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Mechanism
and
Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556
Machine Theory
www.elsevier.com/locate/mechmt

The generation principle and mathematical models

of a novel cosine gear drive
Shanming Luo a,*, Yue Wu b, Jian Wang a
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan Road, Xiangtan 411201, China
b
School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK

Received 19 November 2006; received in revised form 11 December 2007; accepted 26 December 2007
Available online 14 February 2008

Abstract

A novel cosine gear drive is presented in this paper. The pinion of the drive utilizes a cosine curve as the tooth profile. It
takes the zero line of the cosine curve as the pitch circle, a period of the curve as a tooth space, and the amplitude of the
curve as the tooth addendum. The generation principle of the cosine gear is described. The mathematical models, including
the equation of the cosine tooth profile, the equation of the conjugate tooth profile and the equation of the line of action,
are established based on the meshing theory. An example drive in solid model is presented and its computerized simulation
is carried out. A few characteristics, such as the contact and bending stresses, the sliding coefficient and the contact ratio, of
this new drive are analyzed. A comparison study of these characteristics with the involute gear drive was also carried out in
this work. The results confirm that the cosine gear drive has lower sliding coefficients and the contact and bending stresses
of the cosine gear are reduced in comparison with the involute gear.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Gear drive; Cosine gear; Tooth profile; Meshing theory; Mathematical model

1. Introduction

Tooth profile of gear is a fundamental element to determine transmission performance of a gear drive. At
present, there are three types of tooth profiles: involute, cycloid and circular-arc, which have been used in gear
drives to fulfil different application requirements [1–4]. The most commonly used tooth profile is the involute
due to its advantages of simplicity for manufacture, mesh in line contact, constancy of pressure angle, and
insensitivity to central distance variation. However, the involute tooth profile suffers from low load capacity,
relatively poor lubrication and proneness to interference [1].
With the developments of computerized numerical control technology, the manufacture of complicated
curve and surface can be realized [5–9]. Therefore, new tooth profiles can be applied to improve the transmis-
sion performance. Litvin et al. [10] investigated and compared two versions of face-gear drives based on

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 732 8290480; fax: +86 732 8290509.
E-mail address: s.luo@hotmail.com (S. Luo).

0094-114X/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2007.12.007
1544 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

