Failure Analysis of Spur Pinion Tooth of Three Wheeler Gear Box

Abstract

In a gear, various types of damage can occur over a period of its operation. Therefore, it is necessary to establish some tools and techniques for finding failure causes related to the material. In this paper, all possible causes responsible for the spur pinion tooth failure are enlisted and procedures for testing various mechanical properties, chemical compositions are explained. The main objective of this work was aimed at to know whether mechanical properties, chemical composition and microstructure are responsible for the tooth failure of spur pinion. Five samples of the failed pinions
were collected from the field and subjected to testing. Test results were compared with the specifications and it was found that all values were conforming to the specifications and were not responsible for the tooth failure. Samples of the failed pinions were also subjected to fractographic study on simple stereomicroscope which revealed that tooth is uprooted because of the bending load. Modification in the face width and number of teeth in the pinion is suggested in order to enhance the bending strength of the tooth.