Involute splines are commonly used in gearboxes to connect gearsand shafts, especially when high torque is transmitted through thecoupling. The load is shared among multiple teeth around thecoupling circumference resulting in higher load capacity than aconventional single key. However, the total load is not equallyshared among all spline teeth, mainly because of pitch deviationsresulting from the manufacturing process. The load distributionalong the spline engagement length is also non-uniform because oftooth misalignments and shaft torsional effects. A typical modelingassumption is that pure torsion load is applied to the splinecoupling. In gearbox applications, when splines are used to connecta gear to a shaft, the torque is transmitted from the gear teeth inmesh to the shaft, or vice-versa, through the coupling. The gearloads, such as tangential and radial loads, can affect the loaddistribution of spline teeth. This paper presents an investigationon the influence of spur gear loads on load distribution of splineteeth. A generalized analytical model was developed to includeexternal gear loads on spline couplings. The method divides thespline teeth into stations in the tooth axial direction, andcalculates the load applied to each station based on separationbetween the mating points. A constant for tooth stiffness was usedto calculate tooth deflections. The load distribution problem wassolved using a simple approach from industry gear standards. Themethod was implemented into a spreadsheet for numerical exampleanalyses. The results showed significant effect of side clearance,which is the difference between the space width of internal splinegrooves and external spline tooth thickness, on the maximum loadapplied to the spline teeth. The greater the side clearance, thegreater is the maximum load applied to the spline teeth. Theproposed method may be helpful to quickly assess load distributionof spline teeth in gear applications, to determine tooth stresses,and to define lead modifications as needed.
- Edition:
- 13
- Published:
- 09/01/2013
- Number of Pages:
- 14
- File Size:
- 1 file , 300 KB
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