Vinayak M Rao

20036966
Outline
Introduction
Hypoid gear description
Stress distribution
Modes of failure
Design considerations and benchmark materials
Alternative materials
Introduction and Description
The rear axle assembly found in rear wheel drive vehicles consists of the
differential, rear drive axles and the rear axle housing. The differential
serves to perform three main functions-
1. The power being delivered from the engine drive shaft cannot be
directly transferred to the rear axle and must change direction by 90
between the engine drive assembly and the rear wheels.
2. The differential provides the final gear reduction stage in order to
decrease RPM and increase rotational torque.
3. The differential allows the two wheels to rotate at different speeds
preventing loss of traction.
Hypoid gears
Spiral bevel gears have curved teeth which result in gradual
and continuous engagement where more than one tooth is
in contact at all times, thus transmitting the load smoothly.
Hypoid gears are similar in construction to spiral bevel gears
with the major difference being that the axes of the pinion
and gear are offset. This allows for smoother power
transmission. Their pitch surface
resembles a hyperboloid.
Stress distribution in hypoid gears
Stresses acting on gear teeth can be tensile, compressive, shear,
rolling or a combination of the above.
As the driving tooth moves along the drive tooth, sliding rolling
action takes place at the interface above and below the pitchline
and is replaced by pure rolling action at the pitchline.
Hypoid gears undergo specific resultant stresses; as the rolling
sliding action takes place, the instances where a 1-1 tooth contact is
present will result in an extremely high load per unit area at the line
of contact.
Sliding stresses also become more predominant as the axes offset
increases.
Modes of Failure
Tooth bending fatigue- It is the most common type and is usually
accompanied by the following
1. Origin is at the root radius of the loaded side of the tooth at the
midpoint of the tooth.
2. The fracture progresses to the zero stress point of the root. With the
progression of the fracture, the load is picked up by the next tooth
3. The material properties are within the failure limit.

Spiral bevel pinion showing tooth bending

fatigue with origin at midlength of the root
radius on the concave side [1]
Surface contact fatigue(pitting)-
A crack forms at the point where the resultant strain exceeds the elastic
limit and the particle falls from the surface. The area above and below
the pitchline is most susceptible to pitting as it is subjected to rolling
and sliding effects.
Pitting in hypoid gears occurs due to the resulting high stresses when 1-
1 tooth engagement occurs instead of multiple teeth being engaged
Spalling is a rapid propagation due to combination of pitting and
rolling contact fatigue

Spiral bevel gear teeth, Original pitting

low gives rise to a fast and extensive progression
of spalling over the top face [1]
Tooth Shear failure
Occurs for high impact loads and short contact time.
Example is a pinion being stopped instantaneously from high speed
conditions, leading to gear teeth shearing the contacting pinion teeth.
Abrasive Wear- Occurs due to sliding contact and presence of abrasive
particles.
Adhesion Wear- Occurs between sliding surfaces and is accompanied
by plastic deformation.

Spiral bevel gear and pinion set [1]

Spiral bevel gear, galling [1]
Design Considerations and current benchmark
Increase of Strength
Reduction of Distortion
Reduction in Wear
Reduction of Noise
Improved machinability
Carburized case hardened steels offer high resistance to wear, pitting and
fatigue. They provide maximum surface hardness and wear resistance due
to the high carbon martensitic case and the more ductile core will not fail
catastrophically.

Steel C Mn Ni Cr Mo
4118 0.18- 0.70- 0.40- 0.08-
0.23 0.90 0.60 0.15
4320 0.17- 0.45- 1.65- 0.40- 0.20-.30
0.22 0.65 2.00 0.60
Benchmark Material Properties
Steel Tensile Yield E G BHN VHN
Strengt Strengt
h h
4118 986 645 205 Gpa 80 Gpa 293 309 44.5W/
Mpa Mpa m-K
4320 1050 738 Mpa 205 Gpa 80 Gpa 302 319 44.5W/
Mpa m-K

AISI 4320 Steel, carburized 925C (1700F) for 8 hrs., reheated to 815C
(1500F), oil quenched, 150C (300F) temper
Alternative materials
Ceramics- They are produced by injection molding process with Zr2
as the feedstock.
They have superior wear resistance due to a high VHN and low thermal
expansion coefficients
They however suffer from low fracture toughness
Metal Injection Alloys-Large and complex shapes are created with little
reworking or secondary machining.
They too suffer from low fracture toughness.
Materia Tensile Yield E Hardness Composition
l strengt Strengt
h h(Mpa)
(Mpa)
MIM 1550 1400 210 42-48 Ni-0.75-1.25%, Cr-0.75-
4140 BRC 1.25%, Mo-0.50% max
C-0.3-0.6%
MIM 1200 1100 210 32-38 Ni-1.5-2.5%, Cr-0.75-
4340 BRC 1.25%, Mo-0.50% max
C-0.3-0.6%

YTZP 2000 205 1350 VHN Tetragonal zirconia

Ashby method selection criteria

1000
Bending stress =

Function- Differential gears bending stress
Constraints-Ring and pinion gear diameter
Objective- Minimize contact stress
1000
= ( )1/2
1
Free Variable- choice of material
Future Work
Incorporate Ashbys method
Perform stress and fatigue analysis.
References
[1.] Systematic Analysis of Gear Failures ,Lester E. Alban
[2.] Multi-objective Optimization In Material Design
and Selection, M. F. Ashby
[3.]Shigleys Mechanical Engineering Design
[4.] Strength, fracture toughness and microstructure of a
selection of all-ceramic materials, Massimiliano
Guazzatoa,*, Mohammad Albakrya, Simon P. Ringer
[5.] Gear Materials, Properties, and Manufacture,
Davis,J.R