Objective
From the project there have been a number of technical achievements. The assessment of aerospace applications for face gears has shown that there are a number of potential applications where they could be utilised. A number of potential benefits for their use has also been highlighted when compared to their bevel gear counterparts including ease of assembly, improvement in bearing lives in some cases simplification of designs by utilising the face gears high ratio and/or split torque capability. One important issue that has arisen is that bevel gears cannot be directly swapped for face gears in existing designs unless space constraints can be resolved.
An analytical software package has been produced (GANDALF) which is capable of determining the complete geometry of the face gear tooth surface, simulate load sharing and produce the pressure distribution and tooth root stresses (via an external FE solver) on both the face gear and the pinion in mesh. Two empirical equations have also been generated to determine the approximate inner and outer diameter of the face gear. These can be used to give the designer an appreciation of the size of the face gear and can be used with pre-design spreadsheets. For the manufacturing of Face Gears, numerical software for the simulation of gear shaping and continuous generation grinding has been developed. The effects of modified tools and machine kinematics on the tooth flank topography can be herewith investigated. In addition continuous generation grinding technology has been developed for the production of high quality face gears (AGMA 12 or better with a surface roughness Ra < 1mm).
This includes a special wheel-head and the necessary software to control the dressing and grinding processes. This work has also enabled the gears for the testing programme to be produced. The testing of the face gears has proven that face gears have the potential to be used in a number of different environments. High speed and torque results have clearly demonstrated face gears capability providing pattern setting and tooth profiles can be optimised. Helical face gears have been produced and pattern development has shown that they are sensitive to set-up. The split torque capability of face gears has been modelled and tested with favourable results clearly demonstrating the potential for split torque applications. All the results have identified that face gears are very sensitive to mounting position and that the face width is limited by the pointing and undercut conditions. Finally, a design guide has been produced which provides a significant amount of information to help engineers to design, manufacture and inspect face gears.
Objectives and content:
The role of the helicopter transmission system is of paramount importance, as it must transmit the power from the engines to the main and tail rotors with a high level of safety. All helicopter transmission configurations include at least one gear stage, which turns the horizontal drive from the engines to the vertical for the main rotor.
This is currently achieved using spiral bevel gears, but these:
- are relatively heavy;
- are effectively limited to ratios of 6:1;
- demand highly accurate assembly;
- are relatively expensive to produce.
Face gears are an alternative method of achieving the same function and potentially could overcome any of the limitations listed above whilst still maintaining a high degree of reliability. However, it has not been possible to produce them to the high standards of accuracy and hardness demanded for aerospace transmissions.
A research programme is therefore proposed which will explore the opportunities which face gears can offer by changing current gearbox configurations, in particular the use of high reduction ratios and improved load sharing.
This will be undertaken by:
- developing analytical tools to permit the performance of face gears to be analysed;
- verifying that face gear scan be manufactured to the required standards;
- confirming the performance limits of face gears through test evaluation.
On successful completion of this research programme, the European helicopter industry will be better placed to manufacture transmissions systems with improved performance, thus enhancing its competitiveness in the world marketplace. BE97-4255
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planetary geology
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering aircraft rotorcraft
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
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Coordinator
YEOVIL, SOMERSET
United Kingdom
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