identifies and describes the classes of common gear failures and illustrates degrees of deterioration. Published by ‘American Gear Manufacturers Association 1500 King Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Copyright © 1996 by American Gear Manufacturers Association No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in an electronic retrieval system or otenwise, without prior ‘ttten permission of the publisher Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-88589-665-0AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 Contents Page Foreword, v 1 Scope 1 2 Nomenclature 1 3 Wear 1 4 Scuffing 2 12 5 Plastic deformation ... 6 7 8 9 Contact fatigue Cracking .... Fracture ..... Bending fatigue Tables 1 Nomenclature of gear failure modes 2 Fracture classifications Figures 1 Mild wear 2 Moderate wear 3a SEM micrograph ~ abrasion Mild abrasion near the tip of a ground gear Severe abrasion Severe abrasion Severe abrasion Severe polishing Extensive corrosion . Fretting corrosion Scaling Cavitation damage 10a SEM micrograph - cavitation damage 10b SEM micrograph - cavitation damage eras “gga 11 Erosion of a high speed gear 10 warvoupege 12 Electric discharge damage due to a small electric current cet 48. Severe elec cischarge damage due to an electric current of high intensity... 11 “1a SEM micrograph - typical crater . {4b SEM micrograph ~ fused metal and gas pockets near edye of crater... 114¢ SEM micrograph - electric discharge damage. 15 Mild scuifing 16a SEM micrograph - soutting samage showing rough, tom, and So pastely deformed appearance 416 SEM micrograph ~ scuting damage showing crater formed when welded material was tom from surface 17 Moderate scuffing 18 Severe scutting 48 Severe scuting of alow speed gear lubricated with grease 14ANSUAGMA 1010-£95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Contents (concluded) Figures (concluded) 20 Severe indentations 16 21 Hot flow sane "7 22 Plastic deformation by rling . 7 23. Plastic deformation by tooth hammer 18 24a Rippling 18 24b Rippling 19 25 Ridging . 19 26 Burr 20 27 Tip-to-root interference - 20 2am Cross secon trough a tooth fank showing how apt develops ‘below the surface . 24 28 SEM micrograph ~ ping damage caused by contact fatigue, sowing faique cracks near boundary of pit -2t 29 Initial pitting 22 30 Progressive pitting . 22 ‘31 Flake pitting 28 32 Spalling 23, 33 Micropitting 24 34 Detal of tooth surface showing micropitng : 24 35. Delal of tooth surface showing micropting at 1000X magnification. 28 86 Regularly distributed micropitting 28 37 Subcase fatigue 26 88° Crack at a forging defect . - 28 39° Hardening cracks 227 40 Grinding cracks with a crazed pattern = 28 41 Rimcrack - 28 42 Caselcore separation 29 43 Bending fatigue crack 29 44° Britle fracture 3 45 Micrograph of transgranulerbritle fracture 92 46 Micrograph of intergranular brite fracture 32 47 Micrograph of ductile fracture . 33 48 Mixed mode fracture . 33 49° Tooth shear ... 34 80 Fracture after plastic deformation 34 ‘51. Fatigue of two spur teeth 36 52 Fatigue of two helical teeth a7 53. Fatigue of two bevel pinion teeth _ 38 54 Fatigue of several teeth that were loaded on both flanks 38 5. Profile cracks originating from severe pitting 40 56 Broken tooth ends 40AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 Foreword [The foreword, footnotes, and annexes, if any, are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as part of American Gear Manufacturers Association Standard ANSVAGMA 1010-E95, Appearance of Gear Teeth - Terminology of Wear and Failure ‘This standard provides a means to document the appearance of gear teeth when they wear or fall. The study of gear tooth wear and failure has been hampered by the inability of two observers to describe the same phenomenon in terms that are adequate to assure uniform interpretation. ‘The term “gear failure” is subjective and a source of considerable disagreement. For exam- ple, a person observing gear teeth that have a bright, mirrorlike appearance may believe that the gears have “run-in” properly. However, another observer may believe that the gears have failed by polishing wear. Whether the gears should be considered failed or not depends (on how much wear is tolerable. ‘This standard provides a common language to describe gear wear and fallure, and serves as ‘a guide to uniformity and consistency in the use of that language. It describes the appear- ance of gear tooth failure modes and discusses their mechanisms, with the sole intent of faci itating identification of gear wear and failure. The purpose of the standard is to improve communication between equipment users and gear manufacturers for failure and wear anal- ysis. Since there may be many different causes for each type of gear tooth wear of failure, itis ‘not possible in the standard to identify a single cause for each type of wear or failure, nor to prescribe remedies, AGMA Standard 110 was first published in 1943, A revised standard, AGMA 110.03, was published in 1979 with improved photographs and additional material. AGMA 110.04 was reaffirmed by the members in 1989. ANSI/AGMA 1010-E95 is a revision of AGMA 110.04, This version was approved by the AGMA Membership in March 9, 1995. It was approved as an American National Standard on December 13, 1995. ‘Suggestions for the improvement of this standard will be welcome. They should be sent to the American Gear Manufacturers Association, 1500 King Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, Vir- ginia, 22314.ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD PERSONNEL of the AGMA Nomenclature Committee Chairman: J.A. Colbourne .. - University of Alberta Vice Chairman: B.C, Newcomb . - Chicago Gear ACTIVE MEMBERS K. Acheson The Gear Works - Seattle, Inc. EE, Shipley ..... Mechanical Technology Inc. R. Errichello Geartech (Deceased) L. Faure. +. CMD RE. Smith, R.E, Smith & Co,, Inc. D. McCarroll Gleason Works LJ. Smith ....... Invincible Gear Company DR. Mcvittie..... Gear Engineers O.A.LaBath ..... Cincinnati Gear Company ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: S.E. Bory Borg Associates |. Laskin Irving Laskin, PE. MA. Chaplin Contour Hardening M. Noguchi ...... Tsubakimoto Chain Company AS. Cohen Engranes y Maquinaria T. Okamoto Nippon Gear PM. Dean . Consultant : Consultant R. Green Eaton CorporationAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD. ANSV/AGMA 1010-E95 American National Standard - Appearance of Gear Teeth - Terminology of Wear and Failure 1 Scope This standard provides nomenclature for general modes of gear tooth wear and failure. It classifies, identifies, and describes the most common types of failure and provides information which wil in many cases, enable the user to identity failure modes and evaluate the degree or progression of wear. This standard is based on experience with steel gears; however, many of the failure modes dis- cussed may apply to gears made from other materials. ‘The solution to many gear problems requires detailed investigation and analysis by specialists andi beyond the scope and intent ofthis standard. ‘This standard does not define “gear failure". One observer's “fallure” is another observer's ‘run-in’ There is no single definition of gear failure, since whether or not a gear has failed depends on the specific application. 2 Nomenclature 21 Definitions The terms used in this standard, wherever applica- ble, conform to the definitions given in the following standard: ANSVAGMA 1012-F90, Gear Nomenclature, Defi- nitions of Terms with Symbols 2.2 Symbols NOTE: The symbols and definitions used inthis stan- dard may differ rom otner AGMA Standards. The user should not assume that familar symbols can be used without a careful study of these definitions, 2.8 Classes and modes of failure Table 1 groups the common modes of gear failure into seven general classes and subdivides the gen- eral classes into general and specific modes. Italso includes commonly used, but not preferred names. 3 Wear Wear is a term describing change to a gear tooth surface involving the removal or displacement of material, due to mechanical, chemical, or electrical action, Figures 1 and 2 show mild and moderate wear. ‘They are not intended to indicate the mode of wear. Wear can be categorized as mild, moderate or severe, Mild wear is considered normal in many applications. Moderate and sometimes even se- vere wear may be acceptable in some applications. 3.1 Adhesion ‘Adhesion is caused by transfer of material from one. tooth surface to another due to microwelding and ‘tearing. Itis confined to surface films and oxide lay- ers on the tooth surface. ‘Adhesion can be categorized as mild or moderate. Severe adhesion is termed scuffing (see clause 4). 3.1.1 Mild adhesion Mild adhesion typically occurs during running-in ‘and usually subsides after it has smoothed the tooth surfaces by removing minor imperfections through local wear. To the unaided eye, the tooth surface appears undamaged and the original machining marks are visible, Microscopically, smooth rmicroplateaus can be seen between the machining furrows. 3.1.2 Moderate adhesion ‘Adhesion is classified as moderate if it removes: some or all ofthe original machining marks from the active surface of the tooth. Under certain condi- tions, adhesion may cause continuous removal of surface films and oxide layers, resulting in severe wear.ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Table 1 - Nomenctature of gear failure modes High-cycle fatigue Root filet cracks Profile cracks Tooth end cracks Class General mode —— Specific mode or degres | Not preferred Wear Taresion Tale Flunning-in wear Moderate Severe (See scufing) | Scoring ‘Scratching Abrasion Mild, Moderate, Severe | Cuttin Burnishing Polishing Mild, Moderate, Severe Corrosion Fretting corrosion Sealing Cavitation Erosion Electrical discharge Ripping ang Seating THId, Moderate, Savers | Soaring ‘Cold scuffing Hot souting Welding Galing Seizing Plast deformation [Plast deformation Tagen ‘Bruising Peening Denting Brineling Cold flow Permanent deformation Hot flow Overheating Rolling ‘Tooth hammer Rippling Fish scaling Ridging Bur Root fillet yielin Tip-to-root interference onlacTTaigue Piting (Macropining) Tatar Progressive Destructive Flake Arrow head Spall Micropiting Frosting Gray staining Peeling Subcase fatigue Case crushing Cracking Hardening cracks