COMMUNICATIONS IN NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)

STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS USING FINITE

ELEMENT METHOD

LI JIANFENG, WANG JUNXIAO, ZHANG GE AND WANG S. Y.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Jinan 250061, P.R. China

SUMMARY
A new method, namely the normal sti€ness matrix along contact line (NSMACL) method, for analysing
gears, is proposed. The new method uses the static coagulation technique to coagulate the global sti€ness
matrix of all contact teeth into a lower-order NSMACL. By adding the concert deformation condition and
equilibrate condition, the relation between the torque acting on the driving gear and the load along the
contact lines can be established, and the contact stress and gear tooth deformation can also be obtained.
Three-dimensional (3D) highly accurate solid models of gear teeth have been established, in which the
contact range and the whole ®nite element model can be automatically adjusted with the change of meshing
process. Spur and helical bevel gears can be analysed using these models. Example models and results are
presented. # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEY WORDS bevel gears; instantaneous mesh sti€ness; load distribution; FEM

1. INTRODUCTION
A bevel gear is an important machine element which is used extensively for transmitting motion
and power between intersecting and non-intersecting shafts. The complexity of the bevel gear
tooth is that its thickness and height vary from heel to toe, which results in a non-uniform
distribution of load along the face width of the tooth. Therefore, a three-dimensional analysis is
needed for an accurate study of the bevel gear tooth. Finite element studies made in the ®eld of
bevel gears are very few1±3 and an experimental work has been reported in the case of the Gleason
type.4 Hence, in this research, straight and helical bevel gear tooth models for multitooth
meshing are established and analysed for static loading at di€erent contact positions using the 3D
®nite element method (FEM).
Instantaneous mesh sti€ness (IMS) is the mesh sti€ness of a pair of bevel gears at any mesh
position within a mesh period. The advance of the IMS provides a powerful basis for pro®le
modi®cation of gear teeth, and has important signi®cance for the analysis of noise and vibration.
Determination of the load distribution function and the node force distribution function is
useful for the calculation of strength. They also lay a foundation for the transition from the
simpli®cation of changing the bevel gear strength into that of the equivalent spur gear to the
three-dimensional solid model.

* Correspondence to: Dr Li Jianfeng, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology,

Jinan 250061, P.R. China

CCC 1069±8299/98/040367±14$17.50 Received 25 February 1997

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 10 October 1997
368 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

2. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
2.1. Mesh position parameter
The cone angle d(x) on the back cone at the mesh point x of the driving gear is de®ned as the
mesh position parameter. d(x) is limited in one mesh period to ensure its uniqueness.

2.2. c1(x) and c2(x)

These are the rotational delay angles of the driving (or driven) gear to the driven (or driving)
one, due to the deformation of the contact gears.

2.3. Instantaneous mesh sti€ness

When one pair of gears is in the mesh position d(x), the normal load distribution at point z of
the contact line is Wn(z, x), and the deformation is f(z, x), the maximum deformation along the
contact line being fmax(z, x). The load distributed on this pair of gear teeth is
Zb
Pi …x† ˆ W n …z; x† dx
0

We de®ne Ci(x) ˆ Pi(x)/fmax as the instantaneous sti€ness of the contact pair teeth at the
position d(x).
If the simultaneous contact tooth number is n, the maximum deformation among all fmax is
fmax,max and the normal load of the pair of gears is
X
n
P…x† ˆ Pi …x†
j ˆ1

then the instantaneous mesh sti€ness of the pair of gears is de®ned by the following equation:
P…x†
C…x† ˆ …1†
f max;max

As the number of engaged teeth varies at di€erent meshing positions, C(x) represents the global
sti€ness of all engaged teeth and it can directly represent the mesh elastic property of the gears at
this mesh position.

2.4. NSMACL
Let us assume that {Ai} is a point-group formed by any n points along the contact lines, {Pi} is
the normal force acting on {Ai} and { fi} is the deformation of {Ai} resulting from {Pi}. If an
nth-order square matrix [K ] satis®es the following equation:
‰K Šf f i g ˆ fPi g …2†

then [K ] is called the normal sti€ness matrix along the contact line of the gears about the point-
group {Ai}.
The above [K ] can also be de®ned as follows.

