Differential helical planetary gear transmission simulation and fatigue life analysis

In drivetrains widely used in large automobiles, agricultural machinery, and tanks, the differential system is a key part of the system that allows the left and right drive wheels to rotate at different speeds, thereby enabling the vehicle to perform operations such as steering in place. Among them, the bevel gear is one of the important components of the differential system. During the bevel gear transmission process, the stresses on the gear are mainly bending and contact stresses. The bend should be applied with force in the direction of the width of the tooth. Contact stress is the stress generated by friction between two teeth when the gear is operating. Uneven load distribution on the gear flanks, stresses on the bent gear teeth and contact stresses during meshing are caused by deformation and friction of the gear flanks during meshing, and thermal effects and other factors are generated when the gears are meshed. The design process requires us to consider the effects of these loads and calibrate the strength of the gears through finite element analysis. At the same time, in order to ensure foolproof operation in the event of dry friction of the helical bevel gear sub due to oil loss in the differential system, wear analysis of the helical bevel gears is required to ensure that the helical bevel gear sub can work normally for a certain period of time even under complicated working conditions. This paper takes a kind of helical bevel gear as an example and elaborates in detail the process of simulation analysis, strength check, and wear life analysis of a helical bevel gear pair using finite element software.