application of a spur pinion. The first version was a spur involute pinion and the other version was a pinion
that is conjugated to a parabolic rack-cutter. The following advantages of the new design were reported: (i)
existence of a longitudinal bearing contact, (ii) avoidance of edge contact, and (iii) reduction of contact
stresses. Tsay and Fong [11,12] studied a helical gear drive whose profiles consist of involute and circular-
arc. The tooth surfaces of this gearing contact with each other at every instant at one point instead of one
line. The bearing contact of the gear tooth surface is localized and the centre of the bearing contact moves
along the tooth surface. Thus, this helical gear drive is insensitive to centre distance variation and gear axes
misalignment. Komori et al. [13] developed a gear with logic tooth profiles which have zero relative curvature
at many contact points. The gear therefore has higher durability and strength than involute gear. However, the
logic tooth profile can be applied only to a helical gear due to point contact. Zhang et al. [14] presented a dou-
ble involute gear. The tooth profile of the gear consists of two involute curves, which are linked by a transition
curve and form a ladder shape of tooth. Ariga and Nagata [15] used a specific cutter with combined circular-
arc and involute tooth profiles to generate a new type of Wildhaber–Novikov gear. This particular tooth pro-
file can solve the problem of conventional W–N gear profile, that is, the profile sensitivity to centre distance
variations. Fong et al. [16] proposed a mathematical model for parametric tooth profile of spur gear using a
giving equation of line of action. According to this model, it will be easier to manipulate the line of action
when multi-segment tooth profile curves are used. The mathematical model can enhance the freedom of tooth
profile design by combining the simple curves into the line of action. Kapelevich [17] presented a method of
research and design of gears with asymmetric teeth that enables to increase load capacity, reduce weight, size
and vibration level. Francesco and Marini [18] consider a low pressure angle profile for the drive side and a
high pressure angle profile for the coast side teeth. Such an approach enables to decrease the bending stresses,
and keeps contact stresses on the same level as for symmetric teeth with equal pressure angle.
In recent decades, a large amount of literature is also available showing the mechanisms and methods for
tooth profile generation. Litvin and Tsay [19] applied the vector analysis, differential geometry, matrix transfor-
mation and meshing equation to develop mathematical models for describing tooth profiles and their geometric
properties. Litvin et al. [20] proposed a basic algorithm for analysis and synthesis of gear drives based on replace-
ment of the instantaneous line of contact of tooth surfaces by point contact. In this approach, design, generation
and simulation of the meshing and contact of gear drives with favorable bearing contact and reduced noise are
investigated. Chang and Tsay [21] also proposed a method for determining the complete mathematical model of
non-circular gear tooth profiles, which is manufactured with shaper cutters, based on the inverse mechanism
relation and the equation of motion. Tsai and Tsai [22] proposed a method of designing high-contact-ratio spur
gears using quadratic parametric tooth profiles for the shorter addendum without undercut. Lee et al. [23] stud-
ied the effects of linear profile modification on the dynamic tooth load and stress for high-contact-ratio gearing.
Freudenstein and Chen [24] developed variable-ratio chain drives, and applied them to bicycles and variable
motion transmission involving band drives, tape drives and time belts with a minimum slack. Yildirim and Mun-
ro [25] introduced a systematic approach to the design of tooth profile relief of both low and high-contact-ratio
spur gears and its effects on transmission error and tooth loads. Chen and Tsai [26,27] described rack cutters with
circular-arc profile teeth to generate elliptical gears which rotate about one of their foci. A mathematical model
for the elliptical gears with circular-arc teeth was developed according to gear theory. Additionally, they
presented a complete mathematical model of a helical gear set with small number of teeth. Tsai and Jehng
[28] presented a generalized mathematical model of skew gears, which can be used to investigate the inherent
characteristics of skew gears and design special gears. Danieli and Mundo [29] presented a new methodology
which greatly increases the contact ratio between the teeth of non-circular gears, using a constant pressure angle
for any given tooth. Mundo [30] presented a new concept of epicyclical gear train which is able to generate a var-
iable gear ratio law. The basic mechanical configuration of the epicyclical gear train consists of three non-circu-
lar gears in a typical planetary arrangement, in which all pitch lines are variable-radius curves.
Based on the aforementioned researches, a novel gear drive with a cosine tooth profile is proposed in this
work. Particularly, the pitch circle of the pinion lies on the zero line of cosine curve; the tooth space takes a
period of the curve; and the tooth addendum is decided by the amplitude of the curve. As shown in Fig. 1, the
cosine tooth profile appears very close to the involute tooth profile in the area near or above the pitch circle,
i.e. the part of addendum. However, in area of dedendum, the tooth thickness of cosine gear is greater than
that of involute gear.
 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1545

Fig. 1. Cosine tooth profile and involute tooth profile.

The remainder of this paper is organized into five sections. In Section 2, the generation principle of the
cosine gear is studied. The mathematical models: the equation of the conjugate tooth profile and the equation
of the line of action are deduced in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. Section 5 presents an example of the cosine
gear drive in solid model for computerized simulation of its meshing process. A few characteristics of the new
drive are analyzed and are compared with involute gears in this section. Finally, a conclusive summary of this
study is given in Section 6.

2. Generation of the cosine tooth profile

A tooth profile is the geometry of a tooth, which determines kinemical and dynamical properties of a gear
drive. One of the reasons for widespread application of the involute gears in industry is due to their simple
geometry. An involute is a curve traced by the end of a string as it unwinds from a base circle [31]. Unlike
the involute tooth profile, the cosine tooth profile proposed in this work is generated by using the following
methods: (i) the zero line of cosine curve is taken as the pitch circle; (ii) a period of the curve as a tooth space;
and (iii) the amplitude of the curve as the tooth addendum. That is, the tooth profile of the cosine gear is a
cosine curve taking the pitch curve as the baseline, as shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2a, two coordinate systems are

Fig. 2. Generation principle of the cosine tooth profile.

