Gearing faults

SLOGGER
Hammer like action between teeth caused by variations in pitch or torsional
vibration , may be negated by nodal drives
PITTING
The mechanism for pitting is poorly understood . One theory is that it starts below
the surface and parallel to it . When extended to surface oil under hydrodynamic
pressure is forced in.

Shown above is the deformation of the surface due to the rolling action of one
tooth over the other. Subsurface hertzian stresses are formed which run parallel to
the surface.

Most severe on the pitch line or just below it , but may also be found on the
dedendum of both driving and driven teeth and is dependant largely on finish
There is experimental evidence which suggests that pitting occurs only where there
is a low ratio of slide to roll. With worm and most hypoid gears, excessive side
slide tends to wear away high spots before true pitting would occur.
With spur and bevel gears , as each tooth passes through the centre of the mesh ,
the entire load is momentarily concentrated on the pitch line. If the area along the
pitch line has already started to pit , this concentration of load on the roughened
surfaces of spur gears is quite likely to increase the pitting progressively until the
tooth surfaces are destroyed or severely damaged.
On the other hand , with helical , herringbone and spiral gears , there is less likely
hood of destructive pitting . This is because each tooth during the mesh makes
contact along a slanting line which extends from root to tip. This line cuts across
the pitch line , and therefore, though pitting may have roughened the area along the
pitch line, the line of contact always extends beyond this roughened surface, and
thus the load is carried on undamaged root and tip areas. Under these such
circumstances , pitting may cease as soon as the few, isolated high spots along the
pitch line have been removed.

INITIAL
New gears suffer initial pitting , these can disappear on the teeth as they work
harden. Normal wear polishes out pits . Further problems can be avoided by proper
running in
Back to back loading of the gearbox on opposite hand sets can allow the gearbox to
be run in using high torque , low speeds.

Initial pitting is attributed to local overstressing caused by asperities and profile

irregularities (see diagram above). The teeth of new gears may have variations in
smoothness. Although these variations may be too small to break through the oil
film , yet they may be large enough to affect gear operation. In addition , there may
be variations in the hardness of the surface metal. When smoothness or hardness is
non- uniform across the tooth , the distribution of load is also non- uniform. Thus
as the teeth pass through the mesh, the load is concentrated on local high spots or
hard spots.
The running in process reduces asperity's , and profile irregularities , surface stress
becomes more uniform and pitting is arrested .
Profile inaccuracy can lead to root pitting and more rarely pitting on the
addendum.
INCIPIENT/( corrective )
Most commonly found on wide-faced gear teeth, because of the difficulties in
obtaining true and uniform contact across the entire width of the teeth.
On routine inspection pitting may be found . This is incipient pitting and requires
close monitoring, unlike initial pitting which is only found on the maiden voyages,
and can occur at any time during the life of the gearbox.
Careful monitoring will determine whether this is an isolated case or whether it
will lead to progressive pitting with potentially destructive results.
Classic causes are overloading and misalignment ( similar to progressive, and
different to initial which is caused by high spots. ) .If found then the gear case
should be regularly inspected and the cause ascertained and removed.
The pitting , once the cause has been eliminated should polish out.

PROGRESSIVE
May occur were initial or incipient pitting has not been arrested . However
progressive pitting may be mistaken for initial but the pitting is not caused by
asperities.
Progressive pitting may halt or may continue to destroy the face.
Alternately it may halt , lie dormant then restart.

Most progressive pitting is wider in scope than initial pitting with branching
fatigue cracks extending deep into the metal. Progressive pitting is followed by
DESTRUCTIVE pitting which rapidly leads to failure
MICROPITTING
Fine attrition of the dedendum surface with a distinct wear step at the pitch line .
Mating teeth may wear to a conformable shape and operate as so without problem.
May be regarded as a form of wear . However , secondary pits may occur
increasing roughness to an unacceptable point.
Development of wear steps, is not fully understood but may be associated with
superimposed vibration - say from propeller or main engine.

If the tooth surface is poor or if overloading occurs pitting proceeds reducing load
bearing surface eventually destroying the tooth.
SPALLING
Deep scallop shaped pieces of metal are removed , possible causes are overloading
but is more generally seen as a surface hardening process failure.

It is caused by the same mechanism as pitting and flaking. Subsurface cracks form
below the surface following the lines of hertzian stress. These may be joined to the
surface by cracks formed due to the deformation of the surface under load. Oil
forced in to these cracks under hydrostatic pressure enters the subsurface cracks
were its non compressibility causes the crack to expand, were it joins other surface
cracks and the piece detaches .
Very careful honing with a carborundum stone can be helpful but care should be
taken not to alter the tooth profile
Cracking , flaking and spalling often indicate incorrect heat treatment ; or in the
case of ground gears, faulty grinding.
Most often found in case hardened or surface hardened gears but may also appear
on work hardening gears such as phosphor bronze.

