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Vibration and Control

Experimental investigations of surface wear assessment of spur gear teeth

Muniyappa Amarnath, Sujatha Chandramohan and Swarnamani Seetharaman
Journal of Vibration and Control 2012 18: 1009 originally published online 21 September 2011
DOI: 10.1177/1077546311399947
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Article

Experimental investigations of surface

wear assessment of spur gear teeth

Journal of Vibration and Control

18(7) 10091024
! The Author(s) 2011
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1077546311399947
jvc.sagepub.com

Muniyappa Amarnath1, Sujatha Chandramohan2 and

Swarnamani Seetharaman2

Abstract
The most common gear wear mechanisms, such as micropitting, pitting and scouring often occur in the early stage of
failure. For the geared system operating in the presence of such surface failures, the load acts only over a finite region and
contact stress tends to increase enormously in the contact area of the mating teeth surface. The propagation of tooth
damage causes instantaneous reduction in tooth stiffness. The vibration signal of gear transmission varies as the stiffness
changes. Therefore the connection between surface fatigue failure, stiffness and vibration signal are of significant importance in monitoring gear defects. The purpose of this study is to conduct experimental investigations on the measurement of reduction in the gear teeth stiffness along with vibrations parameters. A pair of spur gears was tested under an
accelerated test condition in an oil bath lubricated back-to-back gearbox. Experimental measurement of stiffness was
carried out using modal analysis in conjunction with a theoretical model. It is concluded that stiffness measurement
exhibits a direct relationship with the propagation of surface wear and the increase in vibration amplitude of the gear
transmission system. Hence this procedure can be concluded as a suitable technique in health monitoring of gears.

Keywords
Gear tooth stiffness, gear vibration, gear wear, modal analysis, translational frequency
Received: 23 July 2010; accepted: 16 October 2011

1. Introduction
Machine elements such as gears, bearings, cams etc.,
are often subjected to repetitive load cycles at dierent
operating conditions. Excessive loads, speeds and
improper operating conditions may cause defects on
their bearing surfaces, thereby triggering abnormal
vibrations in whole machine structures. Using signal
processing techniques to analyze time and frequency
spectra, it is possible to determine the defects of various
structural components. The amplitude of vibration signature gives an indication of the severity of the problem, whereas frequencies indicate the source of the
defects (Peng and Kessissoglou, 2002). Gears are one
of the most common mechanisms for transmitting
power and motion and their usage can be found in
numerous applications. Of late, problems arising from
excessive wear and tooth surface failure of gear in
transmission systems under increased loads and
higher speeds are of major concern to gear users.
Under increased power and higher speeds, gear wear
and fatigue failures, such as pitting, scoring, spalling

and tooth breakage are of major concern. Fault

growth on teeth surface alters the stiness of the gear
due to modication of Hertzian contact zone. In addition, impulsive reaction between gears that have lost
the original involute prole will change the vibration
levels of gears (Davis, 1988; Merit, 1971; Sung et al.,
2000).
When tooth surfaces are subjected to excessive stress
conditions, surface failure results; such failures are progressive and can be detected at a macroscopic level by
the naked eye. In some cases an individual gear tooth

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PDPM-Indian Institute of
Information Technology Design and Manufacturing Jabalpur, Jabalpur, India
2
Machine Design Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

Corresponding author:
Muniyappa Amarnath, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PDPMIndian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing
Jabalpur, Jabalpur 482001, India
Email: amarnath.cmy@gmail.com

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1010

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

may be weaker than adjacent teeth on the same gear

due to bending fatigue, shock loading and internal
void. A bending crack may start as a small crack
either on the surface of the gear tooth or below the
tooth surface where maximum shear stress occurs.
Once initiated, it can progress rapidly giving little warning of gear deterioration and resulting in abrupt breakage. Gear tooth damage causes a reduction in tooth
stiness, and severity of tooth damage can be assessed
by considering the reduction in its stiness (Lin and
McFadden, 1997; Lin et al., 1988; Yesilyurt, 1997;
Yesilyurt et al., 2003).
A lot of research articles have been published in the
last three decades on the detection and diagnosis of
gear defects by dierent approaches,m viz., vibration,
acoustic emission and oil/wear particle analysis. Lin
and McFadden (1997) studied dynamic loads in parallel
shaft transmissions and have concluded that the tooth
stiness has a signicant eect on the dynamic factor.
Lin et al. (1998) developed a model of simple parallel
shaft, spur gear transmissions to simulate dynamic
loads in power transmissions. The factors aecting
these loads were identied. They included shaft stiness
and inertia, load and power source inertia, tooth geometry, tooth stiness, local compliance due to contact
stress, load sharing and friction. In this work governing
dierential equations were developed and a solution
procedure was outlined. Rao (1995) suggested
Rayleighs energy method to estimate fundamental frequency of a single tooth. In this method a gear tooth
was represented by a combination of stepped beams.
Tavakoli and Houser (1986) postulated that Hertzian
compliance is the most signicant part of the total compliance around the pitch line. Because pitting aects
Hertzian compliance signicantly, it is closely related
to it. Experimental observations on physical wear
mechanisms of spur gears carried out by Drosjack
and Houser (1997) suggest that the change in tooth
thickness due to the presence of pits causes modication in Hertzian compliance as well as instantaneous
change in Hertzian stiness. Kahraman (1993) developed a linear dynamic model of a helical gear pair.
His model accounts for the shaft and bearing exibilities and the dynamic coupling between the transverse,
torsional, axial and rotational motions due to the gear
mesh. The natural frequencies and the modes which are
excited by the static transmission error have been identied. Tan et al. (2007) in their experiments established
a general relationship between vibration and acoustic
emission indicators and the gear box operating conditions such as oil lm thickness, load and speed. The
most ideal situation is to use various techniques simultaneously to monitor the gear box health status.
In the present work, experimental investigations on
gear damage detection and assessment in line with the

