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GEARS LECTURE
BET 120
Power Systems University

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Objective:
• Know and be able to use correct nomenclature when answering questions or
giving information about a gear or gearset.

• Identify locations and types of gears on a gas and steam turbine.

• Describe and identify the basic function and location of the major components
comprising a gear box assembly.

• Recognize and state the various causes of gear tooth distress and failure.

• Identify the equipment and materials required to perform gear contact checks
and non-destructive examinations (NDE).

• Demonstrate the ability to perform the contact check and Prussian blue tape
check and be able to report the results to engineering.

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Introduction:
• Gears are used to transmit power and/or motion from one shaft to
another.
• When multiple gears are meshed together, the arrangement is called a
gearset.
• The smaller gear in the gearset is referred to as the “pinion”, and the
larger gear referred to as “the gear”.
• Power, speed, and torque are transmitted via the following equation:
Power = Speed x Torque
• The relative sizes of the gears in a gearset help determine the change
in speed and torque from one gear to the next. For example, a small
pinion will spin faster and with less torque than its larger meshing
gear.

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Gear Ratio
• The ratio of the number of teeth on the pinion to the number of teeth
on the gear is referred to as the “Gear Ratio”.
• The Gear Ratio is expressed as the number of gear teeth divided by
the number of pinion teeth.
• For example, if the pinion has 18 teeth and the gear has 54 teeth, the
Gear Ratio will be 54:18 or 3:1 and the pinion will rotate at three times
the speed of the gear.
• The Gear Ratio across multiple gearsets is obtained by multiplying the
gear ratios of each gearset. If a 3:1 gearset is combined with a 4:1
gearset, the resulting Gear Ratio is 12:1.

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Torque Ratio
• The amount of torque a gear produces is a product of force and the
gear’s “moment arm”. The “moment arm” refers to the distance from
the center of a gear’s rotation to the point at which force is applied.
• The longer a gear’s moment arm, the greater the amount of torque.
• The torque ratio refers to the change in torque across a gearset, and is
directly related to the diameters of the gears in the gearset.
• If the power transmitted across a gearset is constant, any change in
torque must be countered with a change in speed. For example, if the
torque from the pinion to the gear increases, the speed must decrease.
• Gearsets that increase the speed of the prime mover as required by
the load are called “speed increasers”. Gearsets that step down the
speed of the prime mover are called “speed reducers”, or “Reduction
Gears”.

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Gear Nomenclature:
• Top Land – surface on the top of a tooth
• Bottom Land – surface between adjoining fillets
• Addendum – height by which a tooth projects above the pitch circle
• Dedendum – depth of a tooth space below a pitch circle
• Pitch Circle – circle on which tooth proportions and tooth spacing is established
• Pitch Line – point on a tooth relative to the point at which addendum and dedendum
meet.

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Gear Nomenclature:
• Fillet – concave portion of tooth profile which joins the bottom of the tooth space.
• Face – total area of the addendum.
• Flank – total area of the dedendum including fillet.
• Working Depth – sum of the two addendums of meshed gears.
• Tooth Surface – side of a gear tooth
• Backlash – amount by which the width of a tooth space exceeds the thickness of the
engaging tooth at the pitch circle.

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Nomenclature:
• Circular Pitch: distance from a point on
one tooth to the same point on the next
tooth measured at the pitch circle.

• Diametrical Pitch: the ratio of the

number of teeth on the gear to the
diameter of a specified pitch circle.

• Pressure Angle: the angle between the

line of action and a line perpendicular to
the line of centers for two engaging
gears.

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Nomenclature:
• Pinion: a gear with a small number of teeth designed to mesh with a larger
gear. In a two gear set, the smaller gear is the pinion and the larger gear is
referred to as “the gear”.

– If both gears are the same size and the set is used only to change direction, both
elements could be called “gears”.

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Types of Gears
• Spur Gears
– One of the most common types of gears in the industry.
– Has teeth which are machined or cut straight across.
– Connects two parallel shafts that rotate in opposite directions, unless an
“idler gear” or “internal gear” is incorporated.

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Types of Gears
• Idler Gear
– Mounted between the pinion and
the output gear
– Spins freely and allows both the
pinion and the output gear to rotate
in the same direction.

• Internal Gear
– The internal gear’s teeth are located
inside the output gear
– The pinion rotates inside the
cylinder of the output gear.

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Types of Gears
• Bevel Gears
– Used to transmit power from one
shaft to another shaft, which is
usually set at a ninety degree angle.
– Usually noisy
– Spiral Bevel Gears incorporate
twisted teeth, which allow gradual
meshing of the teeth to reduce the
noise.
– Spiral bevel gears are capable of
handling greater loads.

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Types of Gears
• Helical Gears
– Similar to spur gears, except teeth
are twisted instead of straight.
– As helical gears mesh, contact
begins at end of one tooth and
extends gradually across width of
tooth.
– Allows for quiet and smooth
operation of the gearset.
– If teeth are wide enough, several
teeth can be engaged at once,
allowing for higher speeds and
higher loads.
– Twisted teeth produce axial thrust,
which must be countered with a
thrust bearing or second helical
gearset on same shaft.

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Types of Gears
• Hypoid Gear
– Resemble spiral bevel gears, but are
connected to off-set shafts.
– Allows for pinions with as few as
five teeth.
– Smaller number of teeth allow for
larger gear ratios to be obtained.

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Types of Gears
• Worm Gears
– One of the gears in this gearset has
a screw thread, referred to as the
“worm gear” or “worm” (considered
the pinion).
– Due to the small number of threads
(or teeth), a worm gearset has a
very high gear ratio.
– Commonly used in applications
requiring a large speed reduction
and a subsequent large increase in
torque.

