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Planetary Helical Gear System

Conference Paper · January 2014

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 Planetary Helical Gear System
Nitinkumar Anekar1, Suraj Deshmukh2, Shrikant Nimbalkar3
1,2,3
Mechanical Department, MIT College of Engg. Pune, Pune University
1
nitin.anekar@mitcoe.edu.in
2
deshmukhsuraj79@yahoo.in
3
shrikant.nimbalkar@mitcoe.edu.in
1,2,3Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MIT College of Engineering, Pune

Abstract— Planetary gear systems are widely used in various
fields to their advantages of compactness, high power-to-weight
ratios, high efficiency, and so on. Helical (non-zero helix angle)
planetary gear system is mostly used at low noise place and
quieter applications like medical equipment, wind power plant
compared to spur (zero helix angle) planetary system. The design
of helical planetary gears system carried out by the consideration
of influences of the whole drive train and the analysis of all
relevant machine elements. The standardized calculations are
decisive for the safe dimensioning of the machine elements with
the consideration of realistic load assumptions. This system easily
achieve high transmission ratio due to its size. This paper gives
overview of design, advantages, disadvantages and applications
of helical planetary gear system compared with spur planetary
gear system. Here a recent development in helical planetary
system is given based on regulating backlash between the gears
and modifying the tooth surface. These are used in some
examples like double helical planetary gear system and wind
power plant.
Keywords— Helical gear, beam strength, wear strength, low noise,
double helical gear, wind power plant.
I. INTRODUCTION
Planetary gear trains, also referred to as epicyclic gear trains,
are those in which there is one or more gears orbit about the
central axis of the train. Thus, they differ from an ordinary
train by having a moving axis or axes. Let us compare a
planetary gear train with a conventional one, with fixed gear
axes, designed for the same gear ratio of angular velocities of
the input and output mechanism links. The comparison shows
the following points [2]: The planetary gear train has smaller
dimensions than the conventional one. In a conventional
design a set of gear drives is required, not a single train for the
required speed reduction. However, the planetary gear train
has usually a much lower efficiency in comparison with the
conventional gear train. Planetary gear train has greater
durability, easy to achieve high transmission ratio due to the
size compared to conventional gearboxes. Planetary gear
trains have smaller and stiffer components which lead to
reduced noise and vibration during working. The reduced size
of epicyclic components often offsets the cost of additional
parts, especially when manufacturing many gear trains. The
production cost of planetary gear trains is more compared to
conventional gearbox.
The working principle of planetary gears has been
known for many years, there is still a great interest towards
this particular device. Planetary gear drives are constituted by
three main elements: (i) a sun gear, (ii) a carrier that hosts
planet gears, and (iii) a ring gear. Either the sun or ring gears
may be fixed, the other performs rotation about its axis (fig.
1). The planet gears perform rotation with the carrier and
about the carrier (fig. 1).
Fig 1 Planetary gear system
There are three main configurations for application of a
planetary gear. The gear train may have [3]:
i. One input, one output, and one fixed element. The
input shaft may be a sun or the carrier, the output is
the remaining element. In this case the mechanism is
a speed reducer (or multiplier)
ii. One input, two outputs, and no fixed element. The
input shaft may be the carrier; the outputs are the sun
and ring gears. In this case the mechanism is a
differential. The output torque is divided among the
two output shafts
iii. Two inputs, one output, and no fixed element. This
mechanism is a speed combiner, since the output
speed is a linear combination of the speed of the two
input shafts.
Here we discussed about first case. In that the working of
helical sun and planet gear system is as given below:
 When sun gear acts as a driver and planets are driven,
first sun gear rotates and then planet gears automatically
rotate as they are meshed with sun gear. As annular gear
is the internal gear which is meshed with planet gears
and planet is rotating so annular gear also starts rotating.
 When sun acts as driven and planets act as driver, first
planet gears rotates and then sun gear automatically
rotate as they are meshed with planet gears. As annular
gear is the internal gear which is meshed with planet
 gears and planet is rotating so annular gear also starts motion” is transferred from the planets via the planet carrier to
rotating. the actual output – shaft, disc or flange. The forces are
Planetary spur gear system have all gears having the type transferred from the planets to the carrier pin through the
spur while planetary helical gear system have all gears having planet bearings. We consider role of realistic load assumption,
the type helical. Machine designers that work in many drive train and analysis of relevant machine component in
different fields are attracted by planetary gear mechanisms design of helical planetary gears system. The design
because they successfully solve specific problems. Thus these procedure of helical planetary gear system based on some
are used in many commercial and military applications like assumptions which are given as below:
helicopters, automobiles, wind turbines, agricultural
equipment, and more. A. Assumptions
T. Schulze [1] gives calculation of Load Distribution 1) In this design we assume sun (B) is the driver gear i.e.
in planetary gears for an effective gear design process. It pinion and planets (C) are driven gears i.e. gear. Ring gear (D)
carried out by the consideration of influences of the whole is stationary. Similarly we go for different type of conditions
drive train and the analysis of all relevant machine elements. depending upon applications of planetary gear system.
John Argyris [2] gives analysis and design steps of gears
