[Link].

com/scientificreports

OPEN Contact analysis and strength

calculations of involute spline
couplings
Shuting Li

A finite element method (FEM) is presented to conduct loaded tooth contact analysis and strength
calculations of involute spline couplings. Special FEM software has been developed. Contact, bending
and shear stresses of the spline couplings are analyzed by the developed software and they are
compared with results obtained by an approximation method. It is found that “Edge loads” exist at
tooth tip and root contacts and also exist at two sides of the face width when the pair of teeth has
different face widths. Effects of tooth profile deviations and pitch errors on tooth contacts are also
investigated by the developed software respectively. It is found that tooth contact and stresses are
affected by the tooth profile deviations and pitch errors greatly. Finally, reliability of the presented
method and software are discussed.

Involute spline couplings are often used in cars, robots, and other machines to connect two shafts and transmit
a great torque. Though the spline couplings are used in machine design very early, strength calculation problem
of this kind of couplings has not been solved so far. Designers must use an approximation method to conduct
strength calculations of the spline couplings at the present situation.
Hayashi1 investigated torsional stiffness and a yield torque which was determined by the maximum shear
stress produced by a loaded torque of spline couplings in theory. The torsional stiffness of the couplings was
calculated theoretically, and the results were compared with the measured ones. But contact pressure on tooth
surfaces, bending and shear stresses at tooth root could not be investigated. ­Burgtorf2 introduced fatigue failure
patterns of spline couplings and explained reasons to resulted in the fatigue failures. It was pointed out that the
cumulative pitch errors of the teeth were a substantial factor to affect loading-capacity of the spline couplings.
­Yeung3 studied stress calculations of the spline couplings with a taper using the boundary element method. Cal-
culation results showed that the maximum principal stress in the shaft was reduced about 14% when an optimal
tapering of 0.54° was added to the spline couplings. Schäfer4 introduced some industrial applications of modified
splines to increase loading-capacity of the spline couplings through changing design parameters. ­Chase5 studied
stress calculation methods of the spline couplings two dimensionally using an analytical method by suggesting a
new, sequential model for spline tooth contact. Calculation results were compared ones obtained by commercial
software. ­Pardhi16 and P
­ atil10 conducted stress analyses of spline couplings using ANSYS software. Shear stresses
at the tooth root were analyzed and compared with an experimental result obtained by a photo elasticity. CURÀ7
also analyzed contact pressure on the tooth surfaces of the spline couplings using a two-dimensional (2D), FEM.
­Tjernberg8 investigated load distribution of spline teeth using an analytical method. Curàa9 conducted a contact
analysis of the spline couplings using Commercial software and tooth contact stresses were investigated. Since
FEM models used in this paper were very rough, it was necessary to confirm calculation results with an experi-
ment. Also, tooth bending strength and shear strength could not be investigated in the paper.
Though there are so many papers available on the spline couplings, contact pressure distributions on the
surfaces of contact teeth have not been analyzed successfully and effects of tooth profile deviations and pitch
errors on tooth contacts have not been investigated. Especially, “Edge load” phenomenon of the contact teeth
has not been analyzed. So, the reality is that strength calculation problem of the spline couplings has not been
solved so far.
This paper presents a new FEM to conduct loaded tooth contact analysis and stress calculations of the involute
spline couplings. This new FEM has many advantages that commercial software cannot have. For examples, this
new FEM can save a lot of computer memories in the contact analysis. So, it can solve all-tooth-contact prob-
lem of the spline couplings very precisely and quickly even if number of teeth of the spline becomes very great.
But the commercial software cannot solve this problem because of computer memory limit. Also, tooth profile

Department of Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu‑Cho,
Matsue 690‑8504, Japan. email: shutingli@[Link]; shutingnpu@[Link]

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deviations and pitch errors of the spline teeth can be considered very easily and precisely in the contact analysis
when the new FEM is used. But it shall be very difficult to do the same analyses if the commercial software is
used. Special software is also developed according to the principle of the new FEM.

Involute spline couplings used as research objects

Gearing parameters of the involute spline couplings used as research objects in this paper are given in Table 1.
Figure 1a–c are section views of the spline couplings. Figure 1b is a case that the internal spline and the external
spline have the same (equal) face widths. Figure 1c is a case that the internal spline and the external spline have
different face widths. Figure 1c is used to investigate the effect of different face widths on tooth contact, bending
and shear stresses of the spline couplings.

The principle used for contact analysis of the spline couplings

The principle of contact analysis. Figure 2 is a concept diagram used to explain a new method presented
by the author in this paper for loaded tooth contact analysis of a pair of involute spline couplings. In Fig. 2, one
internal tooth space and one external tooth are illustrated. A lot of pairs of contact points, such as (1–1′), (2–2′),
…, (k–k′), …, (n–n′), are made both on the internal and external tooth surfaces. These pairs of contact points
are made along the directions of the common normal of the pairs of themselves. They are used as contact points
in loaded tooth contact analysis of the spline couplings. The contact analysis of different pair of contact points is
conducted along the different common normal of itself. Since the common normal at different place of the pair
of contact points has different direction, loaded tooth contact analysis is conducted along different direction for
different pair at the same time. This concept is completely different from the concept used in the p­ apers11–13. This
is a new concept presented firstly by the author in this paper. Though this new concept is presented to solve the
contact problem of the spline couplings, it can also be suitable for other contact problems of elastic bodies with
complex shapes.
In Fig. 2, (k–k′) is an arbitrary pair of contact points. For this pair of contact points, Fk is a contact load
between the pair (k–k′) along the common normal of this pair. εk is a backlash between the pair (k–k′) along the

Items Symbol Results

Tooth profile Involute
Number of teeth Z 14
Module m 2.5 (mm)
Pressure angle αc 20 (degrees)
Shifting coefficient x + 0.8
Edge radius of cutter rc 0.375 m
Addendum 0.4m (mm)
Clearance 0.25m (mm)
Face width of the hub b 20 (mm)
Diameter of the meshing pitch circle Dm Dm = (Z + 2x)m
Loaded torque Tz 411.6 (Nm)

Table 1.  Gearing parameters of the involute spline couplings used in this paper.

(a) Section view (b) Same (equal) face width (c) Different face width

Figure 1.  Structures of the involute spline couplings used as research objects.