rauenching cracks Grinding eracks Fim and web cracks Gase/core separation Internal rupture Fatigue cracks [Fracture Brie Facture Fast racture Ductile fracture Searing Mixed mode fracture Semi-britie ‘Tooth shear Fracture after plastic de- formation Bending Tague Tow-cyete fatigueAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 3.2 Abrasion Abrasion is the removal or displacement of material due to the presence of hard particles: for example, metallic debris, scale, rust, sand, or abrasive Powder, suspended in the lubricant or embedded in the flanks of the mating teeth. Based on the severity of the damage, abrasion can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe, ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 iad ‘Abrasion causes scratches or gouges on the tooth surface that are oriented in the direction of sliding. ‘Abrasion normally apears at the addendum and dedendum where slidingis present. Under magnifi- cation, the scratches appear as parallel furrows that are smooth and clean. See figure Sa. Abrasion due to loose contaminants, is called three-body abrasion. Two-body abrasion occursANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD when embedded particles or asperities on one gear _scratches that are not numerous or deep enough to tooth abrade the opposing tooth surface, remove significant amounts of material from the 3.2.1 Mild abrasion tooth surface, See figure 3b. Abrasion is classified as mild if it consists of fine The diagonal line is an abrasion furrow cut by a hard particle showing smooth, clean appearance. The vertical lines are the original grind marks Figure Sa - SEM micrograph - abrasion Figure 3b - Mild abrasion near the tip of a ground gearAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 3.2.2 Moderate abrasion Abrasionis classified as moderate ifremnants of the original machining marks are visible on the tooth surface. 3.2.3 Severe abrasion ‘Severe abrasion removes all ofthe original machin- ANSUAGMA 1010-£95 ing marks from the active surface of the tooth. ‘There may be wear steps at the ends of the active face andin the dedendum. The tooth thickness may be reduced significantly, and in some instances the tooth tip may be reduced to @ sharp edge. ‘See figures 4a, 4b and 4c, Figure 4a - Severe abrasion mm 7 Mt i Figure 4b - Severe abrasionANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 4c - Severe abrasion 3.3 Pe hing Polishing is fine-scale abrasion that causes gear teeth to have a bright mirrorlike finish. The gear tooth suface may be smooth or wavy with local bumps. Under magnification, the surface appears to be covered by fine scratches that are oriented in the direction of sliding When a hard surface mates with a soft surface, pol- ishing is more likely to occur on the hard surface. Polishing is promoted by chemically active lubri- cants thet are contaminated with fine abrasives. Based on the severity, polishing can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. 3.3.1 Mild polishing Polishing is classified as mild if tis confined to the peaks ofthe surface asperities. Mild polishing typi- cally occurs during running-in and ceases before the origiral machining marks are removed from the tooth surface. 3.3.2 Moderate polishing Polishing is classified as moderate if remnants of the original machining marks are visible on the tooth surface. 3.3.3 Severe polishing ‘Severe polishing removes al ofthe original machin- ing marks from the active surface of the tooth. The polished surface may be wavy and there may be Wear steps at the ends of the active face and in the dedendum. See figure 5. 8.4 Corrosion Corrosion is the chemical or electrochemical reac- tion between the surface of a gear and its environ- ‘ment. The tooth surfaces may appear stained or rusty and there may be reddish-brown deposits of rust. Ifthe loose corrosion products are removed, etch pits may be revealed. Corrosion commonly at- tacks the entire tooth surface and it may proceedin- tergranularly by preferentially attacking the grain boundaries of the tooth surfaces, See figure 6AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 Figure 6 - Extensive corrosion 3.5 Fretting corrosion Fretting corrosion occurs between contacting sur- faces that are pressed together and subjected to cy- clic, relative motion of extremely small amplitude Under these conditions, the lubricant is squeezed from between the surfaces permitting metal-to- ‘metal contact and causing adhesion of the surface asperities. The relative motion breaks the welded. asperities and generates iron oxide powder that has the fineness and reddish-brown color of cocoa. ‘The wear debris is hard and abrasive. Fretting cor- rosion tends to be selt-aggravating because the wear debris builds a dam that prevents fresh lubri- cant from reaching the contact area,ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 Fretting corrosion may occur in non-rotating gears, if they are subjected to structure borne vibrations such as those encountered during transport. See figure 7. 