Resultant Deflections From Static Analysis Of Sun Gear Rotor Shaft Materials To Determine Their Performance In 2-Stage Planetary Gear Operations

Authors : Aniekan Ikpe, Ekom Etuk

Pages : 73-91

View : 18 | Download : 10

Publication Date : 2020-06-30

Article Type : Research

Abstract :This study evaluate the deflections undergone by four carbon steel materials applicable to statically loaded sun gear shaft in 2-stage planetary gear train. Using SOLIDWORKS 2018 version, Finite Element Method (FEM) was employed in modelling and analyzing the rotor sun gear shafts to determine the static nodal stresses, static displacement and static strain. The result revealed that Factor of Safety (FOS) significantly influence the level of failure as well as the strength possessed by the shaft material before failure. The analysis was carried out on the following materials: AISI 1020 Steel (cold rolled), cast carbon steel, cast carbon steel (cold rolled) and AISI 4130 steel (annealed at 865oC); with FOS of 13, 8.9, 9.1 and 15, and the strength possessed by each material before failure were observed as: 3.22e+08, 2.21e+08, 2.56e+08 and 4.31e+08 MPa. This indicates that AISI 4130 steel: annealed at 865oC is comparably the best among the four category of materials due to its very high FOS, followed by AISI 1020 Steel (cold rolled) and cast carbon steel (cold rolled). The von-Mises stress, resultant displacement and equivalent strain values produced were within the permissible limit, indicating that the four sun gear rotor shaft materials are suitable for application in 2-stage planetary gear operations and that the design is safe.
Keywords : Sun gear shaft, Static deflection, Carbon steel, Failure, Yield strength, FOS