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Internal tooth

1'
3'
1 k'

Normal 3 k
k
k
k' k

k
n'
k

r k n

r2 k k' rn

External tooth
k

Figure 2.  Concept diagram used for contact analysis of involute spline couplings.

common normal. ωk and ωk′ are deformation of the points k and k′ along the common normal. rk is a distance
from the gear center to the common normal.
The linear deformation ωk and ωk′ can be converted to an angular deformation θk and θk′ by using Eq. (1). Also,
the linear backlash εk can be converted to an angular backlash αk by using Eq. (2). The total angular deformation
between the pair of contact teeth is denoted as α.
θk = ωk /rk ; θk′ = ωk′ /rk, (1)

αk = εk /rk . (2)
The loaded tooth contact analysis is conducted for a pair of spline couplings along the direction of rotation.
As shown in Fig. 2, when the external gear is fixed and a torque is applied on the internal gear, if the pair of
contact points (k–k′) comes into contact, then a relationship as given in Eq. (3) can be available and if (k–k′)
does not come into contact, a relationship as given in Eq. (4) can be available. Equation (3) and Eq. (4) can be
summarized into Eq. (5).
θk + θk′ + αk − α = 0 (k = 1, 2, . . . , n) (Contact), (3)

θk + θk′ + αk − α > 0 (k = 1, 2, . . . , n) (Not contact), (4)

θk + θk′ + αk − α ≥ 0 (k = 1, 2, . . . , n). (5)

Since ωk and ωk′ can be expressed using deformation influence coefficients akj and ak′ j′ as given in Eqs. (6)
and (7), Eq. (8) can be available by substituting Eqs. (6) and (7) into Eq. (1) and then substituting Eqs. (1) and
(2) into Eq. (5). According to Eqs. (8), (9) can be available. Also, Eq. (9) can be rewritten into Eq. (10). If Eq. (10)
is expressed with a form of matrix, Eq. (11) can be available. Variables of the matrices and arrays in Eq. (11) are
given in Eqs. (12) to (15).
n

ωk = akj Fj (k = 1, 2, . . . , n), (6)
j=1

n

ωk′ = ak′ j′ Fj (k = 1, 2, . . . , n), (7)
j=1

n n
1  1  εk
rk
akj Fj +
rk
ak′ j′ Fj +
rk
− α ≥ 0 (k = 1, 2, . . . , n), (8)
j=1 j=1

n
 1 εk
rk
(akj + ak′ j′ )Fj +
rk
− α ≥ 0 (k = 1, 2, . . . , n), (9)
j=1

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n
n  n n n
 1  εk  
rk
(akj + ak′ j′ )Fj +
rk
− α≥ 0, (10)
k=1 j=1 k=1 k=1 k=1

[A]{F} + {αk } − α{e} ≥ {0}, (11)

where,

(12)
    
[A] = Akj = akj + ak′ j′ /rk ,

{F} = {F1 , F2 , . . . , Fk , . . . , Fn }T ; Fk ≥ 0(k = 1, 2, . . . , n), (13)

{αk } = {ε1 /r1 , ε2 /r2 , . . . , εk /rk , . . . , εn /rn }T , (14)

{0} = {0, 0, . . . , 0, . . . , 0}T . (15)

On the other hand, there is a load equilibrium condition existing between contact loads of the contact points
and the external torque T that is applied on the contacted teeth. Here, T = TZ /Z . Z is number of teeth. So,
Eq. (16) can be available. If Eq. (16) is expressed with a form of matrix, Eq. (17) can be available.
n

Fk × rk = T, (16)
k=1

{rk }T {F} = T. (17)

Equation (11) is an inequality equation. It can be changed into an equality equation by introducing some
positive variables (usually called slack variable in the Linear Programming Method) into Eq. (11). Then Eq. (11)
can be changed into Eq. (18).
[A]{F} + {αk } − α{e} − [I]{Y } = {0}, (18)
where, [I] is a unit matrix and {Y } are slack variables.

{Y } = {Y1 , Y2 , . . . , Yk , . . . , Yn }T ; Yk ≥ 0(k = 1, 2, . . . , n). (19)

According to the principle of Linear Programming Method, an optimization model can be built as follows
using the two equality Eqs. (17) and (18) through introducing an artificial variable Z . This is the mathematical
model that is used to conduct contact analysis of the involute spline couplings in this paper.

Optimization model used for contact analysis of the involute spline couplings. Objective function.
Z = Xn+1 + Xn+2 + · · · + Xn+n + Xn+n+1 . (20)

Constraint conditions.
 ′
−[A]{F} + α{e} + [I]{Y } + [I] Z = {αk }, (21)

{rk }T {F} + Xn+n+1 = T, (22)

where,

Z = {Xn+1 , Xn+2 , . . . , Xn+n }T ; Xn+m ≥ 0 (m = 1, 2, . . . , n + 1).

 ′
(23)

FEM model of the spline couplings used for contact analysis. 3D, FEM are used to calculate the
deformation influence coefficients akj and ak′ j′ along the directions of the common normal of the pairs of contact
points of themselves. Also stresses of the spline couplings are analyzed by the 3D, FEM. FEM boundary condi-
tions used to calculate deformation influence coefficients and stresses are given in Fig. 3. For a pair of ideal spline
couplings, since all the pairs of the contact teeth have the same contact and stress states, it is necessary only to
consider one pair of teeth in the contact and stress analyses. So, this paper uses three-teeth models as shown in
Fig. 3 for the contact and stress analyses in order to be able to calculate the deformation influence coefficients
precisely. But the contact and stress analyses are only conducted for the middle pair of teeth. In Fig. 3, the
hatched boundaries are fixed as FEM boundary conditions.
The shaft and hub splines are fixed along axial directions under three cases (Cases 1, 2 and 3) as shown in
Fig. 4. Case 1 is the one that both the external and internal teeth have the same face widths and axial boundaries
of the shaft and hub splines are fixed as shown in Fig. 4a. Case 2 is the one that the external and internal teeth
have different face widths and the axial boundaries are fixed as shown in Fig. 4b. Case 3 is the one that the external

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Fixed boundary

Fixed boundary

Figure 3.  Section views of FEM models and boundary conditions.

