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 Optimizing Gear Macro and
Microgeometry To Minimize
Whine and Maximize Robustness
for a Diesel Engine Application
By Neil McNab, Greg Mitchum, and Erik Ostergaard

A system approach is used to optimize the macro and micro design to minimize
the transmission error while ensuring that robustness (bending, contact, scuffing,
and micropitting) safety factors are not compromised.
THE DESIRE FOR ENGINES THAT PROVIDE MORE
torque and power is driving higher loads into the gear
train. At the same time, expectations for noise, vibration,
and harshness (NVH) require systems that are even
more refined. The gear train design engineer has several
factors available to consider; some are controllable, and
others are not.
Given:
• Accessory speed ratios
• Engine speed range
• Architecture-specific shaft positions (camshaft, crank-
shaft, etc.) Figure 1: 45T baseline waterfall plot
• Available packaging space Stiffening the cover to move the resonance out of the
Free variables: critical low idle speed range was not an option because
• Module of concerns it would make it a more efficient emitter of
• Tooth counts engine noise. It was therefore decided that the best course
• Helix angle of action would be the following:
• Pressure angle 1. Reduce the tooth count (and therefore the TPF) to
• Idler shaft positions move the resonances further up the speed range where
• Lead and profile crowning it would be masked by the engine noise.
• Tooth width (within space constraints) 2. Minimize PPTE (peak-to-peak transmission error)
• Gear manufacturing techniques at low idle torques.
• Gear material
36 crank teeth were chosen for two good reasons:
All of these variables must come together in a design that 1. It moves the 2,100 Hz resonance above 2,000 rpm,
meets both durability and NVH targets, while produced so it would be masked by engine noise.
economically. Because few of the variables are truly inde- 2. Tooling for 2.54 mn gears was available from an old
pendent, a system approach was used to find the solution. gear train design that would result in 36 teeth at the
crank. This would substantially speed up prototype
BACKGROUND procurement and reduce costs.
The current gear train design (baseline) has a 45 toothed
crank gear. This suffered audible gear whine most notice- ADVANTAGES OF A SYSTEM SOLUTION
ably at low idle; 700-1,000 rpm while under low load. Langlois [1] showed that whine is a system-level issue,
In the vehicle, it was audible around 1,200-1,400 rpm where solutions may be considered from gear macro
under light loads. Even though gear whine is significant at geometry design, gear microgeometry design, system
higher rpm, engine noise effectively masks it at this speed. mass-elastic properties, and the transmissibility of PPTE
The waterfall plot in Figure 1 is from a single micro- to the casing. State-of-the-art system-level software is
phone recording taken 1 meter from the front of the engine required to be able to perform various analyses of inter-
during a speed sweep on the test rig. The resonances high- est. Design changes need to be assessed effectively — not
lighted in purple correspond to the natural frequencies of just for their effect on the noise problem at hand — but
the gear cover at 1,500 Hz and 2,100 Hz at the TPF (tooth also for other considerations of importance in the design
passing frequency) second harmonic (90th engine order). process so as, for example, not to compromise durability.
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 Table 1: Duty cycle data

Figure 2: Model of system forces and deflections

Such durability, loaded tooth contact, and
dynamic response analyses may be performed
using standalone commercial FE packages.
However, this approach is problematic as it
requires models with different levels of fidelity
to calculate each aspect. What’s more, models
are difficult to set up and do not lend themselves
well to analyzing the effects of design changes
easily and quickly. On the other hand, inte-
grated CAE software such as MASTA provides
tools for engineers to perform these analyses Table 2: Macro and microgeometry specification of the three designs
using a single model and parameter set. Model
generation is rapid and provides the flexibility to
make complex design changes on-the-fly, seeing
immediate results within a seamless workflow.
Analyses are fast enough to enable parameter Figure 3: System misalignment predictions at peak power

Figures 4 and 5: 45T baseline: FP/cam and cam/crank mesh contact predictions at peak torque

Figures 6 and 7: 36T helical: FP/cam and cam/crank mesh contact predictions at peak torque

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 Figures 8 and 9: 36T spur: FP/cam and cam/crank mesh contact predictions at peak torque

space DOE studies, including assessing the

robustness of any design changes to the expected
variability in actual parts due to manufacturing
and assembly tolerances. Figure 2 shows the
system forces and deflections in the gear train.

