Numerical and experimental stress analysis of spur gears for weight reduction using radial holes

Abstract

Geometric optimization for the optimal use of material and the weight reduction of gear is possible by removing material from the gear teeth. The current research focuses on the stress analysis of gear with radial holes drilled through the gear tooth to reduce the weight of standard gear. The radial holes from the tip of the gear tooth for different depths are introduced. A standard gear with holes is analyzed using ANSYS, and the magnitude of stresses near the root of the gears for similar loading and boundary conditions are studied. New efforts have been made to study the stress distribution by photoelastic technique to supplement FEA results and confirm the stress distribution of gear with and without radial holes. This process achieves a volume reduction of up to 6.1% compared to an AGMA standard spur gear without affecting much of the stress distribution. These holes may be helpful for adequate lubrication and cooling of gears by fluid circulation. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2023.