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Worm Gears
• Single-Enveloping Worm Gearset
– Gear is throated, so that it wraps
part of the way around the worm.
– Increases contact area, allowing for
greater loads to be carried.

• Double-Enveloping Worm Gearset

– Both gear and worm are throated,
further increasing contact area and
amount load capability.

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Gearboxes
• Components include upper casing, lower casing, and endcaps.
• Typical components are shown below.

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Oil Sump
• Dry Oil Sump
– Oil is under pressure and commonly
sprayed onto gears with a spray
nozzle.

• Wet Oil Sump

– Larger gears are partially
submerged in the oil sump.
– As gears rotate, oil is picked up
from the sump and transferred to
smaller gears and pinions.
– Troughs that collect oil slung from
the gears direct the oil to the
bearings for lubrication.

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Mechanical Differentials
• Take multiple inputs and supply a
single output, or take a single input
and supply multiple outputs.
• Composed of three bevel gears, a
spider shaft, and a balancing block.
• Any of the shafts can supply input
or receive output.
• Mechanical differentials allow
output shafts to move
independently of each other.

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Gear Problems
• Common Causes of Gear Problems:
– Bearing Failure
– Tooth Breakage
– Fatigue Failure
– Improper Lubrication
– Scoring
– Pitting

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Bearing Failure
• Because bearing tolerances are typically more critical than gear
tolerances, bearings are more sensitive and may start to fail before the
gears.

• Common bearing problems:

– Lubrication problems
– Overheated gear units
– Excessive vibrations
– Alignment problems
– Failed or malfunctioning couplings

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Tooth Breakage
• Fatigue Failure:
– Usually results from repeated bending and/or loading of gear teeth.
– Fatigue is accelerated during operation if a defect occurs during
manufacture of the gear or during installation of the gearset.
– Failure begins as a break or crack which slowly grows across the tooth and
snaps at point of excessive pressure or vibration.
– Could be accompanied by fretting corrosion.

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Tooth Breakage
• Fretting Corrosion:
– Occurs due to oil seeping into a defect and compressing every time tooth
is loaded.
– Combination of oil and high pressure causes the metal in the crack to
erode and break down.
– If fretting corrosion occurs, a reddish stain can be detected on the tooth.

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Tooth Breakage
• Overloading
– Breaks caused by overloading are rough and may cause deformation or
damage on the adjoining teeth.
– In some cases, deformation and damage may be present on all of the
teeth on the gear.
– Overloads can be “internal” or “external”
• Internal overloads occur when one tooth breaks and the adjoining tooth jumps
across the space left by the broken tooth.
• External overloads are caused by problems outside of the gearset and can be
detected by signs of fatigue on the teeth.

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Improper Lubrication
• Common lubrication problems:
– Improper lubricant.
• May not have the viscosity or additives necessary for the operation conditions of
the gearset, and can increase friction and amount of wear on gear teeth.
– Excessively high or low lubricant temperatures.
• Overheating causes gear components to distort, resulting in severe
misalignment and damage.
• Low temperatures will increase the viscosity to the point of restricting flow to
some components of the gearbox.
– Lubricant contamination.
• Contaminants can damage gear components during meshing or prevent
lubrication of some components.
– Insufficient lubricant.
• Causes excessive friction and insufficient removal of heat from system.
• Can be caused by clogged filters, clogged spray nozzles, or lubrication system
failure.

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Scoring
• Scoring is the scratching or tearing of a tooth.
• Initially appears as a fine etching pattern on the surfaces, and is
usually associated with a lubrication problem.
• If scoring is severe and persists, enough material will be removed from
the tooth over time to cause the tooth to break.

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Pitting
• Classified as “light pitting” and “heavy
pitting”.
• Light pitting will appear as very small
holes or pockets on the face of a gear
tooth, and will eventually appear as
gears age.
• Heavy pitting is characterized by large
holes on the surface of the tooth, and if
severe, will cause the tooth to fracture.
– Differing materials in gears can cause
heavy pitting
– Misalignment can also cause pitting. Any
signs of pitting that appears more than
“light” should warrant an alignment
check and inspection.

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Gear Inspections
• Every major inspection, the gear box should be disassembled and
given a complete inspection of all components.
• Common tests and inspections:
– NDE (Non-Destructive Examination)
• Visual Inspection
• Dye-Penetrant Test
• Magnetic Particle Test (if required)
– Red and Blue Contact Check
– Prussian Blue Tape Check

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Non-Destructive Examinations (NDE)

• Visual Inspection
– Signs of wear and damage

• Red Dye Penetrant Test

– Tests for small cracks not visible to naked
eye

• Magnetic Particle Test

– Tests for cracks using fluorescent spray and
electric current

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Red and Blue Contact Check

• Tooth Contact Check
– Paint is applied to active faces of
teeth on both gears in the gearset.
– Gears are rotated in operating
direction, allowing all teeth to
contact.
– Contact areas are shown where two
paint colors have mixed

• Contact Results Layout

– Clear tape used to transfer results
from teeth to layout sheet.
– Layout shows patterns of poor
contact and assists in developing
analysis of contact check results.

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Prussian Blue Tape Tests

• Used when pitting, scoring, and
material removal is present on teeth.

• Prussian Blue paint is applied to tooth

surface and Scotch tape applied on top
of paint.

• The areas of the tape where blue paint

is not present are areas where scoring,
pitting, or loss-of-material have
occurred.

• Commonly used to track the

progression of scoring or pitting.

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