5/8/2017 How to Analyze Gear Failures

HowtoAnalyzeGearFailures
BobErrichello,GeartechJaneMuller,Geartech
Tags:gearlubrication
PracticingOilAnalysis(1/2001)

Whenanimportantgearfailureoccurs,someonebecomesresponsibleforanalyzingthefailure,determiningitscauseand
recommendingasolution.Acompanycanselectitsownengineer,anoutsideconsultantorboth.Ifaconsultantiscalled
in,thisshouldbedoneasearlyintheprocessaspossible.

Thoughsimilarproceduresapplytoanyfailureanalysis,thespecificapproachcanvarydependingonwhenandwherethe
inspectionismade,thenatureofthefailureandtimeconstraints.

Whenandwhere.Ideally,theengineerconductingtheanalysisshouldinspectthefailedcomponentsassoonafterfailure
aspossible.Ifanearlyinspectionisnotpossible,someoneatthesitemustpreservetheevidencebasedoninstructions
fromtheanalyst.

Ifasuitablefacilityfordisassemblingandinspectingthegearboxisnotavailableonsite,itmaybenecessarytofindan
alternatelocationorbringthenecessaryequipmenttothesite.

Natureoffailure.Thefailureconditionscandeterminewhenandhowtoconductananalysis.Forexample,ifthegears
aredamagedbutstillabletofunction,thecompanymaydecidetocontinuetheiroperationandmonitortherateatwhich
damageprogresses.Inthiscase,samplesofthelubricantshouldbecollectedforanalysis,thereservoirdrainedand
flushedandthelubricantreplaced.

Ifgearboxreliabilityiscrucialtotheapplication,thegearsshouldbeexaminedbymagneticparticleinspectiontoensure
thattheyhavenocracks.Themonitoringphasewillconsistofperiodicallycheckingthegearsfordamagebyvisual
inspectionandbymeasuringsoundandvibration.

Timeconstraints.Insomesituations,thehighcostofshuttingdownequipmentlimitsthetimeavailableforinspection.
Suchcasescallforcarefulplanning.Forexample,dividingtasksbetweentwoormoreanalystsreducesthetimerequired.

PreparingforInspection
Beforevisitingthefailuresite,interviewacontactpersonlocatedatthesiteandexplainwhatyouneedtoinspectthe
gearboxincludingpersonnel,equipmentandworkingconditions.

Requestaskilledtechniciantodisassembletheequipmentunderyourdirection.But,makesurethatnoworkisdoneon
thegearboxuntilyouarrive.Thismeansnodisassemblyorcleaning.Otherwise,awellmeaningtechniciancould
inadvertentlydestroyevidence.

Verifythatthegearboxdrawings,disassemblytoolsandadequateinspectionfacilitiesareavailable.

Askforasmuchbackgroundinformationaspossible,includingmanufacturerspartnumbers,gearandbearingruntime
(hr),servicehistoryandlubricanttype.

Now,itstimetoassembleyourinspectionequipment,includingitemssuchasamagnifyingglass,measuringtools,felttip
markers,lubricantsamplingequipmentandphotographicequipment.Awelldesignedsetofinspectionformsforthe
gearbox,gearsandbearingsshouldbeatthetopofyourprioritylist.

FailureInspection
Beforestartingtheinspection,reviewthebackgroundinformationandservicehistorywiththecontactperson.Then
interviewthoseinvolvedinthedesign,installation,operation,maintenanceandfailureofthegearbox.Encouragethemto
telleverythingtheyknowaboutthegearboxeveniftheyfeelitisnotimportant.
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Aftercompletingtheinterviews,explainyourobjectivestothetechnicianwhowillbeworkingwithyou.Reviewthegearbox
assemblydrawingswiththetechnician,checkingforpotentialdisassemblyproblems.

Visualexamination.Beforedisassemblingthegearbox,thoroughlyinspectitsexterior.Useaninspectionformasaguide
toensurethatyourecordimportantdatathatwouldotherwisebelostoncedisassemblybegins.Forexample,thecondition
ofsealsandkeywaysmustberecordedbeforedisassembly.Otherwise,itwillbeimpossibletodeterminewhenany
damagemayhaveoccurredtotheseparts.Geartoothcontactpatternsshouldbetakenbeforecompletelydisassembling
thegearbox.

Aftertheexternalexamination,disassemblethegearboxandinspectallinternalcomponents,bothfailedandundamaged.
Examinecloselythefunctionalsurfacesofgearteethandbearingsandrecordtheircondition.Beforecleaningtheparts,
lookforsignsofcorrosion,contaminationandoverheating.

