Computerized design and analysis of a novel high load bearing internal gear drive with curved meshing line

A novel high load bearing internal gear drive with curved meshing line is presented in this paper, and its performance is compared with that of an involute internal gear drive by finite element calculation. First, the novel gears’ meshing line is an S-shaped curve composed of two parabolas. Second, the novel gears’ tooth profiles based on the curved meshing line are designed using differential geometry and gear meshing theory. Third, three-dimensional mesh models of the novel gears are created by procedures, then using finite element calculation to analyze the stress of gear meshing. Finally, numerical examples demonstrate that the novel gears have lower stress and a smoother sliding coefficient than involute gears, implying that the former has a greater benefit in bearing capacity and wear performance. Meanwhile, tooth modifications can improve stress concentration, hence increasing the load-bearing capability of the novel gears.