work of Yesilyurt et al. (2003) and Yesilyurt (1997)

have been carried out. The work comprises accelerated
tests in the presence of lubricating oil. This study
focuses on modeling of gear tooth stiness as well as
physical observation of surface wear progression, micro
hardness, stiness and vibration measurements. Results
obtained from experimental investigations oer good
potential for gear tooth damage assessment.

2. Experimental setup
The experimental setup of the standard back-to-back
gearbox used throughout this study is shown in
Figure 1. Table 1 shows the specication and dimensions of the setup. It consists of four gears (two pinions
with 25 teeth and the other two gears with 54 teeth
each) and a three-phase induction motor. The allowable load is 0-118 Nm. The torque adjustment coupling
connects the two shafts onto one axle. The ends of the
axle are connected with two pinions. Another axle that
has two gears on the ends is connected to a motor
through a timing belt transmission.
The torque in the gear test equipment may be
adjusted by shifting the relative phase of the elements
in the coupling. The advantage of utilizing this coupling
is explained as follows. In conventional gear test experiments, the torque on gears is given by external loading,
such as a magnetic brake. In such a method, the motor
has to be carefully controlled for dierent shaft speeds
under the specied torque. Alternatively, using the
torque adjustment coupling can provide dierent
levels of torque according to the relative angle between
the two pieces of the coupling. The torque loading does
not change once the two pieces of the torque adjustment coupling are rmly locked. The torque is locked in
the shaft loop and remains constant for any motor
speed. This arrangement does not need any external
load and reduces the complexity of designing the driving system. It has been the most reliable approach for
investigating and testing a gear system.
Electric motor

Slave gear box

Rigid coupling

Driving pulley
Torque adjustment
coupling
Torque locking nut

Figure 1. Schematic of back-to-back gearbox.

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Test gear box

Torque shaft

Amarnath et al.

1011

3. Experimental procedure
In the present experiment, the gearbox was operated at
a speed of 2100 rpm under accelerated load conditions,
i.e. at 360 Nm (Accelerated Test 1) and 413 Nm
(Accelerated Test 2). This torque is about four to ve
times the allowable load. In a normal gearbox an antiwear lubricant is usually employed to prevent or slow
Table 1. Dimensions and specifications of the test gears
Pinion
Center distance (mm)
Pitch diameter
Module (mm)
Number of teeth
Face width (mm)
Pressure angle
BHN
Material properties of gears
Youngs modulus
Poissons ratio
Material (steel)
Shear modulus
Test conditions
Pinion speed
Static load
Lever arm
Torque on gear wheel shaft

Gear
150

100
4
25
25
20
130

200
50

2  105 N/mm2
0.3
En 19, 0.22 % Carbon
G 0.8  105 N/mm2
n 2100 rpm
W 0600 N
L 0.6
0413 Nm

down wear on the teeth, but not in the present case.

A commercial data acquisition system DACTRON
model: FCS-100 was used to acquire the vibration
data from the gearbox housing. B&K 4332 accelerometer was mounted on the bearing housing and was used
to acquire vibration data. The signals from the accelerometer were amplied using B&K 2626 signal conditioning amplier and these signals were sampled at
20 kHz before being fed into a personal computer for
further processing. In order to initiate surface pitting in
a relatively short time span, the lubricant oil SAE 40
without anti-wear properties was employed for accelerated gear fatigue tests. Before the actual test, the gearbox load had been allowed to run in for 30 hours. For
Accelerated Test 1, the gearbox was operated for 108
hours, during the test period the spur gear set was continuously running and data acquired for 6 hours. After
18 hours of testing the experiments were paused to
carry out surface wear measurement and stiness evaluation from modal testing, etc. For each accelerated
test, 18 hours of test interval was xed and the time
duration of 108 hours was divided into six stages. The
same experimental procedure was used for the second
test. Initially hardness measurements were made before
the tests were started. Increase in loads, oil temperature, surface temperature and reduction in lubricant
lm thickness contribute to tooth wear. The detailed
observations of scoring, pitting, spalling, scung were
made; some photographs of these failures are shown in
Figure 2. Vibration levels throughout the test period
were monitored and stored in a personal computer.
The details of vibration and stiness experimental
results are discussed in the following sections.

