A Study on the Influence Mechanism of the Oil Injection Distance on the Oil Film Distribution Characteristics of the Gear Meshing Zone
Under the trend of lightweight and high-efficiency development in industrial equipment, precise regulation of lubrication in gear reducers is a key breakthrough for enhancing transmission system efficiency and reliability. This study establishes a three-dimensional numerical model for high-speed gear jet lubrication using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and dynamic mesh technology. By implementing the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase flow model and the standard k-ω turbulence model, the study simulates the dynamic distribution of lubricant in gear meshing zones and analyzes critical parameters such as the oil volume fraction, eddy viscosity, and turbulent kinetic energy. The results show that reducing the oil injection distance significantly enhances lubricant coverage and continuity: as the injection distance increases from 4.8 mm to 24 mm, the lubricant shifts from discrete droplets to a dense wedge-shaped film, mitigating lubrication failure risks from secondary atomization and energy loss. The optimized injection distance also improves the spatial stability of eddy viscosity and suppresses excessive dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, enhancing both the shear-load capacity and thermal management. Dynamic data from monitoring point P show that reducing the injection distance stabilizes lubricant velocity and promotes more consistent oil film formation and heat transfer. Through multiphysics simulations and parametric analysis, this study elucidates the interaction between geometric parameters and hydrodynamic behaviors in jet lubrication systems. The findings provide quantitative evaluation methods for structural optimization and energy control in gear lubrication systems, offering theoretical insights for thermal management and reliability enhancement in high-speed transmission. These results contribute to the lightweight design and sustainable development of industrial equipment.
Authors
- Wentao Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0321-7750)
- Gaoan Zheng
- Lin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3308-7857)
Institutions
- Zhejiang Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (CN)
- Zhejiang University of Water Resource and Electric Power (CN)
- Zhejiang University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Machines
- Published
- 2025-07-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13070606
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Gear and Bearing Dynamics Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.71
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province