Bevel Gears

Derived from pitch surfaces which are frustums of cones Elements of the pitch cones intersect at the point of intersection of the axes of rotation
This is the condition for proper rolling

(a) Cones can roll together without sliding

(b) Pure rolling possible at one point only

Must have sliding at all other points of contact

Bevel Gears (Contd)

Bevel gears are commonly used to connect shafts intersecting at 90 Miter gears have equal pitch cone angles ( = 45)
Cones are identical in this case

A crown gear has its pitch angle 90

Crown gear corresponds to a rack in spur gearing

(a) Miter Gears

(b) Bevel Gears with = 90

Crown Gear

Bevel Gears (Contd)

Involute teeth for a spur gear can be generated by the edge of a plane, as the plane rolls on a base cylinder
Involutes lie on the corresponding planes

Similar analysis for a bevel gear shows that a true section of the resulting involute lies on the surface of a sphere
Cannot be accurately represented on a plane surface In practice, most bevel gears are generated so that they are conjugate to crown gear teeth with flat sides

The true shape of the bevel gear tooth is obtained by taking a spherical section through the tooth, where the centre of the sphere is at the common apex

Tredgolds Approximation
Tredgolds Approximation is used to represent the tooth profiles approximately
It is based on the fact that a cone tangent to the sphere at the pitch point will closely approximate the surface of the sphere for a short distance either side of the pitch point This cone, known as the back cone can then be developed as a plane surface and an equivalent spur gear tooth system can be drawn

The form of teeth formed based on Tredgolds Approximation depends upon the slant height of the back cone (not on the radius R)
Equivalent pitch radius, Re =

R / cos

Tredgolds Approximation (Contd)

The equivalent number of teeth ze is,

2 Re 2R z ze = = = m m cos cos
The action of the bevel gears will be the same as that of the equivalent spur gears
Since the equivalent number of teeth is always greater than the actual number of teeth, a given pair of bevel gears will have a larger contact ratio and will run more smoothly than a pair of spur gears with the same number of teeth

Equivalent Spur Gears

Bevel Gear Nomenclature

Bevel gears are not interchangeable.
They are made in pairs. Cone distance = L ; Face = b ; Pitch diameter = d2 or d3

Pitch diameters are measured at the large, or heel ends of the teeth. 20 teeth are most widely used.
Min. number of teeth13.

Pitch and root cones intersect at the pitch apex, or shaft intersection, while the face cone does not.
Face cone of each gear is turned parallel to the root cone of the other. This gives a constant clearance.

tan 2 = z2 / z3 3 = 2

Force Analysis of Bevel Gears

Tangential force, Wt , is assumed to act at the mean pitch diameter

Radial force is given by,

Wr = Wt tan cos
Axial force is,

Wa = Wt tan sin

Design of Bevel Gears

Design is based on Lewis equation for beam strength modified as, Lb

Fb = 0b y m L

L L b Face width is generally taken as, 4 3

b is usually taken close to but not greater than L/3 y corresponds to the equivalent number of teeth

The factor Cv is taken as,

6 for cut teeth, and 6 +V The general design rule is,

5.6 5.6 + V

for generated teeth

Fb Cv Wt

Dynamic Load
Dynamic load can be calculated as,

Fd = Ft + Fi , where,

21V (bC + Ft ) Fi = 21V + bC + Ft

with usual notations (as for spur gears)

corresponds to that for spur gears

For safe design,

Fd Fb
where, Fb = 0 b y m (L-b)/L

Wear Strength
Wear strength can be approximated to be

Fw =

0.75 D p b Q K cos p

with usual notations

Q = 2 z2e / (z1e + z2e) , z1e , z2e are equivalent tooth numbers on

pinion and gear, respectively

p is the pitch angle of the pinion

K is the same as that for spur gears For safe design, Fd

Fw

Example 1
Design a pair of bevel gears to transmit 9 kW between two shafts whose axes intersect at 90. The pinion rotates at 1200 r.p.m. and the speed ratio is 3. The pinion has 20 teeth and is made of steel with an allowable bending stress, 0 of 85 MPa. The gear is made of cast iron with 0 = 55 MPa. Tooth profile is 20 involute. Also check the design for dynamic load and wear.