Prediction of fatigue life of gear subjected to varying loads

Structural members and components of a vehicle during service are subjected to varying loads which are random in nature. For structural members subjected to loads of constant amplitude, it is possible to describe the load with explicit mathematical relationship, and thereby, the life span can be estimated. Whereas, for structural members subjected to varying loads with time, there is no satisfactory method to estimate their life span. This paper describes a method for the estimation of life span of a gear in the gearbox of a fighting vehicle subjected to fluctuating loads. For this purpose, it is assumed that the load spectrum corresponds to Gaussian (normal) distribution, and the life has been worked out by applying linear cumulative damage theory.