Professional Documents
Culture Documents
[Tables or other self--supporting sections may be referenced. Citations should read: See
AGMA 912--A04, Mechanisms of Gear Tooth Failures, published by the American Gear
Manufacturers Association, 500 Montgomery Street, Suite 350, Alexandria, Virginia
22314, http://www.agma.org.]
Approved October 23, 2004
ABSTRACT
This information sheet describes many of the ways in which gear teeth can fail and recommends methods for
reducing gear failures. It provides basic guidance for those attempting to analyze gear failures. It should be
used in conjunction with ANSI/AGMA 1010--E95 in which the gear tooth failure modes are defined. They are
described in detail to help investigators understand failures and investigate remedies. This information sheet
does not discuss the details of disciplines such as dynamics, material science, corrosion or tribology. It is
hoped that the material presented will facilitate communication in the investigation of gear operating problems.
Published by
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AGMA 912--A04
Contents
Page
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
1
Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2
Normative references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4
Wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5
Scuffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6
Plastic deformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7
Contact fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
8
Cracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9
Fracture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
10 Bending fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tables
1
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AGMA 912--A04
Foreword
[The foreword, footnotes and annexes, if any, in this document are provided for
informational purposes only and are not to be construed as a part of AGMA Information
Sheet 912--A04, Mechanisms of Gear Tooth Failures.]
AGMA Standard 110.01 was first published in October 1943 as means to document the
appearance of gear teeth when they wear or fail. The study of gear tooth wear and failure
has been hampered by the inability of two observers to describe the same phenomenon in
terms that are adequate to assure uniform interpretation. AGMA Standard 110.02 became a
national standard, B6.12, in 1954. A revised standard with photographs, AGMA 110.03,
was published in 1960. The last version, AGMA 110.04, was published in 1979 and
reaffirmed by the members in 1989, with improved photographs and additional material.
ANSI/AGMA 1010--E95, approved December 1995, is a revision of AGMA 110.04. It
provides a common language to describe gear wear and failure, and serves as a guide to
uniformity and consistency in the use of that language. It describes the appearance of gear
tooth failure modes and discusses their mechanisms, with the sole intent of facilitating
identification of gear wear and failure. Since there may be many different causes for each
type of gear tooth wear or failure mode, it does not standardize cause, nor prescribe
remedies.
AGMA 912--A04 was developed to compliment ANSI/AGMA 1010--E95 with some
information on probable cause and recommendations for remedies. Gear design and
failure analysis are both art and science. To design gears, the gear engineer needs
analytical tools, plus practical field experience. Gear failures can be a part of this
experience. They can provide valuable information and their correct analysis can help find
the correct remedy to reduce future problems.
The first draft of AGMA 912--A04 was developed in October, 1995. It was approved by the
AGMA membership on October 23, 2004.
Suggestions for improvement of this document will be welcome. They should be sent to the
American Gear Manufacturers Association, 500 Montgomery Street, Suite 350, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314.
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AGMA 912--A04
ACTIVE MEMBERS
M. Chaplin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
R. Errichello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
T. Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G.W. Nagorny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
J. Rinaldo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
O. LaBath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
A.S. Cohen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
R. Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
H. Hagiwara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I. Laskin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. Lawson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D.A. McCarroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D.R. McVittie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
L.J. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
R.E. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D. Woodley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AGMA 912--A04
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Mechanisms of Gear
Tooth Failures
AGMA 912--A04
2 Normative references
The following standards contain provisions which
are referenced in the text of this information sheet.
At the time of publication, the editions indicated were
valid. All standards are subject to revision, and
parties to agreements based on this document are
encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying
the most recent editions of the standards indicated.
ANSI/AGMA 1010--E95, Appearance of Gear Teeth
-- Terminology of Wear and Failure
1 Scope
This information sheet describes many of the ways in
which gear teeth can fail and recommends methods
for reducing gear failures. It provides basic guidance
for those attempting to analyze gear failures. The
information sheet should be used in conjunction with
ANSI/AGMA 1010--E95 in which the gear tooth
failure modes are defined. Similar definitions can
also be found in ISO 10825. They are described in
detail to help investigators understand failures and
investigate remedies.
The information presented in this document applies
to spur and helical gears. However, with some
exceptions the information also applies to bevel,
worm and hypoid gears. Discussion of material
properties is primarily restricted to steel.
1.1 System investigations
Gear system dynamic problems are beyond the
scope of this information sheet. However, it is
important to recognize that many gear failures are
influenced by problems with the gear system, such
as high loads caused by vibration. When investigating gear failures, it is necessary to consider that the
cause may stem from a problem with the system
rather than the gears.
1.2 Analysis by specialists
It is not the intent of this information sheet to discuss
the details of disciplines such as dynamics, material
science, corrosion or tribology. It is hoped that the
material presented will facilitate communication in
the investigation of gear problems.
3 Analysis
3.1 Failure experience
Gear design is both an art and a science. To design
better gears, the gear engineer needs good analytical tools plus practical field experience. Gear
failures are a part of this experience because they
provide valuable information about the multitude of
failure modes that can occur. Gear failures should
be analyzed to identify the failure mode, and attempt
to determine the cause of the failure. Failure
analysis can help to find the correct remedy to
reduce future problems.
