Proceedings of GT2005
Proceedings
COMPUTATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF THE AIRFLOW THROUGH A SHROUDED
BEVEL GEAR
Mark Farrall Kathy Simmons
University Technology Centre for Gas Turbine Transmission Systems,
University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham,
NG7 2RD, UK
Colin Young
Rolls-Royce plc, Derby
ABSTRACT
Bevel gear systems are used in aero-engines to transmit
power from the main drive shaft to the auxiliary systems.
Friction between the rotating gear and the surrounding air
increases turbulence and heat generation, and has been reported
to account for as much as 10% of the total losses in a gear
system. Potential savings in losses may result from enclosing
the gear with a shroud, or restricting the flow through the teeth
using an inlet dam.
Numerical simulations of the airflow around a crown bevel
gear running in isolation are presented for a shaft speed of
15000 rpm. The results are used to gain an insight into the flow
patterns that exist and the changes that occur with the
introduction of an inlet dam or shroud. Three face clearances
are studied for the shroud with the results indicating that,
decreasing the face clearance decreases the windage loss
towards an optimal value. Smaller face clearances than this
optimum result in increased windage loss.
Keywords: Windage, CFD, bevel gear, shrouding.
INTRODUCTION
Friction between a rotating gear and the surrounding air
increases turbulence and heat generation, and has been reported
to account for as much as 10% of the total losses in a gear
system [1]. To reduce these losses the mechanisms by which
they arise and the influence of geometrical features must be
understood. The simplest form of analysis is to liken the gear to
a rotating disk. The flow induced by an enclosed rotating disk
was studied experimentally and theoretically by Daily and Nece
[2,3], highlighting the possible flow regimes. Etemad [4] also
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ASME Turbo of ASME
Expo 2005: Power Turbo Expo
for Land, Sea2005:
and Air
ASME Turbo
JuneExpo, Power
6-9, 2005, for Land, Sea
Reno-Tahoe, and Air
Nevada, USA
Reno-Tahoe, Nevada, USA, June 6-9, 2005
GT2005-68879
GT2005-68879
Stephen Hibberd
studied an enclosed rotating disk, deriving an equation for the
windage power loss,
−1 4
s
Pw = 0.0311 µ 1 4 ρ 3 4ω 11 4 r 9 2 . (1)
r
Equation (1) indicates the relative importance of the fluid
properties, geometrical features and the rotation speed in
calculating the windage power loss.
Whilst providing some insight into the power loss in gears,
especially where the gap between the teeth is such that the
approximation to a disk is reasonable, it is crucial to understand
the influence that the teeth have on the flow. A number of
studies have been carried out to investigate the windage loss
from a single, isolated spur gear [1,5,6,7] and from bevel gears
[8]. Dawson [5,6] measured the windage power loss of spur
gears with diameters in the range 300 – 1160 mm, rotating at a
speed of 1500 rpm, assessing the effect of speed and geometric
features. It was concluded that for gears with realistically sized
teeth and face widths, the teeth are the main contributor to
windage loss. Two ways of reducing the windage loss were
studied. The first comprised blocking the axial entry into the
teeth (inlet dam) and reduced the measured windage loss by
between 22% and 44%. The second method involved enclosing
the gear (shrouding). Various shroud spacings were tested and
it was concluded that close-fitting peripheral shrouds reduced
the windage loss significantly.
The effectiveness of peripheral shrouds was also reported
by Lord [1]. His experiments were conducted with spur gears
having diameters in the range 90 – 200 mm, rotating at a speed
of 25000 rpm. The best results were obtained with a 1 mm
shroud clearance, which reduced the measured windage loss by
1 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
 75%. Moreover, it was found that a linear relationship existed THE COMPUTATIONAL MODEL
between the clearance and power loss. Calculations of the airflow field and associated windage
More recently, Diab [7] reported experimental and loss are obtained for a single crown gear. The geometrical
numerical results for the windage loss for freely rotating spur information for the specific gear used in the study is given in
gears in the diameter range 144 - 300mm. Using an inlet dam Table 1.
to block the flow to the teeth was again found to significantly
reduce the windage loss. Parameter Value
Investigations into the windage losses from bevel gears Number of Teeth 91
however are limited, with the work of Winfree [8] providing the Outer radius 133.5 mm
most comprehensive source of data. A single gear having a Module 2.92 mm
diameter of 380 mm, rotating at speeds up to 6500 rpm was
used for the study. Measurements showed that the use of an Table 1. Geometrical data for gear.
inlet dam reduced the windage loss by 70% whereas shrouding
reduced losses by up to 79%. The study uses three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics
Whilst showing the effectiveness of inlet dams and shrouds, (CFD) to calculate the airflow and subsequent friction and
the inherent difficulties in obtaining detailed measurements of turbulence losses for both an open (unshrouded) gear, and for
the flow means that an understanding of the changes that occur three configurations of a shrouded gear. Computations have
is not possible. In this paper simulations of the air flow near a been carried out using a rotationally periodic volume which
single rotating bevel gear are presented. The changes in the covers two gear teeth as illustrated in Fig. 1. Note that the
flow field with the introduction of an inlet dam or shroud are periodic boundaries in the model follow the spiral profile of the
observed and used to explain changes in the windage loss. The gear teeth.
gear chosen for the study is typical of that used in an aero-
engine. The shroud geometry was informed by a theoretical
prediction on cases with most potential for reducing losses, and
corresponds to that to be used for a complementary
experimental investigation.