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 369

Divide every instantaneous contact line into a series of nodes N1 , N2 , . . . , Nn , which are
assumed to be the contact nodes. Assume that the force which is exerted on node Ni , letting node
Nj produce deformation fj ˆ 1 and that of other nodes fi ˆ 0 (i 6ˆ j), is Kij ; then
2 3
K 11 K 12 . . . K 1n
6 K 21 K 22 . . . K 2n 7
6 7
‰KŠ ˆ 6 . .. .. 7
4 .. . ... . 5
K n1 K n2 . . . K nn

is the NSMACL.
Assume that the normal force of point Ni is Pi and, according to the force superposition
theorem, the following equation exists:

‰KŠf f i g ˆ fPi g; i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; n

The above two kinds of de®nitions are consistent.

3. CALCULATION OF THE NSMACL

According to the ®nite element (FE) theory,5 the global sti€ness matrix equation can be built up
as follows:
     
K aa K ab fa Pa

ˆ …3†
K Tab K bb fb Pb

{ fa}, {Pa} are the internal degrees of freedom and the internal load to be eliminated,
respectively, and { fb }, {Pb} are the boundary degrees of freedom and load which relate to the
normal degree of every point in {Ai}. [K ] would be positive de®ned when appropriate boundary
conditions are chosen. Static coagulation is used to eliminate { fa} and {Pa}, so the e€ects of { fa}
and {Pa} can be transferred onto { fb} and {Pb}. From equation (3) we obtain

‰K aa Šf f a g ‡ ‰kab Šf f a g ˆ fPa g
…4†
‰K Tab Šf f b g ‡ ‰K bb Šf f b g ˆ fPb g

According to the lattice dividing method, the nodes related to {Pa} are all internal ones, and the
following equation holds: {Pa} ˆ {0}. Substitute this equation into the ®rst part of equation (4):

f f a g ˆ ÿ‰K aa Š‰K ab Šf f b g …5†

Substitute equation (5) into the lower part of equation (4):

T ÿ1
‰K bb ÿ K ab K aa K ab Šf f b g ˆ fPb g …6†
ÿ1
Let [K ] ˆ [Kbb 7 KTab K aa Kab]; then equation (6) is written as follow:

‰KŠf f b g ˆ fPb g …7†

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
370 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

According to the above de®nition in this paper, [K ] is the required NSMACL. Based on the
matrix theory, [K ] is positive de®nite and its converse matrix [Q] ˆ [K ]71 exists. [Q] is de®ned as
the normal ¯exible matrix along contact lines (NFMACL). It is quite evident that [Q] is also
related to the point-group of the contact lines. The existence of NFMACL has been proved and
its calculation method has been theoretically provided.6

4. FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF A GEAR TOOTH SECTOR

The pro®le of the gear tooth sector and the discretization were developed using AutoCAD. A ®ne
mesh closer to the contact area and root section was chosen to get better results of root stress and
load distributions along contact lines. An isoparametric 8-noded brick element was chosen to
enable 3D analysis and to suit the available computer memory. The gear tooth sector analysed
was discrete in nine faces or eight blocks with 50 elements per block and 70 nodes per face. In
total, 400 elements with 630 nodes were used. Figure 1 is the overall ®nite element of a straight
bevel gear tooth. Figure 2 shows the model when two pairs of straight bevel gear teeth are in
contact.
Details of straight and helical bevel gear tooth models are described in References 6±8.