Torque - 360 Nm

Healthy gear

Initial micro pitting Increase in pit size

after 20 hours
(after 36 hours)

Macro pitting
(after 72 hours)

Abrasive wear(after
108 hours)

Torque - 413 Nm

Progressive pitting on Spalling (after 162 hours) Scuffing (after 198hours)

Tooth (after 144 hours)

Figure 2. Wear growth on gear teeth.

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Increase in pit size

(after 216 hours)

1012

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

4. Stiffness
Gear mesh stiness plays a key role in gear dynamics,
in the magnitude of noise and vibrations generated, and
the load carrying capacity of a geared system. Surface
fatigue is known as an important factor in gear failure;
pitting is one type of surface fatigue and often occurs in
the early stages of failure. When pitting occurs, the load
is applied only on a nite region of the gear. At the
same time contact stress increases enormously in the
contact area. Hertzian compliance is the most signicant part of the total compliance around the pitch line.
The resulting stiness variation is the main reason for
the impact in the pitted areas. If a contact region is
completely contained in the surface fault, tooth contact
is lost and stiness will reduce, gradually leading to
changes in the signal. Obviously the connection
between pitting, stiness and vibration signal amplitude
provides a means for monitoring gear defects (Sung
et al., 2000).

ytotal is divided into a nite number of elements. If i is

an element located between xi and xi1 along the neutral axis of the tooth with thickness i , cross sectional
area Ai , and second moment of area Ii , then considering
only bending and shearing deformations, the deection
of point xi1 can be expressed as follows:
yi1 yi yi1:i

where yi1 and yi are the total deections of the points

xi1 and xi respectively, and yi1 ,i is the relative displacement of point xi1 with respect to xi . The bending
and shear deformations in the cross sections are represented as relative displacements in equation (2). If Mi
and Mi1 are the bending moments acting on xi and
xi1 respectively, then the slope due to bending and the
total displacement of the point xi1 can be expressed as
follows:
1

Si1 Si 2

4.1. Theoretical calculation of tooth stiffness

A range of models can be used to predict the static and
dynamic properties of either a single tooth or complete
gear system (Drosjack and Houser, 1997; Kahraman,
1993; Ozguven and Houser, 1998). The most commonly
used models are
1. A translational model that is used to determine the
forced vibration characteristics (or to determine the
compliance) of a single gear tooth. In such a model,
the tooth is assumed to be an element which accumulates and releases potential energy during mesh.
2. A torsional model that is used when the factors
aecting operational performance (i.e. torsional stiness, tooth deformation, gear tooth spacing and prole errors, etc.) are considered.
The tooth stiness of a spur gear in the direction of
the predominant (tangential) component of the transmitted load W can be calculated by considering the
translational model (Yesilyurt, 1997; Yesilyurt et al.,
2003) shown in Figure 3. The various notations used
have been discussed in the nomenclature.
The contribution of Wr, the radial component, is
very small to the tooth deection in the tangential
direction; on the other hand the tangential component
Wt strives to bend and shear the tooth. If ytotal denotes
the total deection at the tip in the direction of the
tangential load, then the overall stiness of the gear
tooth kt1 can be expressed as
kt1

Wt
ytotal

yi1 yi

Mi Mi1 i
EIi

Si Si1 i s Vi

2
GAi

where E and G represent the modulus of elasticity in

bending and shear respectively, Si is the slope at point
xi due to bending, V=Ai represents an average shear
stress at cross section and s is a shear coecient by
which the average shear stress must be multiplied to
obtain the shear stress at the center of the cross section.
For steel with rectangular cross section, s is 1.18
(Yesilyurt, 1997). The boundary conditions are: bending moment at tip and deection at the root are zero.
The deection at the tip and bending moment at the
root are non-zero. When the tooth deection due to rim
deformation, which will cause rigid body movement of
the tooth, is also taken into account, the total tooth
deection can be obtained by summing the component

i th segment

Wt

Rd
Ri
xi+1

xi

Wr
t ht

hd
Ri+1

Li
L

1
Figure 3. Translational model of spur gear tooth.

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Amarnath et al.

1013

deections. Rim deformation causes deections at the

tip and is calculated using Lin and Mc Fadden (1997)
as
yrim

12Wt L2t
EFh3d

where F and hd denote tooth face width and tooth

thickness at the root. For the test spur gear used in
this work with details as given in Table 1, the maximum
permissible tangential load is about 1318.46 N. Figure 4
shows the component of deection of gear tooth along
its length, due to this load applied to the tip. It is found
that the tooth has a maximum deection of 2.7 mm, and
stiness is approximately 479.4 kN/m.

