A comparative study of fatigue behavior between S-shaped and involute POM gears

Applications of polymer gears have been gradually expanding from motion transmission to power transmission fields. Design of new gear teeth profiles plays a crucial role in meeting the requirement of replacing metallic gears with polymer ones. This work develops a computational framework consisting of tooth profile generation and fatigue life prediction of S-shaped and involute POM gears. The contact and bending fatigue performances of S-shaped and involute POM gears under oil lubrication are comparatively studied. It is found that the S-shaped profile reduces the tooth root stress by 25% and significantly improves the bending fatigue life by 10 times compared with the involute profile, especially under medium or high loading levels. Furthermore, the S-shaped gear with a single circular-filleted root curve benefits a 20% reduction of tooth root stress and a 30% increase in bending fatigue life compared to a double circular-filleted root curve S-shaped gear