Fixed boundary Fixed boundary Fixed boundary

Hub Hub Hub

Shaft Shaft Shaft

Fixed boundary Fixed boundary Fixed boundary

(a) Case 1 (b) Case 2 (c) Case 3

Figure 4.  Three cases used for FEM boundary conditions in the contact analysis.

and internal teeth have different face widths and the axial boundaries are fixed as shown in Fig. 4c. In Fig. 4c,
one end face is added in the fixed boundaries by comparing Fig. 4c with Fig. 4b in order to investigate the effect
of the end face on tooth contact and stress distribution states.

Flowchart of software development. Special FEM software is developed for contact and stress analy-
ses of the involute spline couplings based on the principle and optimization model stated above using Linear
Programming Method and FEM. The flowchart for the software development is given in Fig. 5. With the help of
the developed software, the contact and stress analyses are conducted for the pair of spline couplings as given in
Table 1. Calculation results are introduced in “Contact and stress analyses of the couplings with the same face
widths”, “Contact and stress analyses of the couplings with different face widths” and “The Effect of machining
errors on stress distributions of the couplings”.

Figure 5.  Flowchart of software development.

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Contact and stress analyses of the couplings with the same face widths
Generations of tooth profiles and FEM models of the spline couplings. Software used to gener-
ate tooth profiles of the splines is developed specially by the author. When the gearing parameters as shown in
Table 1 are inputted into the software, tooth profiles of both the external and internal teeth can be generated
automatically. Figure 6 is the result of tooth profiles of the splines generated by the developed software. The gen-
erated tooth profiles are used to build FEM models of the couplings automatically by other software developed
by author.
Figure 7a is a FEM model of assembled spline couplings with the same face widths as shown in Fig. 1b. Fig-
ure 7b is the FEM model of the shaft spline only. Since the contact and stress analyses are only conducted for
the middle pair of teeth, FEM meshes of the middle pair of teeth are divided to be very fine. As shown in Fig. 7,
meshes near to the contact surfaces of the middle pair of teeth and meshes at the tooth roots of the middle pair of
teeth are divided to be very fine to obtain reliable calculation results. Contact and stress analyses are conducted
for the couplings under the boundary condition of Case 1 as shown in Fig. 4a.

Calculation results obtained by the developed FEM software. Firstly, calculation results obtained
by the developed FEM software are introduced in this section. Figure 8 is a pressure distribution on contacted
surface of the external tooth. In Fig. 8, the abscissa is a longitudinal dimension of contact points along the lead.
“ x = 0” stands for the left end of the tooth as shown in Fig. 1b. The ordinate of Fig. 8 is a dimension of the
contact point along the tooth profile. “ y = 1” stands for the root of the internal tooth and the tip of the external
tooth. “ y = −1” stands for the tip of the internal tooth and the root of the external tooth. Figures 9 and 10 are
2D, distributions of the contact pressure along the lead and tooth profile respectively. They are results at the
tooth center positions. From Fig. 9, it is found that the contact pressure is almost a uniform distribution along
the lead. The maximum contact pressure is about 45 MPa, a very low pressure. From Fig. 10, it is found that the
contact pressure is varied greatly along the tooth profile. Greater contact pressures occurred at tooth tip and root
contacts. This phenomenon is often called “Edge load”. The maximum pressure is about 172 MPa at the root
of the external tooth. Though this value is much greater than 45 MPa, it is still a very low contact pressure by
comparing it with the allowable contact pressure of gears. So, it can be said that it is rare for the involute spline
couplings to have contact fatigue failure of the teeth. If it does happen, the root and tip shall be the positions to
have the failures.
Figure 11 is tooth bending stress distribution at the root along the lead. The abscissa is the tooth longitudinal
dimension and the ordinate is the bending stress at the tensile side of tooth root. It is found that the tensile stress
is almost a uniform distribution along the lead and the maximum tensile stress is about 121 MPa. This value is

Hub spline (internal tooth)

Shaft spline (external tooth)

Figure 6.  Generations of external and internal tooth profiles of the couplings.

Figure 7.  FEM model of the involute spline couplings with the same face widths.

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Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 1)

Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

㻝㻚㻜 㻜㻚㻜㻜㻜
㻜㻚㻤 㻝㻣㻚㻟㻜
㻜㻚㻢 㻟㻠㻚㻢㻜
㻜㻚㻠 㻡㻝㻚㻥㻜
㻜㻚㻞 㻢㻥㻚㻞㻜
㻤㻢㻚㻡㻜
㻜㻚㻜
㻝㻜㻟㻚㻤
㻙㻜㻚㻞
㻝㻞㻝㻚㻝
㻙㻜㻚㻠
㻝㻟㻤㻚㻠
㻙㻜㻚㻢 㻝㻡㻡㻚㻣
㻙㻜㻚㻤 㻝㻣㻟㻚㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 8.  Contour lines of contact pressure distribution on the tooth surface (Case 1).

㻝㻜㻜
㻥㻜
㻤㻜
Contact pressure [MPa]

Case 1
㻣㻜
㻢㻜
㻡㻜 㻠㻡
㻠㻜
㻟㻜
㻞㻜
㻝㻜
㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 9.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth longitude (Case 1).

㻝㻤㻜 㻝㻣㻞
㻝㻢㻜
㻝㻠㻜 Case 1
Contact pressure [MPa]

㻝㻝㻣
㻝㻞㻜
㻝㻜㻜
㻤㻜
㻢㻜
㻠㻜
㻞㻜
㻾㼛㼛㼠 㼀㼕㼜
㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜 㻙㻜㻚㻡 㻜㻚㻜 㻜㻚㻡 㻝㻚㻜 㻝㻚㻡
Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

Figure 10.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth profile (Case 1).