3.6 Scaling In figure 8, the patchy raised areas on the tooth AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD flanks are due to an oxidation process during heat treatment. When running under load, the tooth force is intially transmitted by way of these projec- tions which rapidly acquire a metallic sheen, This phenomenon is known as scaling. Figure 8 - ScalingAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 3.7 Cavitation Cavitation is the nucleation and implosion of bubbles in the lubricating fluid. This may cause damage in the gear tooth surface which appears to the unaided eye to be rough and clean as ifit were ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 ‘sand blasted. Microscopically, the craters caused by cavitation are deep, rough, clean, and have a honeycomb appearance. See figures 9, 10a and 10b. Cavitation damage showing sandblasted appearance Figure 10a - SEM micrograph - cavitation damageANSUAGMA 1010-E95, AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 200 um oane? Cavitation crater showing deep, rough, clean, and honeycomb appearance Figure 10b - SEM micrograph - cavitation damage 3.8 Erosion surface due to the relative motion of a high velocity Erosion is the loss of material from a gear tooth fluid. See figure 11 igure 11 - Erosion of a high speed gear 10AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 3.9 Electric discharge ‘An electric are discharge across the ollflm between ‘mating gear teeth produces temperatures that may be high enough to locally melt the gear tooth surface. Microscopically, the damage appears as ‘small hemispherical craters. The edges of the craters are smooth and they may be surrounded by burned or fused metal in the form of rounded ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 particles that were once molten. ‘A metallurgical section taken transversely through the craters and acid etched may reveal austenitized and rehardened areas in white, bordered by tem- peted areas in black. Sometimes microcracks are found near the craters. See figures 12, 13, 14a, 14b and 14c. Figure 13 - Severe electric discharge damage due to an electric current of high intensity 1"ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 3.10 Rippling For a description of rippling, see 5.6. Rippling is ‘generally associated with plastic deformation, butit may alsc be a form of wear. 4 Scutting ‘Scuffing is severe adhesion that causes transfer of ‘metal from one tooth surtace to another due toweld- 2 igure 14b - SEM micrograph - fused metal AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 0.127 mm ‘ nt Figure 14a - SEM micrograph ~ typical crater na and gas pockets near edge of crater ing andtearing. The scuffed areas appeartohave a ough or matte texture. The damage typically oc- ‘ours in the addendum, dedendum, or both, away from the operating pitchiine, in narrow or broad bands that are oriented in the direction of sliding. ‘Scuffing may occur in localized patches. Under magnification, the scuffed surface appears rough, tom, and plastically deformed,AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD a ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 Rounded patticles of metal that were once molten. Figure 14c - SEM micrograph - electric discharge damage The term “scoring’ which was incorrectly used in earlier gear nomenclature for scuffing, is in reality scratching and is now classified as a form of abra- sive wear. ‘Scuffing is nota fatigue phenomenon and it may oc- cur instantaneously. Based on the severity of the damage, scuffing can Figure 15 - Mild scuffing be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe, 4.1 Mild scuffing Scutfingis classified as mild ifit occurs only on small areas of the teeth and is confined to the peaks of the surface asperities. See figures 15 and 16. 13ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD h - scuffing damage showing rough, torn, ‘and plastically deformed appearance Figure 16b - SEM micrograph - scuffing damage showing crater formed when ‘welded material was torn from surface 4.2 Moderate scuffing Moderate scuffing occurs in patches that cover sig- nificant portions of the teeth. If the operating condi- tions do not change, moderate scuffing may be progressve, See figure 17. “4 4.3 Severe scutfing Severe sculfing occurs on significant portions of the {gear tooth (for example, the entire addendum, the ‘entire dedendum, or both). In some cases theAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ‘ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 surface material may be plastically deformed and _ severe scuffing is usually progressive. displaced over the tip of the tooth or into the roct of the tooth. Unless corrective measures are taken, See figures 18 and 19. Figure 18 - Severe scuffing 15ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 5 Plastic deformation Plastic deformation is permanent deformation that ‘occurs when the stress exceeds the yield strength Of the material. It may occur at the surface or sub- surface of the active flanks of the gear teeth due to high contact stress, or at the root lets of the gear teeth due to high bending stress, seo 8.3. 