Experimental Assessment of the Dynamic Factors of FZG Gear Tests as Well as an Evaluation of a Micropitting Load Capacity Formula

This research investigates the effect of dynamics on the performance of an FZG test rig as well as develops further understanding and analysis of micropitting by the development of a MATLAB based computer program and an experimental study of this phenomenon. Lubrication, speed, torque, and surface finish were the parameters studied in the dynamics portion of the research to understand their influence on the dynamics of the system. Post-processing the data involved reproducing the plots that were acquired during the experiment and calculating a dynamic factor, which is the peak root stress divided by the static root stress. A statistical analysis was done to get a minimum, maximum, and average dynamic factor and observe how it changes with respect to torque and speed. Computer programs were utilized to supplement the dynamics investigation in an attempt to interpret the experimental data. The ISO/TR: 15144 is a procedure that outlines a detailed review of determining the micropitting load capacity and the computer program that was developed in this research computes the equations of this procedure and determines the safety factor that is used to establish the onset of micropitting. The main detection of micropitting was by observing the profile changes of the pinion and gear after each time varying test. Two lubricants were used in the experiment which had different viscosity grades. Only ground gears were tested for the micropitting testing. Advisors/Committee Members: Houser, Donald.