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㻝㻠㻜

Bending stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻝㻞㻝
㻝㻞㻜

㻝㻜㻜
Case 1
㻤㻜

㻢㻜

㻠㻜

㻞㻜

㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 11.  Root bending stress distribution along tooth longitude (Case 1).

about 1/3 of the allowable stress of a pair of gears. So, it can be said that it is also rare for the spline couplings to
have bending fatigue failure at the root.
Figure 12 is used to show some number positions on a circumferential surface at the tooth bottom of the shaft
spline where there is the maximum shear stress existing on this surface. In Fig. 12, nodal numbers (1, 2, 3, …, 21)
along the circumferential direction and the nodal numbers (1, 2, 3, …, 21) along tooth longitude are illustrated.
These numbers are used in Figs. 13 and 14. Figure 13 is a shear stress distribution on this circumferential surface.
In Fig. 13, the abscissa is the nodal numbers (1, 2, 3, …, 21) along the circumferential direction and the ordinate is
the nodal numbers (1, 2, 3, …, 21) along tooth longitude. From Fig. 13, it is found that there is greater shear stress
existing in the bule aera. Figure 14 is a 2D, distribution of the shear stress along the circumferential direction. It
is the shear stress of the middle node of the tooth longitude. So, the abscissa of Fig. 14 is the nodal numbers (1,
2, 3, …, 21) along the circumferential direction and the ordinate is the shear stress at the middle node along the
lead. From Fig. 14, it is found that the maximum shear stress (− 33.47 MPa) exists at the nodal number 16. Since
this value is very close to the allowable shear stress (for an example, 40 MPa for S45C, a Japanese material), the
involute spline couplings shall have shear fatigue failure very easily.

Calculation results obtained by an approximation method. Stresses are also calculated using an
approximation method that is often used by engineers in machine design. Figure 15a–d are concept diagrams
used to explain the approximation method. Figure 15a is an image that the shaft spline contacts with the hub
spline. Figure 15b is an image that contact loads are applied on the tooth surface after the hub spline is removed.
Since the tooth profile is involute and the load distribution along the profile is not a uniform, it is difficult to
calculate the contact pressure on tooth surface, the bending and shear stresses at the tooth root precisely using a
theoretical method. So, the model in Fig. 15b is simplified into a simple model as shown in Fig. 15c. In Fig. 15c,
the involute curve is simplified into a straight line and the ununiform tooth load distribution is simplified into
a uniform distribution. Under the help of these simplifications, contact pressure distribution on tooth surface,
bending and shear stresses at the tooth root can be calculated approximately. Figure 15c is used to calculate

21

15

10

5
5 10 15
1 21

Figure 12.  Nodal numbers along the circumference and the longitude of the external tooth.

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Shear stress [MPa] (Case 1)

㻞㻝
㻞㻜

Nodal number along tooth longitude

㻝㻥 㻙㻟㻟㻚㻡㻜
㻝㻤
㻝㻣 㻙㻟㻝㻚㻞㻜
㻝㻢 㻙㻞㻤㻚㻥㻜
㻝㻡
㻝㻠 㻙㻞㻢㻚㻢㻜
㻝㻟
㻝㻞 㻙㻞㻠㻚㻟㻜
㻝㻝 㻙㻞㻞㻚㻜㻜
㻝㻜
㻥 㻙㻝㻥㻚㻣㻜
㻤 㻙㻝㻣㻚㻠㻜
㻣
㻢 㻙㻝㻡㻚㻝㻜
㻡
㻠 㻙㻝㻞㻚㻤㻜
㻟 㻙㻝㻜㻚㻡㻜
㻞
㻝
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 13.  Shear stress distributed on the circumferential surface (Case 1).

㻜
Circumferential distribution of shear stress
Shear stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻙㻝㻜 Case 1

㻙㻞㻜

㻙㻟㻜

㻙㻟㻟㻚㻠㻣
㻙㻠㻜

㻙㻡㻜
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 14.  Circumferential distribution of the shear stress (Case 1).

F
P
H

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 15.  Simplified models of the involute spline couplings.

pressure distribution on the tooth surface approximately. This model is furthermore simplified into Fig. 15d in
order to calculate the bending and shear stresses at the tooth root. In Fig. 15d, the distribution load in Fig. 15c
is simplified into a concentrated load applied at the middle point of the tooth working depth. Then, the bending
and shear stresses at the root can be calculated as a cantilever using the formulas introduced in the mechanics
of material.
The contact pressure, bending stresses and shear stresses are calculated as follows using the approximation
method. If the contact pressure on tooth surface is denoted as P , the total load on one pair of teeth is denoted
as F , working depth of the pair of teeth is denoted as h , face width of teeth is denoted as b , number of teeth

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is denoted as Z , diameter of the pitch circle is denoted as Dm , then F and P can be calculated approximately
by Eqs. (24) and (25). Shear stress τ at the tooth root can be calculated approximately by Eq. (26). In Eq. (26),
W is tooth thickness at the root as shown in Fig. 15d. The bending stress σ at the tooth root can be calculated
approximately by Eq. (27). In Eq. (27), H is a distance from the middle point of the tooth working depth to the
tooth root as shown in Fig. 15d.
F = T/(0.5Dm Z), (24)

P = F/(h × b), (25)

τ = F/(bW), (26)

σ = 6FH/(bW 2 ). (27)

Comparison between the FEM software and the approximation method. Calculation results are
compared between the developed FEM software and the approximation method in Table 2. In Table 2, it is found
that tooth contact stress obtained by the FEM software is about 3.4 times greater than the one obtained by the
approximation method. The shear stress obtained by the FEM software is about 1.3 times greater than the one
obtained by the approximation method. The bending stress obtained by the FEM software is about 1.9 times
greater than the one obtained by the approximation method. So, it can be said that the approximation method is
not precise enough for strength calculations of the involute spline couplings in machine design.

Contact and stress analyses of the couplings with different face widths
FEM model and boundary conditions. Contact and stress analyses are also conducted for the spline
couplings with difference face widths. Figure 16a is a FEM model of assembled spline couplings with different
face widths as shown in Fig. 1c. Figure 16b is the FEM model of the shaft spline only. From Fig. 16, it can be
found that the face width of the shaft spline is much wider than that of the hub spline. FEM meshes are divided
to be very fine for the middle pair of teeth.

Strength analysis using the boundary condition of Case 2 as shown in Fig. 4b. Contact and
stress analyses are conducted for the couplings under the boundary condition of Case 2 as shown in Fig. 4b.
Figure 17 is a pressure distribution on the middle pair of contacted teeth. The abscissa and the ordinate are the
same as Fig. 8 respectively. Figures 18 and 19 are 2D, distributions of the contact pressure. Also, the abscissa and
the ordinate are the same as Figs. 9 and 10 respectively. From Fig. 18, it is found that the contact pressure is not
a uniform distribution along the lead. “Edge loads” exist at the two ends of the face width because of the tooth
contact with different face widths. The maximum contact pressure is about 77 MPa. This value is also very low

The maximum stresses Developed FEM software Approximation method

Tooth contact stress (MPa) 172 50.3
Shear stress at tooth root (MPa) 33.5 25.6
Bending stress at tooth root (MPa) 121 63.5

Table 2.  Comparison between the FEM software and the approximation method.