5. LOAD DISTRIBUTION AND INSTANTANEOUS STIFFNESS

5.1. Node load and normal deformation
In certain positions, there are n teeth in contact at the same time; the following equations are
established according to the de®nition of NSMACL:
‰KŠi;j f f gi;j ˆ fPgi;j ; i ˆ 1; 2; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; n …8†

Figure 1. The basic lattice of a straight bevel gear tooth

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 371

Figure 2. Model when two pairs of teeth in contact

in which i ˆ 1, 2 represent the driving and driven gears, respectively, and j ˆ 1, 2, . . . , n represent
the number of engaged teeth. Left-multiplying equation (8) by [Q]i,j gives
‰QŠi;j fPgi;j ˆ f f gi;j …9†

Assembling according to the driving and driven gears, and letting

2 3 2 3
Q1;1 Q2;1
6 7 6 7
6 Q1;2 7 6 Q2;2 7
6 7 6 7
‰QŠ1 ˆ 6
6 ..
7 ‰QŠ ˆ 6
7 2 6 ..
7
7
6 . 7 6 . 7
4 5 4 5
Q1;n Q2;n
8 9 8 9 8 9 8 9
> P1;1 > > P2;1 > > f 1;1 > > f 2;1 >
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> P
< 1;2 = > > P
< 2;2 => < 1;2 >
> f = < 2;2 >
> f =
fPg1 ˆ . fPg2 ˆ . f f g1 ˆ . f f g1 ˆ .. >
>
>
> .. >
>
>
>
>
> .. >
>
>
>
>
> .. >>
>
>
>
> . >>
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
: >
; >
: >
; >
: >
; >
: >
;
P1;n P2;n f 1;n f 2;n

we obtain

‰QŠ1 fPg1 ˆ f f g1
…10†
‰QŠ2 fPg2 ˆ f f g2

where subscripts 1 and 2 represent the driving and driven gears, respectively.

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
372 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

5.2. Concert deformation condition and static equilibrant condition

Under small deformation, it is considered that every contact point on the contact lines keeps
continuous contact before and after deformation. The deformation of the driving gear includes
both the gear tooth elastic deformation and the rigid body displacement caused by the lag angle
c2(x). To eliminate the rigid body displacement and to keep the contact load unchanged, it is
essential that the driving gear turns back an angle of c1(x):
Di ˆ c1 …x†
rb1i cos bb ˆ c2 …x†
rb2i cos bb

where rb1i , rb2i is the base circle radius of driving and driven gears at the position i of the gear
cone.
According to the deformation-continuity assumption, the concert deformation is
f f g1 ÿ f f g2 ˆ fDg ˆ fc2
rb2 cos bb g …11†

The node forces acting on every contact point of the contact lines of driving and driven gears
are an action±reaction pair. So
fPg1 ˆ ÿfPg2 ˆ fPg

where the model of {P} equals P, and P is the mesh load on the normal surface of gears, can be
expressed as
T
T 1 ˆ frb g1 fPgcos bb …12†

5.3. Node load on contact lines and instantaneous sti€ness

Substitute equation (10) into equation (11):
‰QŠ1 fPg1 ÿ ‰QŠ2 fPg2 ˆ fDg ˆ c1 frb1 gcos bb …13†

By adding the equilibrant condition, equation (13) is changed into the following:

‰Q1 ‡ Q2 ŠfPg ˆ c1 frb1 gcos bb …14†

Let [Q] ˆ [Q1 ‡ Q2]; then equation (14) becomes

 
P
‰Q ÿ rb1 cos bb Š
ˆ f0g …15†
c1

From equations (13) and (15), obtains

    
Q ÿrb1 cos bb P 0
ˆ …16†
ÿrTb1 cos bb 0 c1 ÿT 1

Equation (16) has been proved having solution, and the solution is unique.3 Then the gear
tooth mesh sti€ness is
P
Cˆ …17†
c1 rb1 cos bb

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 373

5.4. Load distribution along the contact lines

Based on the assumption that the node force is proportional to the load distribution at this
node,4,5 the load distribution function of the ith engaged pair of teeth is

qi ˆ K i
G i …18†

where Ki is a proportional coecient and Gi is the node force distribution function for the i th
engaged pair of teeth. When the engaged pair of teeth is more than one, both the load distri-
bution and the node force distribution curves are segmentary smooth. According to the static
equivalent,
Z
S qi dx ˆ P …19†

The following expression can be achieved by combining equations (18) and (19):

P
K ˆ R …20†
S Gi dx

Substituting equation (20) into (18), the load distribution function is obtained:

P
Gi
qi ˆ R …21†
S Gi dx

The insert-value function method is used to acquire the node force function Gi . Assuming that
mi
X j ÿ1
Gi …x† ˆ Aij x ; i ˆ 1; . . . ; n …22†
j ˆ1

which is an (mi 7 1)th order polynomial and mi is the number of the divided node along the
contact line for the ith engaged teeth, then the de®nition of Gi(x) can be described as
mi
X j ÿ1
Aij xik ˆ Pik ; i ˆ 1; . . . ; n; k ˆ 1; . . . ; mi …23†
j ˆ1

Changing equation (23) into matrix form gives

2 3
m ÿ1 8 9 8 9
1 xi1 x2i1 . . . xi1i > Ai1 > > Pi1 >
6 m ÿ1 7>
> >
> > > >
>
6 1 xi2 x2i2 . . . xi2i 7< Ai2 = < Pi1 =
6. .. .. 7 ˆ
.. 7> .. > > .. > …24†
6.
4. . . ... . 5> > . >
m ÿ1 : A
>
; >
> . >
: >
;
1 xim x2im . . . ximi i imi Pi1
i i

From the above equation the interpolation coecient vector can be acquired:
T
…Ai1 ; Ai2 ; . . . ; Aim † ; i ˆ 1; . . . ; n
i

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
374 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

Table I. Parameters of straight bevel gear

m a Z1 Z2 b d1 T1
2 20 17 19 8 41.82017 49

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

6.1. Instantaneous sti€ness
The gear parameters used in this calculation are shown in Table I. The material of the gears is
medium carbon steel and E ˆ 2.06  105,  ˆ 0.3.
Figure 3 is an IMS curve of the straight bevel gears in Table I. The sti€ness has a mutation at
the critical point from single to double mesh area, and this mutation is mainly caused by the
contact line of the straight bevel gears suddenly getting into and out of the mesh along the whole
length of the tooth width. However, the mesh sti€ness varies very smoothly for di€erent points
within the single or double mesh area, and it is a slowly varying function of time. The sti€ness
mutation at the critical point from the single to the double mesh area is the main reason for
impact vibration.

Figure 3. Sti€ness of straight bevel gear

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 375

Figures 4(a), (b) and (c) show the sti€ness of the helical bevel gears having the same parameters
as in Table I except for the helical angle. The IMS curves tend to be more gentle with increasing
helix angle. This is because the contact lines of the helical gears gradually get into and out of the
mesh along the face width.
Gear mesh impact can be e€ectively diminished and transmission smoothness can be improved
by appropriately increasing the helix angle on the condition that the manufacturing accuracy of
the gears can be assured.

6.2. Load distribution along the contact lines

Load distribution along the contact lines is the basic factor for determining the gear tooth
stress. It is very important for gear strength analysis to determine the load distributed state along
the contact lines.
The load distribution along the contact lines in the case of a spur gear is considered to be
uniform, but in bevel gears, because of a constantly changing cross-section, the distribution of
load is not uniform along the contact lines.
Figures 5(a) and (b) are load distribution curves of straight bevel gears when one and two pairs
of gear teeth are in contact, respectively. It is found that the load acts on the tooth with a
maximum value at the heel and a minimum value at the toe. The load distribution curves
dramatically fall near the end face due to the boundary e€ect, while the curves change gently at
positions far away from the boundary. It can also be derived from the two ®gures that the range of
boundary e€ects is not large.
Curves in Figures 6(a), (b) and (c) are load distribution curves of helical bevel gears when the
gears are in the position with the shortest contact lines. The gears in Figure 6 have the same

Figure 4(a). Caption on next page

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
376 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

Figure 4(b)

Figure 4(c)
Figure 4(a±c). Sti€ness of helical bevel gears: (a) b ˆ 108; (b) b ˆ 178; (c) b ˆ 208

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 377

Figure 5. Load distribution of straight bevel gears: (a) one pair; (b) two pairs of gear teeth in contact

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
378 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

