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Numerical investigation on fluid flow of gear lubrication

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posted on 2013-10-15, 15:29 authored by Li Li, Hendrik Versteeg, Graham HargraveGraham Hargrave, Theo Potter, Chris Halse
Several details of the mechanism of gear lubrication are still in doubt in spite of many decades of study of this subject. The focus of our work is the investigation of the mechanism by which oil temperature variations affect gear idle rattle, which requires an understanding of the distributions of lubricant and heat within a gearbox. This paper presents the findings of a study of lubricant flow in a simple model gearbox by means of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and its validation by a series of tests on a spur gear rig. The commercial CFD code Fluent is used to simulate the splash flow of lubricant, using the techniques of dynamic meshing and VOF (Volume of Fluid). Our model takes into account the effects on the distribution of gear lubricant of lubricant level and physical properties as well as rotational speed. The results demonstrate that the flow patterns are strongly influenced by all these variables. The predictions are validated by high-speed flow visualisations using high-resolution imaging in conjunction with a pulsed Cu-vapour laser light source and powerful white light source. The simulated fluid flows are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental visualisation.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Citation

LI, L. ... et al, 2009. Numerical investigation on fluid flow of gear lubrication. SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants, 1 (1), pp.1056-1062.

Publisher

© SAE International

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2009

Notes

Copyright © 2008 SAE International. This paper is posted on this site with permission from SAE International and is for viewing only. It may not be stored on any additional repositories or retrieval systems. Further use or distribution is not permitted without permission from SAE.

ISSN

1946-3952

eISSN

1946-3960

Book series

SAE paper; 2008-01-1650

Language

  • en

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