4.2. Analysis of static and dynamic properties of

spur gear
Generally, all teeth on a gear wheel have the same
mechanical properties and dimensions. Vibration

Deflection, mm

0.0027

Shear Deflection
Rim Deflection
Bending Deflection
Total Deflection

0.0018

0.0009

0.0000
0
2
4
6
8
Radial distance from tooth root, mm

Figure 4. Theoretically calculated tooth deflections

(m 4 mm, Z 25).

characteristics such as amplitude, natural frequency

and mode shapes are similar for all teeth. Therefore
reduction in tooth stiness or changes in vibration
characteristics due to localized or distributed faults
are revealed by vibration characteristics. Static and
dynamic properties of a single tooth or a complete
geared system can be predicted by considering a translational or rotational modal. The factors aecting operational performance, such as torsional stiness, geared
tooth spacing, prole errors etc. are analyzed using a
torsional stiness model. The translational model as
shown in Figure 3 can be used in the analysis of problems related to vibration properties of a single tooth or
for determining the gear tooth stiness (Lin and
McFadden, 1997; Ozguven and Houser, 1998;
Tavakoli and Houser, 1986).

4.3. Description of modal testing for

determination of spur gear teeth stiffness
A defect severity can be assessed by reduction of stiness in gear teeth. For the modal testing setup, the test
pinion is clamped with a specially designed frame in
which a pair of diametrically opposite teeth is machined
to accommodate the test pinion. As the teeth suspended
in the frame are excited by an instrument, the hammer,
the frame assembly vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the plane passing through the pinion body.
Figure 5 shows the photograph of the pinion and
frame assembly used in the modal test assembly.
A rectangular steel plate with rectangular cutout was
fabricated as a frame in which two tapered slots were
machined at the mid span of the inner faces of the two
vertical sides to enable the pinion to be held rmly. The
gear teeth were supported across their entire face width,
so that the measured vibration responses were due to

Figure 5. Gear and frame assembly used in modal testing.

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1014

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

stiness of the whole tooth. Equations (1) to (5) show

that the tooth stiness kt is directly proportional to the
tooth width F, hence to measure the change in stiness
for simulated faults a piece of gear tooth has been
removed width-wise as shown in Figure 5.
The combination of gear frame assembly structure
could be assumed to have two degrees of freedom with
associated translational and rotational rigid body
modes, these being solely dependent upon the mass
and inertia properties of the system.

M f, I f

f (t )
kf
k1

kscr
kf

kt1

ks

k2

kcon

ktor

(t )

Xf (t)

k t2
Mg,IIgg

6


Mf X f k1 k2 ks Xf  Xg k1  k2 a 0 7
Multiply (6) by Mf and (7) by Mg

Xg (t)

Figure 6. Dynamic model of gear frame combination.

Hammer

Computer

The gear frame assembly is considered as rigid

bodies having lumped masses and inertias located at
their mass centers of gravity, as shown in Figure 6.
The bodies can be considered to be connected to each
other by four springs k1 , k2 , kS and ktor where k1 , k2
represent the equivalent translational spring eect of
the two points of suspension. kS represents the equivalent stiness of the pre-load xing screw. ktor represents
the torsional spring eect of the pre-load screw during
the relative rotational motion of the bodies. The equation of motion of the system can be expressed in terms
of the relative displacement, Xt Xf t  Xg t and
relative rotation t f t  g t between the rigid
bodies, where Xf and f are the displacement and rotations of the frame and Xg and g are the displacements
and rotations of the gear
By considering the force equilibrium in the direction
of relative displacement


Mg X g k1 k2 kS Xg  Xf k2  k1 a 0



Mf Mg X g Mf k1 k2 ks Xg  Xf
Mf k2  k1 a 0



Mg Mf X f Mg k1 k2 ks Xf  Xg
Mg k1  k2 a 0

Accelerometer

Gear frame
combination

Signal conditioning
Amplifier

FFT analyser

Figure 7. Schematic of experimental set up used to obtain the frequency response function of the gear and frame system.

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Amarnath et al.

1015

Table 2. Mechanical properties of gear frame

mg 1.008 kg
Ig 1:3  103 kg m2
mf 4.77 kg
If 0.04 kg m2
kscr 234 MN/m
ktor 625.607 N/rad

Mass of test gears

Mass moment inertia of gear
Mass of the frame
Mass moment inertia of the frame
Axial stiffness of the pre-load screw
Torsional spring effect of the pre-load screw

(a) 90

90

MAG dB

MAG dB

(b) 90

0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

3600

5000

3900

4200

0
4500

Frequency (Hz) X = 3996 Hz

Frequency (Hz) X = 3996 Hz

Figure 8. Frequency response function of gear and frame. (a) Healthy gear (b) Zoomed at translational frequency.