1546 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

used: a Cartesian coordinate system R1(X1, O1, Y1) and a natural coordinate system R(X, O, Y). In the natural
coordinate system, the pitch circle is taken as the X axis which can be expanded to a line as shown in Fig. 2b.
Here, r1 denotes the radius of the pitch curve of the cosine gear, and h represents the angle between the posi-
tion vector of point M and Y axis.
In Fig. 2b, it is assumed that h is the amplitude of the cosine curve, and 2p/b is the period of the curve. Then
equation of the cosine curve can be expressed in the natural coordinate system as
y ¼ h cosðbxÞ ð1Þ
From Fig. 2a, the polar equation of a point M on the cosine tooth profile can be expressed as
q ¼ r1 þ h cosðbxÞ ð2Þ
According to Fig. 2a, the following equation can be obtained.
x ¼ r1 h
Substituting it into Eq. (2) gives
q ¼ r1 þ h cosðbr1 hÞ ð3Þ
The period of the cosine profile, denoted as T, with respect to the angle h can be expressed as
T ¼ 2p=br1 ð4Þ
Supposing that Z1 is the tooth number of the gear, then the tooth space, i.e. the period of the cosine tooth
profile, can also be represented by
T ¼ 2p=Z 1 ð5Þ
Eqs. (4) and (5) give
Z 1 ¼ br1 ð6Þ
Substituting Eq. (6) into Eq. (3), the following equation can be obtained:
q ¼ r1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ ð7Þ
Assuming that m is the modulus of the cosine gear, the radius of pitch circle can be then expressed as
r1 = mZ1/2. Substituting it into Eq. (7), the cosine tooth profile can be represented in the Cartesian coordinate
system by the following equations:
(
x1 ¼ mZ2 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ sinðhÞ
 
ð8Þ
y 1 ¼ mZ2 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ cosðhÞ
 

3. Equation of the conjugate tooth profile

The generation of the conjugate tooth surfaces in line contact is based on the concept of the envelope to a
family of surfaces. This topic is related to differential geometry and to the theory of gearing. Zalgaller’s book
[32] significantly contributes to the theory of envelopes and covers the necessary and sufficient conditions for
the envelope’s existence. Simplified approaches to the solution of these problems have also been developed by
Litvin [2] in the theory of gearing.
As shown in Fig. 3, the notations C1 and C2 are respectively used for the generating and generated surfaces.
P is the pitch point; and P1 is the intersection point of the normal line of point M1 on tooth profile C1 with the
pitch circle. If the normal line of point M on tooth profile C1 gets across the pitch point P, then point M is a
contact point between the two mating tooth profiles. In order to make M1 become a contact point, the tooth
profile C1 must move to the dashed position after rotating an angle u1, whilst point P1 arrives at point P. Sup-
posing that b is the angle between the tangent at point M1(x1, y1) on tooth profile C1 and axis X1, the following
equation can be obtained.
 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1547

Fig. 3. Conjugate tooth profile.

dy 1
b ¼ arctan ð9Þ
dx1
Substituting Eq. (8) into Eq. (9) gives
½mZ 1 =2 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ tan h  hZ 1 sinðZ 1 hÞ
b ¼ arctan ð10Þ
½mZ 1 =2 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ  hZ 1 tan h sinðZ 1 hÞ
In addition, making a perpendicular from point O1 to line M1P1 and supposing w is the angle between the
perpendicular and line O1P1, the following equations can be obtained according to Fig. 3.
(
cos w ¼ x1 cos bþy
r1
1 sin b

