A prediction method for adhesive wear of herringbone gear

The centering error is a unique error in the manufacturing process of herringbone gear. The relationship between centering error and tooth wear and the influence of centering error on the service performance of herringbone gear are rarely reported. In this paper, a wear prediction method of herringbone gear with centering error is proposed by comprehensively considering the coupling relationship between tooth wear evolution and centering error. Based on the mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory and Hertz contact theory, the calculation equation of asperity contact pressure of tooth surface after tooth wear is derived and the influence of centering error on load shared by both sides of herringbone gear is analyzed, then the coupling relationship between tooth wear depth and contact pressure is studied. The distribution of contact temperature, asperity contact pressure and wear depth on tooth surface is obtained, and the effect of centering error on them is discussed, then the effects of roughness, input torque and rotation speed on wear of herringbone gear with centering error is analyzed. The results show that the contact temperature, asperity contact pressure, sliding distance and tooth surface wear depth on the advanced contact side of herringbone gear is greater than those of the delayed contact side due to the influence of centering error. And the wear depth of both sides is not uniformly distributed along the tooth width direction and the maximum wear depth is located in the initial meshing area and decreases nonlinearly along the line of action. Besides, the greater the roughness and input torque, the greater the difference between the wear depth on both sides, and with the increase of rotation speed, the wear depth decreases. The results also show that the wear depth can change the centering error, which changed the contact characteristics and load shared by both sides of the herringbone gear. The wear depth and centering error have a significant impact on the meshing and contact performance of herringbone gears, and their influence cannot be ignored in the study of herringbone gears. The results of this paper can provide theoretical support for wear resistance design of herringbone gear.