Fatigue Life Analysis of Main Reducer Gears for Battery Electric Bus Considering Regenerative Braking

The braking mode of the battery electric urban bus (BEUB) is different from the friction braking of the traditional fuel bus due to the introduction of a regenerative braking system. The intervention of electromagnetic braking changes the working condition of the main reducer gears, thus affecting their service lives. Based on the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) driving cycle condition, the stress–time history of the main reducer gears is calculated. Combined with the static analysis results and the S-N curve of the material, the fatigue lives of the main reducer gears considering electromagnetic braking and traditional friction braking are analyzed. The reverse torque on the driving axle during electromagnetic braking is taken into account to be closer to the real situation. Results show that, under the electromagnetic braking mode, the bending fatigue lives of the tooth root on the convex and concave surfaces of the pinion are 78.5% and 78.9% of that under the traditional friction braking mode, respectively, while the contact fatigue life of the pinion working surface is 78.2% of that under the friction braking mode, indicating that the introduction of the regenerative braking system into the BEUB will cause a significant reduction in the service life of the main reducer gears. This study provides a high-precision fatigue life calculation method for the BEUB main reducer gears and the accurate prediction of their remaining life.