Calculation of gear tooth flank surface wear during an FZG micropitting test

• A model of wild wear during lubricated gear meshing was developed.
• A simulation of wear during an FZG micropitting test was performed.
• The simulation is in good agreement with the overall evolution of the real roughness profile.
• The wear simulation alone cannot account for micropits.

A numerical simulation of the wear sustained by the surface of an FZG pinion during a gear micropitting test was performed. Underlying the simulation is a mixed lubrication model that takes into account both surface roughness and lubricant properties, as well as a wear model based on Archard's wear equation. The adequacy of the models was ascertained by comparing simulated and measured roughness profiles at the end of each stage.