5.1 Indentation The active flanks of gear teeth may be damaged by Figure 19 - Severe scutfing of a low speed gear lubricated with grease indentations caused by foreign material that be- ‘comes trapped between mating teeth. See figure 20, 5.2Cold flow Cold flow is plastic deformation that occurs at a temperature lower than the recrystallization ‘temperature. Figure 20 - Severe indentations 16‘AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 5.3 Hot flow Hot flow is plastic deformation that occurs at a temperature higher than the recrystallization temperature. See figure 21 5.4 Rolling Plastic deformation may occur on the active flanks of gear teeth caused by high contact stresses in ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 combination with both the rolling and sliding action of the gear mesh. Displacement of surface material ‘may form a groove along the pitchline and burrs on the tips and in the roots of the driving gear teeth. ‘The surface material of the driven gear may be displaced toward the pitchline forming a ridge. See figure 22. Figure 21 - Hot flow Figure 22 - Plastic deformation by rolling 7ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 5.5 Tooth hammer Local, subsurface yielding may occur on gear teeth that are subjected to high contact stresses such as those caused by “tooth hammer” (vibratory impact with intermittent tooth contact separation). The sub- surface plastic deformation causes shallow grooves (Brineliing) on the surfaces of the active flanks of the gear teeth along lines of contact be- tween mating teeth. See figure 23. 5.6 Rippling Ripplingis the periodic, wavelike deformation of the AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD active gear tooth surface. The peaks of the waves run perpendicular to the direction of sliding. The peaks are wavy along the length of the tooth, creat- ing a fish-scale appearance. Rippling usually oc- curs under high contact stress and boundary lubricated conditions. ‘Although rippling may be considered as a wear phe- nomenon, it is most often associated with plastic flow. See figures 24a and 24b, Figure 24a - Rippling 18AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 5.7 Ridging quently occurs on slow speed, heavily loaded worm Ridging is the development of pronounced ridges _ °F hyPoid gear teeth. and grooves on the active flanks ofgearteeth. Itfre- See figure 25. Figure 24b ~ Rippling Figure 25 - Ridging 5.8 Burr ‘A pronounced burr can be seen at the tip of the Burrs are rough, often sharp, extensions formedon worm thread's working flank in figure 26. This burr the edges of components caused by heavy loading, was generated by plastic deformation due to the high friction, roling, or scufing, Burrs are also pressure and the sliding action along the active sur- ‘sometimes caused by the manufacturing process. face of the tanks. 19ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 26 - Burr 5.9 Roct fillet yielding Gear teeth may be permanently bent if the bending stress ir the root fillets exceeds the tensile yield strength of the material. Ifthe yielding causes sig- nificant spacing errors between teeth that are per- manently bent and unloaded teeth that are not, subsequent engagement may result in destructive interference between mating teeth, 5.10 Tip-to-root interference Plastic deformation, adhesion and abrasion may ‘occur on the tooth tips of one gear and.in the roots of the mating gear teeth due to tip-to-root interfer- ence. The interference may be caused by geomet- fic errors in the profiles of the gear teeth, engagement below the form diameter, Inadequate ‘tp or root relief, spacing errors, or insufficient center distance. See figure 27.6 Contact fatigue Repeated contact stresses may cause surface or subsurface fatigue cracks and the detachment of material fragments from the gear tooth surface. 6.1 Pitting (Macropitting) Macropitting may occur when fatigue cracks initiate either atthe surface of the gear tooth or at a shallow depth below the surface. The crack usually 000F xX BS propagates for @ short distance in @ direction roughly parallel to the tooth surface before turning or branching to the surface. When the cracks have grown long enough to separate a piece of the Surface material, a pitis formed. The edges of a pit are usually sharp and angular. Cracks may be found near the boundary of the pit and fatigue “beach marks” (See clause 9) may be evident on the crater bottom. See figures 28 to 32. Figure 28a - Cross section through a tooth flank showing how a pit develops below the surface jure 28b - SEM micrograph - pitting damage caused by contact fatigue, showing fatigue cracks near boundary of pit atANSVAGMA 1010-95 Based on the nature and severity of the damage, macropiting can be categorized as non- progressive, progressive, flake, or spall, 6.1.1 Initial pitting Nonprogressive macropitting normally consists of ‘small pits less than 1 (one) mm in diameter. They ‘occur in localized areas and tend to redistribute the load by removing high asperities. When the load is AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD more evenly distributed, the macropiting stops. See figure 29 6.1.2 Progressive pitting Progressive macropitting normally consists of pits significantly larger than t (one) mmin diameter. Pit- ting of this type may continue at an increasing rate until significant portion of the tooth surface has pits of various shapes and sizes. See figure 30. Figure 29 - Initial pitting 22.AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 6.1.3 Flake pitting Flake macropitting consists of pits that are relatively shallow but largein area. The fatigue crack extends from an origin at the surface of the tooth in a fan shaped manner until thin flakes of material break ‘out and form a triangular crater. ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 See figure 31 6.1.4 Spalling ‘Spall macropitting is progressive macropitting that ‘occurs when pits coalesce and form irregular cra- ters that cover a significant area ofthe tooth surface. See figure 32, Figure 31 - Flake pitting Figure 32 - Spalling 23ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 6.2 Micropitting Micropiting gives the geartooth a frosted, matte, or gray stained appearance. Under magnification, the surface appears to be covered by very fine pits (nor- ‘mally less than 20 am deep). Metallurgical sections through the micropits show fatigue cracks that are inclined othe surface atan angle of less than 45 de- AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD grees. The cracks may extend deeper than the vis- ible micropits. Micropitting occurs most frequently on surface hardened gear teeth although it may also occur on through hardened gear teeth. It may occur anywhere on the active profile of the gear tooth, See figures 93, 34, 35 and 36. igure 33 - Micropitting Figure 34 ~ Detail of tooth surface showing micropitting 24AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 Figure 36 - Regularly distributed micropitting 2526 ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD. 6.3 Subsase fatigue hat surface may breakaway. Fatigue beach marks may peg cei el sages, iamcened be evident on the crater bottom formed by hardened, and flame hardened). The origin of the Propagation of the main crack. See figure 37. fatigue c'ackis below thesurfacectthegearteethin 7 Cracking the transition zone between the case and core. Aside from cracks in the gear tooth root filets ‘Typically, the crack runs parallel tothe surface ofthe caused by bending fatigue, cracks may occur gear toath before branching to the surface. The elsewhere on the gear due fo mechanical stress, branched cracks may appear at the surface as fine thermal stress, material flaws (for example, see longitudinal cracks on only a few teeth. If the figure 38), or improper processing, surface cracks join together, long shards ofthe tooth Figure 38 - Crack at a forging defectAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 7.4 Hardening cracks Cracking in heat treatment usually occurs during or after quenching Hardening cracks are generally intergranular with the crack running from the surface toward the center of mass in a relafively straight line. If the cracking ‘occurs prior to tempering, the fracture surfaces will be discolored by oxidation when the gear is ex- posed to the furnace atmosphere during tempering. See figure 39. 7.2 Grinding cracks Cracks may develop on the tooth surfaces of gears thatare finished by grinding. The cracks are usually shallow and appear either as a series of parallel Cracks or in a ctazed, mesh pattern. The cracks may appear immediately after grinding, during sub- sequenthandling or storage, or after time in service. Grinding cracks may result from localized overheat- ing. Areas of the toath surface where overheating has ocurred can be detected by acid etching the surface. Tempered areas appear brown or black on alight brown or gray background. Areas where un- tempered martensite has formed appear as white areas surrounded by black, tempered areas. Mag- ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 netic particle or dye penetrant inspection can be used to detect grinding cracks. See figure 40, 7.3 Rim and web cracks If the gear rim is thin (for example, less than about twice the gear tooth whole depth), it may be sub- jected to significant altemating rim bending stresses. that are additive to the gear tooth bending stress, ‘and may result in fatigue cracks in the rim, Rim cracks are similar to tooth bending fatigue cracks, except that rim cracks usually propagate ra- dially through the gear rim, whereas bending fatigue cracks propagate across the base of the teeth. Rim cracks may grow into the web of the gear. Web cracks may be caused by cyclic stresses due to vibrating loads near a natural frequency of the gear lank. A fatigue crack may originate in the web of the gear and may grow into the rim of the gear. Web and rim cracks generally originate at stress concentrations. These concentrations may arise from one or more of the following: sharp comers or notches in the root fillets, keyways, splines, holes, shrink fits, web-to-rim or hub-to-web filets or met- allurgical defects such as inclusions. Figure 39 - Hardening cracks 27ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 Rim or web cracks may cause catastrophic failure in high speed gears if centrifugal forces cause the fatigue cracks to propagate in a fast fracture mode, tearing cpen the rim. See figure 41 7.4 Case/core separation Caseco'e separation may occur in