Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2008 Vol II

IMECS 2008, 19-21 March, 2008, Hong Kong

Optimal Calculation of Partial Transmission

Ratios of Four-step Helical Gearboxes for
Getting Minimal Cross Section Dimension
Vu Ngoc Pi
Abstract—In this paper, a new study on the applications of
the optimization and computer techniques for optimal
determination of partial ratios of four-step helical gearboxes for
getting their minimal cross section dimension is presented. In
the paper, basing on the moment equilibrium condition of a
mechanic system including four gear units and their regular
resistance condition, models for calculation of the partial ratios
of the gearboxes are proposed. In particular, explicit models for
prediction of the partial ratios are introduced by using
regression analysis technique. These models allow determining
the partial ratios accurately and simply.
Index Terms—Gearbox design; optimal design; helical
gearbox, transmission ratio.
I. INTRODUCTION
In optimal gearbox design, the optimal determination of
partial transmission ratios has a decisive role. From both
theory and manufacturing practice, it is known that the partial
ratios are main effected factors on the size, the dimension, the
mass, and the cost of the gearboxes. Therefore, optimal
calculation of the partial ratios has been subjected to various
researches.
Until now, many studies have been carried out on the
determination of the partial ratios of helical gearboxes. For
this type of gearboxes, the partial ratios can be predicted by
the following methods:
-By graph method: for two, three and four-step helical
gearboxes [1], [2], [3] (see an example in Figure 1).
and three-step gearboxes [6], or for minimal gear mass of
three-step gearboxes [7].
It is clear that until now there have been many researches
on the prediction of the partial ratios for two and three-step
helical gearboxes. However, there have not been many
studies on that for four-step gearboxes. Also, for four-step
gearboxes, there has been only graph method for the
determination of the partial ratios. This paper introduces a
new result for optimal determination of partial ratios for
helical gearboxes with first-step double gear-sets for getting
the minimal cross section dimension.
II. DETERMINATION OF THE DIMENSION OF THE GEARBOX
CROSS SECTION
The cross section dimension of a four-step helical gearbox is
decided by the dimension of A which is determined by the
following equation (see Figure 2):
A = L⋅h (1)
In which, h and L are determined by the following
equations:
h = max(d w 21 , d w 22 , d w 23 , d w24 ) (2)
d w11 d
L= + aw1 + aw 2 + aw3 + aw4 + w24 (3)
2 2
For the first step (a helical gear unit), the center distance
can be expressed as follows:

d w11 d w21 d w21 ⎛ d w11 ⎞

aw1 = + = ⋅⎜ + 1⎟ (4)
2 2 2 ⎝ d w 21 ⎠

Or we have

d w21 ⎛ 1 ⎞
aw1 = ⎜ + 1⎟ (5)
2 ⎝ u1 ⎠
Fig. 1: Determination of partial ratios of three-step helical
gearboxes [1]
For the second, the third and the fourth step, using the
-By “practical method” (or based on practical data): for same way we get:
two-step helical gearboxes [4].
-By models: for getting minimal cross section dimension d w 22 ⎛ 1 ⎞
aw 2 = ⎜ + 1⎟ (6)
of two-step gearboxes [5], for minimal gearbox mass of two 2 ⎝ u2 ⎠

ISBN: 978-988-17012-1-3 IMECS 2008

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2008 Vol II
IMECS 2008, 19-21 March, 2008, Hong Kong

d w 23 ⎛ 1 ⎞
aw 3 = ⎜ + 1⎟ (7) Substituting (12) and (13) into (11) we get:
2 ⎝ u3 ⎠
ψ ba1 ⋅ d w3 21 ⋅ [ K 01 ]
d w 24 ⎛ 1 ⎞ [T11 ] = (14)
aw 4 = ⎜ + 1⎟ (8) 4 ⋅ u12
2 ⎝ u4 ⎠
Substituting (5), (6), (7) and (8) into (3) with the note that Where
d w11 = d w 21 / u1 we have
[σ H 1 ]2
d w21 ⎛ 2 ⎞ d ⎛ 1 ⎞ [ K01 ] = (15)
K H 1 ⋅ ( Z M 1 ⋅ Z H 1 ⋅ Zε 1 )
2
L= ⋅ ⎜ + 1⎟ + w22 ⋅ ⎜ + 1⎟ +
2 ⎝ u1 ⎠ 2 ⎝ u2 ⎠
(9)
d ⎛ 1 ⎞ d ⎛ 1 ⎞ From (14) the pitch diameter dw21 can be calculated by:
+ w23 ⋅ ⎜ + 1⎟ + w 24 ⋅ ⎜ + 2 ⎟
2 ⎝ u3 ⎠ 2 ⎝ 4
u ⎠
⎛ 4 [T11 ] u12 ⎞
1/ 3