NOMENCLATURE

D [m] Diameter
Periodic
I [-] Turbulence intensity
boundary
p [Pa] Pressure
Pw [W] Windage power loss
Q [kgs-1] Mass flowrate
r [m] Radial position
Re [-] Reynolds number
s [m] Axial distance between disk and shroud
Sw [-] Swirl coefficient
u [ms-1] Velocity component
x [m] Axial displacement

Greek Symbols Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the

ρ [kgm-3] Density rotational periodic model
µ [kgm-1s-1] Dynamic vicosity
Steady state solutions for the single-phase airflow field
ω [rads-1] Angular velocity
have been obtained using the commercial CFD code FLUENT
6.1.22. Simulations are performed using a rotating frame of
Subscripts
reference and the absolute velocity formulation. Computations
H Hydraulic
correspond to a shaft speed of 15000 rpm, resulting in the Mach
out Outer cylinder
number of the flow in the vicinity of the gear teeth reaching
in Inner cylinder
values of 0.5. For this reason a compressible calculation has
x Axial component
been performed taking the air as an ideal gas. Turbulence is
θ Azimuthal component
modelled using the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) and the
tot total
QUICK differencing scheme has been used to discretise the
stat static
governing equations. The enhanced wall function has been

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 used in the model to account for the few cells that have a y*
value below 11.225. Specific details relating to the
computation of the flow around an open and shrouded gear are
given below:
The Open Gear: This model is used for simulations of the flow
around an open gear both without and with an inlet dam. A
cross-sectional view of the geometry and the boundaries are
shown in Fig. 2 together with an illustration of the appropriate
part of the test rig geometry. The gear rotates in an unrestricted
open environment, and the air leaving the back of the gear is
deflected radially outwards by the presence of a “back plate”.
Pressure
boundary
Back
Pressure plate
boundary
Gear
Centreline
x
Figure 2. Cross section of the computational model;
open gear.
Air enters the domain through a pressure boundary, located
0.1m upstream of the gear in the axial direction. Ambient
conditions are approximated by specifying a zero total gauge
pressure. The air deflected radially outwards by the back plate
leaves the computational domain through a pressure boundary,
located at a radial distance of 0.27m from the centre line.
Ambient conditions are represented by a static pressure of one
atmosphere. The turbulence quantities at both pressure
boundaries are calculated by Fluent [9] from an arbitrarily
chosen low intensity of 1% and hydraulic diameter of 0.6m.
The face of the gear is modelled as a rotating wall with a no-slip
condition applied.
A Shrouded Gear: This geometry is a modification of the
unshrouded case used for simulations with the shroud in place.
Air enters through a stationary inlet duct with a known mass
flow rate, passes through the shrouded gear and exits radially
along the back plate. A cross-sectional view of the geometry
and the boundaries are shown in Fig. 3.
A velocity inlet is used at the upstream axial boundary (as
with the unshrouded gear, located 0.1m upstream of the gear) to
prescribe the flow entering the system. Turbulence quantities
are calculated from a given intensity and length scale. The
chosen length scale is that of the width of the annular gap (DH)
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Pressure Outlet
Back
plate
Shroud
Velocity Gear
Inlet
x
Figure 3. Cross section of the computational model;
shrouded gear.
and the intensity is calculated according the standard formula
[9],
I = 0.16 Re −D0.125 . (2)
H
The Reynolds number, Re DH , in Eq. (2) is calculated from the
hydraulic diameter, DH (= Dout - Din), and the axial velocity, ux.
ρu x D H
Re DH = . (3)
µ
This configuration allows the shroud to be studied in a
controlled manner. Calculations are performed for mass flow
rates in the range 0.1kgs-1 to 0.4kgs-1 and a curve showing the
windage loss against mass flow rate is generated.
When deciding the effectiveness of various shroud designs
it is important to realise that the volume flow rate of air drawn