Figure 16.  FEM model of the involute spline couplings with different face widths.

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Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 2)

Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

㻝㻚㻜 㻜㻚㻜㻜㻜
㻜㻚㻤 㻞㻞㻚㻞㻜
㻜㻚㻢 㻠㻠㻚㻠㻜
㻜㻚㻠 㻢㻢㻚㻢㻜
㻜㻚㻞 㻤㻤㻚㻤㻜
㻜㻚㻜 㻝㻝㻝㻚㻜
㻙㻜㻚㻞 㻝㻟㻟㻚㻞
㻙㻜㻚㻠 㻝㻡㻡㻚㻠
㻙㻜㻚㻢 㻝㻣㻣㻚㻢
㻝㻥㻥㻚㻤
㻙㻜㻚㻤
㻞㻞㻞㻚㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 17.  Contour lines of contact pressure distribution on tooth surface (Case 2).

㻝㻜㻜
㻥㻜
㻤㻜 㻣㻣 㻣㻣
Case 2
Contact pressure [MPa]

㻣㻜
㻢㻜
㻡㻜 㻠㻝
㻠㻜
㻟㻜
㻞㻜
㻝㻜
㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 18.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth longitude (Case 2).

㻝㻤㻜
㻝㻢㻜 㻝㻡㻠
㻝㻠㻜
Contact pressure [MPa]

Case 2
㻝㻞㻜 㻝㻜㻣
㻝㻜㻜
㻤㻜
㻢㻜
㻠㻜
㻞㻜
Root Tip
㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜 㻙㻜㻚㻡 㻜㻚㻜 㻜㻚㻡 㻝㻚㻜 㻝㻚㻡
Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

Figure 19.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth profile (Case 2).

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for the spline couplings. From Fig. 19, it is found that the contact pressure distribution is varied very great along
the tooth profile. “Edge loads” exist at the tooth tip and root contacts. The maximum contact pressure is about
154 MPa. This value is a little lower than 172 MPa that is introduced in Fig. 10. This means that the tooth con-
tact with different face widths reduced the “edge loads” a little. Since 154 MPa is much lower than the allowable
pressure of gears (for an example, 1400 MPa), it can be said that the tooth contact fatigue failure of the spline
couplings shall not happen.
Figure 20 is the root bending stress distribution along the lead. The abscissa is the longitudinal dimension
of the contacted teeth and the ordinate is the bending stress at the tensile side of the contacted teeth. It is found
that the bending stress is not a uniform distribution along the lead. The maximum stress at the center of the face
width is about 106 MPa. This value is a litter lower than the value 121 MPa in Fig. 11. This means that the tooth
contact with different face widths also reduced the maximum bending stress of the tooth root.
Figure 21 is the shear stress distributed on the circumferential surface as shown in Fig. 12. In Fig. 21, the
abscissa and the ordinate are the same as Fig. 13. From Fig. 21, it is found that the shear stress distribution has
a little change because of the different face widths. Figure 22 is a 2D, distribution of the shear stress along the
circumferential direction. The abscissa and the ordinate are the same as Fig. 14. From Fig. 22, it is found that the
maximum shear stress is − 29.48 MPa. This value is a little lower than − 33.47 MPa given in Fig. 14 because of the
different face widths. This means that the different face widths can also reduce the maximum shear stress a little.

Strength analysis using the boundary condition of Case 3 as shown in Fig. 4c. Contact and
stress analyses are conducted for the couplings under the boundary condition of Case 3 as shown in Fig. 4c to
investigate the effect of different boundary conditions on stress distributions. Calculation results are given in
Figs. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28. By comparing these results with Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, it is found that

㻝㻠㻜
Bending stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻝㻞㻜
㻝㻜㻢
㻝㻜㻜

㻤㻜
Case 2
㻢㻜 㻢㻣 㻢㻣
㻠㻜

㻞㻜

㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 20.  Root bending stress distribution along tooth longitude (Case 2).

Shear stress [MPa] (Case 2)

㻞㻝
㻞㻜
Nodal number along tooth longitude

㻝㻥 㻙㻞㻥㻚㻡㻜
㻝㻤
㻝㻣 㻙㻞㻣㻚㻡㻥
㻝㻢 㻙㻞㻡㻚㻢㻣
㻝㻡
㻝㻠 㻙㻞㻟㻚㻣㻢
㻝㻟
㻝㻞 㻙㻞㻝㻚㻤㻠
㻝㻝 㻙㻝㻥㻚㻥㻟
㻝㻜
㻥 㻙㻝㻤㻚㻜㻞
㻤 㻙㻝㻢㻚㻝㻜
㻣
㻢 㻙㻝㻠㻚㻝㻥
㻡
㻠 㻙㻝㻞㻚㻞㻤
㻟 㻙㻝㻜㻚㻟㻢
㻞
㻝
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 21.  Shear stress distributed on the circumferential surface (Case 2).

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㻜
Circumferential distribution of shear stress

Shear stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻙㻝㻜 Case 2

㻙㻞㻜

㻙㻟㻜
㻙㻞㻥㻚㻠㻤

㻙㻠㻜

㻙㻡㻜
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 22.  Circumferential distribution of the shear stress (Case 2).

Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

㻝㻚㻜 Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 3)

㻜㻚㻜㻜㻜
㻜㻚㻤 㻞㻟㻚㻟㻜
㻜㻚㻢 㻠㻢㻚㻢㻜
㻜㻚㻠 㻢㻥㻚㻥㻜
㻜㻚㻞 㻥㻟㻚㻞㻜
㻜㻚㻜 㻝㻝㻢㻚㻡
㻙㻜㻚㻞 㻝㻟㻥㻚㻤
㻙㻜㻚㻠 㻝㻢㻟㻚㻝
㻝㻤㻢㻚㻠
㻙㻜㻚㻢
㻞㻜㻥㻚㻣
㻙㻜㻚㻤
㻞㻟㻟㻚㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 23.  Contour lines of contact pressure distribution on tooth surface (Case 3).

