Ring Gear Materials

Glen Cahala & Tim Zwirlein The Falk Corporation, (Mill Products) Milwaukee, Wisconsin Abstract Historically, ring gears have been manufactured from cast or wrought steel with some limited use of cast iron. With recent developments in structural designs, materials, and process control, a relatively new gear material is now available. Nodular iron, also know as Ductile Iron (DI), or Spheroidal Graphite Iron (SGI), has become an alternative for alloy steel. Although the material properties of nodular iron are approaching those of steel, it is not a fully comparable equal. Therefore, the use of nodular iron as a ring gear material continues to have limited applications. This paper presents a material overview of wrought and cast steel with a comparison to nodular iron. The ring gear materials are evaluated with respect to gear rating standards, mechanical properties, and historical applications. I. Introduction A gear set generally has three modes of failure: pitting, bending, and wear. Pitting resistance and bending fatigue have comprehensive formulas, which are utilized to determine a gears predicted service life. AGMA 2001 and ISO 6336 are examples of two base standards, which are used to calculate a gear tooth service rating. AGMA 6004 was developed from AGMA 2001 as an application specific gear rating standard for steel ring gears. Both ISO and AGMA gear rating standards have achieved global acceptance and utilize the same general principles. The underlying foundation for pitting resistance is the Hertzian stress formula, and for bending is a cantilevered plate. The gear rating formulas consider factors such as tooth geometry, materials, dynamics, and load distribution, just to name a few. While it is the intent of this paper to evaluate various ring gear materials, it is
ALLOWABLE CONTACT STRESS
THROUGH HARDENED MATERIALS

991001 April, 2000

important to note that material is not the sole contributing factor to gear set ratings.

II. Surface Hardness Hardness is the most important material property of the prospective gear material to the designer. Generally other material properties such as yield, and tensile strength will be achieved within acceptable limits relative to the material hardness. Both AGMA and ISO use the material surface hardness to determine allowable limits for the contact (pitting resistance) and bending stress. The material allowables specified in ISO 6336 for alloy steel are limited to 360 HB maximum, nodular iron is limited to 300 HB maximum. The ISO 6336 surface hardness limits have been established in conjunction with supporting experimental test data. The extrapolation of these curves should only be done with application specific test data. Figures 1 & 2 graphically illustrate the ISO 6336 and AGMA allowable bending and contact stress for cast alloy steel, wrought alloy steel and nodular cast iron with respect to surface hardness. AGMA 2001 does not provide material allowable stress data for normalized and tempered nodular iron materials. AGMA 6004 only pertains to steel gearing. ISO 6336 allows a cast steel gear set rating to be calculated with the wrought alloy steel allowable stress levels, under specific circumstances. The ISO 6336 provision is as follows: When the casting quality meets the quality criteria for wrought (forged or rolled) steels, wrought steel allowable stress numbers may be used in gear rating calculations for cast steel gears operating with wrought steel pinions. Suitability of using wrought steel allowables stress numbers for casting rating
ALLOWABLE BENDING STRESS
THROUGH HARDENED MATERIALS

165,000 155,000 145,000 135,000 125,000

PSI
ISO 6336 (ME) WROUGHT ALLOY STEEL AGMA 6004

54,000

365
ISO 6336 (ME) WROUGHT ALLOY STEEL

1100 1050 1000 950 900

N/mm2
PSI

51,500 49,000 46,500 44,000 41,500 39,000 36,500 34,000 31,500 29,000 26,500

345 325

115,000 105,000 95,000 85,000 75,000

ISO 6336 (ME) NODULAR CAST IRON

IS0 6336 (ME) CAST ALLOY STEEL

800 750 700 650 600 550 500

AGMA 6004 STEEL

265 245 225

ISO 6336 (ME) NODULAR CAST IRON

205 185

65,000 450 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380

24,000 165 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380

Figure 1

HB

Figure 2

HB

N/mm2

850

ISO 6336 (ME) CAST ALLOY STEEL

305 285

calculations must be supported by test and operating experience. Falk ring gear castings meet the requirements for utilizing the wrought alloy steel allowable stress levels, and are supported with an unparalleled operating installed base. ISO 6336 de-rates nodular iron relative to alloy steel, for both the allowable bending and contact stress. This de-rate equates to a significantly lower gear set rating for a nodular iron ring gear, when compared to steel. The percent de-rate for nodular iron is calculated for various surface hardness levels in Table 1. The effect of the material de-rate for nodular cast iron versus a alloy steel ring gear is illustrated by the following example. For example, a 300 HB cast alloy steel ring gear with an outside diameter of 11300 mm (246 in) and a face width of 718 mm (28.3 in). The equivalent nodular iron gear would require a larger tooth to overcome a 26.8 % de-rate of the allowable bending stress, for gear strength ratings. In addition the face width would need to be increased to 950 mm (37.4 in) to accommodate an 24.3% de-rate in the allowable contact stress, for the gear pitting resistance rating. The nodular iron gear must be physically larger in size or harder than the cast alloy steel to produce a gear set with equivalent ratings.

limit can be higher, as shown in Figure 3. In a gear rim, the principle loads on a gear tooth are not in the longitudinal direction of wrought material, so there is no difference in performance between wrought and cast steel of the same hardness and quality level. This equivalence of wrought and cast steel is recognized in ISO 6336 as previously noted.