through the gear is likely to be different for each shroud.
Whilst it is possible in a CFD calculation to impose a range of
volume flow rates, within a physical chamber there is only one
for each shaft speed: when the positive pressure generated by
the gear rotation matches the losses and external pressure
gradient. This is the operating point for the gear and a
comparison is only meaningful when carried out at the volume
flow rate associated with the operating point. Two assumptions
are made to allow an estimate of the flow rate through the gear
in an aero-engine chamber environment:
1. The radial pressure gradient in the chamber downstream of
the shroud is negligible compared to the pressure difference
generated by the shroud and gear.
2. At the exit of the shroud the air will expand into a large area
and thus lose its dynamic pressure.
3 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
 This leads to the condition that, at the operating point, the total
pressure at the model inlet equals the static pressure at the outlet
of the shroud,
ptot(inlet) = pstat(outlet). (4)
The shroud configurations will thus be compared by plotting
curves of the mass flow rate against ptot(inlet) - pstat(outlet),
from which the operating point can be determined. The
windage power loss at this mass flow rate is then calculated
from the product of the retarding torque reported by Fluent and
the angular velocity.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The characteristics of the flow field around an open gear,
rotating in ambient conditions, are initially discussed and
provide a baseline windage loss for the system. Simulations
with an inlet dam and shroud in place are then presented,
highlighting the changes in flow field and windage loss that
occur.
Case 1: Open Gear
The air flow field around a single crown gear rotating in
ambient air has been computed using a computational grid
comprising approximately 425,000 cells. Mesh refinement was
applied to ensure that the value of y* in the near wall cells is
between 12 and 80. A useful non-dimensional velocity plot is
given in Fig. 4, which shows a shaded contour plot of the swirl
coefficient defined as
It is observed that the uptake of the swirl is localised to the
vicinity of the gear and decays quickly perpendicular to the gear
face. However, at the back of the gear there is a region of
relatively high swirl resulting from the combined effect of the
air having picked up a swirl component as it is pumped through
the gear, and the rotation of the back of the gear. The air is then
driven up the back plate with the region of swirling flow
decreasing with increasing radial distance.
Figure 5 shows a vector plot of the corresponding
secondary flow. This shows how the air is drawn into the teeth
and driven outward along the surface of the gear before exiting
at the outer radius. The air exiting the gear tends to be traveling
almost axially. On impingement with the back plate the air is
then driven radially outward along the surface of the back plate,
setting up a recirculation zone at the back of the gear.
Baseline predictions of the mass flow rate pumped through
the gear, and the associated windage loss have been determined
and are shown in Table 2.
Parameter Value
Mass flow rate 0.31 kgs-1
Windage loss 5.9 kW
Table 2. Baseline results for an open gear.
m/s

u
Sw = θ , (4)
rω

in a plane through the root of a gear tooth. To assist with

visualisation the outline of the gear tooth is indicated by the
dashed black line.

1.0e+00

9.0e-01

8.0e-01

7.0e-01
Figure 5. Vector plot of the secondary flow in the vicinity of
6.0e-01
the gear; open gear.
5.0e-01

4.0e-01

3.0e-01
Case 2: Gear with Inlet Dam
2.0e-01 An inlet dam is introduced into the simulation and the
1.0e-01 resulting changes in the flow field and windage loss studied.
0.0e+00
Figure 6 shows a schematic of the computational periodic gear
geometry and stub shaft, indicating the location and relative size
Figure 4. Shaded contour plot of the swirl coefficient; open of the dam. It was postulated by Winfree [8] that by blocking
gear. the inner radius of the gear teeth the pumping effect of the gear
will be reduced and thus reduce the windage loss from the gear.

