MAINTENANCE OF GEARS

Instructed by: Presented by:

Bijendra Shrestha • Paras Jung Karki (41111)
Assistant Professor • Bishwas Neupane (41115)
DoME, Kathmandu University
• Abhishek Subedi (41114)
 CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION TO GEARS
 TYPES OF GEAR AND ARRANGEMENTS
 TYPES OF GEAR FAILURE
 IDENTIFICATION OF GEAR FAILURE
 MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES
 PREVENTIVE ACTIVITIES
 CASE STUDY
 CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTI
ON
Rotating machine part having cut teeth

Widely used where change in transmitting of torque with varying speed, direction
of shaft alignment, or direction of rotation are required

Simple machine that create a mechanical advantage through the gear ratio
Parallel Shaft Alignments
TYPES OF GEARS
ON THE BASIS OF SHAFT ALIGNMENT
1. Spur Gears
- Noisier (Single line of contact
between teeth)
- Crushers, Aircraft Engine etc
2. Helical Gears
- Quieter (multiple lines of
contact)
- Conveyers and Elevators Intersecting shafts alignment

1. Bevel Gears
- Costlier
- Hand Drills

Non- Intersecting and non-parallel

1. Worm Gear
- High shock load -Low efficiency-
lower horse power applications
- secondary braking system
- Gates and Guitar
 TYPES OF GEAR TRAINS

Compound Gear Train

1. Preferred for larger velocities
2. Two or more gear rotates about a single
axis

Simple Gear Train

1. Common Gear Train
2. Only one gear rotates about a single
axis

Planetary gear train

1. Sun gear engages all three planet gears
2. Can produce different gear ratios
depending on which gear we use as an
input and output
Spur Gear Terminologies
Helical Gear Terminologies
Bevel Gear Terminologies
Worm Gear Terminologies
 Gear Errors
• Pitch Error
- Error in pitch distance of gear
- Deviation of gear pitch from actual measurement

• Profile Error
-Deviation of the actual tooth profile from the ideal involute profile
 Gear Errors Cont.
• Runout Error and Eccentricity

- In accuracy of rotating mechanical system when the

gear and shaft does not rotate in line with main axis

- Runout errors refers to runout of pitch circle

• Radial runout
- Measured along a perpendicular to the axis of rotation
E.g.: spur gear with an offset Centre.

• Axial Runout
- Measured parallel to the axis of rotation
E.g.: drill chuck not holding the drill exactly in line with the
axis.
 
 FAILURE IN GEARS AND GEAR DRIVES

Reasons behind the gear

failure Results in
 Improper transmission  Wear
 Scoring
ratio
Parameters to identify Gear  Surface fatigue
 Misalignment of shafts
failures  Tooth Breakage
 Improper meshing of  Visual Examination  Scuffing
gears  Vibration of components
 Poor selection of gears  Cracking
 Temperature at the gear  Pitting
 Inadequate
mesh  Spalling
Lubrication and  Noise level of different
greasing
components
 Backlash of gears  Performance efficiency
 Most common reasons for gear
unit failure
Reason for failures Percentage
Users
Service Related Causes 74.7

Heat Treatment Errors 16.2

(manufacturer)
Design Errors (Manufacturer) 6.9

Manufacturing Defects 2.5 Breakdown of the most common

Materials Defects (Manufacturer) 0.8 causes of gear unit abuse
Service related causes (Users) 74.7%
Improper Assembly/Alignment 25%
Impact Loading 21.2%
Improper Lubrication 11%
Foreign Material 1.4%
Abusive Handling 1.2%
Operation Error 0.3%
Other 0.7%
 COMMON GEARBOX PROBLEMS

MAJOR PROBLEMS:
MINOR PROBLEMS: Lack of attention to the minor problems
Oil leaks can result in the following typical major
problems :
Ingress of dirt
 Bearing failure
Water contamination
 Gear tooth damage
Oil starvation
 Rust contamination
Overheating
 Mechanical looseness
Coupling misalignment
 Bearing bore wear
 Shaft damage
COMMON GEAR FAILURE MODE