DUTY CYCLE DERIVATION

Unlike traditional automotive transmissions, the
gear train of an internal combustion diesel engine
must accommodate severe torsional activity. The
system must not only sustain peak torques with
magnitudes several times the mean transmitted
torque, but also accommodate negative torque
reversals throughout the engine cycle. At the
relatively light load conditions where gear whine
was most noticeable, the torque signature is
nearly fully reversed, which brings additional
challenges to the specification of a target torque
for use in quasi-static microgeometry optimiza-
tion. The duty cycle was specified with the
understanding that the instantaneous torque
passing through a given mesh will vary sig-
nificantly in time and thus the gears should be
designed to produce minimal transmission error
throughout a wide-range transmitted torque.
Table 1 shows the duty cycle data used for the
concept designs. Peak power was used to rate Choose from one of our portable
for robustness, e.g., bending, contact, scuffing, or laboratory systems, or utilize
and micropitting. Low idle torque was used to our ISO 170 5 laboratories for
optimize the microgeometry. accurate and efficient contract
measurement services.
MACRO AND MICRO DESIGN
SPECIFICATION For more information contact us at
45T and 36T refer to the number of teeth at the info@protoxrd.com or 1-313-965-2900
crank gear. This dictates the tooth count on the
rest of the gear train. This is because the timed
cam gear must be exactly 0.5:1, and the timed
FP (fuel pump) gear must be exactly 1.5:1.
Table 2 shows the macro and microgeom-
etry specifications for the 45T baseline and
proposed 36T helical and 36T spur designs.
The 45T baseline has the highest theoreti-
cal transverse contact ratios of 2.5 and 2.3
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 However, the high amounts of profile
crowning of 8, 8, and 6 mm substantially
reduces the contact area of the flanks. This
reduces the contact ratio to 1.6 and 1.5 at the
low idle operating condition.
The 36T helical and spur designs have
much smaller profile crowns of 1 mm and as
a result, achieve near integer contact ratios at
the low idle operating condition.

MICRO DESIGN OPTIMIZATION –

CONTACT STRESS RESULTS
This section shows the results of the advanced
LTCA contact stress results performed in Figure 10: PPTE plot for the 45T FP/cam mesh
MASTA. Comprehensive system deflections,
including contributions from the housing, are
all considered.
Figure 3 shows the predicted mesh mis-
alignments at peak load resulting from
system deflections for the three designs.
Originally, the 45T baseline gear train was
designed in software capable of analyzing
only individual gear pairs. It was optimized
with large amounts of lead crowning (Cb) to
tolerate the standard requirement of 1 mrad
misalignment.
However, when analyzed as a system, the
actual misalignment witnessed by the FP
mesh was three times greater. Figure 11: Operating contact ratio for the 45T FP/cam mesh
Figure 4 shows that when analyzed as a
system, the FP/cam mesh tolerates 3.7 mrads
misalignment quite well; however, this is
more a virtue of high lead crowns and narrow
10 mm face widths. What is a concern is the
high load intensities (kh˜ and kh° ) that arise
from the excessive lead and profile crowning.
This increases the contact stresses and thus
reduces robustness.
Analyzing the gear train as a system
and predicting actual deflections enables
improved bespoke microgeometry to be
applied that minimizes TE without increas-
ing load intensities. This can be achieved by
reducing lead crowning enough to tolerate
manufacturing variations and adding lead Figure 12: PPTE plot for the 45T cam/crank mesh
slope relief to tolerate deflections.
Figures 6 and 7 show contact predictions for
the 36T helical design that has reduced 5 mm
lead crowning and the additional 10 mm and 7
mm lead slope relief. As shown, load intensities
are reduced and contact stress are comparable
to the 45T baseline. This also helps maximize
flank contact surface to maximize total operat-
ing contact ratio and thus minimize TE.
Figures 8 and 9 show the contact predic-
tions for the 36T spur design. This has the
same microgeometry specification as the helical
concept and, as shown, load intensities are also
reduced and contact stresses are also comparable
to the 45T baseline. Figure 13: Operating contact ratio for the 45T cam/crank mesh

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 MICRO DESIGN OPTIMIZATION –
PPTE RESULTS
This section shows 3D results for both PPTE
and operating contact ratio versus power (torque
variation) and profile crowning (manufacturing
variation) for the 45T baseline and 36T spur
designs.
For all results, the following applies:
• The horizontal axis states the power (0-25 kw)
• The vertical axis states profile crowning
variation (1-10 mm)
• The Z axis shows the PPTE results

