The 14th Conferenc²e on Mechanical Engineering CME2024

May 07-08, 2024, Bordj El-Bahri, Algiers, Algeria

A Comparison based on structural analysis of stress distribution, strain , and total

displacement in contact surface for a four types of rack and pinion with different materials

Y.Benabida*, A.Rachedia, D.Amranea

a
Laboratoire , Ecole militaire polytechnique, Borj El-Bahri, Algiers 16111, Algeria

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+213 6 55 26 25 56 ; E-mail address: ybenabiddz@yahoo.fr

ABSTRACT

There are many engineering applications of rack and pinion but it’s need selection of the best choice. This paper shows
a study of four types of rack and pinions with different materials these types are spur gear, helical gear, herringbone
gear and double helical gear. It’s defined that the material used is standard Steel S355, 7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075)
copper alloy aluminium bronze (CuAl10Ni5Fe5), ABS.This study explained the distribution of stresses, strains, and
elastic deformation in the contact area between all types of the rack and pinion which can be used in design such as
choose a high-strength material for specific gear, or selected the best type based on the material.
The results show stress and total deformation varies from types of rack and pinion to another and from material to
another, but The optimal selection among the three types investigated in this research is determined by assessing the
distribution values of stresses, strains, and elastic deformations.

Keywords: Rack and pinion, Spur gear, Helical gear, Double helical gear, Herringbone gear, Stress distribution, Total deformation, Strain ;

1. INTRODUCTION

A rack and pinion is a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion, The circular pinion interacts
with teeth on a flat bar known as the rack. When rotational force is applied to the pinion, it results in the lateral
displacement of the rack, progressing until it reaches its maximum travel limit.
There are four sets such as spur gears which is a cylindrical gear with straight teeth that are parallel to the gear axis.
These gears are simple in design and widely used for transmitting motion and power between parallel shafts. In other
hand there is the helical gear which is a cylindrical gear with teeth that are set at an angle (helix angle) to the gear axis ,
the teeth form a helix pattern around the gear, providing smoother and quieter operation compared to spur gears. In the
double helical gear two sets of teeth, each helical arranged but facing in opposite directions between the two parts of a
double helical gear is a tiny relief gap ,This design helps counteract axial thrust forces, providing enhanced stability and
load-bearing capacity. A herringbone gear doesn’t have this gap ,where the teeth are arranged in a V-shape, resembling
the backbone of a fish. This design eliminates axial thrust forces, making it suitable for applications with bidirectional
rotation.The double helical gear is generally more compact than its equivalent herringbone gear and is well-suited for
applications with high levels of shock and vibration [1].In this study, the investigation focused on the contact stresses
between helical gear pairs under static conditions.
The application of the Lagrange multiplier technique facilitated the calculation of stresses between the interacting
pairs.[2] as well as the gear stress distribution and contact deformation, were examined .In 2009, [3] analyzed the stress
and deformation of crown gear subjected to the heavy load in transmission condition between teeth. The investigation
results outlined that the geometry of the tooth profile affected the contact conditions during gear transmission. the
research consists of many steps from designing of the rack and pinion assembly by SOLID-WORKS based on there
geometries the module of those racks and pinions is m4 to simulation by ANSYS while keeping the environmental
temperature at 22°C, A force of 100 N is applied on the rack In the strain test, the maximum value found is 0.0061884
mm mm which made with ABS in helical gears and in Equivalent Von-Mises Stress the maximum value found is
36.469 Mpa in Helical gears which made with S355 and in the total displacement the maximum value found is 0.34988
mm in Helical gears which made with ABS deformation using ANSYS for the structural analysis .
The objective of this study is to theoretically analyze the distribution of stress, contact stress, and total deformation
across three contact surfaces for various gear types, including spur rack and pinion (figure1), helical rack (figure2) and
pinion, double helical rack and pinion(figure3), herringbone rack and pinion(figure4). Here put a nomenclature if
necessary, in a box with the same font size as the rest of the paper.