surface hard- AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ened gear teeth when internal cracks occurnear the case/core boundary. The intemal cracks may propagate causing comers, edges, or entire tips of the teeth to separate. The cracks may appear immediately after heat treatment, during subse- ‘quent handling or storage, or after time in service. See figure 42 Figure 40 - Grinding cracks with a crazed pattern Figure 41 - Rim crack 28AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 Figure 42 - Case/core separation 7.5 Fatigue cracks ‘material. These cracks can appear in tooth flanks. Fatigue cracks are cracks which propagate under and in tooth root filets. See figure 43. For fatigue the influence of repeated alternating or cyclic fracture, see clause 9. stresses which are below the tensile strength of the Figure 43 - Bending fatigue crack 20ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 8 Fracture When a gear tooth is overloaded it may fail by plastically deforming or fracturing. iit fractures, the failure may be a ductile fracture preceded by appreciable plastic deformation, a brittle fracture with litte prior plastic deformation, or a mixed mode fracture exhibiting both ductile and brittle characteristics Fatigue failures usually culminate in a fracture when the fatigue cracks grow to a point where the remaining tooth section can no longer support the load. In this sense the remaining material is ‘overloaded; however, the fracture Is a secondary failure mode that is caused by the primary mode of fatigue cracking. Fractures are classified as britle or ductile depending on their macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, as listed in table 2. 8.1 Fracture modes Overload breakage usually occurs as a result of a single application, or very few applications, of very high load. Sometimes. a crack initiated by an overload will progress as a fatigue crack with slow propagation, usually with evidence of fretting corrosion in the region of the inital crack. AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ‘There are three types of overload fracture: = brittle fracture; = ductile fracture; = mixed mode fracture. 8.1.1 Brittle fracture Britle fractures are characterized by rapid crack propagation without appreciable gross plastic de- formation. Brittle fractures have a bright, granular appearance. The fracture surface is generally flat and perpendicular to the direction of the maximum tensile stress. Radial ridges or a chevron pattern may be present on the fracture surface pointing ‘toward the origin of the crack. ‘On amicroscopic level, brittle fracture typically con- sists of transgranular cleavage facets or intergranular facets. See figure 44, 45 and 46, 8.1.2 Ductile fracture Ductile fractures are characterized by tearing of ‘metal accompanied by gross plastic deformation. Ductile fractures have a gray, fibrous appearance. ‘The fracture surface may have a flat or slant crrientation to the direction of the maximum tensile stress. The fracture surface may terminate with a shear lip that extends along the nonworking side of the gear tooth, Table 2 - Fracture classifications Characteristic of fracture eee Brittle fracture Ductile fracture Tight reflection bright ‘gray (dark) shiny dull texture crystalline silky grainy matte rough smooth coarse fine granular fibrous (stringy) orientation. flat slant or flat ‘square pattern radial ridges shear lips chevrons plastic deformation (necking or | negligible appreciable distortion microscopic features cleavage (facets) dimples (shear) 30AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 Origin in the case at Plastic deformation the tooth end Granular fracture surface Sheared zones Figure 44 - Brittle fracture 31ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 46 - Micrograph Microscopically, ductile fractures are characterized by numerous dimples that are formed by the nucle- ation and growth of microvoids. See figure 47. 8.1.3 Mixed mode fracture Allocal area of a fracture surface may exhibit both 22. tergranular brittle fracture ductile and britle characteristics. Under these conditions, the fracture is termed mixed mode. This is not to be confused with a fracture surface having features that suggest successive crack propagation by different mechanisms, for example a fatique crack causing a ductile fracture. See figure 48.AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD ANSVAGMA 1010-£95 Figure 47 - Micrograph of ductile fracture 8.2 Tooth shear When teeth are sheared from gears, the appear~ ance of the sheared surfaces is similar to that of ma- chined surfaces. Tooth shear is almost always caused by a single severe overload, see figure 49. 8.3 Fracture after plastic deformation Al such fractures begin with gross plastic deforma- tions of the teeth before final breakage. See figure Figure 48 - Mixed mode fracture 50. Usually, all the teeth surfer damage which oc- curs because the material is unable to support the applied load: = when the stress due to load exceeds the ‘material strength (cold flow then fracture); = when the gear materialis weakened by over- heating during operation (hot flow followed by fracture). 33ANSUAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 50 ~ Fracture attr plastic deformationAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD 9 Bending fatigue Fatigue is a progressive failure consisting of three distinct stages: Stage 1 Crack initiation; Stage 2 Crack propagation; Stage 3 Fracture. ‘Most ofthe fatique life is occupied by stages 1 and 2 until the cracks grow to critical size where sudden fracture occurs in stage. The fracture may be duc- tile, brittle or mixed mode depending upon the toughness of the material and the magnitude of the applied stress. During stage 1 the peak bending stress is less than the yield strength of the material and no gross yielding of the gear teeth occurs. However, local Plastic deformation may occur in regions of stress concentrations or areas of structural discontinuities such as surface notches, grain boundaries, or inclusions. The cyclic, plastic deformation usually ‘occurs on slip planes that coincide with the direction of maximum shear stress. The cyclic sip continues. within the slip planes of a few grains, usually near the surface where the stress is highest, until microcracks are initiated. The cracks grow in the planes of maximum shear stress unti they form a major crack. The stage 2 propagation phase begins when the crack turns and grows across grain boundaries (transgranular) in a cirection approximately perpen- dicular to the maximum tensile stress. During the propagation phase, the plastic deformation is confined to a small zone at the leading edge of the crack, and the surfaces ofthe fatigue crack usually appear smooth without signs of gross plastic deformation. Under the scanning electron microscope, contours, called fatigue striations, may be seen on a fatigue cracked surface. They are thought to be associated with altemating blunting and sharpening of the crack tip and correspondio the advance of the crack during each stress cycle. The orientation of the striations is at 90 degrees to the crack advance. ANSUAGMA 1010-95 Ifthe orack propagates intermittently, it may leave a pattern of macroscopically visible "beach marks". ‘These marks correspond to positions of the crack front where the crack stopped. The origin of the fatigue crack is usually on the concave side of curved beach marks and is often surrounded by ‘several concentric beach marks. Beach marks may ot be present, especially ifthe fatigue crack grows without interruption under cyclic loads that do not vary in magnitude. The presence of beach marks is ‘strong indication that the crack was due to fatigue; butnot absolute proot, because other failure modes may leave beach marks (for example, stress corrosion under changing environment). HW there are multiple crack origins, each producing ‘separate crack propagation zones, ratchet marks may be formed. They are caused when adjacent ‘cracks, propagating on different crystallographic, planes, join together to form a step. Ratchet marks are often present on fatigue cracked surfaces of {gear teeth because the stress concentration in the root fillet frequently initiates multiple fatigue cracks. 9.1 Low cycle fatigue Low cycle fatigue is defined as fatigue where mac- roscopic plastic strain occurs in every cycle and the numberof cycles to failure is low (typical about 1000 010000). Cracks may initiate within the gear teeth, ‘as well as on the surface, and a smaller fraction of the life is spent inating rather than propagating cracks. 9.2 High eycle fatigue High cycle fatigue is defined as fatigue where the cyclic stress is below the yield strength of the ‘material and the number of cycles to failure is high. Most gear tooth bending failures are due to high cycle fatigue rather than low cycle fatigue. A large fraction of the life is spent initiating rather than propagating cracks. 92.1 Root fillet cracks Although bending fatigue cracks may occur else- where, they usually initiate in the root filet on the tensile side of the gear tooth. See figures 43, 51, 52, 53 and 54ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Origin of erack Crack propagation zones Origin of cracks 7 Fracture zones Figure 51 - Fatigue of two spur teeth,AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 52 - Fatigue of two helical teethAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 53 - Fatigue of two bevel pinion teethAMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Fracture zones ANSUAGMA 1010-£95 Figure 54 - Fatigue of several teeth that were loaded on both flanks. 9.2.2 Profile cracks Fatigue cracks may initiate on the active surface of the gear tooth if there are stress concentrations caused by macropits or material flaws. See figure 55. 9.2.8 Tooth end cracks Fatigue cracks may initiate at an end of the gear tooth if the load is concentrated at the tooth end. ‘Stress concentrations or material flaws at the ends of the teeth may also be responsible for tooth end cracks. See figure 58, 39ANSVAGMA 1010-E95 AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD Figure 56 - Broken tooth endsThis page is intentionally left blank.PUBLISHED BY AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION 1500 KING STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314