Abstract

The aim of this article is to study the appearance of pitting in spur gears by taking account of different multiaxial fatigue criteria. The stress levels undergone by the teeth are considered in order to be able to predict their life and compare the fatigue strength of gear materials. The process begins calculating the stress field inside the teeth flanks due to the pressure and shear stress in the contact along the mesh. Once the stresses are known, the appearance of failure is studied by using different multiaxial fatigue criteria: Dang Van, Crossland and Liu-Mahadevan criteria. The accuracy of each criterion to predict pitting in gears is analysed using experimental data.