1
 Figure 1. Assembly of spur rack and pinion. Figure 2. Assembly of helical rack and pinion.

Figure 3. Assembly of double helical rack and pinion. Figure 4. Assembly of herringbone rack and pinion.
 Table 1. Parameters are taken into account when designing those assembly.
Property Values
Values The number of pinion teeth 25
The number of rack teeth 16
Modulus 4
Helix angle 20 degree
Pressure angle 20 degree
External diameter 108 mm
Internal diameter 40 mm
Rack dimension 200 * 20 * 40 mm

2. METHODOLOGY

2.1 Specification of equipment and materials

In this manuscript, SOLID-Works serves as the chosen modeling software. SOLID-Works offers variable drive
and parameterization capabilities, enabling modifications throughout the entire product cycle, with a notable
emphasis on adaptability.
We designed the rack and pinion using parametric modeling with the equations option in Solid-Works, this
feature en ables us to easily modify the module, the number of teeth, and the overall size as the previous
figures shows . For structural analysis we used ANSYS to determined stress distribution , total deformation
and strain. The pinion and the rack tooth surfaces are designated as the contact surfaces , and the mesh surface
is em ployed for soft body contact analysis, with both con tact bodies exhibiting similar stiffness. During the
creation of contact pairs, ANSYS automatically en sures that the external normal direction of the contact
element is aligned face-to-face.We check how the two contacting partscan move and set rules for their inter
action. For the gear,we make sure it can only rotate around its center On the other hand, the rack is allowed to
move only back and forth along its length.The way we set up the rack and pinion is crucial for them to work
well and be safe[5]. It’s a good idea to use the same strong metal for both the rack and pinion. So,we should
pick a metal with high mechanical proprieties.
This tables (2, 3, 4, 5)demonstrates the properties of materials chosen in this study[7] ( 7075 Aluminium
Alloy), (Standard Steel S355), (Copper Alloy), (ABS-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) .

Table 2. Properties of 7075 Aluminium Alloy.

Property Value
Density 2.78 g/cm2
ThermalExpansionCoefficient 23.2×10−6 K−1
Young’s Modulus 71 GPa
Poisson’s Ratio 0.33
Bulk Modulus 72 GPa
Shear Modulus 26 GPa
Tensile Yield Strength 503 MPa
Tensile Ultimate Strength 572 Mpa
Table 3. Properties of Standard Steel S355.
Property Value
Density 7.85 g/cm2
ThermalExpansionCoefficient 12×10−6 K−1
Young’s Modulus 210 GPa
Poisson’s Ratio 0.3
Bulk Modulus 160 GPa
Shear Modulus 355 GPa
Tensile Yield Strength 355 MPa
Tensile Ultimate Strength 470-630 Mpa

Table 4. Properties of CuAl10Ni5Fe5 (Copper Alloy).

 Property Value
Density 7.76 g/cm2
ThermalExpansionCoefficient 16.5×10−6 K−1
Young’s Modulus 130 GPa
Poisson’s Ratio 0.32
Bulk Modulus -
Shear Modulus 49 GPa
Tensile Yield Strength 260 MPa
Tensile Ultimate Strength 420 Mpa

Table 5. Properties of ABS.

Property Value
Density 1.04 g/cm2
ThermalExpansionCoefficient 80×10−6 K−1
Young’s Modulus 2.1-2.3 GPa
Poisson’s Ratio 0.35
Bulk Modulus -
Shear Modulus -
Tensile Yield Strength 40-60 MPa
Tensile Ultimate Strength 40-60 Mpa

2.2 Theoretical design equations

The following (figure5) explain the parameters of the rack and pinion, and the contact between the tooth of the
rack and the pinion.

Figure 5. The tooth profile of rack and pinion.

First, [6]we had opened Ansys software. IN Ansys software we had opened workbench.We had selected the static
structural and then dragged into solution of the static structural window. Then we had opened the engineering data and
added the maetrial properties. Next, we selected the geometry and imported the geometry (STEP) . Then we selected the
lives file and pressed ok. Double click on geometry and selected the design module and then edited the material.We
selected the mesh (2mm) on workbench and by giving right click we edited it. And we selected the mesh on left side
part tree and by giving right click we generated the mesh (figure7).
We selected the status structural by giving right click we inserted and selected the frictionless support and then we
applied it to the bottom and the sides of the rack. Then, selected the static structural by giving right click we inserted
and selected the force 100 N and the entered pressure applied. Pressure is applied on frictionless rack . Then selected
again the static structural by giving right click we inserted and selected displacement distance and selected the
following parameters (Table 6) on the pinion shaft. (figure6) Shows all the used configuration .
We selected the solution and gave right click and selected solve. Then in solution we gave right click and inserted the
deformation and then gave total and in solution gave right click and inserted the strain. In the known solution gave right
click and inserted the stress. In the occurred solution by giving right click selected solve.

