Root Cause Failure Analysis of a Boiler Feed Pump Main Oil Pump Gear

摘要

A gear is an important engineering component that transmits both motion and force from one element in a working unit to another element in the same unit or another working unit. The heavy loads the gears are able to carry depend upon the way the tooth surfaces make contact with each other. Theoretically, in service, gear teeth make contact along lines or at points. Because of elastic deformation of the surfaces of loaded gear teeth, however, contact occurs along narrow bands or in small areas. Although a number of materials (e.g., nonferrous alloys, cast irons, powder metallurgy materials, and non-metallic materials) have found application as gear material, steels (carbon and low-alloy steels) are the most widely used gear materials.