Analytical Model of Windage Power Loss for Aerospace Spiral Bevel Gears in Air Phase

The windage power loss of spiral bevel gears is a load-independent power loss, which is always one of the important factors affecting the transmission system efficiency and fuel consumption in aero-engine applications. Therefore, this paper aims to provide some theoretical basis for predicting the wind-resistance power loss of spiral bevel gears. In this paper, based on the Navier–Stokes equations, corresponding assumptions are made on fluid flow boundary conditions and gear geometry, the outer surfaces of spiral bevel gear with windage is divided into different parts, equations for calculating the windage loss of each part are established, and the influence rules of each parameter on the windage power loss of gears are obtained. Then an analytical model for calculating the windage power loss of spiral bevel gears is established by adding the windage power loss of each part. Finally, the analytical model is compared with the simulation results, and a good result is obtained. It is concluded that the rotational speed and module are the most important factors affecting the windage power loss.