Mg Mf X Mg Mf k1 k2 ks X


Mg Mf k1 a  k2 a 0


10

The moment equilibrium equation for relative rotation is obtained from

Ig g k2 aX  k1 aX k2 a2   k1 a2  ktor r2t  0
11
If f k1 aX  k2 aX k1 a2   k2 a2  ktor r2t  0 12
By multiplying equation (11) by If and (12) by Ig
If Ig g If k2 aX  If k1 aX If k2 a2   If k1 a2 
If ktor r2t  0

13

Mg Mf
0

2 

8 9

>
=
<X>

Ig If >
;
:>


7
6 Mg Mf
7
6

7
6
7
6
7
6 k1 k2 ks
 Mg Mf k1 a  k2 a
7
6
7
6 
7
6
7
6
 Ig If
7
6
7
6
7
6

5
4
Ig If k1 a2  k2 a2 ktor r2t
k1 a  k2 a
8 9 8 9
>
=
= >
<0>
<X>

>
;
; >
: >
: >
0


Ig If f Ig k1 aX  Ig k2 aX Ig k1 a2   Ig k2 a2 
Ig ktor r2t  0

14





Ig If  Ig If k1 a k2 aX Ig If


 k1 a2 k2 a2 ktor r2t  0

15

where a represents half of the dynamic distance

between two suspended teeth, mg , Ig and mf and If
denote the mass and mass moment of inertia of the
test gear and the frame respectively (Yesilyurt et al.,
2003; Yesilyurt, 1997).

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1016

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

90

MAG dB

(a)

3500

3600

3700

3800

3900

4000

4100

X=3941 Hz

(c) 90

MAG dB

90

MAG dB

(b)

0
3500

3750

4000

4250

0
3500

4500

(e)

90

0
3500

4000

4250

4500

90

MAG dB

MAG dB

(d)

3750

Frequency (Hz) X=3886 HZ

Frequency (Hz) X=3946 Hz

3750

4000

4250

4500

Frequency (Hz) X = 3800 Hz

0
3250

3500

3750

4000

4250

Frequency (Hz) X = 3608 Hz

Figure 9. Frequency response function of gear and frame system for different fault severities. (a) With additional mass, (b) 8% tooth
removal case, (c) 16% tooth removal case, (d) 24% tooth removal case, (e) 40% tooth removal case.

4.4. Description of sensors and data acquisition

This modal testing experiment used a B&K 4344 accelerometer with a weight of 2 grams, which was glued in
the bore of the gear. The gear was tightened by a bolt.
A steel tipped RION PH-51 7117 impact hammer of

mass 0.15 kg was used for exciting the gear frame

assembly. The accelerometer outputs were conditioned
by using B&K 2323 charge amplier in the frequency
range from 0.3 to 30 kHz. All applied force and
response signals were sent to a dual channel Aligent
FFT analyzer, which consists of a data acquisition

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Amarnath et al.

1017

Table 3. Experimentally obtained parameters from gear frame assembly

ks 80.5 MN/m
k1 265 MN/m
2 a 0.08416 m
kf 596 MN/m
Kt1 486 MN/m

Equivalent stiffness of pre-fixing screw

Equivalent spring effect of the point of suspension
Dynamic distance between the suspending gear teeth
Stiffness of frame in suspension
Single tooth stiffness

5. Results and discussions

5.1. Experimental and theoretical estimation of
simulated fault severity of spur gear tooth
For this a spur gear made of En 19 steel, 0.22 %
Carbon and BHN 130 was used. Modal testing was
performed in conjunction with a frame, the combination of gear and frame hung as shown in Figure 7. The
mechanical properties of the gear frame combination
are given in Table 2. With the gear xed in the frame,
a bolt of stiness 234 MN/m was used to tighten the
gear with a torque of 1 Nm, this condition being maintained for all test cases. The gear frame combination
was hung by two elastic bands of negligible stiness.
Figure 7 shows the block diagram of the experimental
arrangement with instrumentation.
In order to measure stiness of a single gear tooth,
the gear frame combination was excited with an impact
hammer. Figure 8(a) shows the frequency response of
the system. A predominant peak can be seen at
3996 Hz. In Figure 8(b), the frequency response function (FRF) is zoomed around that peak.
To conrm that this peak corresponds to an
expected mode of the system, a solid steel mass of
200 gm was inserted at the center and the test was
repeated under the same initial conditions. FRF of
the second test is shown in Figure 9(a). The peak shifted
from 3996 Hz to 3941 Hz; hence it can be concluded
that the peak corresponds to the expected mode of
the system. To validate the experimental modal tests
with the theoretical model of gear tooth stiness estimation, alternate teeth of the gear wheel were machined
for dierent depths of 8%, 16%, 24% and 40%.
As single tooth stiness kt1 is the same for all teeth,
reduction of face width alters the stiness of the gear
frame system. Modal tests were done for the four cases
and corresponding results are shown in Figure 9(b)(e).
The results of measured FRF peaks were used in
equation (16) to estimate the severity of tooth faults.
From the FRF plots, the three elements in the equation, i.e. single tooth stiness kt1, stiness of the frame
kf and dynamic distance between the two suspended