Aftertheinitialinspection,washthecomponentswithsolventsandreexaminethem.Thisexaminationshouldbeas
thoroughaspossiblebecauseitisoftenthemostimportantphaseoftheinvestigationandmayyieldvaluableclues.Alow
powermagnifyingglassandpocketmicroscopearehelpfultoolsforthisexamination.

Itisimportanttoinspectthebearingsbecausetheyoftenprovidecluesastothecauseofgearfailure.Forexample:

Bearingwearcancauseexcessiveradialclearanceorendplaythat
misalignsthegears.
Bearingdamagemayindicatecorrosion,contamination,electricaldischargeorlackoflubrication.
Plasticdeformationbetweenrollersandracewaysmayindicateoverloads.
Gearfailureoftenfollowsbearingfailure.

Geartoothcontactpatterns.(Completethisstepbeforedisassemblinggearboxcomponentsforinspection).Thewayin
whichmatinggearteethcontactindicateshowwelltheyarealigned(Figure1).Ifpractical,recordtoothcontactpatterns
undereitherloadedorunloadedconditions.Fornoloadtests,painttheteethofonegearwithmarkingcompound.Then,
rolltheteeththroughmeshsothecompoundtransfersthecontactpatterntotheunpaintedgear.Liftthepatternfromthe
gearwithscotchtapeandmountitonpapertoformapermanentrecord.

Forloadedtests,paintseveralteethononeorbothgearswithmachinistslayoutlacquer.Runthegearsunderloadfora
sufficienttimetowearoffthelacquerandestablishthecontactpatterns.Photographthepatternstoobtainapermanent
record.

Documentobservations.Describeallimportantobservationsinwriting,usingsketchesandphotographswhereneeded.
Identifyandmarkeachcomponent(includinggearteethandbearingrollers),soitisclearlyidentifiedinthewritten
description,sketchesandphotographs.Itisespeciallyimportanttomarkallbearings,includinginboardandoutboard
sides,sotheirlocationandpositioninthegearboxcanbedeterminedlater.

Describecomponentsinaconsistentway.Forexample,alwaysstartwiththesamepartofabearingandprogressthrough
thepartsinthesamesequence.Thishelpstoavoidoverlookinganyevidence.

Concentrateoncollectingevidence,notondeterminingthecauseoffailure.Regardlessofhowobviousthecausemay
appear,donotformconclusionsuntilalltheevidenceisconsidered.

Geargeometry.Theloadcapacityofthegearsetwillneedtobecalculatedlater.Forthispurpose,obtainthefollowing
geometrydata,eitherfromthegearsandgearhousingortheirdrawings:

Numberofteeth
Outsidediameter
Facewidth
Gearhousingcenterdistanceforeachgearset
Wholedepthofteeth
Tooththickness(bothspanandtoplandmeasurement)

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Specimensforlaboratorytests.Duringtheinspection,youwillbegintoformulatehypothesesregardingthecauseof
failure.Withthesehypothesesinmind,selectspecimensforlaboratorytesting.Takebrokenpartsforlaboratoryevaluation
or,ifthisisnotpossible,ensurethattheywillbepreservedforlateranalysis.

Oilsamplescanbeveryhelpful.But,aneffectivelubricantanalysisdependsonhowwellthesamplerepresentsthe
operatinglubricant.Totakesamplesfromagearboxdrainvalve,firstdiscardstagnantoilfromthevalve.Thentakea
sampleatthestart,middleandendofadraintoavoidstratification.Tosamplefromthereservoir,drawsamplesfromthe
top,middleandnearthebottom.Examinetheoilfilterandmagneticplugforweardebrisandcontaminants.

Samplesfromtheoilstoragedrumorreservoircanuncoverproblemssuchasexcessivewaterintheoilduetoimproper
storage.

Haveyougotitall?Beforeleavingthesite,makesurethatyouhaveeverythingneeded(completedinspectionforms,
writtendescriptionsandsketches,photosandtestspecimens)forcompletingthefailureanalysis.

DetermineTypeofFailure
Nowitstimetoexaminealloftheinformationanddeterminehowthegear(orgears)failed.
Severalfailuremodesmaybepresentandyouneedtoidentifywhichistheprimarymode,andwhicharesecondary
modesthatmayhavecontributedtofailure.Table1listssixgeneralclassesofgearfailuremodes,ofwhichthefirstfour
arethemostcommon.Anunderstandingofthesefourcommonmodeswillenableyoutoidentifythecauseoffailure.

1.Bendingfatigue.Thiscommontypeoffailureisaslow,progressivefailurecausedbyrepeatedloading.Itoccursinthree
stages:

Crackinitiation.Plasticdeformationoccursinareasofstressconcentrationordiscontinuities,suchasnotchesor
inclusions,leadingtomicroscopiccracks.
Crackpropagation.Asmoothcrackgrowsperpendiculartothemaximumtensilestress.
Fracture.Whenthecrackgrowslargeenough,itcausessuddenfracture.

