Crack growth modeling in spur gear tooth and its effect on mesh stiffness using extended finite element method

Abstract

The manuscript is devoted to determine the time variable mesh stiffness (TVMS) and crack propagation behaviour in spur gear tooth using extended finite element method (XFEM). The TVMS of gear pairs provides significant information about the condition of the gear system. Thus, the accurate estimation of TVMS is essential to get the information of the primary source of vibration and noise. Extended finite element method is very effective for discontinuity due to faults like cracks etc. The capability of XFEM to enrich approximate spaces locally makes it appropriate method to compute the values of TVMS in spur gear. A gear tooth crack problem has been solved using XFEM and the obtained results are compared with the analytical results for validation. Further, a problem of crack at the root resign in thin rim gear is simulated to investigate the effect of rim thickness on gear tooth crack propagation path. The estimated crack propagation path shows good agreement with the results available in literature.