Rolf,
You quite obviously know your gears and I appreciate your comments.
On the bearings, I was trying to mentally compare the bearings speed
between the much larger ring gear when it's the driver (when the planetary
is held captive) and that of the planet gear bearings. The same comparison
with the sun gear in a different configuration.

On another point what would you consider ( if you were developing a new
planetary)  the best material  (for our purpose, yet cost effective) to use,
as well as hardness and heat treatment.

George (down under)

George,
On stationary planets and rotating ring gear, the bearing for the ring
gear would not be so large as to be at the outside of the ring gear, but
rather much smaller, just to suit the shaft used to extend to the
spinner and prop flange. Lightest and most economical is a tube as a
shaft, especially if a certain length is required to be bridged as it
will be stiffer as well than a solid shaft.
The ring gear will have a flange going down to the bearings. Best of
course would be tapered roller bearings or an additional thrust
bearing.  For that you check out a bearing catalogue or simply ask a
bearing supplier for help. The axial and radial loads and rpm you will
have to provide. Personally, I would prefer tapered roller bearings over
a thrust bearing.

Common bearings too work best with a low sliding speed and low area
pressure. The product of both tells you if it is within acceptable
limits. Speed and pressure individually must also be within practical
limits. The method of lubrication has a large impact on the bearing
capacity.

On the gears, a local gear shop can best advise you of the gear material
and the method of hardening. That is part of their job, they do it
frequently. There are basically two choices, through-hardened steels or
case hardened steels.
The first thing you have to specify is the service life, say 5,000 hrs
or perhaps 50,000 hrs.

The cheapest would be a through-hardened steel. You could even use
pre-hardened 4140 at 28 HRC, cut the gears without any further heat
treatment.
The next thing is 4140 or better 4340 due to larger section then
hardening and tempering it to the desired hardness of between 25 to 40
HRC. That should be good for 3000 to 5000 hrs if operated within an
acceptable load range.

For case hardened steels you can start with 1020, carburize, harden,
temper at 350ºF, the case is ~ 55 to 60 HRC but the core strength is low.
Next is 4130, 4140, hardened, tempered at 900ºF and nitrated.
Further steels along the same grade are 46xx and 86xx. Grinding before
nitrating also extends life.

Specifically for aerospace use for highly loaded gears with high pitch
line velocity and where reliability under extreme conditions is needed,
use AISI 9310. The case is 58 to 63 HRC and the core 250 to 350 Brinnel
hardness. The use should not be at high temperatures for this steel.

There are also 'Nitralloy N' alloys that do not need carburization and
hence are not distorted by this process. It is suitable for high
temperature operation. The steel is hardened and nitrated. Case is 90 -
94 HRC and the core 300 to 370 Bhn. These gears are usually ground after
cutting. Nitrating is the last operation.

As to practicality, for the relative low service life in private
aircraft use, a service life of 5000 hrs is likely adequate. On the
other hand it is a safety issue as well. For my taste, I would want
something 'reasonably safe' for flying. Even if the individual gears are
more expensive, the gear box itself is not affected by that, so that the
increase in overall cost is tolerable.
Perhaps you might argue that if it last for 50,000 hrs, it will take out
the fun of flying? Like in anything else, there is always a trade-off.

Best is to talk to your gear cutting shop and tell him what it is for. A
good trough-hardened steel should be fine. Grinding would be nice.
Don't forget that alignment, rigidity and lubrication are also crucial
of which the gear maker has no influence.

The gear pressure angle should be 20º, not 14.5º. A straight cut gear is
nosier, the helical cut is quieter but cost a bit more and thrust loads
have to be taken care of, best by tapered roller bearings.

A DP of 16 seems adequate for the 160 ftlbs of torque, a ~ 7 in dia
internal gear and ~ 2,700 rpm out with 1 in wide gears and 4 to 6 planets.
Of course, a high strength gear can be narrower, conversely a low
strength steel asks for a wider gear. The gear cutter should know if he
has an engineering department, which you would expect him to have.

Regards
Rolf Pfeiffer


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