Asafatiguecrackpropagates,itleavesaseriesofbeachmarks(visibletothenakedeye)thatcorrespondtopositions
wherethecrackstopped(Figure2).Theoriginofthecrackisusuallysurroundedbyseveralconcentriccurvedbeach
marks.

Mostgeartoothfatiguefailuresoccurinthetoothrootfillet(Figure3)wherecyclicstressislessthantheyieldstrengthof
thematerialandthenumberofcyclesismorethan10,000.Thisconditioniscalledhighcyclefatigue.Alargepartofthe
fatiguelifeisspentinitiatingcracks,whereasashortertimeisrequiredforthecrackstopropagate.

Stressconcentrationsinthefilletoftencausemultiplecrackorigins,eachproducingseparatecracks.Insuchcases,
crackspropagateondifferentplanesandmayjointoformastep,calledaratchetmark(Figure2).

2.Contactfatigue.Inanotherfailuremode,calledcontactorHertzianfatigue,repeatedstressescausesurfacecracksand
detachmentofmetalfragmentsfromthetoothcontactsurface(Figure4).Themostcommontypesofsurfacefatigueare
macropitting(visibletothenakedeye)andmicropitting.

Macropittingoccurswhenfatiguecracksstarteitheratorbelowthesurface.Asthecracksgrow,theycauseapieceof
surfacematerialtobreakout,formingapitwithsharpedges.

Basedonthetypeofdamage,macropittingiscategorizedasnonprogressive,progressive,spallorflake.The
nonprogressivetypeconsistsofpitslessthan1mmdiaminlocalizedareas.Thesepitsdistributeloadmoreevenlyby
removinghighpointsonthesurface,afterwhichpittingstops.

Progressivemacropittingconsistsofpitslargerthan1mmdiameterthatcoverasignificantportionofthetoothsurface.

Inonetype,calledspelling,thepitscoalesceandformirregularcratersoveralargearea.
Inflakemacropitting,thinflakesofmaterialbreakoutandformtriangularpitsthatarerelativelyshallow,butlargeinarea.

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Micropittinghasafrosted,matteorgraystainedappearance.Undermagnification,thesurfaceisshowntobecoveredby
veryfinepits(<20mmdeep).Metallurgicalsectionsthroughthesepitsshowfatiguecracksthatmayextenddeeperthan
thepits.

3.Wear.Geartoothsurfacewearinvolvesremovalordisplacementofmaterialduetomechanical,chemicalorelectrical
action.Thethreemajortypesofwearareadhesion,abrasionandpolishing.Adhesionisthetransferofmaterialfromthe
surfaceofonetoothtothatofanotherduetoweldingandtearing(Figure5).Itisconfinedtooxidelayersonthetooth
surface.Adhesioniscategorizedasmildormoderate,whereassevereadhesionistermedscuffing(describedlater).

Typically,mildadhesionoccursduringgearsetruninandsubsidesafteritwearslocalimperfectionsfromthesurface.To
theunaidedeye,thesurfaceappearsundamagedandmachiningmarksarestillvisible.Moderateadhesionremoves
someorallofthemachiningmarksfromthecontactsurface.Undercertainconditions,itcanleadtoexcessivewear.
Abrasioniscausedbycontaminantsinthelubricantsuchassand,scale,rust,machiningchips,grindingdust,weld
splatterandweardebris.Itappearsassmooth,parallelscratchesorgouges(Figure6).

Abrasionrangesfrommildtosevere.Mildabrasionconsistsoffinescratchesthatdontremoveasignificantamountof
materialfromthetoothcontactsurface,whereasmoderateabrasionremovesmostofthemachiningmarks.

Severeabrasion,whichremovesallmachiningmarks,cancausewearstepsattheendsofthecontactsurfaceandinthe
dedendum.Tooththicknessmaybereducedsignificantly,andinsomecases,thetoothtipisreducedtoasharpedge.

Finally,polishingisfinescaleabrasionthatimpartsamirrorlikefinishtogearteeth(Figure7).Magnificationshowsthe
surfacetobecoveredbyfinescratchesinthedirectionofsliding.Polishingispromotedbychemicallyactivelubricantsthat
arecontaminatedwithafineabrasive.

Polishingrangesfrommildtosevere.Itsmildform,whichisconfinedtohighpointsonthesurface,typicallyoccursduring
runinandceasesbeforemachiningmarksareremoved.Moderatepolishingremovesmostofthemachiningmarks.

Severepolishingremovesallmachiningmarksfromthetoothcontactsurface.Thesurfacemaybewavyoritmayhave
wearstepsattheendsofthecontactareaandinthededendum.