d w21 = ⎜ ⎟ (16)
In the above equations, u1, u2, u3, u4 are transmission ratios, ⎜ ψ ba1 [ K 01 ] ⎟
dw11, dw12, dw21, dw22, dw23, dw24 are pitch diameters (mm) and ⎝ ⎠
aw1, aw2, aw3, aw4 are center distances (mm) of helical gear
units 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Calculating in the same way, the following equations can
For the first step, the following equation can be used as the be found for the second, the third and the four step:
design equation for the pitting resistance [8]:
⎛ 4 [T12 ] u22 ⎞
1/ 3

2T11 K H 1 u1 + 1 d w22 =⎜ ⎟ (17)

σ H 1 = Z M 1 Z H 1 Zε 1 ≤ [σ H 1 ] (10) ⎜ ψ ba 2 ⎡⎣ K 02 ⎤⎦ ⎟
⎝ ⎠
bw1d w211u1
1/ 3
⎛ 4 ⎡T13 ⎤u32 ⎞
d w23 =⎜ ⎣ ⎦ ⎟ (18)
⎜ ψ ba 3 ⎣⎡ K 03 ⎦⎤ ⎟
⎝ ⎠

⎛ 4 [T14 ] u42 ⎞
1/ 3

d w24 =⎜ ⎟ (19)
⎜ ψ ba 4 ⎣⎡ K 04 ⎦⎤ ⎟
⎝ ⎠

In the above equations, Z M 1 , Z H 1 , Z ε 1 are coefficients

which consider the effects of the gear material, contact
surface shape, and contact ratio of the first gear unit when
calculate the pitting resistance; [σ H 1 ] is allowable contact
stresses of the first helical gear unit; ψ ba1 , ψ ba 2 , ψ ba 3 and
ψ ba 4 are coefficients of helical gear face width of steps 1, 2,
3 and 4, respectively.
The following equation can be obtained from the condition
Fig. 2: Calculating schema for four-step helical gearbox
of moment equilibrium of the mechanic system which
includes four gear units and the regular resistance condition
From (10) we have:
of the system:

b ⋅ d 2 ⋅u [σ H 1 ] 2
(11) Tr = [ r ] = u ⋅ u ⋅ u ⋅ u ⋅η 4 ⋅η 4
[T11 ] = w21⋅ uw11+ 1 1 T
( 1 ) K H 1 ⋅ ( Z M 1 ⋅ Z H 1 ⋅ Zε 1 )2 T11 [T11 ]
1 2 3 4 brt o (20)

In which, bw1 and dw11 are determined as follows: Where, ηbrt is helical gear transmission efficiency ( ηbrt is
from 0.96 to 0.98 [8]); ηo is transmission efficiency of a pair
ψ ba1 ⋅ d w11 ⋅ ( u1 + 1)
bw1 = ψ ba1 ⋅ aw1 = (12) of rolling bearing ( ηo is from 0.99 to 0.995 [8]).
2 Choosing ηbrt = 0.97 , ηo = 0.992 and substituting them
into (20) we have
d w 21
d w11 = (13)
u1

ISBN: 978-988-17012-1-3 IMECS 2008

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2008 Vol II
IMECS 2008, 19-21 March, 2008, Hong Kong

[T ] ⎛ 4.6658 ⋅ uh 4.4898 ⋅ u2
[T11 ] = 0.8573 ⋅ u ⋅r u (21) h = max ⎜ ;
⎜ψ ⋅ u2 ⋅ u2 ⋅ u2 ψ ⋅ k ⋅ u ⋅ u
;
1 2 ⋅ u3 ⋅ u4 ⎝ ba1 2 3 4 ba 2 c 2 3 4 (29)
4.3201 ⋅ u3 4.1571 ⋅ u4 ⎞
Substituting (21) into (16) with the note that u1 = uh / u2 ; ⎟
ψ ba 3 ⋅ kc 3 ⋅ u4 ψ ba 4 ⋅ kc 4 ⎠
we have

III. OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM AND RESULTS

4.6658 ⋅ [Tr ] ⋅ uh
1/ 3
⎛ ⎞
d w 21 = ⎜ ⎟ (22) Based on (1), (28) and (29), the optimal problem for
⎜ψ ⋅[K ] ⋅ u2 ⋅ u2 ⋅ u2 ⎟
⎝ ba1 01 2 3 4 ⎠ finding the minimal cross section dimension can be
expressed as follows:
For the second helical gear unit we also have: The objective function is:

Tr [Tr ] = u ⋅ u ⋅ u ⋅η 3 ⋅η 3 min A = f (uh ; u2 ; u3 ; u4 ) (30)

= (23)
T12 [T12 ]
2 3 4 brt o
Where, A is determined by (1) and L and h (in Equation 1
are calculated by (28) and (29), respectively.
With η brt = 0.97 and η o = 0.992 (23) becomes With the following constraints:

[T ] u h min ≤ u h ≤ u h max
[T12 ] = 0.8909 ⋅ ur ⋅ u ⋅ u4
(24)
2 3
u 2 min ≤ u 2 ≤ u 2 max
Substituting (24) into (17) we got
u3min ≤ u3 ≤ u3max
⎛ 4.4898 ⋅ [Tr ] ⋅ u2
1/ 3
⎞
d w22 = ⎜ ⎟⎟ (25) u
⎜ ψ ba 2 ⋅ ⎡ K 02 ⎤⋅ u3 ⋅ u4 4 min ≤ u4 ≤ u4 max
⎝ ⎣ ⎦ ⎠
KC 2 min ≤ KC 2 ≤ KC 2max
In exactly similar manner, we can derive the following
equations for the third and the fourth steps:
KC 3min ≤ KC 3 ≤ KC 3max (31)
⎛ 4.3201 ⋅ [Tr ] ⋅ u3
1/ 3
⎞
d w23 = ⎜ ⎟⎟ (26) KC 4 min ≤ KC 4 ≤ KC 4max
⎜ ψ ba 3 ⋅ ⎡ K 03 ⎤⋅ u4
⎝ ⎣ ⎦ ⎠
ψ ba1min ≤ ψ ba1 ≤ ψ ba1max
⎛ 4.1571 ⋅ [Tr ] ⋅ u4
1/ 3
⎞
d w24 = ⎜ ⎟⎟ (27) ψ
⎜ ψ ba 4 ⋅⎡K 04 ⎤ ba 2 min ≤ ψ ba 2 ≤ ψ ba 2 max
⎝ ⎣ ⎦ ⎠

Substituting (22), (25), (26) and (27) into (9), the length of
ψ ba 3min ≤ ψ ba 3 ≤ ψ ba 3max
the gearbox can be calculated by:
ψ ba 4 min ≤ ψ ba 4 ≤ ψ ba 4 max
⎡⎛
1 ⎛ [Tr ] ⎞
1/ 3 1/ 3
4.6658 ⋅ uh ⎞ ⎛2 ⎞
L= ⎜ ⎟ ⋅ ⎢⎜ ⎟⎟ ⋅ ⎜ + 1⎟ + To perform the above optimization problem a computer
2 ⎜⎝ ⎡⎣ K 01 ⎤⎦ ⎟⎠ ⎢⎜⎝ ψ ba1 ⋅ u22 ⋅ u32 ⋅ u42 ⎠ ⎝ 1 ⎠
u
⎣ program was built. The data used in the program as follows:
(28) KC 2 , KC 3 , KC 4 were from 1 to 1.3, ψ ba1 , ψ ba 2 , ψ ba 3 ,
1/ 3 1/ 3
⎛ 4.4898 ⋅ u2 ⎞ ⎛ 4.3201 ⋅ u3 ⎞
+⎜ ⎟ +⎜ ⎟ +
ψ ⋅ ⋅
⎝ ba 2 C 2 3 4 ⎠
K u ⋅ u ⎝ ψ ba 3 ⋅ KC 3 ⋅ u4 ⎠ ψ ba 4 were from 0.25 to 0.4 [8], u2 , u3 , u4 were from 1 to 9
⎞⎤
1/ 3 [1]; uh was from 50 to 400.
⎛ 4.1571 ⋅ u4 ⎞ ⎛ 1
+⎜ ⎟ ⋅ ⎜ + 2 ⎟⎥
⎝ ψ ba 4 ⋅ KC 2 ⎠ ⎝ u4 ⎠ ⎥⎦ From the results of the optimization program, the
following regression models were determined to calculate the
optimal values of the partial ratios of the second, third and
Where, KC 2 = ⎣⎡K 02 ⎦⎤ / ⎣⎡K 01 ⎦⎤ , KC 3 = ⎣⎡ K 03 ⎦⎤ / ⎣⎡ K 01 ⎦⎤ , and fourth steps:
KC 4 = ⎣⎡K 04 ⎦⎤ / ⎣⎡K 01 ⎦⎤ .
From (22), (25), (26) and (27), (2) can be rewritten as 1.2053 ⋅ KC0.4492 ⋅ψ ba ⋅ uh
0.4638 0.257
u2 ≈ 2 2 (32)
follows: KC 3 ⋅ KC 4 ⋅ψ ba1 ⋅ψ ba
0.0419 0.1233 0.2757 0.0617
3 ⋅ψ ba
0.1279
4