It can be seen that pitting, flaking and spalling are all related , the mechanics of
failure is the same in each case and only the size of metal loss is different .
FLAKING
Caused by heavy overloading or over stressing the subsurface of the metal and is a
surface hardened phenomena.
The heavy compressive or shearing action on the subsurface can exceed the yield
point stress of the metal and large flakes may break away.
Can be caused by insufficient depth of surface hardening
Rippling of the subsurface may also occur caused by plastic flow.
Similar formation to pitting but has a much increased length/breadth to depth ratio
.

On hardened gears , flaking or spalling may be accelerated by abnormal heat

hardening strains which decrease resistance to sub surface shearing forces . Heavy
loads on worm gears may subject fairly large areas of tooth surface to greater

stresses than the metal is able to permanently carry. Sub surface fatigue takes place
which results in damage to the bronze gear-tooth surface . This condition is often
referred to as worm wheel pitting.
SCUFFING/ (WEAR)
This type of failure - caused by the local breakdown of oil film as the surfaces slide
over each other during mating and disengaging - led to the development of EP
additives. It was also found that increasing oil viscosity was beneficial.
With oil film breakdown, very high tempo are generated and welding of local high
spots occurs Similar to that occurring with microseizure). These are then torn
apart.
It is most prevalent at the tips and the root were relative sliding is at its greatest .
Were the oil film thickness is greater than 3x the CLA values of the surface finish
scuffing is unlikely to occur.
Evidence shows that onset occurs when a tempo related to the lubricant an surface
material exceeds a flash point.
Scuffing is definitely due to failure of the oil film to carry the load, either because
the operating conditions are abnormally severe, or because of incorrect oil
selection. In either event , the thick wedge type film gives way to the
microscopically thin , boundary type lubrication which in turn lacks sufficient film
strength. to protect the gear teeth from excessively friction and the plastic flow of
the 'skin surface' of the metal.
Under conditions of wedge film lubrication, failure of the film would occur where
the combined film- forming effect of both rolling and sliding is least, namely the
pitch line. Therefore , with fluid film lubrication , seizure would first occur near
the pitch line and plastic flow would then tend to wipe the metal over onto the
tooth areas that are in contact during the second half of mesh ( interval of recession
) . Scuffing in the areas above the pitch line on driving gears and below the pitch
line on driven results.

Where operating conditions are more severe and boundary lubrication is resultant ,
the entire surface of the tooth will be scuffed .Pressure welding and plastic flow
then takes place during the intervals of approach as well as recession , and surface
destruction will extend from root to tips of the teeth of both gears . Even though
scuffing is the initial cause of failure , severe damage may eventually bring about
abrasion and scratching.
It should be noted that EP additives are very soluble in water ,hence, care should
be taken when putting this oil through a purifier.
During the interval of approach , the direction of sliding on the contact surfaces is
toward the pitch line on the driven gear and away from pitch line on this pinion. At
the pitch line the direction of slide reverses , so that during the interval of recession
it is still toward the pitch line on the driven gear and still away from the pitch line
on the pinion.. Thus , when surfaces scuff, weld and flow under pressure , the
direction of slide always tend to wipe the metal on the metal on the driven teeth
towards the pitch line and away from the pitch line on the pinion teeth.

May spread to whole tooth , a feather being formed over the tooth tip . If occurs at
one end of the tooth this can indicated a misalignment.
Poor surface finish and overloading are the prime causes normally found in softer
materials of the wheel.
Use of scuff resistant materials , better surface finish , chemical cleaning and
thermo chemical treatments can help, as can surface coatings
Light honing plus more attention to oil viscosity and tempo may help.
Experimental evidence show that scuffing or scoring resistance is raised by
increasing the pressure angle, increasing tooth depth or when possible increasing
the helix angle and providing tip relief. Scuff resistant metal combinations may be
used, better surface finish, chemical and thermo-chemical treatments, surface
coatings can all help to increase scoring resistance
Incipient scuffing
If the surface finish is poor , contact between the asperities can be made through
the almost rigid ( i.e. very high viscosity caused by the very high pressures ) oil

film, generating heat causing the tempo of the gears to rise, reducing inlet oil
viscosity and reducing oil film thickness . Some materials when supplied with the
correct lubricant quickly polish out incipient scuffing . With harder gears this
process takes longer . The risk is high due during the running in period but
minimised by chemically active EP oils or with a surface treatment such as
phosphating
SCORING
Should a ferrous particle enter the mesh it can be embedded in a tooth .On mating
the particle is heated up by welding, fails in the heat effected zone , and quenches
in the copious supply of oil. Some of the oil is carburised , absorbed into the
particle , which is now very hard and becomes embedded in a tooth forming a
spike. This then gouges a score in the teeth as they mesh until it becomes polished
out . If the mark is on the pitch line then a point will form rather than a gouge
ABRASION/ (SCRATCHING )
Caused by foreign abrasive materials entering the mesh
May appear as a score from root to tip caused by hard projection on one or more
teeth penetrating oil film- this can be referred to as scoring or ridging or may
appear as random scratches caused by dirt in the oil.
Another form leads to a highly polished surface and is caused by very fine particles
or dust in the oil.