ð11Þ
u1 ¼ p2  b  w
Substituting Eq. (8) into Eq. (11) gives
1
 
u1 ¼ arcsin ½mZ 1 þ 2h cosðZ 1 hÞ sinðh þ bÞ  b ð12Þ
mZ 1
In the following discussion, coordinate systems R1(X1, O1, Y1), R2(X2, O2, Y2) and R(X, O, Y) are designated as
shown in Fig. 4. Coordinate system R is a fixed coordinate system whose origin O coincides with the pitch
point P, while coordinate systems R1 and R2 are moving coordinate systems rigidly connected with gear 1
and gear 2, respectively.
The position vector rM1 of contact point M on the tooth profile C1 can be expressed in coordinate system R1
as follows:
rM1 ¼ x1 i1 þ y 1 j1 ð13Þ
According to the concept of relative motion, if a point moves along a given path of contact, its trace, as
described by two gears rotating about each axis, will become the tooth profile of each gear. In addition, there
should be a special relationship between the position of the contact point and the rotation displacement of the
driving gear to obtain the conjugate tooth profiles [22].
From kinematics, the conjugate tooth profile C2 can be deemed as the envelope of the tooth profile C1 in
coordinate system R2 [2–4]. Using the coordinate transformation from R1 to R2 [16,19], the position vector of
contact point M on tooth profile C2 can be expressed as
1548 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

Fig. 4. Coordinate systems used for meshing analysis.

rM2 ¼ M12 rM1 þ r12 ð14Þ

where r10 and r12 denote the position vectors of origin O1 with respect to coordinate system R and R2 respec-
tively; r02 represents the position vector of origin O with respect to coordinate system R2; M02 and M12 denote
the coordinate transformation matrices from coordinate system R to R1 and R2 respectively. Moreover, the
following relationships exist:
r12 ¼ M02 r10 þ r02
0
 
r10 ¼
r1
r2 sin u2
 
r02 ¼
r2 cos u2
cos u2  sin u2
 
M02 ¼
sin u2 cos u2
cosðu1 þ u2 Þ  sinðu1 þ u2 Þ
 
M12 ¼
sinðu1 þ u2 Þ cosðu1 þ u2 Þ

Substituting above equations into Eq. (14) gives

cosðu1 þ u2 Þ  sinðu1 þ u2 Þ x1 a sin u2
    
rM2 ¼ þ
sinðu1 þ u2 Þ cosðu1 þ u2 Þ y1 a cos u2

or
x2 ¼ x1 cosðu1 þ u2 Þ  y 1 sinðu1 þ u2 Þ þ a sin u2

ð15Þ
y 2 ¼ x1 sinðu1 þ u2 Þ þ y 1 cosðu1 þ u2 Þ  a cos u2

where a denotes the central distance between the centres of gears 1 and gear 2, a = r1 + r2.
Substituting Eq. (8) into Eq. (15), equations of conjugate tooth profile C2 in the Cartesian coordinate
system can be expressed as
 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1549
(
x2 ¼ 12 mZ 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ sin h  1 þ 1i u1 þ a sin ui1
    
ð16Þ
y 2 ¼ 12 mZ 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ cos h  1 þ 1i u1  a cos ui1
    

where i represents the gear ratio, i = u1/u2.

4. Equation of the line of action

The line of action, which passes through the pitch point, is defined as the set of the instantaneous contact
points between two mating tooth profiles in the fixed coordinate system [16]. According to the meshing theory
[2–4], transforming the position vector rM1 of contact point M from coordinate system R1(X1, O1, Y1) to
R(X, O, Y), the equation of the line of action between the mating tooth profiles C1 and C2 can be expressed
as follows:
rM ¼ M10 rM1 þ r10 ð17Þ

where rM denotes the position vector of contact point M in coordinate system R; M10 is the coordinate trans-
formation matrix from coordinate system R1 to R, which can be expressed as
cos u1  sin u1
 
M10 ¼
sin u1 cos u1

Hence, Eq. (17) can be rewritten as

cos u1  sin u1 0




x1
rM ¼ þ ð18Þ
sin u1 cos u1 y1 r1

Substituting Eq. (8) into Eq. (18), the equation of the line of action in the Cartesian coordinate system can be
expressed as
(
x ¼ 12 mZ 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ sinðh  u1 Þ
 