useful for design of helical planetary system. Litvin [3] gives 2) The speed of sun gear is greater than speed of planet
recent development in gear design to maintain uniform gears.
distribution of load by using backlash between B. Design Procedure
gears.Christopher A. Corey [4] has presented a technique for
finding total speed and force solution to an epicyclic gear The steps in design procedure are given below [8]:
train. Berthold Schlecht [5] gives calculation of planetary 1) The load on sun and planet gears is given. Also speed of
gears considering influences of the whole drive train and the rotation of sun and planet is given. Then first design single
analysis of all relevant machine elements. Gerhard G. Antony pinion and gear. Find its module and the centre distance
[6] gives difference between helical and non-helical (spur) between them.
planetary gear system considering load analysis, various
design aspect and its applications. 2) The procedure to design helical gears is as given below:
The power transmitted to sun gear, load is given. Speed of sun
gear (NB) and planet gear (NC) given. Select proper material to
II. DESIGN sun and planet gear (Sut, fs). If both gears are made of same
We know, helix angle is the angle between the helix of the material, pinion is weaker than gear. Take minimum no. of
tooth flank in reference centerline (axis of rotation) of the gear teeth on sun gear ZB (e.g. ZB=18, if αn =200).
This is present in helical gear. Planetary gears in the last Step-1: Static Loading
decades getting used increasingly in a number of applications Estimate module based on beam strength. Assume distance
belong to moving axis systems. Unfortunately, the axial forces between two gears
from the helical gears in planetary systems have more serious d  dC
consequences. For simplicity only the tangential and axial a B (1)
2
component of the gear-mesh forces are shown in fig.2. [6]: d N
Gear ratio, i  C  C (2)
dB NB
From (1) and (2), we get dB and dC.
Here, face width, b  10 m  and bending stress  b = Sut f s .
Power
Torque, M t  (3)
2 N B
2M t
Tangential load, Pt  (4)
dB
Effective load between 2 meshing teeth during static loading
C 
Peff   s  Pt (5)
 CV 
5.6
Fig 2 Gear mesh forces on a helix angle planat gear Where Cv  and v   d B N B   
 5.6  v 
The torque from the input sun-gear is split into multiple gear Beam strength of gear in module is given as
meshes depending upon the number of planat gears used. The
Sb  mb bY (6)
planets are rolling up “on” the sun-gear, and at the same time
on the ring-gear. The resulting “boosted torque rotational Here Y is Lewis form factor taken from reference chart [9]
Step-2 Dynamic Loading If assume ring gear stationery, then
Use Buckingham’s equations to calculate dynamic load. It is y  x  Z B Z D   0 gives no. of teeth on ring gear (D). This is the
given as complete design procedure to find no. of teeth in helical
21v Ceb cos 2   Pt  cos planetary gear system.
Pd  (7)
21v   Ceb cos 2   Pt  TABLE I
TABLE OF MOTIONS
Where   mn  0.25 d B (for pinion (sun) which gives eB), Conditio Revolution of Elements
n of Spider Sun Gear Planet Ring Gear
  mn  0.25 dC (for gear (planet)) which gives eC) Motion (A) (B) Gear (C) (D)
and e  eB  eC A fixed, B 0 +1   Z B ZC    ZB ZD 
rotates
Take value of determination factor ‘C’ from table[9]
with +1
Effective load between two meshing teeth during dynamic revolution
loading is A fixed, B 0 +x  x  Z B ZC  x  ZB ZD 
Peff   Cs Pt  Pd    (8) rotates
Wear strength of gear is given as, with +x
revolution
bQd B K Add +y +y +y +y +y
Sw  (9)
cos 2  revolution
2Z C s to all
Where Q    and K depends on hardness of material. element
Z B  ZC Total +y x+y y  x  Z B ZC y  x  Z B Z D 
motion=
Step-3 Design Safety 2+3
To check design is safe or not find actual factor of
S S
safety f s ( actual )  b   and f s( actual )  w    (10) III. ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS
Peff Peff The advantages, disadvantages and applications of helical
If f s ( actual )    f s( taken ) , then design is safe, then take module (Non-zero helix angle) planetary system over spur (Zero helix
angle) planetary system are given as below:
calculated. If f s( actual )    f s (taken)  , then take new module and
A. Advantages
redesign system or change material.  A helical pinion of the new geometry is the ability to
obtain a longitudinal bearing contact and increase the
Step-4 Dimensions of Gears contact ratio.
The dimensions of gear are given as below:  Helical planetary gear is smoother, less noisy run,
 No. of teeth on Sun (Pinion) = ZB and less vibration due to the smoother entry of the
 No. of teeth on Planet (Gear) = ZC teeth into the gear-mesh and more even mesh
mn stiffness compared to sun planetary gear.
 Transverse module =  m 
cos B. Disadvantages
 Normal module = mn Needle roller bearings are used for high radial loads
 Face width= b = 10mn evenly distributed along the length of the needle. Axial
loads should be avoided. Helical gears create axial forces
mn Z B
 Pitch circle diameter of pinion =  d B  in the gear mesh on the two opposite sides of the gear. The
cos direction in the axial force in the sun/planet mesh is
mn Z C opposite of the force in the planet ring gear mesh, hence
 Pitch circle diameter of gear =  d C  the planet is subjected to a significant tilting-moment in
cos
the magnitude of: axial force times gear pitch diameter.
 Addendum = (ha) = mn
This creates a strongly “skewed” uneven load distribution
 Deddendum = (hf) = 1.25mn
along the needle rollers drastically lowering the needle
 Clearance = (C)= 0.25mn bearing load carrying capability and bearing life. Fig.
 Tooth thickness = 1.5708mn shows load distribution on the needle rollers in planetary
 Fillet radius = 0.4mn gears. One was carried out using a high level specialized
3) As we know module of sun and planet gear. This gives program from the bearing manufacturer INA/FAG. The
us no. of teeth present on sun (ZB) and planet (ZC).then from red line in the graph represents the load distribution along
diameter of sun and planet, decide how much planets we take the needle roller using a zero-helix angle gear the green
in system .from that find diameter of ring gear .With reference line is for a 15 degree helix angle gear.
to Fig 1 to find number of teeth on ring gear (ZD) and its
diameter (dD), use TABLE I [7].

