Load capacity simulation of an agricultural gear reducer by surface heat treatment

Gear reducers are widely used for various agricultural machinery applications such as greenhouses, tractors, and agricultural vehicles. However, thermal deformation and surface pitting at gear tooth flank frequently occur in gear reducers due to high torque. Thus, surface heat treatment of gears is required to improve wear and fatigue resistance. The objective of this study was to simulate the load capacity of the agricultural gear reducer. The simulation was performed for the following three surface heat treatment methods: untreated gears, nitriding heat treatment, and induction hardening method, those mostly used for agricultural gear reducers. The load capacity of the gear reducer was simulated using the safety factor, limit bending stress, and limit contact stress of the gear. The simulation of the load capacity was conducted using KISSsoft commercial software for gear analysis. The main results of simulation test were as follows: first, the nitriding heat treatment resulted in the highest safety factor for bending stress, which was increased about 77% from those of the untreated gears. Second, the induction hardening was the highest safety factor for contact stress, which was increased about 150% from those of the untreated gears. The safety factor for contact stress of the induction hardening was increased about 64% from those of the nitriding heat treatment. The study result suggested that the surface heat treatments could enhance load capacity and that the method of surface heat treatment should be determined based on simulation results for appropriate use scenarios.