Transient thermal elastohydrodynamic simulation of a spiral bevel gear pair with an octoidal tooth profile under mixed friction conditions

A simulation model for the transient thermal elastohydrodynamic calculation of spiral bevel gears with octoidal toothing is presented. The three-dimensional contact geometry is derived directly from the precise geometrical definition of the tooth flank profiles. The tooth trace can be represented both as circular arc and as extended epicycloid. The simulation model is based on the numerical solution of the generalized Reynolds equation and includes models for mass conserving cavitation, non-Newtonian flow, mixed friction and microhydrodynamics. For the temperature calculation the energy equation for the fluid and the Fourier heat equation for the solid bodies are solved. Using the example of a spiral bevel gear pair with an extended epicycloid, the capability of the presented simulation model is shown.