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Inlet dam
Stub shaft
Figure 6. Schematic of gear and inlet dam.
Figure 7 shows a shaded contour plot of the swirl
coefficient with an inlet dam included and can be compared to
Fig. 4. It is observed that the presence of the inlet dam changes
the flow in two distinct ways. Firstly, it increases the swirl
uptake of the air prior to the air reaching the dam, and secondly,
greater swirl is imparted to the air between the teeth,
particularly at the lower radius, near the dam.
1.0e+00
9.0e-01
8.0e-01
7.0e-01
6.0e-01
5.0e-01
4.0e-01
3.0e-01
2.0e-01
1.0e-01
0.0e+00
Figure 7. Shaded contour plot of the swirl coefficient.
Vectors showing the secondary flow for the case with an
inlet dam are shown in Fig. 8 and can be compared to Fig. 5.
With an open gear most of the air enters the teeth normal to the
gear face (Fig. 5). It might thus be expected that blocking the
inner radius of the teeth would have a negligible effect on the
secondary flow. This is indeed the case as shown in Fig. 8, with
the air flowing from the end of the stub shaft (see Fig. 6), over
the dam and into the gear teeth.
The predicted mass flow rate and associated windage loss
for the dammed gear are given in Table 3, quantifying the
negligible effect of the inlet dam for the gear configuration
studied.
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m/s
Figure 8. Vector plot of the secondary flow in the vicinity of
the gear; with inlet dam.
Percentage
Parameter Value
Decrease (%)
Mass flow rate 0.28 kgs-1 9.7
Windage loss 5.73 kW 2.9
Table 3. Windage loss results for a dammed gear.
The change in windage loss of 3% is in stark contrast to the
experimental work of Winfree [8] who found that the inlet dam
reduced the windage loss by up to 70%. However, there are
substantial geometrical differences between the two
configurations that may have proved critical, not least the size
of the teeth. The gear used in the experimental study by
Winfree comprised significantly larger teeth and thus the
relative pumping would be expected to be considerably greater.
Moreover, the work of Dawson [5] suggests that, for gears with
relatively large teeth, the teeth are the major contributor to the
windage loss. Hence, by blocking the inner radius of the teeth
and significantly reducing the pumping, it would be expected
that the windage loss would decrease significantly.
Case 2: Shrouded Gear
An alternative method for reducing the windage loss,
suggested in previous work in the literature, is the use of a
shroud or baffle. For this reason the flow through a shrouded
gear is computed and the change to the flow field studied. A
single shroud configuration is considered, shown schematically
in Fig. 9, corresponding to one that is typical for an aero-engine
application. For comparison purposes simulations are carried
out for face clearances of 1.5 mm and 4 mm with a constant
inlet and outlet clearance of 4 mm. An additional face
clearance of 12 mm is also considered, the outlet clearance of
which is increased to 12 mm. Apart from the windage losses,
the presence of a shroud has potential benefits in terms of
isolating the oil flow from the main part of the chamber.
5 Copyright © 2005 by ASME

4mm
Face
clearance
Shroud
Gear
4mm
Figure 9. Schematic diagram of gear and shroud.
The 12 mm shroud thus simulates the effect of enclosing
the flow around the gear without any restriction on the air
exiting the shroud. In each case the flow has been computed for
mass flow rates between 0.1 kgs-1 to 0.4 kgs-1, using a
computational grid comprising approximately 395,000 cells.
Mesh refinement was applied to ensure that the value of y* in
the near wall cells is between 12 and 80.
(a)
(b)
Figure 10. Shaded contour plots of the swirl coefficient for
a shroud with a face clearance of (a) 4mm, (b) 12mm.
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Shaded contour plots showing the swirl coefficient for a
mass flow rate of 0.3 kgs-1 are shown in Fig. 10 for a shroud
with face clearances of 4 mm and 12 mm. Results for the
1.5 mm face clearance show an identical trend to the 4 mm case
and are thus omitted. The corresponding vector plots of the
secondary flow are shown in Fig. 11. The shroud’s presence
has a major impact on the flow field, stopping the air flowing
into the gear from a direction normal to the teeth, as is the case
with an open gear. Instead, the air is pumped from the inner to
the outer radius with a recirculation zone set up in the region
between the teeth and the shroud. With the 4 mm face
clearance it is observed that the recirculation transfers the swirl
to the air between the shroud and the face of the gear. As a
result a significant proportion of the air under the shroud has a
swirl coefficient around 0.5. With a 12 mm face clearance, the
unrestricted shroud exit results in the air pumped through the
gear leaving the shroud, Fig. 11(b). This in turn draws air from
the outlet chamber into the shroud and results in a decay of the
swirl coefficient away from the gear similar to that observed in
the case of an open gear (compare to Fig. 4).
m/s
m/s (a)
(b)
Figure 11. Vector plots showing the secondary flow for a
shroud with a face clearance of (a) 4mm, (b) 12mm.
6 Copyright © 2005 by ASME
 Performance curves characterising the windage loss for the present study having significantly smaller teeth. However,
various face clearances studied are shown in Fig. 12. To allow further simulations are required in order to test this hypothesis.
a comparison to be made the baseline windage loss associated It was found that introducing a shroud over the gear had a
with the open gear is also shown on the plot. The same trend is significant influence on the flow pattern near the gear although
observed in all cases with the windage loss increasing with very little effect on the windage power loss at the mass flow
increasing mass flow rate before leveling off as the flow rate rates generated. No pumping of the air perpendicular to the
approaches 0.3 kgs-1. face of the gear occurred and a recirculation zone was setup in
7
the region between the shroud and gear teeth. This recirculation
of air results in the swirl that is picked up by the pumping of the
6 teeth being carried back down the face of the shroud.
5 Consequently, most of the air under the shroud has a significant
4
swirl component. Using an estimated operating point for a gear
Pw (kW)

