A Novel Method for Determining the Contact Pattern Area in Gear Meshing Based on Computer Processing of Pressure Measurement Film Images.

The contact pattern between gear teeth is one of the most significant indicators of proper gear operation. This paper presents an analysis of the contact pattern of gears with a sinusoidal profile. The gear geometry was obtained through direct solid simulation of the machining process. Generally, analytical, numerical, and experimental methods are used for contact pattern analysis in gearboxes. This article presents contact pattern investigations using numerical methods and a novel experimental method that utilizes pressure measurement films. A proprietary program using image analysis was used for the contact pattern analysis. The numerical studies utilized the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the CAD method. The results obtained from the presented methods show good convergence.