ð19Þ
y ¼ 2 mZ 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ cosðh  u1 Þ  12 mZ 1
1 

5. Evaluation of the cosine drive

In this section, a study of a set of configurations, where the tooth profiles can be visualized, is presented. In
addition, a further evaluation of the newly designed gears is made. Data compiled from industrial experience
and laboratory experiments reveal two high stress areas that generally are the sources for gear failures. These
two areas are root fillet and the contact surface of the teeth [33]. Based on the above concerns, both bending
and contact stresses of the cosine gears are analyzed. Two gear characteristics, sliding coefficient and contact
ratio, are also discussed and a comparison study of all these characteristics with the involute gears are carried
out.

5.1. Solid model and computerized simulation

Before the tooth profiles can be determined, it is necessary to specify a few parameters for the cosine spur
gear drive of the case: (i) the modulus m is 3 mm; (ii) the tooth number Z1 is 13; (iii) the tooth number Z2 is 27;
and (iv) the tooth addendum h is 3 mm. The meshing surfaces can be constructed from Eqs. (8) and (16), and
the constraints of continuity Eqs. (10), (12) and (19). By using solid modelling software Pro/E and a paramet-
ric method, a three-dimensional model of the cosine gear drive was established as shown in Fig. 5.
In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the cosine gear drive and evaluate its meshing and contact
conditions, a computerized simulation of the meshing process was carried out by using the mechanism module
of Pro/E. The following behaviors were observed from the simulation:
1550 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

Fig. 5. Three-dimensional solid model of the cosine gear drive.

(i) the cosine gear drive was able to transmit rotation between the two mating gears with a constant gear
ratio and continuous transmission;
(ii) no meshing interference between the couple tooth surfaces was found in the meshing process;
(iii) the mating tooth surfaces were in mesh in line contact as shown in Fig. 6, which is similar to the involute
gear drives [4,16].

5.2. Contact and bending stresses

This section presents the analysis of contact and bending stresses of a cosine gear drive, and a comparison
with those of an involute gear drive. The stress results presented in this paper are obtained by using the FE
program ANSYS. The numerical computations have been performed for the cosine gear drive with the follow-
ing design parameters: Z1 = 25, Z2 = 40, m = 3 mm. The torque applied to the pinion was 98.8 N m. Proper-
ties of materials are: l = 0.29, E = 204 GPa. The involute gear drive uses the same set of specifications for
comparison.
Two models of contacting teeth based on the real geometry of the pinion and its conjugate profile have been
developed by Pro/E and then transferred to ANSYS for stress analysis. The finite element models that consist
of the loaded teeth and the neighboring teeth are shown in Fig. 7. Two sides of each model sufficiently far from
the fillet are chosen to justify the rigid constraints applied along the boundaries. A large enough part of the
wheel below the tooth is chosen for the fixed boundary. This model was constructed using 8-node isoparamet-
ric elements. There are 1064 elements and 3080 nodes in each transverse section. Two options related to the
contact problem, small sliding and no friction, have been selected. Fig. 8 shows the contour plot of Von-Mises
stresses. Under the same parameters, stress distribution of an involute gear drive as shown in Fig. 9 was also

Fig. 6. Contact condition of the cosine gear drive.

S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1551

Fig. 7. Models applied for finite element analysis.

Fig. 8. Stress distribution of cosine gear drive.

Fig. 9. Stress distribution of involute gear drive.

1552 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

analyzed. The bending stresses obtained in the fillet of the contacting tooth side are considered as tension
stresses, and those in the fillet of the opposite tooth side are considered as compression stresses [34]. The
numerical results are listed in Table 1.
According to the numerical results obtained, the following conclusions to the specified gears can be drawn:
(i) the maximum contact stress of the cosine gear is reduced by about 22.59% in comparison with the involute
gear; (ii) the tension bending stress of the cosine gear is 33.86% less than that of the involute gear, and the
compression bending stress is reduced by 34.33% in comparison with the involute gear. Therefore, application
of the cosine tooth profile can reduce both contact and bending stresses.