P (kW) located within a chamber the windage loss was determined for
3 three face clearances and compared to that of an open gear. It
1.5mm
2 4mm was found that the presence of a shroud slightly decreases the
12mm predicted windage loss. Moreover, the results suggest that an
1
Open Gear optimal face clearance exists, shroud clearances smaller than
0 which result in a higher windage loss.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
-1
Q (kgs ) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Figure 12. Comparison of performance curves for shrouds The authors would like to thank Rolls-Royce plc for their
with face clearances of 1.5 mm, 4 mm and 12 mm. financial support of this work.

Table 4 gives the mass flow rate and associated windage loss
for each shroud corresponding to the operating point defined by
Eq. (4). Also shown is the percentage reduction in the windage
loss compared to the open gear case. This highlights that
decreasing the face clearance from 12 mm to 4 mm results in a
lower windage loss, but further decreasing the face clearance to
1.5 mm has a detrimental effect. This indicates that an optimal
face clearance exists, with both smaller and larger clearances
leading to an increased windage loss. However, it is noted that
in all cases the reduction in windage loss is not significant.
Shroud Face Mass Flow Windage Percentage
Clearance (mm) Rate (kgs-1) Loss (kW) Decrease (%)
1.5 0.26 5.73 2.9
4 0.25 5.24 11.2
12 0.27 5.51 6.6
Table 4. Predicted windage loss for the various face
clearances studied.
CONCLUSIONS
Numerical calculations have been performed to understand
the effect of inlet dams and shrouds on the flow field, and hence
the windage loss, associated with a single spiral bevel gear
within a bearing chamber. The presence of an inlet dam had
only a minor effect on the flow field and windage loss. With a
gear rotating in an open environment the air was found to be
drawn into the gear teeth from a direction perpendicular to the
gear face, and will persist with any blocking of the inner radius
of the gear teeth. The result is in contrast to the significant
reduction in the windage loss found in some previous studies.
The discrepancy is thought to be attributed to the gear in the
REFERENCES
1. Lord, A A; 1998, “An Experimental Investigation of
Geometric and Oil Flow Effects on Gear Windage and
Meshing Losses,” PhD Thesis, University of Wales
Swansea.
2. Daily, J. W., Nece, R. E., 1960, “Chamber Dimensional
Effects on Induced Flow and Frictional Resistance of
Enclosed Rotating Disks,” J. Basic Engineering, March.
3. Nece, R. E., Daily, J. W., 1960, “Roughness Effects on
Frictional Resistance of Enclosed Rotating Disks,” J. Basic
Engineering, Sept.
4. Etemad, M. R., Pullen, K., Besant, C. B., Baines, N., 1992,
“Evaluation of Windage Losses for High-Speed Disc
Machinery,” Proc. of the Inst. Mech. Engineers, Part A,
Journal of Power and Energy, 206, pp. 149-157.
5. Dawson, P. H., 1984, “ Windage Loss in Large High-Speed
Gears,” Proc. of the Inst. Mech. Engineers, 198A, 1, pp.
51-59.
6. Dawson, P. H., 1988, “High Speed Gear Windage,” GEC
Review, 4, No. 3.
7. Diab, Y., Ville, F., Changenet, C., Velex, P., 2003,
“Windage Losses in High Speed Gears – Preliminary
Experimental and Theoretical Results,” DETC’03, ASME
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Computers and Information in Engineering Conference,
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8. Winfree, D. D., 2000, “Reducing Gear Windage Losses
from High Speed Gears,” Proc. DETC’00, ASME Power
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Baltimore, Maryland, pp. 747-756.
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Park, 10 Cavendish Court, Lebanon, NH 03766.

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