Abstract
Three-dimensional, finite element method and a face-contact model of the gear teeth are combined with a mathematical programming method to do loaded tooth contact analysis and mesh stiffness calculations of a pair of spur gears with machining errors and tooth modifications. Effects of the tooth profile deviations, tooth pitch errors, tooth profile modification, tooth lead crowning and relieving on the mesh stiffness are investigated. It is found that the tooth profile deviations, tooth pitch errors and tooth profile modifications have significant effects on the mesh stiffness. It is also found that the lead crowning and relieving make the mesh stiffness smaller, but have no effects on load sharing ratios of the gears. Since the lead crowning makes the maximum contact stress of the teeth much greater and the lead relieving make the teeth have edge loads, it is necessary to pay a special attention to the quantity of the lead crowning and the length of the lead relieving, not to make the quantity of the crowning and the length of the relieving too larger.
