A novel topology modification of spur gear flanks to enhance contact performance and lubrication ability

Spur gears are most extensively applied in gearing transmission because of their effortless machinability and high efficiency. However, spur gears still generate substantial noise, vibration, and wear, mainly when operating at high speeds. Therefore, this study introduces a novel modification of spur gear flanks to improve the above inherent weaknesses. Accordingly, its primary objectives encompass diminishing transmission error while augmenting lubrication efficiency. The novel modification adjusts one side of the spur gear flank like the concave side of the curvilinear gear and the other side like a convex surface using double crowning correction. In addition, both gears of the gear pair are modified to ensure the convex surface of one gear will mesh with the concave surface of the other. The modified gear pairs are then modeled and analyzed using KISSsoft software. The effectiveness of this proposed method is verified by significant improvements in the transmission and lubrication characteristics compared to longitudinal or double crowning modification. Furthermore, a complete machining process on a CNC honing machine is also utilized to demonstrate the machinability of the proposed gear flanks.