Integration of finite element analysis and optimum design on gear systems

This work establishes a batch module called "integration of finite element analysis and optimum design" by taking gear systems as testing examples. This batch module consists of I-DEAS, ABAQUS/Standard and MOST software, which serve as the preprocessor, the numerical solver and the optimizer, respectively. A simple and practical method was developed, by which this module was enabled to search for contact nodes and elements and to automatically define the contact surfaces for contact analysis. A simple gear-pair system and a complete planetary gear system were successively used as testing examples for this integrated module. The module will automatically construct the geometrical model, analyze contact stress and solve for the optimal solutions when gearing parameters are input. The results are expected to enhance the technology of gear system design. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.