Failure models for transmission gears health monitoring PhD

The research in this doctoral opportunity will develop a failure model that can represent the combined effect of surface and bending failures in gears to perform reliable health prognostics.

Lack of representative failure models for gear failures causes difficulties in their useful lifetime prediction. Critical operational parameters such as loading, speed and lubrication affect the physics of gear meshing zone in a very complex manner and lead the modelling to an imperfect zone of assumptions. These complexities allow the researchers to use approximations for useful lifetime calculations.

Based on modelling approximations and assumptions, several models have been introduced in academic research domain. But still the models are failure specific and have considered surface failures (i.e. scuffing and pitting) and bending fatigue separately. Practically, there is a very high possibility that a gear is operated under an influence of both types of failures and hence reaches to its breakage well before the life estimated by a failure specific model.  Due to this, a model considering the theoretical aspects of both types of failures can reflect more practicality of gear meshing and can provide more good estimation of useful life.

In this research, a theory will be postulated for the combined mode of gear failures. The theory will be supported by the basic gear failure mathematics and preliminary validation will be done by comparing the results with the existing failure theories. The theoretical mathematical representation will further be used to develop a gear testing simulation. This simulation will test the model on different combination of critical operational parameters. Finally, experimentation will be performed on real gears for the validation.

Cranfield is an exclusively postgraduate university that is a global leader for transformational research and education in technology and management. Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF) has recognised 81% of Cranfield’s research as world leading or internationally excellent in its quality. Every year Cranfield graduates the highest number of postgraduates in engineering and technology in the UK (Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency Ltd). Cranfield Manufacturing is one of eight major themes at Cranfield University.

The manufacturing capability is world leading and combines a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates design, technology and management expertise. We link fundamental materials research with manufacturing to develop novel technologies and improve the science base of manufacturing research.

The Through-life Engineering Services (TES) Centre are among the world leaders in through-life approaches for high value systems, Condition monitoring, Damage tolerance, Asset management. TES was developed with the support of EPSRC grant of £ 11 million with the aim to develop research excellence and address the research problems in the sector of Through-life Engineering services. TES Centre is providing its state of the art academic and research services to industrial clients such as Boeing, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Meggitt, Thales, MOD, Bombardier, QinetiQ, Thales, Network Rail, Schlumberger and Alstom.