3.2 Quantitative analysis
Gear failure is frequently subjective. For example,
a person observing gear teeth that have a bright,
mirror finish may think that the gears have run--in
nicely. However, another observer may believe that
the gears are wearing by polishing. Whether the
gears should be considered usable or not depends
on how much wear is tolerable. The gears might be
unusable if the wear causes excessive noise or
vibration. But the word excessive in itself is
subjective, and some measure of gear accuracy,
noise or vibration can be used to resolve whether the
gears are usable. Some failures are more obvious,
such as when several gear teeth fracture and the
transmission of power ceases. In these cases the
gears have failed. However, there may not be
agreement on the cause of the failure (failure mode).
To find the basic cause or causes of a failure, one
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number of teeth;
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outside diameter;
--
face width;
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--
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--
--
--
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microhardness survey;
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4 Wear
4.1 Adhesion
Adhesive wear is classified as mild if it is confined
to the oxide layers on the gear tooth surfaces. If,
however, the oxide layers are disrupted and bare
metal is exposed, the transition to severe adhesive
wear (scuffing) may occur. Scuffing is discussed in
clause 5. For the present, it is assumed that scuffing
has been avoided.
When new gear units are first operated the contact
between the gear teeth may not be optimum
because of unavoidable manufacturing inaccuracies. If the tribological conditions are favorable, mild
adhesive wear occurs during running--in and subsides with time, resulting in a satisfactory lifetime for
the gears. The wear that occurs during running--in is
beneficial if it creates smooth tooth surfaces (increasing the specific film thickness) and increases
the area of contact by removing minor imperfections
through local wear. It is recommended that new
gearsets be run--in by operating for at least the first
10 hours at one--half load.
The amount of wear that is considered tolerable
depends on the expected lifetime for the gears and
requirements for the control of noise and vibration.
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4.6 Cavitation
Cavitation has been known to occur in the lubricant
film between mating gear teeth. Cavitation is
characterized by the formation of vapor filled
bubbles at the interface between a solid and a liquid,
generally in an area of low pressure. When the
bubbles travel into a region of high pressure they
collapse as they change state from gas to liquid. The
implosion of the bubbles transmits localized forces to
the surface which cause fracture of the surface
asperities. To the unaided eye, a surface damaged
by cavitation may appear to be rough and clean as if
it were sandblasted. The microscopic craters
caused by cavitation are deep, rough, clean and
have a honeycomb appearance.
AGMA 912--A04
electric motors;
--
5 Scuffing
Scuffing is damage caused by localized welding
between sliding surfaces. It is accompanied by
transfer of metal from one surface to another due to
welding and tearing. It may occur in any sliding and
rolling contact where the oil film is not thick enough to
prevent metal--to--metal contact. It is characterized
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6 Plastic deformation
Plastic deformation is permanent deformation that
occurs when the stress exceeds the yield strength of
the material. It may occur at the surface or subsurface of the active flanks of the gear teeth due to high
contact stress, or at the root fillets due to high
bending stress.
6.1 Indentation
The active flanks of gear teeth can be damaged by
indentations caused by foreign material which becomes trapped between the teeth. Depending on
the number and size of the indentations, the damage
may or may not initiate failure. If plastic deformation
associated with the indentations causes raised
areas on the tooth surface, it creates stress concentrations which may lead to subsequent Hertzian
fatigue. For gear teeth subjected to contact stresses
greater than 1.8 times the tensile yield strength of the
material, local, subsurface yielding may occur. The
subsurface plastic deformation causes grooves
(brinelling) on the surfaces of the active flanks of the
teeth corresponding to the lines of contact between
the mating gear teeth.
6.2 Cold flow
Cold flow is plastic deformation that occurs at a
temperature lower than the recrystallization
temperature.
6.3 Hot flow
Hot flow is plastic deformation that occurs at a
temperature higher than the recrystallization
temperature.
6.4 Rolling
Plastic deformation may occur on the active flanks of
gear teeth caused by high contact stresses and the
rolling and sliding action of the gear mesh. Often the
surface material is displaced from the pitch line of the
driving gear teeth toward both the roots and tips
forming burrs. The surface material of the driven
gear is displaced towards the pitchline forming a
ridge. A corresponding groove is formed along the
pitchline of the driving gear.
6.5 Rippling
Rippling is periodic, wave--like undulations of the
surfaces of the active flanks of gear teeth. The peaks
or ridges of the undulations run perpendicular to the
direction of sliding. The ridges are wavy along the
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7 Contact fatigue
7.1 Macropitting
Macropitting is a fatigue phenomenon which occurs
when a shear related fatigue crack initiates either at
the surface of the active flank of the gear tooth or at a
small depth below the surface. The crack usually
propagates for a short distance in a direction roughly
parallel to the tooth surface before turning or
branching to the surface. When cracks grow to the
extent that they separate a piece of the surface
material, a pit is formed. If several pits grow together
to form a larger pit, it is often referred to as a spall.