㻝㻜㻜
㻥㻜
㻤㻜
㻤㻜 㻣㻢
Case 3
Contact pressure [MPa]

㻣㻜
㻢㻜
㻡㻜
㻠㻜
㻠㻜
㻟㻜
㻞㻜
㻝㻜
㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 24.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth longitude (Case 3).

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㻝㻤㻜
㻝㻢㻜 㻝㻡㻞
㻝㻠㻜
Case 3

Contact pressure [MPa]

㻝㻞㻜 㻝㻜㻣
㻝㻜㻜
㻤㻜
㻢㻜
㻠㻜
㻞㻜
㻾㼛㼛㼠 㼀㼕㼜
㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜 㻙㻜㻚㻡 㻜㻚㻜 㻜㻚㻡 㻝㻚㻜 㻝㻚㻡
Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

Figure 25.  Contact pressure distribution along tooth profile (Case 3).

㻝㻠㻜
Bending stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻝㻞㻜
㻝㻜㻠
㻝㻜㻜

㻤㻜
Case 3
㻢㻜 㻢㻢㻚㻣
㻢㻞㻚㻠
㻠㻜

㻞㻜

㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 26.  Longitudinal distribution of the root bending stress (Case 3).

Shear stress [MPa] (Case 3)

㻞㻝
㻞㻜
㻙㻞㻥㻚㻞㻜
Nodal number along tooth longitude

㻝㻥
㻝㻤 㻙㻞㻣㻚㻞㻡
㻝㻣
㻝㻢 㻙㻞㻡㻚㻟㻝
㻝㻡
㻝㻠 㻙㻞㻟㻚㻟㻢
㻝㻟 㻙㻞㻝㻚㻠㻞
㻝㻞
㻝㻝 㻙㻝㻥㻚㻠㻣
㻝㻜
㻥 㻙㻝㻣㻚㻡㻟
㻤 㻙㻝㻡㻚㻡㻤
㻣
㻢 㻙㻝㻟㻚㻢㻠
㻡 㻙㻝㻝㻚㻢㻥
㻠
㻟 㻙㻥㻚㻣㻠㻣
㻞
㻝
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference
Figure 27.  Shear stress distributed on the circumferential surface (Case 3).

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㻜
Circumferential distribution of shear stress

Shear stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻙㻝㻜 Case 3

㻙㻞㻜

㻙㻟㻜
㻙㻞㻥㻚㻝㻟

㻙㻠㻜

㻙㻡㻜
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 28.  Circumferential distribution of the shear stress (Case 3).

there is very little difference between the boundary conditions Case 2 and Case 3. This means that both the two
boundary conditions as shown in Fig. 4b,c can be used for contact and stress analyses of the spline couplings.

The effect of machining errors on stress distributions of the couplings

Effect of tooth machining errors on coupling strength is investigated in the paper. Figure 29 is a 3D, distribution
of tooth profile deviations of the external tooth. Figure 30 is a 3D, distribution of tooth profile deviations of the
internal tooth. These profile deviations are used in contact and stress analyses of the couplings under the same
calculation and boundary conditions of Case 1.
Figure 31 is the tooth contact pressure distribution calculated under tooth profile deviations. It is found that
the contact pressure distribution is changed very much because of the tooth profile deviations by comparing
Fig. 31 with Fig. 8. Tooth contact pattern is changed from a full tooth contact into a partial tooth contact. Also,
the maximum contact pressure is changed from 172 into 955 MPa. This is a very great pressure that is possible
enough to result in tooth contact fatigue failures.
Figure 32 is the tooth bending stress distribution when the profile deviations are considered. It is found that
the bending stress distribution has also a great change because of the profile deviations by comparing Fig. 32 with
Fig. 11. The bending stress distribution is changed from a uniform distribution into an inclined distribution. The
maximum bending stress is changed from 121 into 236 MPa. This value is also a great stress that maybe results
in the tooth bending fatigue failure.
Figure 33 is the shear stress distribution on the circumferential surface as shown in Fig. 12 when the tooth
profile deviations are considered. It is found that the shear stress distribution has also a great change because of
the profile deviations by comparing Fig. 33 with Fig. 13. The maximum shear stress is changed from 33.5 into

Figure 29.  3D, tooth profile deviations of an external tooth.

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Figure 30.  3D, tooth profile deviations of an internal tooth.

Contact area along tooth profile [mm]

㻝㻚㻜 Contact pressure [MPa] 㻜㻚㻜㻜㻜

㻜㻚㻤 Case1 + Errors 㻥㻡㻚㻡㻜
㻜㻚㻢 㻝㻥㻝㻚㻜
㻜㻚㻠 Maximum contact pressure= 955 MPa 㻞㻤㻢㻚㻡
㻜㻚㻞 㻟㻤㻞㻚㻜
㻠㻣㻣㻚㻡
㻜㻚㻜
㻡㻣㻟㻚㻜
㻙㻜㻚㻞
㻢㻢㻤㻚㻡
㻙㻜㻚㻠
㻣㻢㻠㻚㻜
㻙㻜㻚㻢 㻤㻡㻥㻚㻡
㻙㻜㻚㻤 㻥㻡㻡㻚㻜
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 31.  Contour lines of contact pressure distribution on tooth surface (Case 1 + Errors).

㻟㻡㻜
Bending stress at tooth root [MPa]

㻟㻜㻜
Case 1 + Errors
㻞㻡㻜 㻞㻟㻢

㻞㻜㻜
㻝㻡㻜
㻝㻜㻜
㻡㻜
㻜
㻙㻡㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠 㻝㻢
Tooth longitudinal dimension [mm]

Figure 32.  Longitudinal distribution of the root bending stress (Case 1 + Errors).

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Shear stress [MPa] (Case1 + Errors)

㻞㻝
㻞㻜

Nodal number along tooth longitude

㻝㻥 㻙㻢㻥㻚㻜㻜
㻝㻤
㻝㻣 㻙㻢㻞㻚㻜㻞
㻝㻢 㻙㻡㻡㻚㻜㻠
㻝㻡
㻝㻠 㻙㻠㻤㻚㻜㻢
㻝㻟
㻝㻞 㻙㻠㻝㻚㻜㻤
㻝㻝 㻙㻟㻠㻚㻝㻜
㻝㻜
㻥 㻙㻞㻣㻚㻝㻞
㻤 㻙㻞㻜㻚㻝㻠
㻣
㻢 㻙㻝㻟㻚㻝㻢
㻡
㻠 㻙㻢㻚㻝㻤㻜
㻟 㻜㻚㻤㻜㻜㻜
㻞
㻝
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜㻝㻝㻝㻞㻝㻟㻝㻠㻝㻡㻝㻢㻝㻣㻝㻤㻝㻥㻞㻜㻞㻝
Nodal number along the circumference

Figure 33.  Shear stress distributed on the circumferential surface (Case 1 + Errors).