45T Baseline Results

Figure 14: PPTE plot for the 36T spur FP/cam mesh
Figure 10 shows the FP/cam PPTE results.
Profile crowns of 8 and 8 mm were specified,
which results in the gears generating high
PPTE at the low idle operating condition.
Quality solutions since 1960
Minimum PPTE at low idle would have
been better achieved with profile crowning Shop Nordex.com
of approximately 2 mm.
Figure 11 shows the 45T FP/cam operating sales@nordex.com eng@nordex.com
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Figure 12 shows the 45T cam/crank EnginEEring & DEsign
PPTE results. Quality Above and
Profile crowns of 8 and 6 mm were speci- Beyond Our Customer’s Expectations
fied, which results in the gears generating Our experienced engineering staff coupled with
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ing condition. Minimum PPTE at low idle with you to produce your product. View our Online
would have been better achieved with profile catalog of standard components www.nordex.com.
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Figure 13 shows the 45T cam/crank operat-
ing contact ratio results. The diagonal band MEDical
showing integer 2 contact ratio correlates with Certified and Registered
the diagonal band showing minimum PPTE ISO 9001:2008 RvA/ANAB
in Figure 12. Certified Class 100 Clean Room
36T Spur Results For your medical laboratory, instrument, robotics, semi-
Figure 14 shows the 36T FP/cam PPTE results. conductor, automation or other precision application.
Minimum PPTE at low idle is achieved with
low profile crowning of approximately 1 mm.
Figure 15 shows the 36T FP/cam operat- prosthEsis
ing contact ratio results. The diagonal band Over 32,400 Standard Components
showing integer 2 contact ratio correlates with From prototype to production. Manufacturing,
the diagonal band showing minimum PPTE engineering, assembly, testing, custom machining,
in Figure 14. and gears for every application. Offering a full line of
Figure 16 shows the 36T cam/crank mechanical components: gears, pulleys, racks, shafts,
PPTE results. Minimum PPTE at low idle and related products.
is achieved with low profile crowning of
approximately 1 mm.
Figure 17 shows the cam/crank operat- robotics
ing contact ratio results. The diagonal band Utilizing the Latest Technologies
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As shown in all the contact ratio results, as Complete quality testing.
transmitted power increases, the teeth deflect
more, increasing the operating contact ratio.
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 However, due to the analysis settings selected,
the operating contact ratio is limited by the
theoretical contact ratio.

GEAR DESIGN FACTOR

COMPARISONS
As previously discussed, the change from 45
crank teeth to 36 resulted in an increase in
tooth size from 2.071 mn to 2.54 mn. Figure
18 shows that there was an expected improve-
ment in bending strength that bigger teeth
tend to offer; however, contact design factors
still remain comparable with the baseline
(and for some gears, are actually better) even
though contact ratio and thus load sharing Figure 15: Operating contact ratio for the 36T spur FP/cam mesh
have been reduced at the peak torque operat-
ing condition.
Figure 19 shows comparable scuffing
margins for the 36T concepts with the 45T
baseline. Micropitting margins are lower for
the helical design, but this results from a
singularity in the advanced LTCA FE. In
the real world, this “singularity” would be
quickly machined off during run-in and can
be confidently ignored.

TEST RESULT COMPARISONS

Figures 20 and 21 show the noise test results
taken on a single microphone 1 meter from Figure 16: PPTE plot for the 36T spur cam/crank mesh
the front of the engine on the test rig.
Figure 21 shows that the 36T spur design
has reduced noise compared to the 45T base-
line in Figure 20.
Because the 36T spur concept has com-
parable robustness with the baseline, it’s
been chosen as the prime path for pro-
duction instead of the 36T helical. This
is because it offers acceptable noise levels
without the concerns of reduced bearing life
due to thrust loads. This enabled project
milestones to be passed and production
tooling to be ordered.

CONCLUSION Figure 17: Operating contact ratio for the 36T spur cam/crank mesh
Gear meshes that achieve integer operating
contact ratio generate minimum PPTE. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
By designing and analyzing gears as a sys- The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their kind support throughout
tem, realistic mesh deflections can be pre- this project: Dhanesh Purekar, Cummins EBU, and Paul Langlois, Smart Manufacturing Technology.
dicted, enabling improved and optimized
microgeometry to be applied. This two- REFERENCES
pronged method has been shown to reduce 3. Dr. Paul Langlois; “The Importance of Integrated Software Solutions in Troubleshooting Gear
gear noise while maintaining robustness. Whine,” Gear Technology, May 2015.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Neil McNab is a chartered engineer with 17 years’ experience in transmission design and analysis at global automotive consultancies
and holds five patents. He joined Cummins Inc. in 2011 and has the role of Global Gear Systems lead where he supports all Cummins global gear train design,
analysis, development, and testing.
Greg Mitchum is a design technical specialist at Cummins within the Engine Business unit. In his current role, he supports the design and development of gear
and valve train systems. Mitchum has six years of experience in a variety of additional areas including casting and exhaust systems and hold two U.S. patents.
Erik Ostergaard joined Cummins Inc. in 2012 and works within the Applied Mechanics organization with a focus on gear train, valve train, and crankshaft
simulation and test efforts.

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 Figure 18: Bending and contact fatigue design factors at peak torque Figure 20: Noise test results for the 45T baseline

Figure 19: Scuffing and micropitting design factors at peak torque Figure 21: Noise test results for the 36T spur results

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