The only remedy is careful filtration and honing of bad grooves. Cleanliness is
most important. Very heavy abrasion can lead to change in tooth profile.
PLASTIC FLOW

Due to plastic , cold working of the metal which flows ahead of the pressure area
building up a wave of metal until by work hardening the ripple resists the flow.
Immediately after this a further wave forms. in extremes, a line of pits form on the
crest caused by the subsurface shearing rather than the compressive stress.

Main factors are unsuitable material , overloading and misalignement .

Hypoid and spiral gears are particularly susceptible to this . This type of failure
occurs particularly following partial lube oil failure. Plastic flow rather than
scuffing occurs.

When slight , the rippling effect maybe advantageous acting as oil reservoirs.
Fish scaling

As the flow increases in severity, then the tooth profile alters to a similar condition
to that seen due to scuffing.
GALLING.
Very heavy teeth damage due to various reasons, requires new teeth.
BREAKAGE
Has four main causes;
overload
defective material
faulty workmanship.

fatigue
Also may be caused by foreign material falling in to the mesh. Checks for cracks
should be carried out at regular intervals especially following overload.

Checks can be carried out using dye penetrant on magnetic indicators.

CORROSION
The supply of dehumidified air to the crankcase is carried out to prevent corrosion.
Corrosion products can lead to the rapid deterioration of the lube oil and lead to
sludge formation .
Regular checks should be carried out to ascertain the efficiency of the
dehumidifier.
INTERFERENCE WEAR.
This occurs where teeth become too closely engaged .This can occur when fitting
new bearings which are incorrectly bored.

PROBLEMS FOUND DURING NORMAL USE.

In normal use, a contact area becomes polished .A wear ridge may form which
may move as the bearings become worn, if new bearings are fitted then the
position of the ridge will move. Problems may the occur of the teeth slipping off
the ridges leading to noise and possibly removing thin shards of metal.
Plants running at reduced load, hence reduced tooth bending moment wear in a
certain area . Should the plant then be run at full load it may be found that due to
the wear the tip relief is now insufficient.

MISALIGNEMENT- Causes problems of overloading at the ends of teeth.

EXCESSIVE BRG CLEARANCE-Pinion moves out of mesh to far, hence load

taken on ends of teeth giving excessive bending forces.
INCORRECT TOOTH PROFILE- Pitting and noise

PARTIAL SEIZURE OF ROTOR FLEXIBLE COUPLING- Gearing loads

transferred
to
turbine
possibly
causing
to
turbine.
If the axial clearance is completely taken up then the main thrust ( as the pinion is
locked by the double helical arrangement ) WORM GEAR FAILURES Pitch line
pitting as described for spur tooth gearing does not occur in worm gearing. Due to
the greater slide in this type of gear than in spur or helical gears, the tendency is for
the tooth surface in equalities to be worn away before metal fatigue occurs . Tooth
surface failure by abrasion or scoring can occur exactly as in other type gears, but
the most commonly encountered worm gear failures are the flaking or scuffing
types. Heavy loads on worm gears may subject relatively large areas of tooth
profile to stresses sufficient in severity to cause sub surface fatigue and eventual
flaking of relatively large pieces of bronze. Flaking on worm wheel gears is
frequently heaviest on the ends of the tooth leaving the mesh. Spot tempo in this
areas are higher than elsewhere and it is probable that the fatigue resistance of the
bronze is lowered as a result . In some cases localized flaking may be due to
misalignment. Lubrication failures do occur on worm gears either due to unsuitable
oils , incorrect or excessive loading. Scuffing is the usual type of failure and this is
influenced by the grain structure of the bronze .
HYPOID GEAR FAILURES
Where hypoid gears are involved , surface failures on teeth may take several
different forms . These steel to steel gears are generally so heavily loaded ,
especially in automotive equipment, that although they are flood lubricated ,
boundary lubrication is the usual condition. Metal to metal contact is therefore ,
unavoidable. With the correct lubricating oil in use , the degree of metallic contact
and the generation of frictional heat between the rubbing surfaces is minimized .
Irrespective of speed, such conditions result in smooth , dull polished or brightly
burnished tooth surfaces with negligible wear. When hypoid gears show evidence
of unsatisfactory lubrication , the surfaces may have the appearance of being either
rippled , ridged , flaked , pitted or scored.
The particular surface appearance that developed depends on the type and severity
of operating conditions i.e. on the speed of rubbing and the magnitude of loading