Translational Frequency (Hz)

system and signal processing hardware for further analysis. The frequency range of analysis was 16.4 kHz
Measured
Estimated

4000

3900

3800

3700

0%

8%

16 %

24 %

40 %

Tooth removal (%)

Figure 10. Reduction in translational frequency versus tooth

removal.

teeth were found. Table 3 gives the results of experimentally obtained parameters of the gear frame assembly. As all parameters in equation (16) are known, the
reduction in tooth stiness can be estimated from the
equation. Figures 10 and 11 show the variation of
translational frequency and reduction in stiness for
dierent simulated fault cases. Tables 4 and 5 give the
values of translational and rotational frequencies from
the modal tests and theoretical calculations. The results
show a close agreement between theoretical and experimental values for 8%, 16%, 24% and 40% tooth
removal cases. Hence the severity of the damage can
be directly estimated from the modal tests.

5.2. Stiffness measurement of gear under

accelerated test conditions
The experimental procedure used for estimation of stiness reduction for tooth removal cases described in
Section 2.1 is further used to nd stiness reduction
for accelerated tests, where the gear was subjected to
a run in overloaded condition at a constant speed of
2100 rpm and in the presence of lubricant without additives. This arrangement was made to produce early surface fatigue failure in the gear transmission system.

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1018

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

10

Stiffness reduction (%)

8
6
4
2
0
0%

8%

16 %

24 %

40 %

% Tooth removal

Figure 11. Reduction in tooth stiffness versus operating time.

Two experimental combinations, i.e. two accelerated

tests, were considered for 108 operating hours each
and the modal tests were carried out after every 18
hours of operation. FRFs of the system between 0
and 108 hours for the two accelerated test conditions,
i.e 360 Nm and 413 Nm are shown in Figures 12 and 13
respectively.
It can be seen that the frequency corresponding to
the rst translational mode has shifted from 3996 Hz at
0 hour to 3916 Hz at the end of 108 hours (Accelerated
Test 1). Further, the peak shifts to 3799 Hz after 108
hours of Accelerated Test 2 and 216 hours of the total
accelerated study. The assumptions made in the estimation of stiness reduction are as follows: (a) the material removal rate remains the same throughout the test.;
(b) the weight of the material removed is small and
negligible. As per the rst assumption, the coupling
term k1 a  k2 a in equation (16) becomes zero. Using
this approach the reduction in overall stiness

Table 4. Measured and estimated translational frequencies of

the system for incremental simulated faults

Table 5. Measured and estimated rotational frequencies of the

system for incremental simulated faults

Tooth removal Measured FRF (Hz)

Averaged Estimated

Tooth removal Measured FRF (Hz)

Averaged Estimated

0%
8%
16%
24%
40%

3996
3936
3882
3806
3654

0%
8%
16%
24%
40%

4414
4378
4288
4202
4158

4002
3928
3886
3800
3654

3992
3936
3878
3814
3648

3990
3944
3882
3810
3660

4008
3954
3898
3818
3671

FRFfrequency response function.

4416
4380
4288
4128
4152

4406
4376
4296
4118
4164

4420
4390
4280
4134
4160

4440
4392
4354
4325
4290

FRFfrequency response function.

(b) 90

MAG dB

MAG dB

(a) 90

0
0
3500

3600

3700

3800

3900

4000

Frequency (Hz) X = 3996 Hz

4100

3500

3600

3700
3800
3900
4000
Frequency (Hz) X= 3916 Hz

4100

Figure 12. Frequency response function of the system Accelerated Test 1. (a) FRF of the Healthy pinion, (b) FRF of the system
after 108 hours.

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Amarnath et al.

1019

(b) 90

MAG dB

MAG dB

(a) 90

3500

3600 3700 3800 3900 4000

Frequency (Hz) X=3897 Hz

4100

3500 3600 3700

3800 3900 4000 4100

Frequency (Hz) X=3799 Hz

Figure 13. Frequency response function of the system Accelerated Test 2. (a) FRF of the system after 126 hours, (b) FRF of the
system after 216 hours.