Figure 6(a). Caption opposite

parameters as those shown in Table I, and only the helix angle varies. Load distribution along the
contact line gradually decreases from the heel to the toe, and the boundary e€ect still exists. The
extreme value of the distributed load shifts to the side with higher sti€ness due to that side
bearing a heavier load.
In the position with the shortest contact lines, the contact line of the second engaged gear tooth
lengthens with increasing helical angle. That is consistent with the fact that the sti€ness increases
with increasing helical angle.
For helical bevel gears, the length of the contact line gradually increases from zero to the
maximum value and then gradually decreases again, which is the main reason why the
instantaneous mesh sti€ness is a gentle curve. When the helix angle is quite small and the mesh
teeth are in the position with the shortest contact line, the load borne by the pair of teeth which
are just getting into mesh will not be enough to o€set the in¯uence of the non-uniform distribu-
tion load caused by the helix angle. Therefore, the extreme distributed load is even larger than
that of the straight bevel gears with the same parameters.

7. CONCLUSION
The advance of NSMACL provides a basis for the three-dimensional investigation of bevel gears.
Using the NSMACL method, the load distribution along contact lines and the load distribution
among contact gear teeth can be more accurately determined.
A multitooth ®nite element model was used to perform three-dimensional analysis of bevel
gears. Instantaneous mesh sti€ness and load distribution along contact lines of straight and

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
 STATIC ANALYSIS OF BEVEL GEARS 379

Figure 6(b)

Figure 6(c)
Figure 6. Load distribution of helical bevel gears: (a) b ˆ 108; (b) b ˆ 178; (c) b ˆ 208

# 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998)
380 L. JIANFENG ET AL.

helical gears have been presented. On the basis of the results obtained the following conclusions
can be made:
1. For straight bevel gears, the sti€ness mutation at the critical point from the single to the
double mesh area is the main reason for impact vibration when gear teeth get into or out of
mesh.
2. For helical bevel gears, the tooth sti€ness changes with the helix angle b. On the condition
that manufacturing accuracy can be assured, the gear mesh impact can be e€ectively
decreased and transmission smoothness can be increased with an appropriate increase of
the helix angle.
3. Load distribution along the contact line gradually decreases from the heel to the toe, and
the boundary e€ect still exists.
4. The extreme value of the distribution load shifts to one side with a higher sti€ness, because
a higher sti€ness bears a heavier load.

8. APPENDIX: NOMENCLATURE
mˆ module, mm
bˆ helical angle, 8
bˆ face width, mm
Zˆ number of teeth
ˆ Poisson's ratio
aˆ pressure angle, 8
dˆ reference cone angle, 8
T1 ˆ torque act on the driving gear, Nm
Eˆ modules of elasticity, N/mm2

REFERENCES

1. L. E. Wilcox, `Finite element analysis pinpoints gear tooth stresses', Mach. Des., 50, 88±92 (1978).
2. L. E. Wilcox, `An exact analytical method for calculating stresses in bevel and hypoid gear teeth',
International Symposium on Gearing and Power Transmission, Tokyo, 1981, pp. 115±121.
3. S. Oda, T. Koide and Y. Okamura, `Study on bending fatigue strength of bevel gears (1st report)',
Bull. JSME, 25, 1173±1179 (1982).
4. S. J. Nalluveettil and G. Muthuveerappan, `Finite element modeling and analysis of a straight bevel gear
tooth', Comput. Struct., 51(3), 739±744 (1993).
5. Gan Shunxian, Technology and Procedures of Finite Element, 1 Edn, Beijing University of Science and
Technology Press, Beijing, 1982.
6. Li Jianfeng, Wang Junxiao and Wang Shouyou et al., `Finite element modeling and analysis of
multitooth mesh straight bevel gear', AMSE, Model., Meas. Control, B, 62(1), 57±64 (1996).
7. Li Jianfeng, Wang Junxiao and Wang Shouyou, `Study on the instantaneous sti€ness of straight bevel
gears', J. Mech. Transm., 19(3), 28±31 (1995) (in Chinese).
8. Li Jianfeng, Zhang Ge, Wang Shouyou and Tian Zhiren, `Load distribution along face width of bevel
gears', J. Mech. Transm., 20(2), 5±7 (1996).

Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng, 14, 367±380 (1998) # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.