Effect of bionic texture on the lubrication efficiency and mechanical efficiency for rotating gears

Abstract In order to enhance lubrication effectiveness and transmission efficiency in gear transmission, it is imperative to minimize mechanical efficiency losses and frictional wear of the gears during the lubrication process. This paper proposes a bionic design scheme for the tooth surface structure of gears based on the surface texture of bay scallop shells, considering the operational conditions within the gearbox. Firstly, the microstructure of the bay scallop shell surface is analyzed, and a bionic gear mapping model based on the bay scallop shell surface is established. Meanwhile, the oil coverage rate and convective heat transfer coefficient of gear surfaces with different textures was analyzed using finite element analysis. The results showed that the oil coverage rate of gear tooth surfaces with bionic fringes surpassed that of conventional gear lubrication. Thirdly, based on the jet lubrication test calculation, it is proposed that the bionic gear exhibits a lower mechanical efficiency loss and wear mass compared to conventional gears, while the mechanical efficiency loss and wear mass of arc groove gear type lower than that of vertical groove gears. Finally, the optimal structure of the arc groove gear was predicted through orthogonal data analysis, and the validity of the data prediction was verified through experiments and simulations. The optimal combination of texture parameters for the arc groove gear is as follows: a texture depth of 225 μ m, a texture width of 275 μ m, a texture interval of 275 μ m, and a texture length of 1600 μ m. As a result, compared with the conventional gear, the lubrication efficiency of the optimized gear is increased by 41.98%, heat dissipation efficiency increased by 32.21%, and mechanical efficiency loss is decreased by 89.39%, the wear mass is reduced by 74.33%.