226 Analysis and Design of Machine Elements

10 Jelaska, D. (2012). Gears and Gear Drives, 1e. New York: Wiley.
11 Gere, J.M. and Timoshenko, S.P. (1996). Mechanics of Materials, 4e. CL Engineering.
12 Qiu, X.H. (1997). Mechanical Design, 4e. Beijing: Higher Education Press.
13 Huang, X.K. and Zheng, W.W. Theory of Machines and Mechanisms. Beijing: People’s
Education Press.
14 ISO 6336–2:2006 Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Part 2: Cal-
culation of surface durability (pittings). Switzerland: International Organization for
Standards, 2006.
15 ISO 6336–3:2006 Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Part 3:
Calculation of tooth bending strength. Switzerland: International Organization for
Standards, 2006.
16 ISO 6336–5:2003 Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Part 5:
Strength and quality of materials. International Organization for Standards, 2003.

Problems

Review Questions
1 Discuss the main failure modes of gear drives, the failing mechanism, location and
prevention measures.

2 Which factors affect the face load factor K 𝛽 ? How could one improve uneven load
distribution along the face width?

3 What are the main variables to be decided in gear design and how should one select
them?

4 For a pair of gears, how could one decide which gear is prone to fail due to pitting
and which gear is prone to fail because of tooth breakage?

5 How could one increase the contact strength and bending strength of a cylindrical
gear?

Objective Questions
1 In a gear drive, both the pinion and gear are made of medium carbon steel. The
pinion is heat treated by quenching and tempering and the gear by normalizing. The
contact stress on the tooth surface of the pinion and gear is___.
(a) 𝜎 H1 > 𝜎 H2
(b) 𝜎 H1 = 𝜎 H2
(c) 𝜎 H1 < 𝜎 H2
(d) hard to decide

2 Assuming the pitch diameter is constant in a spur gear drive, the larger the _____,
the higher the bending strength of the gear.
 Gear Drives 227

(a) modulus
(b) torque transmitted
(c) number of the teeth of a gear
(d) load factor

3 In order to improve the contact fatigue strength of tooth surface, we can _____.
(a) reduce the pressure angle 𝛼
(b) increase the centre distance a
(c) reduce the face width factor 𝜑d
(d) increase the gear modulus m

4 For a pair of gears with hardness less than 350HBW, we usually _________.
(a) select the hardness of the pinion tooth surfaces < the hardness of the gear tooth
surfaces
(b) select the hardness of the pinion tooth surfaces = the hardness of the gear tooth
surfaces
(c) select the hardness of the pinion tooth surfaces > the hardness of the gear tooth
surfaces
(d) have no restriction on the hardness of the pinion and gear tooth
surfaces

5 In a cylindrical gear transmission, if the pitch diameters of the pinion and gear are
kept constant and the module is reduced, which of the following transmission qual-
ities will be improved? _____
(a) The gear tooth bending strength
(b) The gear tooth contact strength
(c) The gear transmission stability
(d) None of them

Calculation Questions
1 A pair of enclosed spur gears have z1 = 20, z2 = 80, m = 3 mm and face width fac-
tor of 𝜑d = 1.0. The pinion rotates at n1 = 970 rpm. The allowable contact stress of
the pinion and gear are [𝜎 H1 ] = 700 MPa, [𝜎 H2 ] = 500 MPa, respectively. The load
factor is K = 1.5, zone factor is ZH = 2.5, elastic coefficient is ZE = 189.8 MPa1/2 .
Determine the power that can be transmitted by tooth surface contact strength
analysis.

2 The variables of a pair of standard spur gears are listed in the table as

Gear m z b Y Fa Y Sa [𝝈 F ] [𝝈 H ]

Units mm mm MPa MPa

1 4 19 65 2.85 1.54 410 650

2 4 50 60 2.34 1.70 380 570
228 Analysis and Design of Machine Elements

Answer the following questions:

(a) Which gear is more likely to fail because of pitting? And which gear is more likely
to fail because of tooth breakage?
(b) Decide the value of face width factor 𝜑d .
(c) If the load factor is K = 1.3, calculate the maximum torque to be transmitted by
tooth bending strength analysis.
(d) If the load factor is K = 1.3, elastic coefficient ZE = 189.8 MPa1/2 and zone fac-
tor ZH = 2.5, calculate the maximum torque to be transmitted by tooth contact
strength analysis.

3 The variables of a pair of gears are listed here:

z1 = 20, z2 = 40, m = 2 mm, b = 40 mm, Y Fa1 = 2.97, Y Fa2 = 2.35, Y Sa1 = 1.52,
Y Sa2 = 1.68, ZH = 2.5, ZE = 189.8(MPa)1/2 , K 1 = K 2 = 1.3, [𝜎 H1 ] = 500 MPa,
[𝜎 H2 ] = 470 MPa, [𝜎 F1 ] =390 MPa, [𝜎 F2 ] = 370 MPa. Please do the following:
a) Compare the contact strength and bending strength of two gears and predict the
failure modes of each gear.
b) Calculate the maximum torque that can be transmitted by this pair of gears.