69 MPa. This value exceeds the allowable shear stress (for an example, 40 MPa for S45C, a Japanese material).
So, the shear fatigue failure at the tooth root shall be the most dangerous failure pattern for the involute spline
couplings.

Effects of pitch errors on tooth contact pressure distributions of the couplings

Effects of pitch errors of the spline teeth on tooth contact pressure distributions are investigated here. To be able
to realize this investigation, a loaded tooth contact analysis must be conducted for all the pairs of contact teeth
of the spline couplings. So, Eq. (10) is extended into Eqs. (28) and (16) is extended into Eq. (29). In Eqs. (28) and
(29), z is the number of teeth of the spline couplings. z is equal to 14 according to Table 1. Also, αz is the total
angular deformation of the shaft spline relative to the hub spline. TZ is the total external torque of the couplings.
TZ is 411.6 Nm according to Table 1.
n×z
n×z  n×z n×z n×z
 1  εk  
rk
(akj + ak′ j′ )Fj +
rk
− αz ≥ 0, (28)
k=1 j=1 k=1 k=1 k=1

n×z

Fk × rk = TZ (k = 1, 2, 3, . . . n; z = 1, 2, 3, . . . 14). (29)
k=1

A new mathematical model used to solve the problem of all the pairs of contact teeth can also be built up like
Eqs. (20) to (23) based on Eqs. (28) and (29). To save space of the paper, this new model is omitted here. In the
new model, pitch errors of every pair of contact teeth can be considered into εk of every pair of contact points.
Then the contact problem of all-tooth-contact model is solved with the same method used for the contact prob-
lem of one-tooth-contact model as given in Eqs. (20) to (23). Calculation results are introduced in the following.
To investigate the effect of pitch errors on tooth contact, pitch errors are given to all the pairs of contact teeth
at the first. Then, gaps of all the pairs of contacted teeth are calculated according to the pitch errors. This gap is
called “relative pitch error” here. Figure 34 is the relative pitch error of every pair of contact teeth. In Fig. 34,
the abscissa is tooth number and the ordinate is the relative pitch error. 14 pairs of contact teeth are used in the
contact analysis. From Fig. 34, it is found that relative pitch errors of Tooth 1, Tooth 8 and Tooth 14 are zero while
Tooth 7 and Tooth 9 have the maximum values of 6 mikron. These relative pitch errors in Fig. 34 are used in the
contact analysis of all the pairs of teeth. Some results obtained by this analysis are introduced in the following.
Figure 35a–c are calculated contact pressure distributions on the surfaces of Tooth 1, Tooth 3 and Tooth 5. In
Fig. 35, it is found that the maximum contact pressure is getting smaller as the relative pitch error (gap) increases.
This means that the pitch errors have great effects on tooth contact pressure distributions of spline couplings.
It is also found that the contact pressures on Tooth 7 and Tooth 8 are calculated to be zero. This is because the
relative pitch errors of these two pairs of teeth are 6 mikron, the maximum gaps among all the pairs of contact
teeth. Comparing Fig. 8 to Fig. 35a, it is found that the maximum contact pressure is about 173 MPa in Fig. 8
while the maximum contact pressure is about 342 MPa in Fig. 35a. This value is about twice of the 173 MPa. So,
it is necessary to consider the pitch errors in strength calculations of the spline couplings.

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㻝㻜

㻾㼑㼘㼍㼠㼕㼢㼑 㼜㼕㼠㼏㼔 㼑㼞㼞㼛㼞 㻔㼓㼍㼜㻕 㼇䃛㼙㼉

㻥
㻾㼑㼘㼍㼠㼕㼢㼑 㼜㼕㼠㼏㼔 㼑㼞㼞㼛㼞㼟 㼎㼑㼠㼣㼑㼑㼚 㼏㼛㼚㼠㼍㼏㼠㼑㼐 㼠㼑㼑㼠㼔
㻤
㻣
㻢
㻡
㻠
㻟
㻞
㻝
㻜
㻝 㻞 㻟 㻠 㻡 㻢 㻣 㻤 㻥 㻝㻜 㻝㻝 㻝㻞 㻝㻟 㻝㻠
㼀㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼚㼡㼙㼎㼑㼞
Figure 34.  Relative pitch errors of every pair of contact teeth.

Reliability of the method and developed software

Since there is not an effective method available at the present situation to measure pressure distributions between
the contact teeth, it is quite a difficult thing to verify reliability of the methods and software presented in this
paper experimentally. So, it is verified indirectly in theory here.
The developed methods and software are used to analyze contact stress and radial deformation of a ball
bearing (type number 6332) numerically. Also, the same analyses are conducted by using commercial software
­Abaqus14 three-dimensionally and Hertz’s formula. Figure 36 is structure and dimension of the ball bearing used
as the research object. Figure 37 is an image to do the contact stress and radial deformation of the ball bearing.
As shown in Fig. 37, the inner circumferential surface of the inner ring is fixed as the boundary condition of the
finite element analysis. An external load P is applied on the outer circumferential surface of outer ring radially.
The quadratic tetrahedral element is used in the analysis.
Figures 38 and 39 are comparisons of the radial deformation and contact stress of the ball bearing respectively
among the three methods. In Figs. 38 and 39, “FEM” is used to represent the results computed by the methods
and software developed in this paper. “Commercial” and “Hertz” are used to represent the results computed
by the Commercial software and Hertz’s formula respectively. From Figs. 38 and 39, it is found that the radial
deformation and the maximum contact stress calculated by the methods presented in this paper are almost the
same as the results obtained by the Commercial software. This means that the methods and software presented
in this paper are reliable.

