Gear material selection with uncertain and incomplete data. Material performance indices and decision aid model

First, a set of major gear design criteria are used to develop six material performance indices for material selection purposes. They are, a surface fatigue limit index, a surface fatigue lifetime index, a bending fatigue limit index, a bending fatigue lifetime index, an abrasive wear index, and a machinability index. A modified decision matrix in the presence of data uncertainties and incompleteness is then proposed to show the effect of the developed indices. It is shown that using individual material properties and approximations among them may not satisfy specific design goals for a specific application. Next, the ELECTRE III multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) model is applied to rank the best compromised candidate materials, while considering criteria tradeoffs, designers’ preference information, data uncertainties and incompleteness. An effort is made to reconcile mathematically motivated model thresholds (namely, the indifference, strict preference, and veto thresholds) with experimentally motivated characteristics such as upper and lower limits of measured material properties. It is shown that the proposed multi-criteria approach may also be useful in revealing incomparable and/or indifferent alternatives that would not be distinguishable otherwise. To ensure rank stability of the chosen materials, the effect of potential uncertainties in designers’ opinions during criteria weighting is introduced by means of a dilation and concentration sensitivity analysis process. The main originality lies in resolving a non-compensatory, application-specific, and uncertainty-based multiple criteria material selection problem in gear design optimization.

[1]  P.J.L. Fernandes,et al.  Surface contact fatigue failures in gears , 1997 .

[2]  M. Ashby.  MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION IN MATERIAL DESIGN AND SELECTION , 2000 .

[3]  M. J. Matos,et al.  Innovation and sustainability in mechanical design through materials selection , 2006 .

[4]  Bernard Roy,et al.  Aide multicritère à la décision : méthodes et cas , 1993 .

[5]  Youngsik Choi,et al.  Rolling contact fatigue life of finish hard machined surfaces ☆: Part 2. Experimental verification , 2006 .

[6]  Jian-Bo Yang,et al.  Multiple Criteria Decision Support in Engineering Design , 1998 .

[7]  A. Milani,et al.  The effect of normalization norms in multiple attribute decision making models: a case study in gear material selection , 2005 .

[8]  Martin Rogers,et al.  Electre and decision support , 1999 .

[9]  Michael F. Ashby,et al.  Computer-based selection of joining processes: Methods, software and case studies , 2004 .

[10]  M. R. Bayoumi,et al.  Effect of surface finish on fatigue strength , 1995 .

[11]  Ali Shanian,et al.  A material selection model based on the concept of multiple attribute decision making , 2006 .

[12]  A. Abedian,et al.  A novel method for materials selection in mechanical design: Combination of non-linear normalization and a modified digital logic method , 2007 .

[13]  B. Roy.  Decision-aid and decision-making , 1990 .

[14]  M. J. Neale,et al.  Component failures, maintenance and repair : a tribology handbook , 1995 .

[15]  J. C Suárez.  Case studies in adhesives selection , 2003 .

[16]  T. Makino,et al.  Effect of Core Hardness and Case Depth on Low-Cycle-Impact-Fatigue Property in Carburized Steel , 2003 .

[17]  Kurt M. Marshek,et al.  Fundamentals of Machine Component Design , 1991 .

[18]  David Cebon,et al.  Materials Selection in Mechanical Design , 1992 .

[19]  R. Rao.  A material selection model using graph theory and matrix approach , 2006 .

[20]  Charles E. Wilson.  Computer Integrated Machine Design , 1996 .

[21]  Robert C. Juvinall,et al.  Fundamentals of machine component design , 1983 .

[22]  Damir Jelaska,et al.  Numerical Modelling of the Crack Propagation Path at Gear Tooth Root , 2003 .

[23]  Amit Shukla,et al.  Tradeoff analysis in minimum volume design of multi-stage spur gear reduction units , 2000 .

[24]  M. Wautelet,et al.  Materials selection for thin films for radio frequency microelectromechanical systems , 2007 .

[25]  Milosav Ognjanovic.  Decisions in gear train transmission design , 1996 .

[26]  David Cebon,et al.  Selection strategies for materials and processes , 2002 .

[27]  Youngsik Choi,et al.  Rolling contact fatigue life of finish hard machined surfaces: Part 1. Model development☆ , 2006 .

[28]  M. Olsson,et al.  Tooth Interior Fatigue Fracture — computational and material aspects , 2001 .

[29]  Didier Landru,et al.  Challenges in materials and process selection , 2001 .

[30]  Milan Zeleny,et al.  The Theory of the Displaced Ideal , 1976 .

[31]  H. Kunzi,et al.  Lectu re Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems , 1975 .

[32]  Deniz Yilmaz,et al.  Failure of a rotary tiller spur gear , 2005 .

[33]  Michael F. Ashby,et al.  Cost estimates to guide pre-selection of processes , 2003 .