TABLE 1 ISO 6336 Quality (ME) % De-rate Nodular Iron to Alloy Steel
Steel Wrought Cast Stress Contact Bending Contact Bending Surface Hardness (HB) 200 21.6 30.5 13.4 18.2 245 23.0 28.9 9.3 16.9 285 23.9 27.3 8.6 15.6 300 24.3 26.8 8.1 15.3 Figure 3

When the casting quality meets the quality criteria for wrought (forged or

rolled) steels, wrought steel allowable stress numbers may be used in gear rating calculation for cast steel gear operating with wrought steel pinions.

III. Materials Ring gears are made from heavy section size, steel fabrications, steel castings, or nodular iron castings. A heavy section means that the tooth portion or rim section of the gear is typically over 100 mm (4 in) in thickness. Fabrications Fabrications have an advantage over castings in that they can often be produced in shorter lead-time, because pattern tooling needed to make a casting is not required. Castings, however, give the designer more freedom to incorporate complex shapes in the design. A casting is isotropic, which means that its mechanical properties are the same regardless of the orientation of applied loads. Wrought material used in a fabrication is anisotropic, which means that its mechanical properties are better in the direction parallel to the working, or grain flow, direction than in any other direction. The anisotropy of wrought material is especially evident in the values for tensile ductility and endurance limit. In tensile tests percent elongation and percent reduction of area in the transverse direction of wrought material can be less than half the values in the longitudinal direction. The fatigue resistance of a cast steel is commonly recognized as being the same as for a comparable wrought steel tested in the transverse direction, but the cast steel endurance 2

The rim material for a fabricated Falk ring gear requires steel plate of the highest quality ensuring sound material at the root of the gear tooth. The plate used for a ring gear is manufactured by a specific process, which eliminates centerline inclusions in the steel. The plate is 100% ultrasonically inspected per ASTM A578 using straight beam techniques. The rim material of a Falk fabricated steel gear can be manufactured from 1045 carbon steel or 4340 alloy steel plate. The 1045 steel plate has a specified hardness of approximately 180HB, while the 4340 plate can be provided in hardness up to 300HB. Falk inventories both of these rim materials in various thicknesses to provide the best possible delivery. Steel Castings Over the past 50 years Falk has developed and fully tested its own proprietary steel alloys, these include Falks Moly-Telastic steel, #1, #3, #4, and #6 Gear alloys. These alloys are designed to produce the required depth of hardness for heavy sections up to 380 mm (15 in) in the normalized and tempered condition. The cast alloy steels range in hardness from a minimum of 180 HB for the Moly-Telastic, to a nominal hardness of 340 HB for the #6 Gear alloy. No other ring gear material can provide the versatility of cast alloy steel. The chemistry of steel can be easily tailored to the application insuring that the specified hardness will be obtained below the tooth root in the section size being cast.

When making a sound steel gear casting, approximately 40% of the metal poured will end up in the finished product, and the rest is used to fill the mold and feed the casting during solidification. The riser and gating material is cut off and re-melted and thus does not add appreciably to the cost of production. All Falk gears are designed with a full ring riser. This results in the highest integrity steel casting possible by insuring proper directional solidification from the bottom to the top of the casting. The other benefits of the full ring riser is that it simplifies riser cut-off and creates a more uniform section reducing hardness variations in heat treatment. Full ring riser castings, along with proper wedging, and heat treatments, are what allow Falk to obtain ISO wrought ME quality castings. Falk has carefully developed the process of making a high quality cast steel gear and has manufactured over 5,000 gear sets. The proven performance of these gears allows Falk to offer a full 3-year warranty on new gear sets, which is the best in the industry. Nodular Iron Castings A relatively new material to the ring gear market is nodular iron. Falk Australia has been manufacturing nodular iron ring gears since 1986. While Falk Australia does not have a captive foundry, nodular iron castings have been locally sourced and subsequently machined by Falk Australia. Falk Australia has supplied nodular iron ring gears throughout the world for applications ranging from 250 kW to 5500 kW. A typical ring gear design will use ENGJS-700-2 nodular iron with a hardness as high as 300 HB. This material nomenclature implies a minimum material tensile strength of a 700 N/mm2 or (101,500 psi) and a minimum of 2% elongation. Additional material properties for both ENGJS-700-2 nodular iron and 4340 alloy steel are detailed in Table 2.

