Crack initiation and propagation analysis for fisheye failures in high-strength gears

Lightweight design has had an important role to play in recent gear developments. One way of reducing gear weight is to apply a shot-peening process in addition to the usual case-hardening because the higher compressive residual stresses within the material mean that the same torque values can be transmitted with smaller gears. However, due to the compressive residual stresses, fisheye failures at non-metallic inclusions can occur, which have an effect on the endurance fatigue strength of high-strength gears, especially in the very high cycle fatigue range. This paper presents a detailed FEM simulation of the stress state at a non-metallic inclusion in the tooth root fillet of such high-strength gears. The aim is to explain certain fracture characteristics, which differ from fisheye failures of standard specimens. With the results of the simulation und taking into consideration the fracture characteristics determined in a SEM, a fracture analysis for fisheye failures in the tooth root fillet of high-strength gears is carried out that links different theories found in the literature. Subsequently, this analysis and the influence of residual stresses are compared with data and further fracture analyses from experimental investigations found in the literature.