5.3. Sliding coefficient

Sliding coefficient is a measure of the sliding action during the meshing process. A lower coefficient will
have greater transmission efficiency due to the less friction. The sliding coefficient is the ratio of the relative
sliding velocity to the velocity of the contact point on each tooth profile while the gears are in mesh and
the relative sliding velocity is the difference between the velocities at the contact point [1,4,35].
As shown in Fig. 10, line n–n represents the normal of the line of contact c–c at the contact point K, and
point H is the intersection point of the normal n–n with the central line O1O2. According to Ref. [35], the slid-
ing coefficients of the cosine gear and driven gear, U1 and U2, can be expressed as

Table 1
Maximum bending and contact stresses (Unit: MPa)
Gears Contact stress Bending stress (tension) Bending stress (compression)
Cosine gear 520.10 116.16 136.87
Involute gear 671.87 175.64 208.43

Fig. 10. Relative sliding of the cosine gear drive.

 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1553
8 
< U 1 ¼ 1  rr2 b
> i21
1 þb
 ð20Þ
: U 2 ¼ 1  rr1 þb
> i12
2 b

where b ¼ PH , i12 ¼ i211 ¼ rr21 .

According to Eq. (19), the slope, k, of the normal n–n can be expressed as
mz 
dx dx=dh 2
1
þ h cosðz1 hÞ ð1  u01 Þ cosðh  u1 Þ  hz1 sinðh  u1 Þ sinðz1 hÞ
k¼ ¼ ¼ mz1  ð21Þ
dy dy=dh 2
þ h cosðz1 hÞ ð1  u01 Þ sinðh  u1 Þ þ hz1 cosðh  u1 Þ sinðz1 hÞ

where u01 is the derivative of u1 with respect to h, which can be obtained as follows from Eqs. (12) and (10):
þ h cosðz1 hÞ ð1 þ b0 Þ cosðh þ bÞ  2hz1 sinðz1 hÞ sinðh þ bÞ
mz 
du1 1
0
u1 ¼ ¼ 2
 b0 ð22Þ
dh
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
mz 2 2
2 2
m z1  2 þ h cosðz1 hÞ sin ðh þ bÞ
1

2 2
db  mz2 1 þ h cosðz1 hÞ sec2 h  2h2 z21 sin ðz1 hÞ sec2 h þ h2 z31 tan h½sin ðz1 hÞ  sinðz1 hÞ cosðz1 hÞ
 
b0 ¼ ¼ 2
dh
mz 
2
1
þ h cosðz1 hÞ  hz1 tan h sinðz1 hÞ
hz21 mz2 1 þ h cosðz1 hÞ ½sinðz1 hÞ þ tan2 h cosðz1 hÞ
 
þ mz  2 ð23Þ
2
1
þ h cosðz1 hÞ  hz1 tan h sinðz1 hÞ

As shown in Fig. 10, the vertical coordinate, b, of the point H in coordinate system R(X, P, Y) can be expressed
as
b ¼ kxk þ y k ð24Þ
where (xk, yk) denote the coordinates of the contact point K in coordinate system R(X, P, Y).
Substituting Eqs. (19) and (21) into Eq. (24) gives
2
þ h cosðz1 hÞ ð1  u01 Þ sinðh  u1 Þ cosðh  u1 Þ  hz1 mz2 1 þ h cosðz1 hÞ sin2 ðh  u1 Þ sinðz1 hÞ
mz  
1
2
b¼ mz 
2
1
þ h cosðz1 hÞ ð1  u01 Þ sinðh  u1 Þ þ hz1 cosðh  u1 Þ sinðz1 hÞ
1 1
 