Table 6. Measured translational frequencies and estimated reduction in stiffness for Accelerated Test 1
Accelerated Test 1, N 2100, T 360 Nm
Operating hours

Measured frequency (Hz)

0 hours (Healthy)
18 hours
36 hours
54 hours
72 hours
90 hours
108 hours

4002
3988
3968
3954
3948
3928
3906

3992
3982
3976
3961
3940
3936
3914

3990
3990
3970
3966
3938
3934
3918

Averaged
frequency (Hz)

% stiffness
reduction

3996
3984
3974
3962
3948
3932
3912

0.0
1.0
1.4
1.7
2.2
3.2
3.8

Table 7. Measured translational frequencies and estimated reduction in stiffness for Accelerated Test 2
Accelerated Test 2, N 2100, T 413 Nm
Operating hours

Measured frequency (Hz)

126
144
162
180
198
216

3908
3880
3864
3836
3814
3802

hours
hours
hours
hours
hours
hours

3896
3876
3864
3842
3822
3794

3894
3888
3872
3834
3820
3808

Averaged
frequency (Hz)

% stiffness
reduction

3900
3881
3868
3838
3818
3802

1
4.7
5.2
5.6
5.9
6.2

for Accelerated Test 1.

estimated during the test is around 6.2% after 216

hours of accelerated testing. Tables 6 and 7 show the
measured translational frequencies and reduction in
teeth stiness for dierent stages of wear under accelerated test conditions. The damage assessment was
made by considering FRFs and corresponding

translational frequency of the system. The resulting

FRFs were zoomed around their corresponding translational frequencies to increase the resolution.
Figure 14 (a) and (b) show plots of translational
vibration frequency and reduction in estimated stiness
respectively with operating time.

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1020

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

(b)

Tooth Stiffness Reduction (%)

Translational Frequency (Hz)

(a) 4100
4000
3900
3800
3700

load 360 Nm
load 413 Nm

3600
3500

18

36

54
72
Time (Hours)

90

108

6
5
4
3
2
load 360 Nm
load 413 Nm

1
0
0

20

40
60
80
Time (Hours)

100

Figure 14. (a) Reduction in translational frequency versus operating time; (b) Reduction in tooth stiffness versus operating time.

The pinion had undergone wear test at 2100 rpm

and torques of 360 and 410 Nm respectively.
These plots are indicative of an increase in wear rate
at dierent stages, hence it is concluded that wear
causes approximately a linear stiness reduction with
operating time.

with operating time is shown in Figure 18. From the

gure it is clear that the higher applied torque, i.e. 413
Nm results in a steeper rise in vibration levels, thus it is
expected that the higher applied torque produces higher
pitting rates, which modify the Hertzian contact at
faster rates.

5.3. Vibration parameters

Since the wear test was carried out under accelerated
conditiona, rapid surface fatigue wear could be
expected on the teeth surface. When oil lm thickness
reduces, the damping eect of the oil lm between
the meshing teeth surfaces reduces, resulting in surface wear as either local or distributed damage on the
gear.
Figures 15 (a)(d) and 16 (a)(d) show the spectra of
vibration for two accelerated load stages, i.e 360 Nm
and 413 Nm over the time period of 216 hours. The
increase in response is attributed to alteration in the
stiness of the gear tooth due to modication of
Hertzian contact. The vibration signals generated by
the test gears were monitored every six hours of operation. During the test, the pinion speed was set to
2100 rpm giving a fundamental mesh frequency of
875 Hz. The vibration signals were sampled at 20 kHz
and stored in the computer. This sampling frequency
was sucient to reveal the frequency content of vibration approximately up to the fth tooth mesh harmonic
frequency. Figures15 and 16 show the frequency spectra at every 36 hour interval for dierent loads. Time
varying mesh stiness and gear transmission error are
the main contributors of gear vibration. Signicant
changes are observed as wear advances i.e. between
36 to 216 hours.
An increase in vibration root mean square (RMS)
values over operating time is shown in Figure 17.
A variation in tooth meshing harmonic amplitudes

6. Hardness of gear tooth

Hardness is the primary property that provides resistance to pitting. In other words, pitting is a surface
fatigue failure due to many repetitions of high contact
stress, which occurs on the gear teeth surface when a
pair of teeth is transmitting power. Generally in gears
subjected to fatigue loading, the shear stress reaches
maximum at a depth below the surface. At this depth
work hardened and at the surface there exists a layer of
material which is relatively undisturbed. This relatively
strain-free or undisturbed layer, which is in the same
orientation as that of the surrounding deformed layer,
can grow at the expense of the neighboring strained
layer. This causes relative coarsening of the grain surrounding the pitted area thereby triggering pitting and
scoring phenomena (Castro and Seabra, 1998; Fuxing
et al., 1985; Wei, 2004). Hardness testing of gear teeth
before and after accelerated tests was carried out on a
Vickers hardness testing machine at a load of 50 kgf.
The measurements were made along the tooth thickness
at the pitch line. The micro hardness values as shown in
Figure 19(a) and (b) clearly indicates this eect; the
hardness drops below 0.4 mm.

7. Summary and conclusions

This study investigates the assessment of surface
fatigue wear on spur gear teeth. A back-to-back

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Amarnath et al.

