Multi-physical modelling and analysis of lubricated transmissions using a coupled finite element approach

Summary

Lubrication is vital to improve performance, efficiency and durability in transmissions; it serves to minimize wear, noise, vibration and friction. The proper functioning of lubricated transmissions relies on interactions amongst a wide range of physical phenomena (contact dynamics, fluid-structure interaction and heat transfer) operating at different spatial and temporal scales. A lubricated transmission model is proposed in this work to obtain accurate information regarding all physical domains and the coupling thereof to quantify performance, efficiency and durability. The model consists of a thermo-elastically coupled flexible multibody model for the gear pair and a Thermo-Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (TEHL) model for the lubricant, both based on first principle modelling to ensure high fidelity.