Figure 6. Configuration loaded and boundary condition. Figure 7. Meshing the geometric.

Type Déplacement distant

Composant X 0
Composant Y 0
Composant Z 0
Rotation X Libre
Rotation Y Libre
Rotation Z Libre
Désactive Non
Comportement Déformable

Table 6. Displacement distance configuration.

3. RESULT

As per the design considerations and the material selection, rack and pinion is designed and performed static structural
test in the ANSYS Software and we used the standard steel S355 as an example for all types of rack and pinion (spur,
helical, double helical, herringbone ) shown below in figures (9, 10, 11).
 Figure 9. Stress distributions in spur rack and pinion. Figure 10. The strain in spur rack and pinion - S355.

Figure 11. The total displacement in spur rack and pinion - S355.

We represented in figures (12, 13, 14) the rest of the simulations and studies (S355, 7075Al, Copper Alloy, ABS ) in the
following bar charts and the total results in (table 7):

Figure 12. A bar chart representing the stress distributions across various materials and types.
 Figure 13. A bar chart representing the strain across various materials and types.

Figure 14 . A bar chart representing the total displacement across various materials and types.

Table 7. The results.

4. CONCLUSIONS

To analyze and conclude the provided table, we’ll focus on the stress distributions, strain values, and total
displacements for different materials (Standard steel S355, 7075 Aluminum Alloy, Copper Alloy, and ABS) and
different gear types (Spur, Helical, Double helical, Herringbone).

4.1 Stress Distributions (MPa)

- For each material, the stress distribution varies depending on the gear type.
- Among the materials, the highest stress is observed in the Helical gear type for all materials, with 36.469
MPa for Standard steel S355, 15.259 MPa for 7075 Aluminum Alloy, 12.008 MPa for Copper Alloy, and
14.366 MPa for ABS.
-The stress values differ significantly between materi als and gear types.
4.2 The strain (mm/mm)
- Strain values also vary across materials and gear types.
- The Helical gear type generally exhibits higher strain compared to other types for all materials.
- 7075 Aluminum Alloy shows the highest strain values among the materials, especially in the Helical and
Double helical gear types.
4.3 Total Displacement (mm)
- Total displacement values show the overall move ment of the gears.
- The Helical gear type generally results in higher to tal displacements for all materials.
- Among the materials, 7075 Aluminum Alloy shows the highest total displacements in all gear types.
let’s delve deeper into the numbers:
A. Standard Steel S355
The helical gear has the highest stress distribution (36.469 MPa), strain (0.00020015 mm/mm), and total
displacement (0.027326 mm). The herringbone gear has the lowest stress distribution (6.1354 MPa), strain
(3.0677e-5 mm/mm), and total displacement (0.0010826 mm).
B. 7075 Aluminum Alloy
The helical gear has the highest stress distribution (15.259 MPa) and strain (0.00022409 mm/mm), but the
spur gear has the highest total displacement (0.005979 mm). The double helical gear has the lowest stress
distribution (7.6689 MPa) and total displacement (0.0063172 mm), while the herringbone gear has the
lowest strain (0.00013197 mm/mm).
C. Copper Alloy
The helical gear has the highest stress distribution (12.008 MPa), strain (0.00010573 mm/mm), and total
displacement (0.007833 mm). The spur gear has the lowest stress distribution (3.6923 MPa), strain
(3.1612e-5 mm/mm), and total displacement (0.0039786 mm).

D. ABS
The helical gear has the highest stress distribution (14.366 MPa), strain (0.0061884 mm/mm), and total
displacement (0.34988 mm). The herringbone gear has the lowest stress distribution (5.6864 MPa) and
total displacement (0.091454 mm), while the double helical gear has the lowest strain (0.0031858
mm/mm).

In terms of the optimal gear for each material, it depends on what you’re optimizing for. If you want to minimize stress
distribution, strain, and total dis placement, the herringbone gear would be the best choice for Standard Steel S355 [8]
and ABS, while the spur gear would be the best choice for Copper Al loy. For 7075 Aluminum Alloy the double helical
gear would be the best choice for minimizing stress distri bution and total displacement, and the herringbone gear for
minimizing strain. However,[9] these are just observations from the given data. The “optimal” gear can vary depending
on the specific application and operating conditions. It’s al ways recommended to conduct a thorough analysis
considering all relevant factors before making a decision.
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