carried by the working surfaces. Furthermore it depends on the lubricity, film

strength and anti weld characteristics of the lubricant.
The working surfaces of hypoid gear teeth sometimes develop fine ripples ( fish
scale appearance ) . When this happens , the ripples have the appearance of being
formed by the metallic flow which builds up a wave of metal ahead of the pressure
area, The appearance of the surface indicates that each wave quickly becomes
sufficiently work-hardened to resist further flow , whereupon contact then moves
over the hard surface to repeat the process immediately beyond. This results in the
formation of small wave-like ripples of work-hardened metal at right angles to the
diagonal lines of slide , it seems to occur only at comparatively slow speeds.
As rippling progresses, the continued cold-working of the metal causes sub-surface
fatigue cracks to develop, with the result that thin flakes of metal ultimately break
loose from the surfaces and drop off. This flaking (spalling) action is more
pronounced on the tooth surfaces of the pinion due to the smaller number of teeth
among which the load is distributed.
A tooth sometimes appears to have a smooth and very highly polished or burnished
surface. Under a microscope , however , the smooth surface may take on a very
finely ridged appearance with innumerable short, parallel ridges extending
diagonally across the working surface of the tooth i.e. in the direction of the slide.
Each ridge appears to be made up of many short ridges added approximately end to
end. They do not have the appearance of typical scratches or score marks. The hills
and valleys have a smoothly rounded outline.
Either a rippled surface or a burnished surface may develop a ridged appearance
with ridges of such size that they can be seen and felt .There is no evidence of
gouging or tearing but due to the size of the ridges considerable cold working has
occurred. Continuation of this cold working leads to the fatigue point being passed
. When this this happens , small cracks develop and minute particles of
overstressed metal break loose and drop off., leaving fine pits along the crests of
the ridges . This pitting may occur over the entire working surface of a hypoid gear
tooth . It , therefore , should not be confused with pitting of spur or helical gear
teeth which is due to entirely different causes and occurs only near the pitch line.
Continued and extensive pitting eventually results in the removal of considerable
areas of metal from the tooth surfaces and extensive flaking.
On hypoid gear teeth , scoring results when particles of metal are displaced or
transferred from teeth of one gear to the teeth of the mating gear. It may also be

referred to as scuffing or galling, particularly in the advanced stages. Scoring is the

final result of a combination of factors i.e. High rubbing . speeds and loads , low
film strength and insufficient anti-weld character of the oil. When film strength is
lacking, considerable metal-to-metal contact will occur, and if the rubbing speed is
high enough , frictional heat at microscopic points of contact will create local
welding tempo .If the oil lacks anti-weld ( E.P.) character scoring results.
Normal wear
When gears are of the proper design , construction and hardness, do not operate at
excessive loads and are correctly lubricated, a condition of normal wear result.
Normal wear over a long period and under conditions of flood lubrication
gradually smoothes rubbing surfaces of the teeth and work-hardens them to a
polish. As the surfaces become smoother and more work hardened , friction and
wear decreases until a condition may be reached where further wear practically
ceases. There may be signs of long use , but the metal is peened , rolled and
polished to a smooth hard surface. Correct boundary lubrication on hypoid gears
results in a smooth , dull matted gear-tooth surface and relatively little wear.
CALCULATION OF MAX TOOTH LOADING.
Severity of tooth contact ; is generally expressed in terms of:
Tangential load/face width
Alternately a 'K' factor based on the Hertzian stresses is used
K= W/Fod x mg + 1/mg
W=
tangential
load
on
(pinion torque/pitch radius of pinion)
Fo
=
face
width
d
=
pitch
diameter
of
mg = gear ratio; pinion speed / wheel speed

gear

teeth
of
pinion

(
teeth
(

lb

(inches)
inches
)

In the 1950's 'K' factors for turbine reduction gears were about 35 to 80 for
unhardened alloy pinions on carbon steel wheels. With improved materials, heat
treatment and manufacture; hobbed, shaved gears can have 'K' factors of:

150
max.
for
primary
130 max. for secondary reduction

reduction

through

hardened

For hard/soft combinations 240-210 respectively

Certain high performance naval vessels have a 'K' factors of 300
The most common failure is when a tooth or part of a tooth breaks off due to
fatigue
Impact failure is rare and generally due to negligence.