Fig 3 Load distribution in planetary Gear System [6]
The practical implication of this uneven load distribution
is that the load ability and life of the helical planetary
gearbox is reduced drastically in comparison to same size
zero helix angle solution. The remaining draw backs are
given as below:
 Helical planetary gears have lower torque carrying
capability and shorter life than a same size zero-helix
angle planetary [6].
 To satisfy a certain torque requirement and life a
larger unit is required than in case of zero helix angle
planetary.
C. Application
 As less noise concern helical planetary system used
in some medical equipment, diagnostic machines,
printing machines, the helical planter.
 The other applications of include Tandem bike,
revolving bookstand, walking robots etc.
 The specific applications of helical planetary system
include power plant like wind power plant. Here in
various turbines helical sun and planet gear system is
widely used.
IV. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The recent development in planetary system is based on
light weight design and regulating backlash between the gears
and modifying the tooth surface to improve design. The goal
of this design is uniform distribution of load between the
planet gears. So, it is used for power wrenches and power
coupling in tandem bicycling. The calculation of planetary
gears can just be carried out by the consideration of influences
of the whole drive train and the analysis of all relevant
machine elements. The standardization calculations are for the
safe dimensioning of the machine elements with
considerations of realistic load. But they need to be completed
by extended analysis of load distribution, flank pressure, root
stress, transmission error and contact temperature. In recent
development, magnetic planetary gear system are developed,
specifically a novel magnetic planetary gear (MPG) which is
composed of one magnetic sun gear, one magnetic ring gear,
and three magnetic planet gears. Here the contact-free gear
structure results in lower stiffness, proper design methods are
needed to improve gear properties. Recent investigations are
based on noise and vibrations of planetary gear. The recent
development and its applications are as given below:
A. Double Helical Gears
Here, new types of developments in planetary drives are
proposed. The new designs are based on regulating backlash
between the gears and modifying the tooth to achieve uniform
distribution of load between the planet gears. In new design
concept, helical gears (of a small helix angle) will be used
instead of spur gears and the tooth surfaces will be modified
in comparison with conventional ones (fig.2). The new design
will permit the regulation of backlash for achievement of
uniform load distribution and reduction of transmission errors
caused by misalignment. In fig. 4 a one-stage planetary gear
train with double-helical gears is shown. Such a gear drive is
an example of a complicated multi-body system, for which it
is difficult to obtain a uniform load distribution between the
planet gears. An approach for simple regulation of the
backlash between the planet gears will be developed [3].
Fig 4 One-stage planetary gear train with double-helical gears
B. Wind Power Plant
The helical planetary system used in wind mill is as shown in
Fig.5. It consists of main gearbox having three gear stages
(helical gearing). The detailed parameters of the 1st planetary
gear stage are listed in TABLE II. Additional parameters (e.g.
the bearing characteristic, carrier pin tolerances) are not
shown, but they had to consider for realistic determination of
load distribution [2].
The load, pressure, root stress distribution and width
load factor of planetary gear system are given in Fig.6.This is
actually bad load distribution on flank. Then good load
distribution of planetary system is given as in Fig.7. The
helical planetary system used in wind power plant good load
distribution (ratio of maximum and mean value of line load is
1.66) is given in Fig.8.
 Fig 5 Planetary helical gear system in wind power plant