þ mZ 1 þ h cosðZ 1 hÞ cosðh  u1 Þ  mZ 1
2 2
ð25Þ
The sliding coefficients, U1 and U2, of the cosine gear drive can be therefore obtained by substituting Eq. (25)
into Eq. (20).
The computational procedure has been implemented in Matlab 5.0 and has been used to carry out the slid-
ing coefficients of the two gears according to Eqs. (20) and (25). Fig. 11 shows the simulation results of the
sliding coefficients of the cosine gear drive with design parameters: Z1 = 35, Z2 = 75, m = 3 mm. The sliding
coefficients of the involute gear drive under the same parameters are also drawn in Fig. 11 according to Yan
et al. [36]. The following conclusions can be made from these numerical results: (i) the sliding coefficients of
cosine gear drive is much less than that of involute gear drive, (ii) the variation of the sliding coefficients of
cosine gear drive is much smaller than that of involute gear drive. Therefore, application of cosine tooth pro-
file helps to reduce the sliding coefficient and improves the transmission performance.

5.4. Contact ratio

The contact ratio of a gear drive is defined as the number of teeth being in mesh simultaneously, or the
rotating angle of the gear between the starting and the end points of contact divided by the angle between
every two teeth, which equals to 2p divided by the number of teeth [37]. The contact ratio should be greater
than 1 in a gear drive for smooth transmission. As shown in Fig. 12, the contact ratio of cosine gear drive can
be expressed as
1554 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556

Fig. 11. Sliding coefficients against the radius at the contact point of: (a) the cosine gear; (b) the conjugate gear.

Fig. 12. Contact ratio of the cosine gear drive.

Z 1 ðub  uc Þ
e¼ ð26Þ
2p
where ub and uc are the values of rotation angle u1 as x = xb and x = xc, respectively. These values can be
calculated by Eq. (19).
 S. Luo et al. / Mechanism and Machine Theory 43 (2008) 1543–1556 1555

Table 2
Contact ratio of the cosine and the involute gear drive
Tooth number Z1 Tooth number Z2 Modulus m Cosine gear drive Involute gear drive
15 32 3 mm 1.2642 1.5745
17 40 3 mm 1.2826 1.6142
21 60 3 mm 1.3402 1.6769

The computation of three sets of gear configurations as shown in Table 2 was carried out by using Matlab.
The contact ratios, as the computation results, of both cosine and involute gear drives are also listed in Table 2.
According to Table 2, the contact ratio of cosine gear drive ranges from 1.26 to 1.35, which is about 20% less
than that of involute gear drive. However, such cosine gear drives can be applied in field of gear pump since
less contact ratio is advantageous to ease the trapping phenomenon [38–40].

6. Conclusions

Due to various limitations on load capacity of common used gear profiles, looking for new gear profiles
that are capable of bearing high loads is still needed. The cosine gear drive proposed in this work is an attempt
on this direction. The generation principle of the cosine tooth profile and the mathematical models of the
cosine gear drive deduced from the meshing theory have been presented. The theoretical analysis and numer-
ical calculation shows that the cosine gear drive has lower sliding coefficients, and the contact and bending
stresses are reduced in comparison with the involute gear drive according to simulation results of the example
FE model. Kinematical simulation of the meshing process of a given example also demonstrates that the mat-
ing tooth surfaces of the new drive are in mesh in line contact. Although the contact ratio of the proposed
drive is less than that of the conventional involute gear drive, the preliminary results show that the cosine gear
drive is feasible and could have a promising future in application in the field of gear pumps.
The related investigations on this gear drive, which include: (i) the sensitivity to misalignments and other
assembly errors, (ii) the effect of contact ratio on strength of the gears, (iii) experiments of prototypes, and (iv)
manufacturing method for mass production, are being carried out or would be the next step of work by the
authors. Efforts putting this drive forward into practical application are also needed in the near future.

Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 50575071,
the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan under Grant No. 06JJ10008 and the Program for New
Century Excellent Talents in University. These financial supports are gratefully acknowledged. The authors
also sincerely appreciate the comments and modification suggestions made by the editors and anonymous
referees.

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