practical for a split ring gear because of size, distortion and potential cracking problems. Unlike steel, a nodular cast iron tensile bar does not neck down during testing, indicating limited ductility. Nodular iron will fail in a brittle manner if subjected to impact overloads. This type of loading is not expected in normal mill operation. However, impact loads have been documented when a mill is subjected to locked charge, electrical overload, or sudden starts and stops. Mills employing nodular iron gears historically use lower motor powers, compared to the steel counter-part. Steel ring gears have a much larger motor power capacity, with a successful operating history. Rating differences, lower stiffness, and lower impact resistance, have limited nodular iron castings to gear applications below 5500kW. (See Figure 4.)
RING GEARS MANUFACTURED 1990 - 1998 QUANTITY vs. MOTOR POWER

QUANTITY

160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

MOTOR POWER (kW)

Nodular Iron Steel

6000

7000

8000

Figure 4

TABLE 2 Nodular Iron & Alloy Steel Castings

Material Attribute Hardness (max) Tensile (min) Yield (min) % Elongation (min) Endurance Ratio Endurance Limit Modulus of Elasticity Poissons Ratio Density HB N/mm2 (psi) N/mm2 (psi) N/mm2 (psi) GN/m2 (psi) g/cm3 (lbs/in3) ENGJS-700-2 Nodular Iron 300 700 (101,500) 420 (60,900) 2 0.333 230 (33,400) 176 (25.5 x 106) 0.275 7.2 (0.26) 4340 Alloy Steel 300 830 (120,400) 620 (90,000) 12 0.500 415 (60,190) 207 (30 x 106) 0.265 7.9 (0.284)

Cast iron is a material consisting of a steel matrix with free graphite present in the structure. In common gray iron the graphite is in the form of flakes, which makes the metal extremely brittle. In nodular cast iron the graphite is present in the form of nodules or spheres, which gives it some ductility or ability to resist shock loads. Cast iron chemistry is transformed into nodular iron by the addition of magnesium to the melt at the proper time. Control of this addition is critical to the formation of the graphite nodules. If not done properly the result will be an unusable casting. Nodular cast iron is limited to a maximum hardness of 300HB in any section unless it is quenched and tempered. A quench and temper heat treatment is not 3

It is critical that the section size of the nodular iron casting be kept as uniform as possible in order to take advantage of its unique solidification. The mold wall must be kept absolutely rigid or else casting shrinkage can be induced. All critical areas such as the gear rim and bolting flange must be chilled to promote uniform cooling. A mold chill is a block of cast iron or steel that is molded into the sand, and will come into direct contact with the molten metal. The chill is a heat sink for the molten metal. The required use of mold chills typically restricts nodular iron ring gear structures to a Tee section design (see Figure 5). A box section ring gear structure (see Figure 5) is typically used for wider face width gears, if a larger amount of rim face deflection is anticipated. A nodular iron ring gear will require a heavier section rim thickness to minimize rim deflection of large face width gears.

Figure 5

Box Section

Tee Section

IV. Conclusion Material selection is one of the most crucial decisions made in the design and manufacture of any mechanical system. Material selection has an effect on all aspects of a project including the design and economics associated with manufacturability, quality, lead-time, and performance. Large ring gears are no different in this regard from any other mechanical system. Only a qualified gear manufacturer fully understands the requirements and limitations of the materials and processes used to manufacture these large gears. An informed gear user realizes that it is not just the upfront cost of the gear purchase that matters, but the total life cost, in terms of proven reliability and performance. Falk has the most comprehensive ability to supply not only a high quality gear set, but a true drive system including gear reducer, inching drives, couplings, riding rings, and support rollers. This is a testament to Falks engineering, foundry and gear manufacturing expertise. In addition, Falk offers continuous after-sales service, with engineers and technical customer support staff available to answer all of your drive related questions.

1. Data handbook for Ductile Cast Irons. The Casting development centre 1997 2. Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears ISO 6336-5 First edition 1996-06-15 3. Fundamental Rating Factors and Calculation Methods for Involute Spur Helical Gear Teeth ANSI/AGMA 2001-C95 4. Gear power Rating for Cylindrical Grinding Mills, Kilns, Coolers and Dryers ANSI/AGMA 6004-F88 5. ASM Handbook, Vol. 1, Tenth edition, p. 345 Properties and Selection : Irons and Steel by the American Society for Metals 6. ASM handbook, Vol 19, Tenth edition, pp. 657-658 7. Materials for Gearing Used in the Mining Industry By E.J. Wellauer and G.J. Wiskow 1974

References