Assessing the Meshing for Windage Power Losses Simulation of an Orthogonal Face Gear

In the current energy landscape, efficiency is a critical topic. Therefore, even in the case of geared transmissions, it is essential to predict and calculate power losses as accurately as possible from the design phase. There are mainly three categories of losses in a gear unit: friction - the power losses due to the contact between teeth in rotation on the one hand and the seals with the spindles on the other hand, churning - the power losses generated by the air-lubricant mixture compression around teeth roots during rotation and windage - the power losses due to the teeth aerodynamic trail in the air-lubricant mixture. While the first two categories of losses are intensively studied in the literature, the papers focusing on windage power losses are less representative. Estimation of windage power losses can be done by numerical simulation, the accuracy of the results depending on the mesh density and the available computing power. The present study discusses the influence of meshing on the windage torque of an orthogonal face gear immersed in air and compares numerical results generated by SolidWorks Flow Simulation software with experimental data measured on a test rig.