4 In the gear box in Figure P8.1, the variables for the first pair of spur gears are: z1 = 20,
z2 = 100, m1 = 2.5 mm and b2 = 45 mm; The variables for the second pair of spur
gears are: z3 = 23, z4 = 77, m3 = 3 mm and b4 = 60 mm. For the two pairs of gears,
the allowable stresses of the pinions are [𝜎 H1 ] = [𝜎 H3 ] = 500 MPa and the allowable
stresses of the gears are [𝜎 H2 ] = [𝜎 H4 ] = 420 MPa. Select load factor K = 1.3 and
elastic coefficient ZE = 189.8 MPa1/2 . Determine:

Figure P8.1 Illustration for Calculation

Question 4.
Z1
I X Tin

n1
Z3
II X X

Z2

Tout X III

Z4
 Gear Drives 229

a) the allowable output torque T output by contact strength calculation;

b) if after heat treatment, the allowable stresses of the pinions increase to
[𝜎 H1 ]′ = [𝜎 H3 ]′ = 650 MPa and the allowable stresses of the gears increase to
[𝜎 H2 ]′ = [𝜎 H4 ]′ = 600 MPa, by what percentage will the allowable output torque
T output calculated by contact strength analysis be increased by?

Design Problems
1 The input power for a pair of helical gears is P1 = 5.5 kW. The pinion and gear rotate
at n1 = 480 rpm and n2 = 150 rpm, respectively. The initially selected variables are:
the number of teeth of the pinion z1 = 28, helix angle 𝛽 = 12∘ , face width ratio
𝜑d = 1.1. The calculated pitch diameter by tooth surface fatigue strength analysis is
d1 = 70.13 mm. Decide the normal module mn , centre distance a, helix angle 𝛽 and
face width of the pinion b1 and gear b2 .

2 A reducer composes of a pair of bevel gears and helical gears, as shown in

Figure P8.2. The rotational speed of the small bevel gear is n1 = 960 rpm and the
transmitted power is P1 = 7.5 kW. The number of teeth of bevel gears are z1 = 25,
z2 = 79 and the large end module is m = 3 mm. The number of teeth of helical
gears are z3 = 21, z4 = 80. Normal module is mn = 4 mm and normal pressure angle
is 𝛼 n = 20∘ . Centre distance is a = 210 mm. The face width of the bevel gear and
helical gear are 35 mm and 45 mm, respectively. Please decide on the following:

Figure P8.2 Illustration for Design Problem 2. a

3
4 1

X X
X I

2
III II

a) The cone distance of the bevel gear R, pitch cone angle 𝛿 1 and 𝛿 2 , mean diameter
of small bevel gear dm1 ;
b) The helix angle 𝛽 and pitch diameter of the pinion and gear, d3 , d4 .
c) The rotational direction of the small bevel gear, so that the thrust forces acting
on the intermediate shaft are of the opposite direction.
d) The forces acting on the gear 2 and gear 3 and indicate the force directions.

3 Design a pair of spur gears to drive a reciprocating compressor, which works 8 h

daily, 300 days each year for 10 years. The pair of spur gears is to transmit a power of
10 kW while the pinion rotates at 960 rpm. The gear ratio is u = 4.0. Consider using
both soft tooth surface and case-hardened carburized surface gears. Compare the
design results.
230 Analysis and Design of Machine Elements

4 Design a pair of helical gears using data in Design Problem 3. Consider using both
soft tooth surface and case-hardened carburized surface gears.

Structure Design Problems

1 While designing a pair of spur gears, the face width of pinion is usually wider than
that of gear by 5–10 mm. The reason for this is ______.
(a) to ensure the strength of pinion is greater than that of gear
(b) to ensure the pinion and the gear have a similar strength
(c) to facilitate assembly and to ensure contact length
(d) to ensure stable transmission and to increase efficiency

2 The helix angle direction and rotational direction of gear 1 in a gear reducer are
shown in Figure P8.3. Gear 2 has a normal module of mn2 = 2 mm, 61 teeth and a
helix angle of 𝛽 2 = 12.5∘ ; Gear 3 has a normal module of mn3 = 4 mm and 19 teeth.
Do the following:

Figure P8.3 Illustration for Structure Design

n1
Problem 2.

3
X X
1
4
X X 2

I II III

(a) To reduce the thrust force on shaft II, determine the helix directions of gears 2
and 3;
(b) Indicate the forces acting on gear 2 and 3;
(c) To ensure shaft II carries no thrust load, decide on the helix angle of
gear 3.

3 Design two layouts of gears in a reducer. In the reducer, the input shaft and output
shaft are concentric. The rotational speed of the input and output shafts are of the
same and opposite directions, respectively.

4 A pair of spur gears and a pair of helical gears are to be used in the gear reducer
shown in Figure P8.4. Should the pair of helical gears be arranged in the first stage
or in the second stage of power transmission?
 Gear Drives 231

Figure P8.4 Illustration for Structure Design Problem 4.

z1
I X Tin

n1
z3
II X X

z2

Tout X III

z4

5 Power is to be transmitted from an electric motor to a conveyor through a belt drive

and a two-stage gear reducer. A pair of spur gears and a pair of helical gears are to
be used in the gear reducer. Propose at least two designs and compare them.

CAD Problems
1 Write a flow chart for the gear drive design process.

2 Develop a program to implement a user interface similar to Figure P8.5 and complete
Example Problem 8.1.

Figure P8.5 Illustration for CAD Problem 2.