1021

Acceleration (m/s2)

(a) 10
8
6
4

1fm

2
0
0

2000

4000
6000
Frequency (Hz)

8000

10000

Acceleration (m/s2)

(b) 10
8
6
1f m

2f m
2
0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

8000

10000

Frequency (Hz)

Acceleration (m/s2)

(c) 10
8
1f m

4f m

6
2f m
4

3f m

2
0
0

2000

4000

6000

Frequency (Hz)
(d) 10

Acceleration (m/s2)

1fm

6
4fm

2f m

3fm

2
0
0

2000

4000

6000
Frequency (Hz)

8000

Figure 15. Frequency spectra at 360 Nm. (a) 0Hours, (b) 36 Hours, (c) 72 Hours (d) 108 Hours.

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10000

1022

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

(a) 10
Acceleration (m/s2)

1f m

6
4

2f m

4f m
3f m

(b)

10

Acceleration (m/s2)

2000

4000
6000
Frequency (Hz)

8000

10000

1f m
2f m

6
4

3fm

4f m

2
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Frequency (Hz)

Acceleration (m/s )

(c) 10

1fm

8
2fm

6
3fm

4fm

2
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

8000

10000

Frequency (Hz)

(d)

1f m

2 fm
3fm

Acceleration (m/s )

10

4fm

8
6
4
2
0
0

2000

4000

6000

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 16. Frequency spectra at 413 Nm. (a) 0Hours, (b) 36 Hours, (c) 72 Hours (d) 108 Hours.

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Amarnath et al.

1023
recirculation-type gear-box was used for the experimental studies. Stiness of a single spur gear tooth was
analyzed theoretically by considering bending, shear
and rim deformations. The dynamic model of gear
and frame combination was made to estimate the stiness of the gear tooth. Faults were simulated in the
analytical model, i.e gradual material removal from
the tooth and its stiness reduction was found. These
results were compared with stiness reduction for
experimental tooth removal cases. Modal analysis procedure was employed to obtain stiness information
through FRF plots. Experimental measurement of
micro hardness was also done in the present study.
The hardness of gear teeth has a direct impact on pitting resistance, hence its experimental results provide
the root cause for damage propagation. The following
conclusions were drawn from the experimental
observations.

360 Nm
413 Nm

Acceleration (m/s )

10

6
4
2
0

12

24

36

48

60

72

84

96 108

Time (Hours)

Figure 17. Root mean square acceleration versus operating

hours.

12
Acceleration m/s2

st

1 GMF
nd
2 GMF
rd
3 GMF
th
4 GMF

10
8
6
4
2
0
0

36

72

108

144

180

216

Time (Hours)

Figure 18. Tooth meshing harmonics versus operating hours.

(b) 1200

900

900
Hardness (HV)

Hardness (HV)

(a) 1200

1. The theoretical and experimental results of stiness

reduction from modal analysis were found to correlate well; hence it can be concluded that a modal
analysis method can be used to assess the reduction
in stiness of a spur gear tooth.
2. Increase in severity of tooth wear causes reduction in
stiness.
3. With accelerated test conditions; the reduction in
stiness was found to be 6.2% for 216 hours.
4. Reduction in stiness has a direct relationship with
wear severity.
5. Decrease in stiness triggers an increase in higher
harmonics of tooth mesh frequencies, as can be
observed from frequency spectra.
6. Hardness measurements prove the eects of wear
due to accelerated test conditions.

600

300

0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Distance fron surface (mm)

600

300

0
0

0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Distance from surface (mm)

Figure 19. Hardness distribution across the tooth thickness. (a) Before accelerated test, (b) After accelerated test.

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1024

Journal of Vibration and Control 18(7)

Funding
This research received no specic grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-prot sectors.

Nomenclature
a
mf, mg
Ig, If
k1, k2
kcon
ks
ktor
kscr
hd
ht
Ii
kt1
k1, k2
Lt
Mi, Mi1
Si, Si1
RMS
X
Yrim
Ytotal
V
W
Wr, Wt
Z
i
as

ft
F

half of the dynamic distance between two

suspended teeth
mass of the frame and gear
mass moment inertia of the gear and frame
equivalent translational spring effects of
the two points of suspension
contact stiffness
equivalent translational spring effects of
the two points of suspension
torsional spring effects of the two points of
suspension
axial stiffness of the pre-load screw
tooth thickness at the root
tooth thickness at the tip
second moment of area
single tooth stiffness
equivalent translational spring effects of
two points in suspension
tooth length
bending moments acting on xi and x i1
slopes at points xi and x i1
root mean square
relative displacement
rim deformation
total deflection at tip in tangential direction
shear force
load transmitted
radial and tangential components of gear
load W
number of teeth
element thickness
shear coefficient
relative rotation
angle between tooth load and its tangential
component
tooth face width

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