Modelling of wear debris in planetary gear drive

Purpose The probability distribution of major length and aspect ratio (major length/minor length) of wear debris collected from gear oil used in planetary gear drive were analysed and modelled. The paper aims to find an appropriate probability distribution model to forecast the kind of wear particles at different running hour of the machine. Design/methodology/approach Used gear oil of the planetary gear box of a slab caster was drained out and charged with a fresh oil of grade (EP-460). Six chronological oil samples were collected at different time interval between 480 and 1,992 h of machine running. The oil samples were filtered to separate wear particles, and microscopic study of wear debris was carried out at 100X magnification. Statistical modelling of wear debris distribution was done using Weibull and exponential probability distribution model. A comparison was studied among actual, Weibull and exponential probability distribution of major length and aspect ratio of wear particles. Findings Distribution of major length of wear particle was found to be closer to the exponential probability density function, whereas Weibull probability density function fitted better to distribution of aspect ratio of wear particle. Originality/value The potential of the developed model can be used to analyse the distribution of major length and aspect ratio of wear debris present in planetary gear box of slab caster machine.