There is no endurance limit for contact fatigue, and
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teeth
during
8 Cracking
8.1 Hardening cracks
Cracking in heat treatment occurs because of
excessive localized stresses. These may be caused
by nonuniform heating or cooling, or by volume
changes due to phase transformation. Stress risers
will make the part more susceptible to cracking.
Hardening cracks are generally intergranular with
the crack running from the surface toward the center
of mass in a relatively straight line. Crack formation
may be related to some of the same factors which
cause intergranular fracture in overheated steels. If
cracking occurs prior to tempering, the fracture
surfaces will be discolored by oxidation when the
gear is exposed to the furnace atmosphere during
tempering.
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--
the
gear
immediately
after
0.40%
Simple shapes
0.60%
Furnace hardening:
Complex shapes
0.35%
Simple shapes
0.40%
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-- Design the gear blank such that its natural frequencies do not coincide with the excitation frequencies;
-- Pay attention to details that cause stress concentrations such as keyways, splines, holes and
web--to--rim fillets;
-- Use magnetic particle or dye penetrant inspection to ensure that the gear tooth fillets, gear
rim and gear web are free of flaws;
-- Control manufacturing to avoid notches in the
root fillets.
16
9 Fracture
When a gear tooth is overloaded because the local
load is too high, it may fail by fracturing. If it fractures,
the failure may be a ductile fracture preceded by
orientation
pattern
plastic
deformation
(necking or
distortion)
microscopic
features
Brittle
fracture
bright
shiny
crystalline
grainy
rough
coarse
granular
flat
square
radial ridges
chevrons
negligible
cleavage
(facets)
Ductile
fracture
gray (dark)
dull
silky
matte
smooth
fine
fibrous (stringy)
slant, or flat
angular, or
square
shear lips
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appreciable
dimples (shear)
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stresses
by
--
high temperature;
--
--
--
--
Although bending fatigue cracks may occur elsewhere on gear teeth, they usually initiate in the root
fillets on the tensile side of the teeth. The geometry
of the root fillets may cause significant stress concentrations, which, combined with a high bending
moment, results in high bending stress.
Stage 1
Crack initiation
Stage 2
Crack propagation
Stage 3
Fracture
-- Use steels with high nickel content. For carburized gears, nickel and molybdenum in the right
combination gives maximum toughness. Do not
use steels with high chromium and manganese
content. Keep the carbon, phosphorus and sulfur
content as low as possible;
--
18
10 Bending fatigue
AGMA 912--A04
the fatigue crack surface of gear teeth because multiple fatigue crack origins may occur in the root fillet.
10.1 Low--cycle fatigue
Low--cycle fatigue is defined as fatigue where macroscopic plastic strain occurs in every cycle, and the
number of cycles to failure is usually less than
10,000. It is an uncommon failure mode for gear
teeth except for instances where the gear teeth are
greatly overloaded. The surface conditions of a gear
tooth subjected to low--cycle fatigue and the material
cleanliness are less important than under high--cycle
fatigue loading because the cyclic, plastic deformation tends to relax both stress concentrations and
residual stresses. Cracks may initiate within the
gear teeth as well as on the surface, and a smaller
fraction of the life is spent in initiating rather than
propagating cracks. Low--cycle fatigue life can be
extended by maximizing ductility and toughness
(see 9.1 for discussion regarding factors that
promote toughness). Reference [9] recommends
the following methods to increase the toughness of
carburized gears:
-- Use steels which contain nickel as a major
(more than 1%) alloying element;
-- Quench to produce 15 to 30% retained
austenite in the case microstructure;
-- Temper an as--quenched case hardness of
58 HRC, or higher, down to 55 HRC, or lower
(avoid tempering temperatures of 250 to 400 degrees C because of embrittlement of the core).
Caution must be exercised when designing against
low--cycle fatigue because many of the recommendations that improve low--cycle fatigue life decrease
the high--cycle fatigue life. It is better to avoid low-cycle fatigue by reducing the local stress level.
10.2 High--cycle fatigue
High--cycle fatigue is defined as fatigue where the
cyclic stress is below the yield strength of the material. Most gear teeth fail by high--cycle fatigue rather
than low--cycle fatigue. Cracks usually initiate at the
surface of the gear tooth root fillets and a large fraction of the life is spent initiating rather than propagating cracks. High--cycle fatigue life can be extended
by maximizing the ultimate tensile strength of the
material and ensuring that the microstructure of the
surface of the gear teeth is optimum. Reference [9]
recommends the following methods to increase the
high--cycle bending fatigue of carburized gears:
-- Eliminate bainite, pearlite, and network
carbides from the case microstructure;
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Bibliography
The following documents are either referenced in the text of AGMA 912--A04, Mechanisms of Gear Tooth
Failures, or indicated for additional information.
ANSI/AGMA 2001--C95, Fundamental Rating Factors and Calculation Methods for Involute Spur and
Helical Gear Teeth
21
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Milburn, A., Errichello, R., and Godfrey, D., Polishing Wear, AGMA Paper No. 90 FTM 5, Oct., 1990.
22
PUBLISHED BY
AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
1500 KING STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314