ISBN: 978-988-17012-1-3 IMECS 2008

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2008 Vol II
IMECS 2008, 19-21 March, 2008, Hong Kong

1.1846 ⋅ KC0.4596 ⋅ψ ba
0.4417
⋅ uh0.1197
u3 ≈ 3 3 (33)
KC0.2339
2 ⋅ KC0.0622
4 ⋅ψ ba
0.1211
1 ⋅ψ ba
0.2445
2 ⋅ψ ba
0.0741
4

1.107 ⋅ KC0.4683 ⋅ψ ba 4 ⋅ uh
0.462 0.0601
u4 ≈ 4 (34)
KC 2 ⋅ KC 3 ⋅ψ ba1 ⋅ψ ba
0.1165 0.2696 0.0603 0.1225
2 ⋅ψ ba
0.2793
3

The above regression models fit quite well with the data.
The coefficients of determination were R 2 = 0.9895 ,
R 2 = 0.9689 , and R 2 = 0.9663 for Equations 32, 33 and 34,
respectively.
Equations 32, 33 and 34 are used to calculate the
transmission ratio u2, u3, and u4 of steps 2, 3 and 4 of the
gearbox. After determining u2, u3, and u4, the transmission
ratio of the first step u1 can be determined as follows:

uh
u1 = (35)
u2 ⋅ u3 ⋅ u4

IV. CONCLUSION
The minimal across section dimension of four-step helical
gearboxes can be obtained by optimal splitting the total
transmission ratio of the gearboxes.
Models for determination of the optimal partial ratios of
four-step helical gearboxes for getting the minimal across
section dimension of the gearboxes have been proposed.
The partial ratios of the gearboxes can be determined
accurately and simply by explicit models.

REFERENCES
[1] V.N. Kudreavtev; I.A. Gierzaves; E.G. Glukharev, Design and
calculus of gearboxes (in Russian), Mashinostroenie Publishing, Sankt
Petersburg, 1971.
[2] Trinh Chat, Optimal calculation the total transmission ratio of helical
gear units (in Vietnamese), Scientific Conference of Hanoi University
of Technology, 1996, pp. 74-79.
[3] A. N. Petrovski, B.A. Sapiro, N.K. Saphonova, About optimal problem
for multi-step gearboxes (in Russian), Vestnik Mashinostroenie, No.
10, 1987, pp. 13-14.
[4] G. Milou; G. Dobre; F. Visa; H. Vitila, Optimal Design of Two Step
Gear Units, regarding the Main Parameters, VDI Berichte No 1230,
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[5] Vu Ngoc Pi, A new method for optimal calculation of total
transmission ratio of two step helical gearboxes, The Nation
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[6] Romhild I. , Linke H., Gezielte Auslegung Von Zahnradgetrieben mit
minimaler Masse auf der Basis neuer Berechnungsverfahren,
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[7] Vu Ngoc Pi, Nguyen Dang Binh, Vu Quy Dac, Phan Quang The,
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[8] Trinh Chat, Le Van Uyen, Design and calculus of Mechanical
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Hanoi , 1998.

ISBN: 978-988-17012-1-3 IMECS 2008