As discussed above, is calculated for rated torque and rated speed, and therefore is average value of the

tangential force on the tooth. But in actual conditions, torque developed by the power source and also
the torque requirements of the driven machinery vary. To account for these variations in service
conditions, Ft is multiplied with Service Factor (Cs). Also, Ft was calculated assuming that gears are
rotating at a very slow speed, which is generally not the case. Gears rotate at appreciable speeds
resulting in dynamic forces, which may occur due to inaccuracies in tooth profile, misaligned bearings,
inertia and elasticity of the members. To account for the effect of this dynamic force, Velocity Factor (Cv)
is used. Effective Tangential Force acting on the tooth is then given by,

Values of and can be taken from the tables below

Service factor

Barth's formula for velocity factor

Therefore for the gear tooth to be safe,Feff should be less than Sb.

Above calculation of Feff gives approximate estimation of the effective tangential force acting on the
gear tooth and can be used in the initial stages of design. For more accurate calculation, Buckingham’s
equation is used, which takes into account inertia of connected masses, elasticity of gear material, tooth
profile inaccuracies etc. All these important aspects are neglected in previous method as the velocity
factor depends only on the pitch line velocity of gears. According to Buckingham, effective tangential
load on the gear tooth is given by,

where, Fd is the additional load due to dynamic conditions, called as ‘Incremental

Dynamic Load’ and is given by,

where, v = pitch line velocity (m/s)

e = sum of errors between two meshing teeth (mm)

b = face width of the tooth (mm)

C = Deformation Factor (N/mm2), which is given by,

where, and are Modulii of Elasticity of pinion and gear respectively and is a constant that depends upon
the form of the tooth. Value of can be taken as given below:

Error e depends upon method of manufacturing and quality of gear. There are twelve grades from Grade
1 to Grade 12, in decreasing order of precision. Standard tables giving tolerances for these grades are
available and error is expected to be equal to those.
24.2 Wear Strength of Gear Tooth

Wear Strength is the maximum value of tangential load that the tooth can transmit without surface
damage. It can be calculated using the Buckingham’s Equation as given below:

Where is Surface Endurance Limit, which is related to Brinell Hardness Number as:

Design Procedure for Spur Gear

1.Select suitable material and design stress.

2.Assume number of teeth on pinion (Zp), considering minimum teeth required to avoid interference.

3.Calculate and identify weaker of pinion and gear.

4.Select suitable value of service factor Cs,

5.Assume / calculate values of and Cv.

K is the ratio of face width to module and is known as face width ratio i.e. k = b / m . Value of lies
between 9.5 and 12.5 and is generally assumed to be 10.
For Cv, if the centre distance between the gears is known, pitch line velocity (v) can be calculated and ,
corresponding to that can be calculated using Barth’s formula given in tabletable.

Therefore, if centre distance is unknown, assume and for known centre distance (CD) following steps
can be followed:

Thus pitch circle diameter of pinion or gear can be calculated for known centre distance and desired
velocity ratio and can then be calculated.

6. Calculation of Module

For the gear tooth to be safe in bending, 2412.png and to calculate limiting value of module,

Value of module can be estimated using this relation and closest standard value of
module is selected.
7. If centre distance is unknown, calculate d = mZ, calculate 2415.png and recalculate . And for known
centre distance, calculate Z = d / m and recalculate Y and m .

Repeat steps 6 and 7 until two consecutive values of module are found to be same.

8. Check the design for bending using Buckingham’s equation. Calculate Fd & Feff and compare it with
Sb. If design is no safe higher values of standard module can be checked.

9. Check the design for wear strength using Buckingham’s equation. Feff should be ≤ Sw. If not, increase
in surface hardness may be recommended.