Analysis and Testing of Gears with Asymmetric Involute Tooth Form and Optimized Fillet Form for Potential Application in Helicopter Main Drives

Gears with an asymmetric involute gear tooth form were analyzed to determine their bending and contact stresses relative to symmetric involute gear tooth designs which are representative of helicopter main drive gears. Asymmetric and baseline (symmetric) toothed gear test specimens were designed, fabricated and tested to experimentally determine their single-tooth bending fatigue strength and scuffing resistance. Also, gears with an analytically optimized root fillet form were tested to determine their single-tooth bending fatigue characteristics relative to baseline specimens with a circular root fillet form. Test results demonstrated higher bending fatigue strength for both the asymmetric tooth form and optimized fillet form compared to baseline designs. Scuffing resistance was significantly increased for the asymmetric tooth form compared to a conventional symmetric involute tooth design.