WEAR FAILURE
Loss of material from the
contacting surface of gear
teeth

Normal Wear
Slow loss of metal from the contacting Abrasive Wear
surfaces without affecting the Surface injury caused by fine particles
performance within the expected life of passing through the gear
gears
 COMMON GEAR FAILURE MODES

Generally classified into four categories:

1. SCUFFING or SCORING
2. ABRASIVE WEAR
3. SURFACE FATIGUE (PITTING)
4. BENDING FATIGUE
 1. SCUFFING (SCORING)
• It is characterized by scoring marks on the gear teeth where relative sliding motion occurs.
• Scuffing damage occurs on gear teeth if they are operated with an inadequate lubricant film between the teeth.
• High surface temperatures then arise from the frictional heating and local welding and surface dragging and scoring tend to occur.
 2. ABRASIVE WEAR
• This type of wear is caused by ingress of abrasive material into the mesh.
• Typical abrasives are dirt, grit, mill slime & metal particles.
 2. ABRASIVE WEAR
INSPECTION METHOD:
1. Visual Inspection: Check for abrasive wear marks
2. Borescope: Allows close-up view to see abrasive marks
3. Oil Debris Sensor: Provides confirmation on presence of debris

Figure Borescope

PREVENTION:
1. Identify source of abrasive wear marks
2. Regular visual inspection of gearbox
3. Change lubrication oil (if necessary) Figure Oil Debris Sensor
 3. SURFACE FATIGUE (PITTING)
• Major cause of gear failure accounting for nearly 60% of the gear failures
• Pitting is the formation of craters on the gear tooth surface
• Craters are formed due to the high amount of compressive contact stresses in the gear surface occurring during transmission of the
torque or in simple terms due to compressive fatigue on the gear tooth surface.

Sub-surface cracking propagates to the surface

until the piece falls out creating a “pit”
 3. SURFACE FATIGUE (PITTING)
CLASSIFICATION:
1. Initial Pitting:
• Pits are very small (<0.03 inch in diameter)
• If examined early at this stage, pitted areas can be polished over.

2. Destructive Pitting:
• Characterized by large pits
• Stress concentration is formed on the surface adjacent to the pits, and further destruction occurs
• No maintenance possible
 4. BENDING FATIGUE
• The most common form of tooth breakage is by bending fatigue.
• If a particular tooth is subjected to a higher load than it is designed to transmit, either by shock loading, misalignment or
bad manufacture, the tooth is subjected to a higher bending moment as it passes through mesh.
 4. BENDING FATIGUE

CAUSES: Methods to Improve Fatigue Life:

• Poor design of gear sets
• Incorrect assembly
• Use of incorrect material
• Poor heat treatment
• Subsurface defect in critical areas
• Appropriate choice of metals and alloys
• Proper heat treatment
• Surface treatment
• Specify the operating speed
• Rest period
GEAR MAINTENANCE

Maintenance of gear and gearboxes includes:

• Condition Based Monitoring
• Breakdown Maintenance
• Preventive Maintenance
• Predictive Maintenance
• Proactive Maintenance Strategies
 Failure
Identification Preventive
actions

Corrective Maintenance
actions log
 IDENTIFICATION OF FAILURE

Lubrication Vibration
Thermography
analysis analysis
• Check lubricant from the • Measuring vibration • Measuring of the
gear assembly regularly signature
• Amount of impurities in
temperature
• Helps to localize the • Suitable test for running
lubricants
• Quality of lubricant point of failure systems
 IDENTIFICATION OF FAILURE

Visual Electrical Fluorescent Wet

inspection monitoring Particle Method
• Maintenance • Use of sensors and
personnel checks computers to
individual parts monitor status of
drive (CMMS)
Profile Projector in Gear Profile measurement
 PREVENTIVE ACTIONS
Proper Lubrication
Routine
Inspection
Routine change of
Lubricants