Conclusions
A numerical method is presented in this paper to conduct loaded tooth contact analysis and stress calculations
of involute spline couplings. Special FEM software has been developed successfully.
Contact stresses on the tooth surface, bending and shear stresses at the tooth root are analyzed successfully
for a pair of ideal involute spline couplings without machining and assembly errors. It is found that edge loads
exist at the tooth tip and root contacts. It is also found that the maximum contact stress on the tooth surface
and the maximum bending stress at the tooth root are so small that they cannot result in the tooth surface and
root fatigue failures. Since the maximum shear stress at the tooth root is very close to the allowable stress, it
is possible enough for the pair of ideal involute spline couplings to have shear fatigue failure at the tooth root.
Contact and stress analyses are also conducted for a pair of real involute spline couplings with tooth profile
deviations to investigate the effect of the tooth profile deviations on stress distributions of the spline couplings.
It is found that the contact stresses, bending and shear stresses become very great because of the tooth profile
deviations. Also, the shear stress exceeds the allowable stress because of the tooth profile deviations. So, it is
possible enough for the spline couplings to have the contact fatigue failure on tooth surface, bending and shear
fatigue failures at the tooth root if the machining errors of the teeth are considered.
It is suggested to consider the effect of the tooth machining errors in strength calculations of the involute
spline couplings when to design the spline couplings.

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㻯㼛㼚㼠㼍㼏㼠 㼍㼞㼑㼍 㼍㼘㼛㼚㼓 㼠㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼜㼞㼛㼒㼕㼘㼑 㼇㼙㼙㼉

Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 1+Pitch Errors) Tooth 1
㻝㻚㻜
㻜㻚㻤

㻜㻚㻢
㻜㻚㻠 
㻜㻚㻞

㻜㻚㻜
㻙㻜㻚㻞 
㻙㻜㻚㻠 
㻙㻜㻚㻢

㻙㻜㻚㻤
㻙㻝㻚㻜 
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
㼀㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼘㼛㼚㼓㼕㼠㼡㼐㼕㼚㼍㼘 㼐㼕㼙㼑㼚㼟㼕㼛㼚 㼇㼙㼙㼉
(a) Pressure distribution on the 1st pair of contact teeth
㻯㼛㼚㼠㼍㼏㼠 㼍㼞㼑㼍 㼍㼘㼛㼚㼓 㼠㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼜㼞㼛㼒㼕㼘㼑 㼇㼙㼙㼉

Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 1+Pitch Errors) Tooth 3

㻝㻚㻜

㻜㻚㻤
㻜㻚㻢 
㻜㻚㻠

㻜㻚㻞
㻜㻚㻜 
㻙㻜㻚㻞 
㻙㻜㻚㻠

㻙㻜㻚㻢
㻙㻜㻚㻤 
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
㼀㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼘㼛㼚㼓㼕㼠㼡㼐㼕㼚㼍㼘 㼐㼕㼙㼑㼚㼟㼕㼛㼚 㼇㼙㼙㼉
(b) Pressure distribution on the 3rd pair of contact teeth
㻯㼛㼚㼠㼍㼏㼠 㼍㼞㼑㼍 㼍㼘㼛㼚㼓 㼠㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼜㼞㼛㼒㼕㼘㼑 㼇㼙㼙㼉

Contact pressure [MPa] (Case 1+Pitch Errors) Tooth 5

㻝㻚㻜

㻜㻚㻤
㻜㻚㻢 
㻜㻚㻠

㻜㻚㻞
㻜㻚㻜 
㻙㻜㻚㻞 
㻙㻜㻚㻠

㻙㻜㻚㻢
㻙㻜㻚㻤 
㻙㻝㻚㻜
㻜 㻞 㻠 㻢 㻤 㻝㻜 㻝㻞 㻝㻠
㼀㼛㼛㼠㼔 㼘㼛㼚㼓㼕㼠㼡㼐㼕㼚㼍㼘 㼐㼕㼙㼑㼚㼟㼕㼛㼚 㼇㼙㼙㼉

(c) Pressure distribution on the 5th pair of contact teeth

Figure 35.  Effect of the pitch errors on tooth pressure distribution.

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Figure 36.  Structure and dimension of the ball bearing.

External load P

3
2 4

1 5

Figure 37.  Structure and dimension of the ball bearing.

㻜㻚㻜㻣
㻲㻱㻹
㻜㻚㻜㻢 㻯㼛㼙㼙㼑㼞㼏㼕㼍㼘
㻴㼑㼞㼠㼦
㻰㼑㼒㼛㼞㼙㼍㼠㼕㼛㼚 㼙㼙

㻜㻚㻜㻡

㻜㻚㻜㻠

㻜㻚㻜㻟

㻜㻚㻜㻞

㻜㻚㻜㻝

㻜 㻞㻜㻜㻜 㻠㻜㻜㻜 㻢㻜㻜㻜 㻤㻜㻜㻜 㻝㻜㻜㻜㻜

㻾㼍㼐㼕㼍㼘 㼘㼛㼍㼐 㼛㼚 㼠㼔㼑 㼎㼍㼘㼘 㼎㼑㼍㼞㼕㼚㼓 㻺

Figure 38.  Radial deformation of a ball bearing.

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㻯㼛㼚㼠㼍㼏㼠 㼟㼠㼞㼑㼟㼟 㼛㼚 㼡㼜㼜㼑㼞 㼟㼡㼞㼒㼍㼏㼑 㻹㻼㼍

㻠㻜㻜㻜
㻲㻱㻹
㻟㻡㻜㻜 㻯㼛㼙㼙㼑㼞㼏㼕㼍㼘
㻟㻜㻜㻜 㻴㼑㼞㼠㼦
㻞㻡㻜㻜
㻞㻜㻜㻜
㻝㻡㻜㻜
㻝㻜㻜㻜
㻡㻜㻜
㻜
㻜 㻞㻜㻜㻜 㻠㻜㻜㻜 㻢㻜㻜㻜 㻤㻜㻜㻜 㻝㻜㻜㻜㻜
㻾㼍㼐㼕㼍㼘 㼘㼛㼍㼐 㼛㼚 㼠㼔㼑 㼎㼍㼘㼘 㼎㼑㼍㼞㼕㼚㼓 㻺

Figure 39.  The maximum contact stress on the ball.

Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reason-
able request.

Received: 8 August 2022; Accepted: 4 January 2023

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Author contributions
The author wrote all the manuscript text and prepared all the figures and tables in the submitted paper.

Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.L.
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