The effect of manufacturing method and running-in load on the surface integrity of efficiency tested ground, honed and superfinished gears

摘要

This study compares gear surface characteristics generated by grinding, honing and superfinishing of casehardened steel, including the evolution during efficiency testing with two different prior running-in loads (0.9 GPa and 1.7 GPa). The most influential factor was surface roughness. Micro-pitting was associated with surface asperities and hence only seen in ground and honed gears, while being absent for super-finished gears. The micro-pitting was enhanced by running-in load, but only for rough surfaces. Deformation-induced localized microstructure impact was associated with cracks. Residual stresses reached similar levels after efficiency testing. Phosphorous content in the gear surface was connected to surface roughness and running-in load.