Greasing
 Methods of Lubrication
1. Grease Lubrication

2. Splash Lubrication (Oil bath method)

3. Forced Oil Circulation Lubrication

- Drop Method
-Spray Method
-Oil Mist Method
Adequate Oil Level in Gears
Selection of lubricants
 PREVENTIVE
ACTIONS
Cleaning
• Cleaning of oil filter on regular basis
• Removing of foreign particles

Replacement and
Proper Installation Repairs
• Highly worn out gears are replaced
• Use of appropriate gears with standard spare parts
• Proper meshing of gears • In case of minor surface defects, gears
• are grinded
Proper Alignments of shafts
• Must be carried out by professional
• No loose parts and components under clean and controlled
environment
Mounting and Dismounting of Gear
CASE STUDY: Diagnosing a Low-speed Gearbox Problem

Corrective maintenance

Diagnosis of a suspected gearbox problem in a large plant connected

with the paper industry
Gearbox Description
• Gearbox had an input shaft of 23- tooth pinion driving a large bull gear with 132 teeth
in turn drives another bull gear of the same size
• Two gears are connected to large steel rollers about 24 inches in diameter.
• Two output gears turn at 52 rpm and the pinion turns at 302 rpm

https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/27271/Low-speed-gearbox-problem
Problem Identification
• Lubricating oil in the gearbox was regularly subjected to analysis and the last report
stated that there were iron particles in the oil
• The maintenance supervisor asked if maintenance engineer could determine the source
of oil contamination

Fault Detection
• The first thing the maintenance team did is fault detection by examining the vibration
spectra measured near the bearings.
• The spectra looked normal, without the evidence of bearing tones, so team suspected
the noise was coming more of the gears
• Problem shifted to identify the faulty gear, so as to allow the maintenance effort to
proceed without delay.
Fault Detection Cont’d…
• In order to detect fault in the gears, the team decided to perform synchronous averaging of gearbox
vibration signature
• This involves the use of a tachometer-derived synchronizing trigger in the vibration analyzer to
collect of series of waveform samples that are averaged together. The important part of this is that
the beginning of each time record must occur at exactly the same time in the rotation of the gear.
• When the team did synchronous averaging of each two bull gears, there was no indication of any
defect in the waveform, but when same test is performed in the pinion, waveform was different
saying there was obvious area on the gear where the meshing with bull gears was very noisy and
non-uniform

Fault Isolation
• On looking the data, team called for an inspection of the gear; removed the access plate and looked
at the gears
• Found that the keyway in the pinion shaft wad badly worn such that the gear could be rotated back
and forth on the shaft by about one-half of a tooth at the edge of the gear
• There was no visible clearance between shaft and the bore of pinion.
Fault Elimination
• The team called one of the engineers at the gearbox factory and described the situation.
• The engineer explained problem occurred during the installation when the interference fit
between pinion and the shaft was too loose.
• The shaft and pinion was replaced quickly after looking for the standard preventing
catastrophic failure along with proper installation method unlike previous installation

Verification of fault Elimination

• After the installation of new pinon and shaft, the team waited for the gearbox to run,
however this time there was no any noise and no contamination in oil
• The maintenance engineer carefully updated the problem, reason behind the problem
and possible solution in the maintenance system of the company.
 Conclusion
• The paper plant have proper maintenance scheduling and maintenance strategy
• The company uses several techniques like vibration analysis methods to detect the
problem
• The major cause of the problem was the improper installation of pinion and shaft
during interference fit.
• However, the plant performed corrective maintenance to eliminate the problem
before any catastrophic failure occurred saving money, energy and resources of the
company
 Summed Up

Introduction, Types and Nomenclature of gears

Causes of gear failures

Different gear failure modes

Failure Identification & Gear Maintenance

Lubrication methods

Case study
 References

 https://khkgears.net/new/gear_knowledge/gear_technical_reference/lubrication-of-gears.html
 https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Gear-measuring+Instruments
 https://www.accelix.com/community/proactive-maintenance/what-is-proactive-maintenance/
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/gear-accuracy
 https://www.geartechnology.com/subjects/runout/
 https://www.mobiusinstitute.com/site2/item.asp?LinkID=8030&iVibe=1&sTitle=Eccentricity
Any Queries…………