Fully ceramic versus steel gears: Potential,feasibility and challenges

The most common gear strength calculations performed in accordance with ISO/TC 60/SC 2 include surface durability and root bending strength. Typical geared power transmissions are characterized by high Hertzian contact stresses (surface durability) on the flanks – frequently in the order of 10³ MPa – versus almost half an order magnitude lower first principal stresses on the tooth root (tooth bending strength). Therefore, the use of high strength special steel alloys is almost mandatory, especially in high-end applications, mainly to withstand the high contact stress values. Ceramic materials are typically characterized by high compressive strength versus very low flexural strength that at first glance makes them inefficient for gear transmissions since they are unlikely to withstand the tensile root stresses. Nevertheless, ceramic materials possess a number of advantages that makes them potential candidates for geared transmissions, such as their exceptional thermal properties, their low density (weight), their excellent wear characteristics and limited lubrication demands. The present work investigates the main challenges of using high-end ceramic gears and attempts to provide an insight on defining the design envelope of such gears to counter the main disadvantages. The increase of the normal pressure angle beyond the 25° limit set by ISO 6336 is primarily investigated, since in minimizes the tensile tooth root stresses, while also increasing the curvature of the contact surfaces without greatly increasing Hertzian stresses. Comparative assessment of the performance of fully ceramic gear designs versus their conventional steel counterparts is performed through quasi-static FEA simulations to set the basic design requirements for such gears and to promote further investigation of the feasibility of their usage in high power density applications.