Failure analysis of air cooled condenser gearbox

• A case study of gearbox failure analysis.
• Determination of gear quality by measurement of gear geometry.
• Measurement of surface quality.
• Measurement of micro hardness of gear tooth to know case depth.
• Micro structure analysis.

Gears are very reliable components and normally work 5–6 years without failure. This article is a case study of failure analysis of a gearbox which was failed in three months after its installation. The problem was identified by maintenance engineers through vibration monitoring of gearbox. Hardness measurement of case and core revealed that the core was harder than case and the applied load was sufficiently high for failure of gear. Recommendations were given to improve the fatigue life of gearbox.