Engineering topics

Slaughter, Stephen C.

Publications and source records attributed to Slaughter, Stephen C..

3 records

NASA NTRS2011

Helical Face Gear Development Under the Enhanced Rotorcraft Drive System Program

U.S. Army goals for the Enhanced Rotorcraft Drive System Program are to achieve a 40 percent increase in horsepower to weight ratio, a 15 dB reduction in drive system generated noise, 30 percent reduction in drive system operating, support, and acquisition cost, and 75 percent automatic detection of critical mechanical component failures. Boeing s technology transition goals are that the operational endurance level of the helical face gearing and related split-torque designs be validated to a TRL 6, and that analytical and manufacturing tools be validated. Helical face gear technology is being developed in this project to augment, and transition into, a Boeing AH-64 Block III split-torque face gear main transmission stage, to yield increased power density and reduced noise. To date, helical face gear grinding development on Northstar s new face gear grinding machine and pattern-development tests at the NASA Glenn/U.S. Army Research Laboratory have been completed and are described.

Heath, Gregory F.↗

NASA NTRS2007

RDS-21 Face-Gear Surface Durability Tests

Experimental fatigue tests were performed to determine the surface durability life of a face gear in mesh with a tapered spur involute pinion. Twenty-four sets of gears were tested at three load levels: 7200, 8185, and 9075 lb-in face gear torque, and 2190 to 3280 rpm face gear speed. The gears were carburized and ground, shot-peened and vibro-honed, and made from VIM-VAR Pyrowear 53 steel per AMS 6308. The tests produced 17 gear tooth spalling failures and 7 suspensions. For all the failed sets, spalling occurred on at least one tooth of all the pinions. In some cases, the spalling initiated a crack in the pinion teeth which progressed to tooth fracture. Also, spalling occurred on some face gear teeth. The AGMA endurance allowable stress for a tapered spur involute pinion in mesh with a face gear was determined to be 275 ksi for the material tested. For the application of a tapered spur involute pinion in mesh with a face gear, proper face gear shim controlled the desired gear tooth contact pattern while proper pinion shim was an effective way of adjusting backlash without severely affecting the contact pattern.

Lewicki, David G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Torque Splitting by a Concentric Face Gear Transmission

Tests of a 167 Kilowatt (224 Horsepower) split torque face gearbox were performed by the Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona, while working under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Technology Reinvestment Program (TRP). This paper provides a summary of these cooperative tests, which were jointly funded by Boeing and DARPA. Design, manufacture and testing of the scaled-power TRP proof-of-concept (POC) split torque gearbox followed preliminary evaluations of the concept performed early in the program. The split torque tests were run using 200 N-m (1767 in-lbs) torque input to each side of the transmission. During tests, two input pinions were slow rolled while in mesh with the two face gears. Two idler gears were also used in the configuration to recombine torque near the output. Resistance was applied at the output face gear to create the required loading conditions in the gear teeth. A system of weights, pulleys and cables were used in the test rig to provide both the input and output loading. Strain gages applied in the tooth root fillets provided strain indication used to determine torque splitting conditions at the input pinions. The final two pinion-two idler tests indicated 52% to 48% average torque split capabilities for the two pinions. During the same tests, a 57% to 43% average distribution of the torque being recombined to the upper face gear from the lower face gear was measured between the two idlers. The POC split torque tests demonstrated that face gears can be applied effectively in split torque rotorcraft transmissions, yielding good potential for significant weight, cost and reliability improvements over existing equipment using spiral bevel gearing.

Filler, Robert R.↗