TABLE II
DIMENSIONS OF HELICAL GEARS IN PLANETARY SYSTEM
Nomenclature Symbol Values
module m 16
No. of teeth ZD/B/C 20/36/-91
Centre distance a 463
Pressure angle αn 205
Helix angle Ψ 85
Face width sun b 310
Addendum sun hb 0.4
Addendum planet hc 0.3156
Fig 7 Good load distribution on flank[1]
Addendum ring gear hd -1.6429

Fig 8 Good load distribution on flank in Helical planetary system[1]

Fig 6. Bad load distribution on flank[1] V. CONCLUSION

In concluding the goal and scope of this presentation, we
found that optimization is very much improved with help of
helical planetary system. The system is more efficient for
heavy load and rpm purpose. It have some drawbacks like its
design and manufacturing is difficult because of compact
 structure. It has many applications in non-conventional energy
systems like wind power plant and automobile structures. In
some noise critical applications such as medical equipments,
diagnostic machines, printing machines the helical planetary
system might be the better choice, but remember you will
have to select a larger unit for a given torque / desired life. If
noise is not a primary application concern, you are far better
off with a zero helix planetary, having a higher load ability,
and longer life in a more compact package.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful for the support by Head of
mechanical engineering department and Principal MIT
College of Engineering, Pune.

NOMENCLATURE
NA Speed of carrier (rpm)
NB Speed of sun gear (rpm)
NC Speed of planet gear (rpm)
ND Speed of ring gear (rpm)
ZB No. of teeth on sun gear
ZC No. of teeth on planet gear
ZD No. of teeth on ring gear
m Transverse module
mn Normal module
αn Pressure angle
ψ Helix angle
Sut Ultimate strength of material (N/mm2)
fs Factor of safety

REFERENCES
[1] T. Schulze, C. Hartmann-Gerlach, and B. Schlecht, Calculation of
Load Distribution in Planetary Gears for an Effective Gear Design
Process, AGMA, Oct.2010.
[2] John Argyris, Alfonso Fuentes, Faydor L. Litvin, Computerized
Integrated Approach for Design and Stress Analysis of Spiral Bevel
Gears, Comput. Methods, Appl. Mech. Engrg. 191 (2002), pp. 1057–
1095.
[3] J. L. Litvin, Alfonso Fuentes, Daniele Vecchiato, and Ignacio
Gonzalez-Perez, New Design and Improvement of Planetary Gear
Trains, NASA/CR—2004-213101, July 2004
[4] Charles F. Reinholtz, Alfred L. Wicks, Robert L. West, Jr. Christopher
A. Corey, Epicyclic Gear Train Solution Techniques with Application
to Tandem Bicycling, Dec.2003.
[5] Berthold Schlecht, Tobias Schulze, Design and optimization of
planetary gears under consideration of all relevant influences, Drive
Concepts GmbH, Dresden.
[6] Gerhard G. Antony, Neugart, Helical or not helical? How helical
gears impact the performance of planetary systems?, NEUGART.
[7] S. S. Ratan, Theory of Machines, Tata McGraw Hills Education Private
Limited, Third Edition
[8] V. B. Bhandari, Design of Machine Elements, Tata McGraw hills,
Second Edition
[9] PSG design data book, Coimbatore.

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