Experimental investigation on spur gears with novel coatings and surface micro texturing

Gears fault diagnostic and prognostic techniques have been the significant subjects of the condition-based monitoring systems in recent time due to the potential advantages that could be gained from. The present work is part of a more extensive study regarding efficiency and durability of novel tungsten carbide coatings and surfaces laser micro-texturing applied on carburized and nitride gears for several industrial application. In this paper, the effect of the different gear coatings and texturing on the vibration level is investigated experimentally. The durability and the pitting arising have been examined. The test rig consists of two electric motors with an electric power recirculating layout and is equipped with a temperature monitoring of the oil-jet type lubrication system. Vibrations phenomena are measured through triaxial accelerometer mounted on the shaft frame, close to the bearings, in order to detect spectral characteristics of vibration signals due to gear fault. Tests have been conducted far from the resonances of the system at a fixed speed and torque load; Vibration measurements have been performed at planned intervals. Results are presented and discussed