4.Scuffing.Severeadhesionorscuffingtransfersmetalfromthesurfaceofonetoothtothatofanother(Figure8).
Typically,itoccursintheaddendumordedenduminbandsalongthedirectionofsliding,thoughloadconcentrationscan
causelocalizedscuffing.Surfaceshavearoughormattetexturethat,undermagnification,appeartobetornand
plasticallydeformed.

Scuffingrangesfrommildtosevere.Mildscuffingoccursonsmallareasofatoothandisconfinedtosurfacepeaks.
Generally,itisnonprogressive.

Moderatescuffingoccursinpatchesthatcoversignificantportionsoftheteeth.Ifoperatingconditionsdonotchange,it
canbeprogressive.

Severescuffingoccursonsignificantportionsofageartooth(forexample,theentireaddendumordedendum).Insome
cases,surfacematerialisplasticallydeformedanddisplacedoverthetoothtiporintothetoothroot.Unlesscorrected,itis
usuallyprogressive.

TestsandCalculationsAidAnalysis
Inmanycases,failedpartsandinspectiondatadontyieldenoughinformationtodeterminethecauseoffailure.Whenthis
happens,geardesigncalculationsandlaboratorytestsareusuallyneededtodevelopandconfirmahypothesisforthe
probablecause.

Geardesigncalculations.Thegeargeometrydatacollectedearlieraidsinestimatingtoothcontactstress,bendingstress,
lubricantfilmthickness,andgeartoothcontacttemperaturebasedontransmittedloadsforeachgear.Thesevaluesare
calculatedaccordingtoAmericanGearManufacturersAssociationstandardssuchasANSI/AGMA2001B88forspurand

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helicalgears.ComparingthesecalculatedvalueswithAGMAallowablevalueshelpstodeterminetheriskofmacropitting,
bendingfatigueandscuffing.

Laboratoryexaminationandtests.Amicroscopicexaminationmayconfirmthefailuremodeorfindtheoriginofafatigue
crack.Bothlightmicroscopesandscanningelectronmicroscopes(SEM)areusefulforthispurpose.AnSEMwithan
energydispersiveXrayisespeciallyusefulforidentifyingcorrosion,contaminationorinclusions.

Iftheprimaryfailuremodeislikelytobeinfluencedbygeargeometry,checkforanygeometricormetallurgicaldefectsthat
mayhavecontributedtothefailure.Forexample,iftoothcontactpatternsindicatemisalignmentorinterference,inspect
thegearforaccuracyongearinspectionmachines.Conversely,wherecontactpatternsindicategoodalignmentandthe
calculatedloadsarewithinratedgearcapacity,checktheteethformetallurgicaldefects.

Conductnondestructivetestsbeforeanydestructivetests.Thesenondestructivetests,whichaidindetectingmaterialor
manufacturingdefectsandprovideratinginformation,include:

Surfacehardnessandroughness.
Magneticparticleinspection.
Acidetchinspection.
Geartoothaccuracyinspection.

Thenconductdestructiveteststoevaluatematerialandheattreatment.Thesetestsinclude:

Microhardnesssurvey.
Microstructuraldeterminationusingvariousacidetches.
Determinationofgrainsize.
Determinationofnonmetallicinclusions.
SEMmicroscopytostudyfracturesurfaces.

FormandTestConclusions
Whenallcalculationsandtestsarecompleted,youneedtoformoneormorehypothesesfortheprobablecauseoffailure,
thendetermineiftheevidencesupportsordisprovesthehypotheses.Here,youneedtoevaluatealloftheevidencethat
wasgatheredincluding:

Documentaryevidenceandservicehistory.
Statementsfromwitnesses.
Writtendescriptions,sketchesandphotos.
Geargeometryandcontactpatterns.
Geardesigncalculations.
Laboratorydataformaterialsandlubricant.

Resultsofthisevaluationmaymakeitnecessarytomodifyorabandontheinitialhypotheses.Or,pursuenewlinesof
investigation.

Finally,afterthoroughlytestingthehypothesesagainsttheevidence,youreachaconclusionaboutthemostprobable
causeoffailure.Inaddition,youmayidentifysecondaryfactorsthatcontributedtothefailure.

ReportingResults
Afailureanalysisreportshoulddescribeallrelevantfactsfoundduringtheanalysis,theinspectionsandtests,weighingof
evidence,conclusionsandrecommendations.Presentthedatasuccinctly,preferablyintablesorfigures.Goodphotosare
especiallyhelpfulforportrayingfailurecharacteristics.

Thereportusuallycontainsrecommendationsforrepairingtheequipmentormakingchangesinequipmentdesignor
operationtopreventfuturefailures.

ThisarticlewasoriginallypublishedinPowerTransmissionDesignmagazine.

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