Contact stresses in meshing spur gear teeth: Use of an incremental finite element procedure

Abstract : Contact stresses in meshing spur gear teeth are examined. The analysis is based upon an incremental finite element procedure that simultaneously determines the stresses in and the contact region between the meshing teeth. The teeth themselves are modeled by two-dimensional plane strain elements. Friction effects are included, with the friction forces assumed to obey Coulomb's law. The analysis also assumes that the displacements are small and that the tooth materials are linearly elastic. The analysis procedure is validated by comparing its results with those for the classical two contacting semicylinders obtained from the Hertz method. Agreement is excellent.