BOUNDARY-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF GEAR TEETH FRACTURE

The steady state thermoelastic boundary element approach is extended t o accommodate mixed-type boundary conditions in two-dimensional domain s which may be definite functions of some global variables. This techn ique is applied to fractured gear teeth in order to evaluate numerical ly the fracture characterizing parameters. Singular crack elements in conjunction with multidomain formulation are utilized for the computat ion of mode I and II stress intensity factors. Results are given for s ome severe crack orientations with respect to crack depth and gear geo metry. The present results are very close to those obtained by the fin ite element method. The influence of heat convection characteristics a nd mechanical loading conditions are also examined. Stress intensity f actors are evaluated for a wide range of operating parameters useful f or design purposes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.