OPTIMIZATION OF HEATING OF GEAR WHEEL USING NUMERICAL MODELING

Successful heat treating and carburizing of gear wheels for wind turbine gear boxes requires that plastic deformation in the wheel is minimized. Numerical modeling using the DEFORM software was aimed at exploring the effects of the base, on which the gear wheel rests during heating, on the heating process. Homogeneous heating was assumed. It was found that the base heats up more quickly than the workpiece. It is the consequence of the base's shape and volume. As a result, the base expands and slides against the wheel, predominantly at the first heating stage. Later on, it prevents the gear wheel from expanding, causing plastic deformation in the wheel. The findings were used for designing new heating schedules to minimize these undesirable interactions and to reduce the plastic deformation to a negligible magnitude. In addition, this paper presents an example of a practical use of numerical modeling in the DEFORM software. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]