An approach to the simulation of concurrent gear micropitting and mild wear

A model for combined wear and surface contact fatigue damage is proposed. It is used to simulate micropitting on a spur gear tooth surface. The simulation is compared to a gear test. It is successful in determining the final roughness shape of a pinion tooth flank surface. This shows that both wear and fatigue modeling are necessary for successful modeling of micropitting. •A model for combined wear and surface contact fatigue damage is proposed.•It is used to simulate micropitting on a spur gear tooth surface.•The simulation is successful in determining the final roughness shape of a pinion tooth flank surface.•This shows that both wear and fatigue modeling are necessary for successful modeling of micropitting.